I’ve always seen FPS gamers as the most “alert” gamers out there. Normally, there would be some sort of grace time when playing RPGs or RTS games where you can take a 5 minute breather and just plan on what you need to do. Now I’m not saying that RPG gamers or RTS gamers get it easy, they both have their challenges. FPS gamers are used to playing under pressure. FPS (first person shooter) gamers gain a sense of alertness and increased dexterity because of the game mechanics.

FPS games require you to be in a first person view (as if you’re actually walking inside the game) and shoot anything that threatens your existence! Of course, if you’re new to fps games, it’s hard to take a shot at someone who’s more experienced. Not to mention, the nervousness would kick in and your cursor would probably be missing your enemy; then you’ll just end up shooting everywhere. This is absolutely normal.

During the first few times of playing an FPS game, it’s difficult to react to unexpected things. For instance, the first FPS game that I’ve ever played was counter strike. Now, for someone that was such a newbie, I thought it was a good idea to shoot and move side to side; this way the enemies would have a harder time hitting me. The first enemy that I encounter, I get knifed down. How you may ask? He was moving around quite a bit and also knew how I was shooting. Obviously, that player was very experienced.

All in all, with any game, it takes practice. FPS gamers gradually acquire the sense of “readiness” by playing often and challenging new people. Their reflexes and dexterity increases through time, resulting in outstanding game play.

I hope it helped you to a learn a few basics about FPS gaming. I would be back with more FPS gaming techniques.

4 Real Reasons To Hate Video Game Testing

You may have heard about video game beta testing jobs and wondered why you are not one of them testers yet. Perhaps I can shed light on the subject and I may or may not hit the spot.

Reason to Hate # 1: Testing video games can be a gaming hell.

Do you know anything about this job?

You would come in to the testing headquarters and be ready for a few hours of pain. Imagine having to play a new game that just came out for hours on end. And if you stopped playing just for a minute, you would get lashed with a whip. (okay I made that up, but you really do face a gaming hell when you are playing the same level of a game over and over. I guarantee that your first week you may have nightmares about that level that you pretty much memorized onto your brain. Do not be surprised if when you wake up the next morning you try to jump and obtain an imaginary gold coin Super Mario style).

Reason # 2: Video game beta testing is a pain in the butt.

I mean that literally. As if your butt has not had enough sitting at home on the couch, and in the toilet seat, as you drive your car, and now more sitting down at work? That is just preposterous! If your butt could speak English it would slap you for bad behavior. That slap would hurt too, I heard that the gluteus are some of the strongest muscles in the human body.

Reason # 3: You will have deadlines.

What is this? Constant deadlines for you if you become a game tester. Imagine constantly having to be responsible for a project that should be done by a definite amount of time. I heard that they would chop your fingers off if you did not meet a deadline. Since that story got popular people have not been missing deadlines so there is a chance this could be just a game tester myth.

Reason # 4: You may know about games that could have came out but did not.

You would know about games that nobody else would know about. Why is this bad? Because the game did not come out! Imagine if you were a computer game tester that tested the game Warcraft Adventures Lord of the Clans when it was in the testing stage. Lets say that you found some irreversible glitch in the game that screwed everything up. You would record exactly how you found this glitch and then you would report it to your superior. Next thing you know they talk in the big table and they are saying things about not releasing this warcraft game because it has an irreversible glitch or something went wrong with the programming code and when you ask if they will release the game, and they say: Nooo.

So now you know about a new game that was going to be cool until you inadvertently annihilated this great game that you loved.

That is the type of thing you can expect when you get a video game beta testing job.

Which one is better? There is quite a bit of competition between online games and gaming consoles that you play on your television set. It’s hard to say which one is better because it really all depends on the personal preference of the player. Still, it would be safe to say that online games are extremely popular toady.

Both ways to play games has something special to offer the gamer so let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages each of them have to offer.

Gaming Consoles:
The cost of some of the more modern gaming consoles are reasonably priced considering all the great features they have to offer. The HD TV can greatly enhance the graphics on some of the games. Once you pay for the console and the games you want to play, there is no ongoing fee each month that you have to pay. They’re fast and easy to set up. They can be played by gamers of all ages. There are many excellent and exciting games available for these systems. You can gather together with friends or family and have a game night to socialize.

The biggest downfall of the gaming consoles is the fact that updating the system is not normally an option. This means when a new system comes out with better graphics and features, you have to buy new games as well. Although, manufactures are working on this problem and the Xbox 360 is the perfect example. It was designed with backwards compatibility making it possible to continue playing many of the Xbox games with the new console.

Online Games:
The game options available online can’t be beat. There are literally thousands of games that you can choose from. There are many free games that you can play online. Many games can be downloaded to your PC for convenience. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games are available which makes it possible for large groups of gamers to interact together in a virtual world. These games are fun, exciting and challenging. When problems occur with online games the developers of those games can install a patch to correct the problem. Upgrades can also be made this way. Some games allow you to customize your avatar to make it more personal. You can interact with gamers from all over the world. You can always find someone to play with or compete against anytime day or night. It’s a great way to make new friends with a common interest. Online gaming offers both high quality sound and excellent graphics.

Of course, before you can play online games you do need to invest in a good computer system. Depending on the games you choose to play you will most likely need a high speed Internet connection as well. Some games require a monthly fee to participate. Another concern with online gaming is that it’s possible to become a little obsessed with the games and some people become anti-social because they spend all of their time playing these games.

When you compare online games to gaming consoles you can see that they all have good and bad issues. You have to decide which one suits your needs the best and offers the type of games that you’re the most interested in. Each person is different and what works for one, may not be suited for another. However, there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy both if you have the time for lots of gaming.

We’ve all been there, i promise you. That new game that you’ve been waiting for has finally been released. You’ve reserved your copy and picked it up straight after work, only to be playing it into the early hours of the morning and finally heading to bed when you realize you have work in 3 hours time.

This sort of behavior can be normal when you first buy a game, and may continue for a few days to a few weeks after. However it can reach a point where it is no longer enjoyable in the way that it should be. You think about it all day at work or school and find that you are sacrificing all your spare time to play this online game. Your relationships with friends and family start to weaken as you spend less and less time with them, and you don’t even realize and in some cases, don’t even care.

Excessive online gaming can easily lead to an addiction. It can have the same psychological effects as a drug, and has all the tell tale signs of an addiction such as withdrawal symptoms emotional attachment. The thing that separates online gaming from conventional gaming is that online gaming ultimately has no ending point. A conventional game can be completed by finishing levels and challenges, online games however are very repetitive, and usually have no official end point, leading the gamer to spend much time playing but making no progress and thus they continue to play.

3 simple steps towards breaking an online gaming addiction.

1) Take it one day at a time. Realize that the first few days will be the hardest, you will constantly be thinking about your game, wanting to go on it for just a little while, resist the urge! After a few days I assure it gets easier, your mind becomes clear and it becomes a distant thought, rather than a dominating presence.

2) Write yourself a contract. Seriously, get a piece of paper and write an agreement to yourself that you will not play your game for a whole week, sign it and date it and you now have an agreement with yourself. For many of us it would be too hard to go against our own word, and for those who do there is a crippling sense of failure that should motivate you to never do it again.

3) Delete the game off your hard drive, get a friend to hide the CD’s for you and you will have no means to play your game, regardless of how much you want to. Within a few days the urge to play will subside and most people will be a lot more relaxed about it.

When you are out shopping for computers, you will see that they are often put into different categories that they are built specifically for. Gaming is no different and since it is more popular than ever, there are plenty of good gaming laptops to choose from. Two of the more popular and most affordable laptops are from Alienware and Sony.

Alienware is the big gaming company out of these two and has machines up and down in price points that will do just about anything that you want. The Area-51 M15x sells for about $1,200 and has a 2.8 GHz processor and 4GB RAM already installed in the machine. This translates to about 150 MPH when you are playing your games.

If you want to spend more money, Alienware will give you a machine that will pretty much blow everything else out of the water. They are always a good option because regardless of the price point, you are probably getting the best machine available. You can probably go down a level in price and still get a better machine than what you will see from someone else at the next price point.

The closest competitor in this price range would be the Sony VAIO NW180J/S. It actually costs about $200 less than the Alienware, but the technology and performance are not even close. This is no to knock the Sony, but you get so much more bang for your buck out the Alienware laptop that it is hard to pass up.

Just because laptops for gaming are close in price, it does not necessarily mean that they are anywhere near in quality. You have to really check their components and whatever you do, don’t get too loyal to any one brand. If you are a Dell or Sony loyalist, you have no idea what you are missing out on by passing by Alienware.

There are two ways that you can play games in a casino. Either you go to a casino or can choose to play the online games offered by many casinos. It offers you the luxury to be a part of the games at your convenience. Learn more about the video poker tips to make sure you win the games while having fun at the tables.

The disadvantages of the internet in general and online gaming in particular are known to everyone. However, when it comes to development and improvement of thinking abilities, it turns out that playing online games has many benefits.

We all know that playing computer and online games is fun. Therefore, we cannot take our eyes off our PC screens even if the phone is ringing, our favorite TV show is about to begin or our dinner is burned on the stove.

All of us have already heard bad things about this amusing pastime. We all know that online games are addictive; they can cause you and your children to spend valuable time in front of the computer on the expense of work, school and family obligations. Playing video and internet games on a regular basis can isolate you from human companionships, distort your sense of reality, shorten your sight, damage your back and basically mess up your life.

Let’s put it this way: if you or someone you know is doing nothing but playing online games, it is something to worry about. However, most online gamers tend to adopt a less radical approach towards their habit. Then, when talking about milder cases of addiction, online gaming is less harmful habit than watching Dr. Phil, for example.

Actually, the habit of playing online games has many advantages that the habit watching bad TV is lacking. Recent research has shown that playing puzzle and word games decreases the risk of Alzheimer disease while watching daytime television increases the risk.

Many other researches have proved the positive effect of playing online games on the youngsters’ mind. Word, puzzle and trivia games enriches the children’s speech; classic computer games such as Tetris benefits the kids’ ability to focus, analyze shapes, think and plan ahead; board games like backgammon and chess can help in the area of thinking skill and so on.

While watching TV is completely passive, you are required to do nothing but stare, overhear and open bags of chips, playing computer games, still not an Olympic sport, require you more often to recall that grey substance inside your head.

Additionally, playing online games is less solitary act than most people think. First, many types of games, including shooting games, sports games, backgammon, billiard and chess, are two or multi player games in which players can compete against each other. Additionally, most gaming sites add several features that encourage interaction between gamers including forums, chats, multiplayer games and tournaments, etc.

The bottom line is that online gaming, if taken in a reasonable dosage, is the opposite of harmful. Thanks to many of the online games advantages and their contribution to thinking skill development, parents can allow their children to play them, and play them themselves.

Online gaming is becoming more popular and so are the options that entrepreneurs now have for launching their own gaming operations. Buying a gaming software license which is a costly affair is only one of them. Operators can choose the white labeling or even an affiliate model to launch their own sites. Here we discuss some of the options that are available for gaming operators for launching their own online casino or sports betting portal. One-time fee licensing is still one of the preferred options for large casino operators. It gives the casino operator the right to use the gaming software license for a lifetime and this includes the periodic upgrades that are released by the software vendor.

The second option that is one of the favorites of medium and small sized operators is the white labeled model. In this approach the gaming operator is privy to a pre-built hosted site which can be customized with the operators own brand and logo. All the back-end operations are controlled by a service provider. This is the quickest and most effective way to launch a gaming portal. The operator gets the benefit of the service providers gaming license, gaming software, technical support, hardware, customer service and e-commerce relationships. The reason why the White Label model is finding favor among gaming operators is the relatively low cost of starting operations and the quick got-to market. A well strategized marketing approach can help entrepreneurs to quickly break-even and start making money out of the venture. Using the White Label model gaming operators can set-up online poker portals, an online casino or a sports betting site.

The third option that entrepreneurs have before them is the affiliate model. In this model a gaming operator can use the licensee’s gaming software license, technical support, hardware, customer service and e-commerce relationships. However in this model the revenue that the operator makes is only a small percentage of the revenue that is generated from the gaming operations. The type of support that is extended to the operator also varies. While some affiliate programs only supply banners some others create an elaborate website with the brand a logo of the operator.

Some gaming entrepreneurs prefer to buy the gaming software license and lease or buy the servers and host them at a data center. Turnkey casino providers can help to set-up your own custom online casino services. Banking requirements, deposit processors and customer support are taken care of by the service provider. There are many options that an entrepreneur can choose from. While all have their own merits and demerits, the most popular model is the White Label model. Turnkey service providers also offer a list of standalone services which include gaming license, software, servers, risk management software, security staff, technical staff, office equipment and more. Favorable regulatory conditions in many countries and turnkey solutions have made it easy for gaming operators to launch their own operations.

Are you a mega video gaming fan? Do you absolutely LOVE playing games? Certainly you do! Now we’ve established you are a hardcore gamer, let’s concentrate on you are really here! First off, you must be in search of a build gaming computer approach. In which case, you are definitely interested in maxing out your gaming experience. Boy! Who isn’t?

First off, you need to consider a few really important things: from the motherboard to the graphics card, as well as the RAM, processor, cooling unit, and even the mains supply. So, that sorted, let’s get started!

If you have previously owned, or own a regular computer, you probably know the fundamentals, with regards to RAM, motherboards and processors. Nevertheless, let’s make sure you are fully aware of how important all these things really are. To make the whole build a gaming computer experience worthwhile, the aim is to get some totally Xtreme graphics, and performance, out of your computer, and into your gameplay.

The whole thing starts with a suitable motherboard. Ideally, it needs to give plenty of space for RAM, and at least a couple of slots for the graphics cards. Also, you really need to check that you’ve got a top of the line processor. Preferably, one of the multi-core processors, which can handle virtually anything you throw at them. For anyone who is running Windows Vista, you should make sure you RAM, jam, and pack in as much of it as there is room for! For instance, 4 gigabytes of DDR2 RAM will suffice, with flying colors. Even so, for anyone who wants the absolute best gaming experience; and to get the absolute max from their custom made, gaming computer building project; look for, and opt for, the DDR3 RAM, whenever you can.

Next, it’s onto the driving force behind any high end, custom made, gaming computer; the video graphics card. Get the right one, and these beauties will throw open a portal to the world of Xtreme gaming. This will ensure you get to enjoy the very best of the best games on release. You will discover there is an extensive range of high end graphics cards available. However, you’ll see more NVidia GeForce cards in a hardcore gaming computer, than anything else. If you are deadly serious about what’s vital, of all gaming computer tasks, this is not the one to skip over. So, do yourself a massive favor, and purchase the best you can.

If your motherboard can manage more than one graphics card, it’s well worth considering more. Just imagine how easy it will be for your computer to process the graphics. Even with the most demanding video games. But don’t forget, if you are going to have multiple graphics cards, you need to make sure that the power supply can keep up with demand! The graphics are power hungry monsters, that will try their utmost to suck the motor dry!

That brings us around to cooling, and there are a lot of options nowadays: from bigger, better fans, to more complicated, water cooling systems. No question, water cooling is the best way to go. Especially if you tend to over-clock your processor, which can occur when running some of the big beastie video cards. If you are able, get hardware that can be supported by a water cooling system. That way, your gaming computer is ready to rock just that little bit harder. Have no mercy.

Well that, gamers, is a principle rundown of the most important hardware. All of which is crucial to make the most of your games, and the total gaming build computer experience. Building dedicated gaming computer is all about putting together what’s necessary, for the kind of games you like. If they’re not going to be “Harvey Hardcore” games, then you don’t always need to spend more money on costly, top of the range hardware. Unless you have the urge! If you are a real graphics monster, and are serious about building a gaming computer, one that can equal your appetite, don’t skimp.

Now you know what the most important issue is when

Xbox Hub, the ultimate leader in grueling video games systems, has reached the pinnacle of superiority in terms of latest technology and graphics. xbox Hub took the gamers to an entirely new level in video games systems. Microsoft made remarkable sales by the introduction of Xbox 360. The performance, visual effects and advanced graphics of the Xbox Hub especially the Xbox 360 completely enthralled and captivated the mind of the gamer. The xbox Hub imparts advanced multimedia features, ability to play DVDs and CDs, gauges automatic updates and supports four to five controllers. All these latest features enhance and captivates the mind of the user and takes it to another level.

I would like to discuss something about, yet to be released Xbox 720 which will completely take the video games systems to the entirely next level of visual graphics superiority.

The team of xbox 360 is currently working on Xbox 720 and is assessing what kind of central processing units will be available in the market in 2011-2012. That will definitely put the Xbox 360 at a life span of seven to eight years, much ahead from the earlier four years. One of the leading newspapers reported on consideration that Intel is trying to get its high performance, new designed GPU Larrabee chipset into the next advanced xbox 720.

Intel has offered Microsoft a very great exchange in lieu for pushing AMD out of the running for Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox 720. Intel is extensively offering everything from chips to chassis; Intel is supposedly wooing the Vole right down to building its thermals and fixing the Larrabee chipset out to Microsoft to delegate as it pleases. This gives Vole some fairly robust bargaining authority, and leaves both AMD and Nvidia trembling in their boots.

In general, Larrabee version which will be installed in Xbox 720 will hardly take off, but with the accurate relieve deal, Larrabee chipset which will be present in the market by 2011-2012 could be a large player for Xbox 720. I firmly believe that Microsoft will not discharge the high power-driven Xbox 720 to substitute the Xbox 360. On the opposite side, I believe that the future of the Xbox is based in Project Natal, action detecting equipment to manage a gaming system with no controller required.

Xbox 720 might be able to showcase Pixar like graphics but that might be too costly for the developers, causing the most companies to shy away from going that far with graphical proficiency. Though most gamers will demand more from their consoles, it might not be financially viable. Good Luck.