Native Games

[warth0g]

Hi

I bought my first ever Mac a couple of weeks ago, a new MBA 13", 8GB with a 128GB SSD. It's completely lovely and I'm slightly bemused as to why I stuck with windows for so long.

I didn't buy the Air for gaming but I would like to use it for the occasional game if I can. I really don't want to mess around with Bootcamp or Parallels, so I was wondering what games can be run natively at at least medium settings at a decent framerate on the 2012 Air? And is Steam the best place to get them (or the App store I guess)

I find it slightly difficult to judge by looking on the appstore at the likes of Borderlands whether or not the game will actually run.

Any suggestions for native MacOS games please?

 

[SpyderBite]

Diablo III, Torchlight, BattleNations, the list is endless. Download and install Steam and browse their Mac category. You can also shop for Mac games on Amazon, GameStop as well as the App Store of course.

 

[warth0g]

Great, thanks! I didn't realise that there was a Mac version of Diablo III or that it's playable on an Air, so great news! Is it available from Steam / App Store or only from Blizzard?

I've already played Torchlight on the PC, great game. Don't know BattleNations though, so will check it out..

 

[Masterfox72]

Starcraft II
World of Warcraft
Diablo 3
Team Fortress 2
The Walking Dead
Batman Arkham Asylum

 

[Sid-R]

Civilization V

 

[yensteel]

Borderlands for Mac runs pretty well on 2012 Macbook Airs. You need to disable dynamic shadows and use medium graphics setting, it helps performance a lot and the eye candy isn't impacted much.

 

[jeremyx]

Anybody tried CS:GO yet on their MBAs?

 

[Panini]

A lot of the Valve-made games (source engine) run really well.

Some games are...

Portal 1 & 2
Team Fortress 2
Counter Strike Source
Half-Life 2
Garry's Mod

...

Civ 5 is also pretty good but it's pretty slow and requires a lot of dedication (games last a long time and it isn't that fun in the beginning). Definitely not the quick-fix game you're looking for.

I would personally recommend Team Fortress 2. I like being Spy and going on the occasional espionnage every once in a while