At the start of the semester, you’ll probably find yourself with a lot of new friends and a tremendous lack of money. Here are a few games that can help appease both your pals and your wallet.

Couch Co-op

“Spelunky”

Platform: Xbox 360 ($15)

“Spelunky” hates its players. Furthermore, it makes its players hate each other. It’s essentially an “Indiana Jones” simulator full of randomly generated temple ruins, hostile jungles and booby-trapped caves. The randomness, though, breeds some punishing levels. The futility of it really transforms the four-player “cooperative” mode. “Throw a rope for your friends to climb on” quickly becomes “Pick up your friends and throw them onto spikes.” Even in death, their ghosts can still push you into enemies or, heaven forbid, aggravate the shotgun-toting shopkeepers. Deathmatch mode encourages bad behavior even more. Smaller levels and more bombs make everyone a loser. Don’t get me wrong, though. It’s all demonic fun. Just make sure to plan a good Zen activity for when you’re done.

Pass & Play

“Slender”

Platform: PC, Mac (Free)

You’re alone in a park. It’s dark, all you have is a flashlight and there is a tall, faceless man in a suit right behind you. This storyline, based on the Internet myth of Slender Man, tasks you with finding eight hastily scrawled notes. Each note collected builds up the tension, adding layers to the ominous music and making the Slender Man faster. As he gets closer, video static starts to fill your screen, and if you catch a glimpse of him, a hard piano sting will make you jump out of your seat. Challenge your friends to see who can find the most notes; my record is six. Each run lasts about 15 minutes, but the terror lasts forever.

“McPixel”

Platform: PC, Mac, Linux ($10), iOS, Android ($3)

“McPixel” throws you into a scene without context. All you know is that you have 20 seconds to stop a bomb from going off. None of the situations make any sense. Click on the copier? McPixel makes a copy of his butt. Use the bone on the cow? McPixel has relations with the cow. Give a candle to Buddha? Buddha sneezes, causing the bomb to fall out the window. Every bit of it is entirely inexplicable, but the intentionally inferior graphics, almost-annoying music and overall ridiculousness will certainly keep you entertained. The creator’s promise to add free content is just a bonus. Have your friends yell out solution ideas; it’s not like they’ll be any dumber than the correct one.

Faraway Friends

“Team Fortress 2”

Platform: PC, Mac (Free)

This 5-year-old game just gets better with age. The mercenary fighting game has been free to play since last year, and the most recent free update adds a new “Mann vs. Machine” mode, allowing up to six players to work together, fending off an army of robots. It also doubles as a great way to learn the game without getting destroyed by those who have been playing for half a decade. Medics and engineers can do a lot to support their teammates while scouts and soldiers rush into battle. Play with your friends from back home, or just gather a bunch of laptops. With nine different classes to play as, hundreds of items to unlock and exactly zero dollars standing in your way, there’s no excuse not to try it.

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Published on September 9, 2012 at 11:58 pm

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