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A new year is upon us--that means it's high time to get a great bargain on some of last year's greatest games. In December, GameSpot's editors presented the Sixth Annual Best & Worst of the Year Awards, which culminated in a countdown of the top ten PC games of 2001. Any and all of them would make a great addition to your collection.
Wizardry 8 (2001)
Street Price: $39
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Wizardry 8 is the last role-playing game in a series that's practically as old as computer gaming itself. It's a fond farewell--this 3D first-person RPG has a great deal of personality and will take you countless enjoyable hours to finish. You'll create a party from a wide variety of interesting character races and classes, then set out in a world fraught with peril and filled with great characters and plenty of hidden treasures.
Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (2001)
Street Price: $39
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If you've ever wondered what it must feel like to be a modern-day soldier in the middle of a combat situation, Operation Flashpoint is for you. It may look like a typical first-person shooter, but Operation Flashpoint is actually plays more like a simulation--bullets are lethal, firefights take place at long range, and there's little glamour or spectacle to the action. That doesn't mean Operation Flashpoint isn't intense, because it definitely is.
NASCAR Racing 4 (2001)
Street Price: $30
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NASCAR Racing 4 is a meticulous re-creation of America's #1 motorsport, and is possibly the finest racing simulation ever produced. Although this definitive driving game has extremely realistic physics and control, it can also be fully customized so that both novices and experts alike can enjoy its racing action. NASCAR Racing 4 features 76 real-life drivers, including the late Dale Earnhardt, and the 2000 season's complete 21-track roster.
Black & White (2001)
Street Price: $29
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One of the most talked-about games of last year, Black & White is unusual to say the least. What other game lets you scold a giant cow for throwing boulders at human villages? In Black & White, you play as a god. The game's great graphics and truly impressive artificial intelligence are combined in a story-driven real-time strategy game that can be frustrating sometimes, but is ultimately worth the effort just for experiencing the unique gameplay.
Dark Age of Camelot (2001)
Street Price: $29
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Currently the best online role-playing game on the market, Dark Age of Camelot borrows ideas from some of its predecessors but also introduces a number of great new features all its own. More than two hundred thousand players are already enjoying doing battle alongside other fellow players in the game's three distinct fantasy realms: Camelot, realm of the late King Arthur; Hibernia, a Celtic world inhabited by elves; and Midgard, a harsh Norse-inspired region.
Commandos 2: Men of Courage (2001)
Street Price: $29
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Easily one of the most technically accomplished games of 2001, Commandos 2: Men of Courage combines elements of action, strategy, and puzzle solving in a successful, even innovative design. Fair warning--Commandos 2 is a tough game. But once you get past the learning curve, and into some of the absolutely huge, incredibly detailed levels, you'll see why Commandos 2 is so outstanding. For good measure, most of the levels are based on classic war movies.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein (2001)
Street Price: $49
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The sequel to the very first conventional first-person shooter made a big splash when it was released in December. Return to Castle Wolfenstein's stunning graphics and fast action are nothing less than what's expected of id Software, the same company that produced the original Wolfenstein 3D. This new installment offers a rather good single-player mode, although the team-based multiplayer mode really shines. It's fun, fast, strategic, and addictive.
Civilization III (2001)
Street Price: $44
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Quite possibly the finest strategy game of last year, Civilization III was very highly anticipated thanks to the success and popularity of its predecessors. This most recent installment stays very true to its roots, but features vastly improved graphics and sound, along with a number of exciting, new gameplay features. You could easily play Civilization III for months and never see it all. The game is also highly accessible and quite educational.
Max Payne (2001)
Street Price: $39
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One of our editors' favorite games of 2001 was also chosen by GameSpot's readers as the #1 game of last year. Max Payne is a stylish, great-looking game about nonstop action. Featuring no shortage of intense, spectacular close-quarters gun battles, this is the game to show off to your friends or to test out your brand-new computer or video card. It's also one of the greatest shooters to date. Max Payne spent years in the making, but the wait was worth it.
Serious Sam: The First Encounter (2001)
Street Price: $7
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They're practically giving away the game that GameSpot's editors selected as Game of the Year 2001. Serious Sam is fun, funny, intense, and exciting. It's also dirt-cheap, and features quite possibly the best cooperative multiplayer mode in any game to date. This is pure, unadulterated arcade action all the way--in a typical battle, you'll face off against a hundred zany monsters at a time. A delicious selection of powerful weapons evens the odds in your favor.
Be sure to visit GameBuyer to find more great deals on both classic and recently released computer games.
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