The holidays are a time of joy. A time to reflect with loved ones and enjoy a day off. Even though the 4^th of July is typically celebrated with
burgers, brats, and beer (not to mention a healthy dose of fireworks), that doesn’t mean you can’t get in some epic gaming. In fact, here are five games
that are just begging to be played on Independence Day, and I’m here to tell you why.

#5 - Marvel Heroes

I can hear the cries of, “WHAT?!” now. Even though Marvel Heroes hasn’t been a darling of the media, this is a perfect game to play while celebrating the 4 ^th of July. What’s more American than donning a brightly colored spandex suit and rushing out into the town to beat the holy hell out of the bad
guys? From the moment we decided to dump a bunch of tea off the docks and into an east coast harbor, our citizens have stood up for what’s right. That
means that when the call to grab your mask, slip on a cape, and go bust some supervillain heads comes, you’d better heed it!

On a less preachy and “‘MURICA!” level, Marvel Heroes really is a good game to kick back and play this 4^th of July. With everything going on
throughout the day, you’re not going to have a lot of time. This is a great way to hop in for 10-15 minutes and destroy everything and everyone you see in
your path. It’s a great stress reliever and also a great game to stick the kids on to keep them from getting underfoot.

#4 - Guild Wars 2

What does Guild Wars 2 have to do with anything related to the 4^th of July you ask? Can you say, “Because Sky Pirates, Bitches!”? Seriously –
Sky pirates are at the heart of a devious plot in Lion’s Arch and it’s up to you to stop them. You owe it yourself -- NAY, YOUR VERY COUNTRY! --to rid the
land of these dastardly destructors of justice.

Okay, that may have been a little over the top. In reality, this is another game where it’s very easy to hop in for a short period of time and get some
killing or questing done. With the astounding amount of things there are to do in GW2 (crafting, jumping puzzles, hunting, exploring, dungeon crawling,
questing), you’ll always find time to accomplish at least one task on your personal list. When you’re done, you can salute the flag and send me a thank you
note.

#3 - PlanetSide 2

There’s nothing more American than blowing things up on the 4^th of July – especially when those things are your political enemies. Taking that
train of thought to a whole new level, Planetside 2 gives you the means and method to do just that. Combat is fast-paced and brutal. Unlike the British
Army of centuries past, you won’t find anyone wearing bright red outfits while walking side-by-side down the middle of a street. (Okay, you might, but if
so, you’d damned well better take a screenshot and send it to me.)

I don’t know about you, but holidays are never a relaxing time for me. As such, it’s nice to have a good stress reliever handy and Planetside 2 fills the
bill quite nicely. Free to download, free to play, and free to kick your enemy’s pixelated ass, it’s a good source of some quick relaxation. It may not be
quite the same as slipping away to the garage to smoke a cigarette, but it won’t stink up your clothes and breath, thus allowing you to avoid lying to your
friends and family about how you’ve quit smoking. Now quit jonesing for that sweet nicotine treat and go shoot some newbs in Planetside 2!

#2 - EVE Online

There’s no other game on the market that has more continual battles on massive scales than EVE Online. Combine this with the fact that wars are regularly
fought and lost, lasting for weeks on end, resulting in territorial control, and you’ve got a recipe for explosive goodness. Invading lands, going to war over resources and territories? It doesn’t get much more American than that. So what if it’s in space? And with massive ships
of incredible power? That just means the battles get to be that much more explosive. The more explosions we have on the 4^th of July the better,
too. Am I right?

Of course I am! Now quit your groveling. Get your ass out there, cook those brats and then get your ass back in here to make your fleet run on Alpha Gamma
VI and beat those bastards back from your sector of space. While the combat is pretty and intense, it’s really the ability to set skills to train while
you’re offline (and you know… doing this thing called spending time with your family) that really matters, making this an excellent choice for your 4^th of July gaming needs.

#1 - Star Wars: The Old Republic

Star Wars: The Old Republic is like a textbook, verbatim reading of the preamble to how our nation was formed. After battling for millennia, the Sith were
finally reduced to two (thanks for that, Darth Bane!), the Republic was in shambles, and the time for change had come. A bunch of rebels decided they
weren’t going to be ruled by the Empire any more. They took up arms, hopped in their space fighters, and laid those Sith bastards to waste. All in the name
of freedom, glory, and the Force!

Okay, maybe that’s not exactly how our own history went, but it’s pretty damned close. Whether you choose to join the Empire or the Republic, SWTOR has
some incredible gaming to keep you entertained on the 4^th of July this year. Each class has its own engrossing storyline that will immediately
suck you into the lore and realm of Star Wars. No other game has lightsaber combat even remotely as satisfying as that of SWTOR. In fact, you might even
say it’s impressive… most impressive… but you are not a Jedi yet. So get in there and fix that problem!