Never has there been a better time to be a PC gamer. This year’s crop of games delivers all the pulse-pounding action we’ve come to crave beneath a candy shell of glorious graphics—the likes of which we’ve never seen before. Leading the graphics charge is a bevy of DirectX 10 titles that will stress a system to its limits, and the promises long made by proponents of the Games for Windows initiative are finally starting to show fruit.

What’s more, even DirectX 9–level titles are taking advantage of the prodigious power available in today’s high-end graphics cards to deliver experiences that look better than we ever thought DirectX 9 capable of.

So, to all console ever-lovin’ folk who are claiming for the nth time that PC gaming is dead, we say, “Shut your pie holes!” We can’t wait to kick back in our office chair, embrace our mouse and keyboard, and get our game on!

Bioshock

Subaquatic steampunk!

Brilliant game graphics aren’t only about technology, they’re also about artful design. Bioshock serves up a bucketful of both. This first-person role-playing game puts you in the middle of a disaster in an undersea utopia run by—who else?—an out-of-control megalomaniac.

In addition to traditional FPS-style weapons, you’ll also gain the use of special powers, which let you manipulate the elements to freeze or ignite objects (or people), alter the environment in other ways, and even set elaborate Rube Goldberg–style traps.

But the game would be just a fancy sandbox without its cohesive steampunk set design and profoundly disturbing story line. When you factor in support for DirectX 10, Bioshock becomes a must-have title.

World In Conflict

Let's take it nuclear!

Imagine that the Cold War never ended—instead it actually caught fire. That’s the scenario facing you in World in Conflict. Russian tanks are rolling across Europe, and it’s your job to stop them in their tracks.

Instead of utilizing the traditional two-phase combat system—build your base, then attack the bad guys—World in Conflict does away with the first part of the equation and has you jumping straight into blowing up Commies. Unlike most real-time strategy titles, World in Conflict includes some super-high-end graphical effects, including volumetric fog that swirls around your vehicles, destructible buildings and environments, and real-time lighting.

You won’t want to play World in Conflict from a satellite-high perspective, lest you miss any of the game’s glorious detail.

Next: Hellgate, Hell's Highway, Call of Duty 4, and Assassin's Creed!

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