PC Games - A Great Choice

PC Games - A Great Choice
PC games are created by one or more game developers, often in conjunction with other specialists (such as game artists) and either published independently or through a third party publisher.These games are still viable and will become more so as the PS3 and Xbox 360 show their age. PC games are created by one or more game developers, often in conjunction with other specialists (such as game artists) and either published independently or through a third party publisher.These games are usually built around a central piece of software, known as a game engine,that simplifies the development process and enables developers to easily port their projects between platforms. PC games are almost always cheaper than console games and are an exciting way of remaining entertained on personal computers.Because they are very entertaining and the user does not even realize while playing the games when time has passed by. PC games are still viable and will become more so as the PS3 and Xbox 360 show their age.

Games (software in general) can take years to develop. Games for Windows is a program developed by Microsoft to help make PC gaming easier for consumers.Usually games carry interesting activities for entertainment and amusement and also allow and encourage kids to process information and to make sense of their own world.

Game development, as with console games, is generally undertaken by one or more game developers using either standardized or proprietary tools.

Computer games have evolved from the simple graphics and gameplay of early titles like Spacewar.These types of games and game addiction are often the subject of criticism, focusing largely on the influence of objectionable content and prolonged gameplay on minors.These games are typically sold on standard storage media, such as compact discs, DVD, and floppy disks and also rely on third-party software such as an operating system (OS), device drivers, libraries and more to run. Computer monitors can be found with considerably higher resolutions than HDTVs, and the latest multi-core processors and dual GPU solutions make it possible to build a remarkably powerful game system. Computers are also getting a little more user friendly, but eventually every PC gamer will encounter some technical complication that interferes with their gaming, be it a device driver that needs updating or components that are simply incompatible.

Online multiplayer games have achieved popularity largely as a result of increasing broadband adoption among consumers. Online games require a virtual environment, generally called a "game server and sometimes online activation makes traveling gaming impossible, which, actually, is when some people do the majority of their computer gaming anyway. Online play options for consoles are getting better all the time, but proprietary networks and fees for services like Xbox Live make them a bit less attractive.Microsoft works closely with game developers to make it easier for them to write good games for Windows machines.

PC games are often not well-suited for playing on the couch, especially given that the mouse and keyboard are the preferred game controllers. Sometimes these games are tricky, and the difficulty of getting a game to work is another reason why there are not more hardcore PC gamers. Computer games are much more popular in other countries besides the U.S., and that is where they make most of their money. These games are widely available in all genres from action to educational and from early childhood to adult games.

The Changing Shape of PC Gaming

The Changing Shape of PC Gaming
In this progressive world, the world is moving ahead with innovative entertainment modes and methods are constantly increasing in the market. You can find newer ways to get extreme joy and pleasure just to improve your logics and basic fundamentals. Over the internet, you can find a lot of gaming sensations making their mark among gaming freaks.

In last few decades, there are many kinds of changes and perceptions took their birth into the gaming arena. Earlier, people used to play games based on simple fundamentals and mathematical logics while these days there are lots of new stuffs are flaunting the virtual market. You can move ahead from the simple logical games to more complex games such as, Polly Pride: Pet Detective, Escape the Museum, Can You See What I See Game and others interesting games.

In today’s gaming world, you can get many different kinds of gaming tricks and strategy so that all can enjoy to the fullest level. While those early days of gaming were exciting enough for a generation to whom all this technology was new, today’s gamers are merely bemused by what used to pass for a good time.

To pass the value of true different games, you can get the varying two-dimensional foes, just to add on your pleasure to the next level. It is interesting to find out those fun increases with the games. You can find enormous variety of games that gives a better picture quality, graphics and storyline.

Introduction of modern games into the virtual market has just transformed the overall structure of the gaming scenario and convert the real pleasure. Different types of gaming console offers a gaming experience that is second to none. Developments in the world of technology allow functional lines to be easily crossed. The variety of functions and features provides you the ultimate happiness.

Computer Games and Children

Computer Games and Children
Are we game enough to accept the positive and negative aspects of gaming? Read on to find out.Computer gaming has become part and parcel of children's lives. Played at home or at a friend's place or in cyber cafes, gaming has grown in popularity as a form of entertainment. There have been numerous debates about the ill-effects and positives of computer gaming. Parents and other concerned parties have often cried foul with regard to the games being churned out today, claiming that there is too much violence and sex in games. With the advent of next-generation consoles such as Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 into your very living room, it is time to analyse how games benefit or are detrimental to your child's growth.

Computer gaming is a very broad term. Within this, there are a number of sub-categories such as first-person shooters, simulation, strategy, adventure, racing, and edutainment games. Each of these games uses different dynamics for game play and has different effects on the player.

First Person Shooters

First Person Shooters (FPS) is one of the most controversial of the game categories when looking at the pluses of gaming. This is because most of these games depict a lot of violence. The first-person perspective makes the game most engrossing and realistic.

An FPS is built from the perspective of the player. The person is literally interacting one-on-one with elements in the game universe just as he would in real life. All he sees of his on-screen character are his hands and feet. The surrounding scene is similar to what he might have in real life. This perspective makes the game more believable. This real feel may also make the graphic violence more shocking.

Studies show that these games improve eye and hand co-ordination. Players of these games become more aware of their surroundings as they start to scan their environment in a similar manner as do with their game environment. Some FPS games encourage team work and team-building skills. Games such as Team Fortress require a group effort with different players assuming various roles such as leader, medic, and engineer to help the team in succeeding with its mission. They also have the standing rule that innocent lives are not to be taken. Yet for most parents, this is not enough to let their young ones start toting guns even if only on-screen.

Third Person Games

Third Person (TP) games unlike FPS adopt an over-the-shoulder perspective. This gives the player a wider range of view and also helps to disassociate the player slightly from the game universe. This approach is useful when trying to develop a game character as interactions between the game character and other non-playing characters play out like a movie. Game characters interact with each other similar to how actors act out a script in a movie, while non-playing characters are ones who the player cannot control. What we see in game is thus akin to an interactive movie.

TP games come in many varieties. The most common of these are the adventure and role-playing genres. These games are considered to have educational value as they involve puzzle-solving and interactions (anything from gossiping with other non-playing characters to conducting business) within a game universe. Games like the Tomb Raider series are known for their complex three-dimensional puzzles which can be a challenge for even experienced gamers.

Role-playing games are more sequential and alternate turn based. They involve a lot of character development and interaction with non-playing characters. The storyline is crucial to such games, an example of which is the Star Wars game from Lucas Arts, Knights of the Old Republic. This game has an enticing story based in the Star Wars universe, where the player's actions determine the story and the varied outcomes of the game and whether the player ends as a hero or villain!

Strategy Games

Strategy Games usually adopt a bird's eye view or a God's eye view of a situation—a player can observe multiple events taking place within the game universe. Often a player will have the ability to rotate his perspective 360 degrees and even zoom in for a closer look.

Games like Rail Road Tycoon develop financial understanding and management decisions, with players having to manage resources and raise capital. Other games like the Sims revolve around social relationships and simulate different real-life scenarios from meeting people, dealing with pesky neighbours, to falling in love or coming to terms with theft and robbery. These games help children understand the consequences of different behaviours. Games like The Movies help to unleash a person's creativity and business skills by letting players shoot their own movie. Players are given access to all resources that is necessary to shoot a movie in real life. From actors to sets to distributors, etc., they are all at the fingertips of the player, to be commanded to make a new blockbuster.

Casual Games

Casual games are games that are usually 2D games that are played for mindless fun. Most causal games are available for free online.

Casual games have absolutely no form of violence. They strengthen positive gaming. Games such as Wild Wild Words help build one's vocabulary, while other games such as 'Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?' and 'Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?' teach a person about geography and history. Casual Games are considered by many to be casual, stress relievers. These games are often played for a short duration like about 15 to 20 minutes.

Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming

Massively Multiplayer Online Games may either adopt a third-person or first-person perspective. These games are solely played online against other human opponents. These games may involve being a Knight and having online quests or just living a peaceful yet prospective business life as a merchant.

There is a trend today towards Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming. These games are entirely based on online or Internet play. They seek to bring gamers together in an online universe and are believed to be a stepping stone in developing social skills and team-building skills. Since players are interacting with other real players, this is a real reflection of actual human temperament and is thus a good building block to understand social dynamics.

The Flip Side

The flip side to gaming is the ill effects involved. Everything needs to be indulged in moderation and computer games are no exception. Computer games often encourage children to enjoy a more individualised form of indoor entertainment, thus making them give up healthy outdoor entertainment. This has both physical and social ramifications. Such children typically exercise less, and they usually interact with others in a virtual world, rather than in real life.

Games are accused of instigating violence. Titles such as Rock Star Games, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, indulge players in a virtual life of crime, violence, and sex, which parents complain, may have real-life reflections. Others feel that FPS tends to promote trigger-happy teens.

There does seem to be a more responsible approach by companies to gaming today. Games are not only rated for their content, but we now have software that can regulate access to, who gets to play certain games, and for how long. Even Windows Vista, the latest version of the Windows operating system from the stable of Microsoft, has integrated such a system into its game management software. The operating system has a game filter which allows parents to specifically restrict games to be played by certain users only. So, though the teen in the house can play FEAR on the computer, the ten-year-old, who plays NFS Carbon on the same computer, will not be able to start FEAR.

At the end of the day, computer games have become just another form of entertainment. They target a wide spectrum of audience and have ratings for each. If a game is played by a target audience that it is not meant for, it is akin to a kid watching an adult-rated movie. Thus responsible gaming, in moderate amounts, is what is required today.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Results in Sales, Controversy

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Results in Sales, Controversy

Infinity Ward, the game development company that brought the highly-popular "Call of Duty" games to the market, has just released the latest iteration of the game, resulting in great sales and great controversy.

"Call of Duty" has consistently been among the most popular video games made, with "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" winning a number of awards upon its release in 2007 and selling over 14 million copies around the globe. The sequel to that game, much anticipated in the gaming world, came out yesterday. "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" seemingly is seeking to push the limits of what is considered acceptable in a video game with the release. Among the controversial elements is the ability by players to engage in terrorist attacks on civilians and a destroyed version depiction of Washington, DC.

The game is available on Xbox 360, PS3 and for PCs, rated "M" for ages 17 and up, and costs $60. Says creative director Jason West, "The coolest thing is you don’t exactly know who is going to win. It’s actually scary. The setting allows it to be more real and, I hope, resonate with people more than the rah-rah good vs. evil stuff of the past." Film composer Hans Zimmer was called in to offer their opinion. According to Zimmer, the game "takes you to lots of exotic locales and has an emotional darkness to it, where sometimes you go, 'I just can't believe they are going to do this now,' and then they do it. It's full of those sort of moments where it just takes things further than anyone would expect. I think it is less a geographic journey than an emotional one.

"Adam Sessler, co-host of the TV series "X-Play," expects that the terrorist scenes will cause quite a bit of controversy. Says Sessler, "I’m not going to go so far as to say it is right or wrong. I feel that is really in the eyes of the beholder. What I do feel is defensible is it is within Infinity Ward’s right to be creative and move into kind of a taboo area for video games."

Top 5 Games

Top 5 Best Selling PC Games
Computer games have changed a lot. The gaming market has seen huge progresses in the past ten years or so. However, there are still some cynics who give any emotion between rolling their eyes up in defeat to screwing their eyes up in distaste when their young ‘un pops in the latest sequel to Max Payne III (Please send a shoutout about whether Max Payne III is releasing or not, the internet is full of rumors that it is and then it is not).So, this article is basically for the cynics who still think that computer gaming is kid’s stuff. The next time some kid wants to go into the computer gaming industry and their parents want to talk to them, just take this website out of your bookmarks and then let the figures talk for themselves.

So, here’s a list of the top five best selling PC games ever. These games are top this list, just not because they have been benchmarks in computer gaming, basically, the games which changed the attitude with which people used to look at computer games.

# 5: Myst: Myst may have been the greatest point and click adventure game ever to hit our screens. Myst also was one of the few games at the time to be known for an almost lack of violence. However, the storyline of the game was intricately detailed. The gameplay also added to the enjoyment factor of the game, with it being so simple that the player could simply forget himself in the world of Myst. Note that the game was also one of the few ones that would challenge the patience levels of the player. While the storyline was intricate and complex, the points at which the story moved ahead were far between. Myst and its sequels sold six million copies.

# 4: Half Life: The big daddy of them all, the one game that has spawned not only sequels, but also an entire new supporting franchise. Of course the game was difficult, irritating and frustrating. But the out-of-the-world (literally) storyline and racy action made up for all this for the average armchair warrior. Half Life was also one of those rare games that actually took their NPCs (non playable characters) and made special games with them as the central character. After the success of Half Life, Sierra Studios released Half Life: Blue Shift and Half Life: Blue Shift had an everyday security guard as the main protagonist, while Opposing Force had a cookie cutter soldier as the person whose life goes berserk. The original Half Life has sold eight million copies till date.

# 3: World Of Warcraft: Though many would like to remember World of Warcraft as the surreal 3D graphical magic that we all know about, this was not the way it the original Warcraft was. The original Warcraft was definitely addictive and even humorous for some people, but the graphics were nothing like they are today. It was a typical arcade game where you’d fall in love with an eight or sixteen pixel character. However, Blizzard saw the potential of the game and came with a fully new version of the game, World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft, or WoW, as it is famously known, has more than nine million subscribers today.

#2: Starcraft: Starcraft was another game that became famous almost overnight. With the strategy and action elements richly portrayed, this was one game that everyone wanted to get their hands on. It has sold 9.5 millions copies worldwide, and still remains an MMORPG favorite, along with World of Warcraft.

So, with this list full of action, adventure and new worlds, you are forgiven if you think that the top game of all time is full of breaking bones, reeking blood, and gore at its best – or worst – its all a matter of perspective. Anyway, here is the actual top game of all times, and my personal favorite, a game that I blew a lot of money on, cursed my dialup because I could not download the in-game items, spent as many human-hours on the game as the programmers of the game would have (more, I am sure), and yes, invested on a graphics card and RAM for the betterment of the world, oh no, it was for the betterment of the game.

#1: The Sims: Not only is the ‘the’ a part of the title, I would put a ‘the’ to the title just like that. This game is worth every laurel put unto it, and more. The game had gamers create their own characters, and basically run their lives. So, the gamer would have to look after their avatar’s needs – like hunger, sleep, bladder, and entertainment. These were the basic needs, the other needs were job, work atmosphere living standards.

The Sims was a thought provoking and learning experience. For one, it made youngsters realize, however subtly, how important an education, career and money is in real life. Surely, this lesson beat all those boring lectures given by college professors. You don’t have education, you don’t get a job, you don’t get a job, and you don’t have money. You don’t have money, you don’t pay your bills and you starve. How simple can you make that lesson?

The game also delved into human relationships, love and romance and much more. However, some critics have maintained that the Sims promoted polygamy, because the characters could marry two different characters at a time.

The Sims had a number of add-ons, which did make the game a bit complicated, with even the functions and controls becoming cumbersome as the add-ons increased.

However, Maxis learnt its lesson quite quickly, and revamped the entire Sims, with the Sims 2, which brought back the franchise to its lost glory, which it had not lost anyway.

The Sims has sold sixteen million copies, while the Sims 2 has sold thirteen million copies worldwide.