10 games worth giving away on February 23

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

Platforms: PC, PS, XBox

A bright and powerful first-person shooter has become the seventeenth game in the series. The Cold War between the United States and the USSR in the 1980s turns into an arena for a fantastic espionage drama. Rapid gunfights and chases are interspersed with emphatically cinematic cut-scenes that reveal the essence of the plot.

So, CIA officer Russell Adler is pursuing Perseus, a supposed Soviet spy who wants to overthrow America and ensure the prosperity of the Soviet Union. East Berlin, Turkey, Vietnam and, of course, the Soviet headquarters of the KGB - the choice of locations looks very lively, and the elaboration of secondary characters emphasizes the high class of the game.

In addition to the main story campaign, there is an atmospheric zombie mode: the living dead in a secret bunker are served as the result of Cold War experiments. In multiplayer, you can choose one of several original formats - superiority, assault, fire groups, but the classic modes are still there.

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2. The Last of Us Part II

Platforms: PS

The sequel to the popular zombie horror has become FIFA 21 Europe's best-selling game in 2020, the absolute leader in Russian retail sales in 2020. In the new part of the game, we meet with Ellie and Joel five years after the pandemic. Their life is relatively calm and stable, although, of course, there is always the risk of being caught by a bullet from other survivors or facing the infected. But one day someone breaks a fragile peace.

The Last of Us Part II turned out to be incredibly beautiful, and the redesigned facial animation was noted in almost every review. Emotions are simply off scale here, and difficult decisions have to be made very often.

You start to believe in the virtual world created by Naughty Dog from the first minutes of the game. And that's probably why you really want to survive here.

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3. Assassin's Creed: Valhalla

Platforms: PC, PS, XBox

A large-scale game in a historical setting, with a bright charismatic character and a lot of references - that's what the Assassin's Creed series is loved for. This time Ubisoft has chosen the era of Viking conquests. Events unfold in 873 on the territory of modern England, when internecine wars and clan confrontations were complicated by raids from northern neighbors.

In the story, the warrior Eivor travels from the cold shores of Norway to the British Isles to find a new home for his clan. He will have to fight Alfred the Great and the rulers of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, as well as help the Invisibles (as the Brotherhood of Assassins was called) in the fight against the Order of the Ancients (Templars).

There are no side quests in the game in the usual sense. But there are short stories that take a break from the main storyline. Indeed, why shouldn't a stern Viking chase someone's cat or bring snake eggs to a city madman? By the way, you can change the gender of the hero at any time or entrust this decision to artificial intelligence.

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4. Doom Eternal

Platforms: PC, PS, XBox, Switch

The struggle for the bright future of mankind against all the devil from the depths of the underworld unfolds in the year 2151. The hero single-handedly confronts the legions of demons who are breaking out of the portal to hell that has opened on Mars and are seriously intent on taking over the Earth.

Doom Eternal traditionally has a lot of blood, torn bodies, fire and other special effects. Doomboy is so brutal here that he can break furniture just by jumping on it. The scenes are presented in such a way that the feeling of your own coolness does not disappear, even if you do not deal with enemies very well.

Weapons in Doom Eternal have become larger: they got rid of miniature pistols almost completely, but they added a flamethrower, which removes armor from enemies, and a huge sword, which cuts opponents in two with one blow. The dynamism of battles has grown, and the possibility of instant resurrection has completely changed the usual course of battles.

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5. Watch Dogs: Legion

Platforms: PC, PS, XBox

London in the near future is gripped by protests. The authorities have hired a private military company to maintain order in the city - and in the end, anyone can simply be grabbed, knelt down and pointed a barrel at their head.

But the DeadSec hacker group is trying to prevent this. And in the third part of the story, Ubisoft decided on a revolution: now you can recruit almost any resident of the city - however, for this you have to complete his personal quest.

A significant part of the tasks can be completed with stealth: for example, launching a spider drone into the ventilation system, downloading data through a CCTV camera, intercepting a drone, including a combat one, and at the same time standing on the other side of the street. But if you want fights and gunfights, there are plenty of them as well.

And there is also an opportunity to hijack any transport - even a double-decker bus, infantry fighting vehicle, boat or retro car from the yard of Her Majesty. Or, for example, find a ball in the park and train your football skills. In short, there is entertainment for every taste.

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6. FIFA 21

Platforms: PC, PS, XBox, Switch

The legendary soccer simulator, FIFA 21 Europe’s best-selling game in 2020, has received many improvements. The new version contains 30 leagues, about 17 thousand players and more than 700 teams, including Spartak-Moscow, CSKA and Lokomotiv. And more than 90 stadiums - and even the Otkrytie Arena. Plus, you can play football right on the streets of Sydney, Paris, Dubai, Sao Paulo, Milan and other cities in the VOLTA Football mode.

FIFA 21 has become more realistic: the speed of players now differs more, and the passes are not always "magnetized" to the desired player. Artificial intelligence plays differently in attack: on the legendary difficulty, you can see unusual feints and very spectacular goals.

There are fewer stoppages in the game, and after the ball goes out of bounds, the match resumes almost immediately. Among the innovations, we note rewind: you can go back in time and try again to realize a successful moment.

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7. Ghost of Tsushima

Platforms: PS

The samurai action game won the Voice of Gamers at the prestigious The Game Awards 2020 and became the fastest selling original PS4 game from internal Sony studios. And after the launch of the cooperative mode "Legends", where up to four players can co-op missions, interest in Ghost of Tsushima has grown even more.

The open-world game is about a hero who must honor the Bushido code and face enemies face to face. However, it is not forbidden to wait for opponents in the tall grass, poison the water or incite bears trapped in cages - otherwise you will not be able to cope with a whole army.

The elaboration of the game in Japanese is thorough and unusual. For example, here the weather can change depending on the fighting style. Falling leaves or chrysanthemums swaying in the wind are direct references to Akira Kurosawa's films: he often conveyed the dynamics of the plot using natural phenomena.

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8. Hitman 3

Platforms: PC, PS, XBox, Switch

The spy thriller, in which a cold-blooded killer walks along the very edge and brilliantly copes with missions, has become the final part of the legendary series. Picturesque locations, interesting items that can be used to complete missions, conversations and rumors, dress up games - Hitman 3 has preserved the best traditions of the genre and strengthened the detective component.

There is no single way to complete the task: of course, you can always go ahead, but it is better to act more subtly and more creatively. For example, setting a trap, mixing poison in a glass, or setting up an accident.

And in this game, even a banana can become a dangerous weapon. For example, if you throw him at the feet of the guards.

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9. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Platforms: PS

Impressive flying on spider webs over metropolitan landscapes, fast-paced pursuits and spectacular battles in this game are combined with an epic confrontation of corporations and a story of human relationships. Miles Morales will have a difficult time, because his predecessor Peter Parker already has a huge credit of trust, and the newcomer has just to earn it.

The game inherited mechanics from Marvel's Spider-Man, and also received new features. For example, now Spider-Man, with the help of a pumped bio-force, can deliver a powerful electric shock, and due to his good disguise skills, he can remain invisible for a long time even in battle.

Finally, snowy New York is beautiful on its own. So to overcome a couple of extra blocks and do a dozen tricks on the web here is pure pleasure.

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10. Nioh 2

Platforms: PS

The dark samurai Souls-like action movie is a prequel to the story told in the first part. Nioh 2 takes place in feudal Japan in the late 16th century. In the new game, you can create your own character who has become a youkai spirit. Everything is customizable here: from facial features to the appearance of a demon - the dark side of the hero.

The original combat system of Nioh 2 forces you to calculate your actions a few steps ahead: this also applies to pumping the character, and combat stance, and strikes. The arsenal of traditional Japanese weapons in the game has become more impressive, the bestiary is more dangerous, and the battles are more dynamic.

Separately, we note the cooperative mode: you can challenge players from other worlds, or, conversely, help them in missions. But to make it more interesting, there will be more enemies on the map. Loot in this mode drops out to each player personally. Partners can be resurrected, but only a certain number of times.