Thanks to a heatwave zapping parts of the United States, some of this weekend's Fourth of July celebrations may have fewer fireworks due to issues like burn bans. That's as good an opportunity as any to enjoy the kind of virtual pyrotechnics that video games can afford—all in air-conditioned rooms with no annoying mosquitos or in-laws buzzing around, at that. As such, we're taking this mid-year opportunity to pick out our favorite video games of 2015's first half, but in Ars tradition, our list comes with an asterisk.