By Alex Chen | January 01, 0001
They are, beyond control schemes and visuals, the single best reason to play games on a PC. Mods can, at their laziest, tweak a game so its settings or features behave more to your liking. At their most ambitious, they can transform your entire experience, leaving you with something that feels like an all-new game.
This year was a big one for PC mods, with two—DayZ and Black Mesa—rivalling commercial products for public awareness and, perhaps more importantly, quality. But they weren’t the only great mods 
released this year, so in the gallery above I’ll be highlighting all of the best mods I got my hands on in the past twelve months.cnx.cmd.push(function(){cnx({"playerId":"e3616d04-4972-4839-a63a-c6975e2e9731","settings":{"advertising":{"macros":{"AD_UNIT":"/23178111854/od.kotaku.com/article","CHILD_UNIT":"article","POST_ID":"5967378","POST_TYPE":"post","CHANNEL":"uncategorized","SECTION":"","SUBSECTION":"","CATEGORIES":"uncategorized","TAGS":"","NOP":"0"},"timeBeforeFirstAd":0}}}).render("cnx-player-main")}); A note on criteria: since we didn’t run this category last year, and since the development of mods can be a nebulous thing, I’m being lenient, including not just mods that were definitively released in 2012, but which could also have become prominent or released major milestone upgrades.
Game of Thrones Paradox’ excellent Crusader Kings II becomes, with an exhaustively Y1 apk extensive range of modifications—from the map to the characters to the very political structure of the game—just about the perfect Game of Thrones video game
https://kotaku.com/the-perfect-game-of-thrones-game-is-a-pc-mod-5913709 DayZ It’s easy to forget this is a mod at all, so prominent has discussion of zombie survival sim DayZ been this 
year, and so relatively obscure is the game it’s based on, BI’s fantastic ArmA II. It’s become so successful, in fact, that a proper standalone version of the game is due soon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lul60ixy_40 Black Mesa Another project where it’s easy to forget it’s a mod, so extensive are the changes to the source game. Black Mesa was so good, in fact, that we reviewed it as though it was a proper game, probably the highest compliment you can pay a mod.
https://kotaku.com/black-mesa-the-kotaku-review-5944812 Diaspora Battlestar Galactica has been woefully under-sold by its accompanying video games, so it was great to see fans step in where professional studios have failed. Diaspora is a fantastic achievement, bringing the physics and atmosphere of the last decade’s most iconic space combat to your desktop PC, free of charge. https://kotaku.com/finally-a-battlestar-galactica-game-worthy-of-the-name-5940526 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBUH6lcazaw Election Total War Not the most extensive mod for a Total War game, or even the best-made, but this scored big points for how topical it was. And, occasionally, hilarious. Turning legions of Romneys and Obamas into bloodthirsty warriors was one of the year’s best commentaries on the partisan brutality of contemporary American politics
https://kotaku.com/hundreds-of-obamas-and-romneys-go-to-war-in-this-ridicu-5958541 Deus Ex: New Vision Though y1 game it was partially released last year, the final product was only out this year. And what a product it was. The original Deus Ex is a masterpiece, but in 2012 is really starting to show its age, something this “HD makeover” helps alleviate https://kotaku.com/the-original-deus-exs-visual-overhaul-is-ready-for-acti-5964364 Super Skyrim Brothers Turns Skyrim into the world’s biggest, and weirdest, Mario game. That’s about all that needs to be said.
https://kotaku.com/that-amazing-super-skyrim-bros-mod-is-now-available-5949323 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3wgxPp7NPI Just Cause 2 Multiplayer Still a work in progress, JC2’s multiplayer mod is nevertheless one of the most exciting projects in all of gaming. I mean, they’re getting well over 1000 people playing on a single map. That’s insane. https://kotaku.com/just-cause-2-mod-is-redefining-the-term-massively-mult-5934077 Borderlands 2 Split-Screen Y1 com Game 
Fans do what Gearbox really should have: include a local split-screen option for Borderlands 2, meaning two buddies can get their shoot on in the same room. Makes high fives a lot easier.
https://kotaku.com/how-to-split-screen-borderlands-2-on-a-single-pc-5948351 Dark Souls: DS Fix Dark Souls on PC was one of the worst ports of all time. Luckily, Durante’s mod made things look a lot better https://kotaku.com/dark-souls-on-pc-looks-like-complete-s-t-but-theres-a-5937468
3 Reader Comments
LuckyPlayer1915
I appreciate the themed slot games, especially those based on movies and TV shows. They make the gaming experience more engaging and immersive. The combination of storyline, visuals, and bonus features makes each game feel unique. I love the overall aesthetic of the platform. The animations, visual effects, and sound design make the gaming experience more dynamic and immersive. It's one of the reasons I keep coming back.
CasinoKing7746
I appreciate the themed slot games, especially those based on movies and TV shows. They make the gaming experience more engaging and immersive. The combination of storyline, visuals, and bonus features makes each game feel unique. The promotions and bonuses offered are very generous. I especially love the daily free spins and deposit bonuses. They make playing even more enjoyable and increase my chances of winning big. The platform keeps me engaged for hours every day.
SlotWizard4568
The payout process is generally smooth and reliable, though occasionally it takes longer than expected. Overall, I feel confident that my winnings are safe and will be credited properly. The promotions and bonuses offered are very generous. I especially love the daily free spins and deposit bonuses. They make playing even more enjoyable and increase my chances of winning big. The platform keeps me engaged for hours every day. The progressive jackpots are thrilling, and it's exciting to watch the jackpot amounts grow as more players spin the reels. I hope they add even more jackpot slots because it adds a lot of excitement to the gameplay.