BENEATH A STEEL SKY
T
his early point-and-click
adventure from the creator of
Broken Sword features art by
Watchmen’s Dave Gibbons, a twisty sci-fi
story, and a really goofy sense of humor.
One of its neatest ideas is how you can
stick your AI pal Joey’s electronic brain
into different mechanical robots to solve
puzzles. And if you enjoy it, a sequel is
currently in development. AK
gog.com/game/beneath_a_steel_skySTARCRAFT
T
hese days Blizzard sells a shiny
remaster, but if the original’s
good enough for South Korea, it’s
good enough for us. There’s a reason that
even today it’s an esports sensation—this
iconic RTS remains a triumph of tight
strategy and intense competition, with an
incredible amount of depth for devotees to
get lost in. RV
starcraft.com/en-gbTHE ELDER
SCROLLS II:
DAGGERFALL
The second Elder Scrolls
game is huge and
ambitious, with the
provinces of High Rock
and Hammerfell open to
explore. A lot of what
became standard for the
series, like the option to
join the Mages Guild,
started here. JM
beth.games/35QHyl3
THE DARK
MOD
A tribute to the Thief
series, this standalone
game lets you download a
massive variety of
user-made stealth levels,
from tightly contained
ones like Thief’s Den to the
more open variety of
Return to the City, and
plenty of spooky ones like
The Creeps. JM
thedarkmod.com/main
COMMAND &
CONQUER: RED ALERT
Now here’s a rare thing:
Strategy with a sense of
humor. From its
infamously cheesy FMV
cutscenes to its brilliantly
bizarre weapons of war,
Red Alert’s window into a
retro-future cold war
makes for one of the most
charming RTS games ever
made. RV
cncnet.org/red-alert
THE OPERATIVE: NO ONE LIVES FOREVER
A
s it stands, no one can even
agree which company
owns the rights to this
classic stealth FPS, so not
only are the chances of a
sequel or even a remaster close to nil,
there’s nowhere you can even buy the
original game. Luckily, you can grab it and
its equally worthy sequel for free at thislink. Its clever humor and charming 1960s
setting hold up nicely, as does its unique
spin on the genre—the key to success is
creative use of the arsenal of goofy,
Bond-esque gadgets at your disposal.
That includes lipstick bombs, sleeping gas
perfume, and a briefcase rocket launcher.
RV
nolfrevival.tkRE
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VE
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E^
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ST
THE TOP 50 FREE GAMES