Word games such as online scrabble, bookworm and Bejeweled give more than simple attractive graphics and animations. They help sharpen the minds and vocabulary of people who play them, and this alone helps them discover rare words and refreshes their current roster of terminologies that have been stored in their heads.

The usual method is to provide a number of letters to which a person must come up with the longest word they know to which scores are based. The longer it is, the better the score that they would get. All of these are done in a specified time limit, needing to compose a certain number of words to advance to the next round.

Most gamers would prefer the action packed or mystery solving games, but simple educational and appealing games for the mind have their share of followers as well. Besides, games are not only meant to provide entertainment but also another side of which to help people in improving skills and lateral thinking. Such has been the off shoot of word games that people are becoming addicted to as today.

Tags: bookworm, scrabble, word-games

For game consoles, the need for a gamer to be familiar with the controller buttons which corresponds to a particular command in the chosen games such as Tekken and Mortal Kombat is a need to enjoy the game and interface much easier. Such controller buttons once combined properly will produce special moves and secret effects that make the gaming experience for games a whole lot worth it.

Truth of the matter is that most games, either fighting or role playing games offer more than just graphical presentation to impress the gamers. For older people the essence of game play and hidden secrets in games is something that they would initially want to crack. A good source to find out such hidden codes and combinations would be the Internet. A lot of sites like Gamespy offers such codes and walkthroughs for gamers to practice them once they get the chance to try it out for themselves in their PlayStation, Xbox and Wii game consoles.

Tags: PlayStation, ps, PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox

The trend for most Internet savvy individuals today is that of becoming members of certain gaming sites that offer online games as a means of recreation and experience. There have been a number of games known such as Runescape, World of Warcraft and Tantra. These online games are slowly becoming the next boom as far as Internet related activities are concerned, and to date many are becoming hooked towards them.

A person may be asking, why pay for an online game membership, when he can buy himself a personal game where he can independently play the game on is personal computer? The difference is that an online game is similar to a virtual world, and you can also engage in multi-player adventures and activities. A player is not limited to only fighting but can specialize in certain professions that are key parts in making the game entirely successful.

But the question remains, would people pay good money to be affiliated with such game hosting sites? While some would charge minimum, there is also the matter of considering other game servers that are free over the web. The answer lies on how interested a person would be in being an online player for such game sites.

Tags: mmporg, online-games, roleplaying, RPG, runescape, tantra, Warcraft, wow-gold

Most online games have game emulators and scripts of varied nature that allow people who have been addicted to such online games to try their hands at playing god. While some are purely after studying the mechanics of the game, and making it a whole lot easier by being the one who knows the ins and outs of the fabricated personal world.

Games such as Ultima Online and Ragnarok have respective game emulators available for download. For some people, playing alone rather than with other hardcore gamers will satisfy their usual feeling of triumph. However, the excitement and the challenge will apparently be gone.

Additionally, bugs and scripting problems will occur. The need to study the programming methodology from them will surely be something that allows players to appreciate why such online games are rarely offered by ambitious administrators who will manage a group of demanding individuals wanting a crack at administering and programming the course of the game.

[tags]ultima online, ragnarok, gaming, online games, emulators[/tags]

Tags: emulators, gaming, online-games, ragnarok, ultima-online

Online games have been numerous and originating from all parts of the world, particularly in the Asian countries of Korea, Taiwan and Europe. Practically anyone can log on to such gaming servers, either through downloading the game client or through purchased compact discs that contain the relevant files to be able to play the game. Among the known games include Ultima Online, Runescape, World of Warcraft Gold, and Freestyle Basketball.

There are also the usual games developed by the Yahoo group, like Bookworm, Lemonade Tycoon, Family Feud or Chess. These games are more of an individual type, although features to have a two player game are available for selected games such as Chess.

Overall, it will be all whittled down to which is important, game play or graphics. For actual role playing games, it is a toss up. For hardcore gamers, the game methodology is the more important thing over the graphics since they have been exposed to various games already. Graphics such as 3D capability is also preferred although some may have pathetic game objectives. It is truly hard to satisfy both genres but overall, their presence over the web adds another new dimension on going online, gaming at a level where they can enjoy and converse with other people from any walk of life today.

Tags: 3d-graphics, online-games, roleplaying

There are a lot of things an addicted gamer would prefer for his game console. Regardless if this is a PlayStation, Nintendo, Gamebox or personal computer games, add-ons in the form of steering wheel controllers, dance pads and higher capacity memory cards will always be available for expansion.

Some people would be content by merely having the basic gaming unit and satisfying themselves with the available options a game would have. But sooner or later, depending on the game genre that they are looking at, upgrades and improvements to their current setup will surely ensue.

There is no question that a gaming experience would increase the ante of requirements to play the game at a higher level. Such an occurrence will only be normal because this is what game developers aim to achieve. Higher requirements in the form of required controllers and hardware requirements will only be normal. The advanced a game becomes, the higher the need for advanced requirements as well.

Tags: Nintendo, PC-games, PlayStation, Xbox

I think that everyone knows this in the back of their minds, although confirmation from those who actually crunch the numbers is always appreciated. According to EA, this simulation game that some people look down on (yep, I can name a few friends who would never lift a finger to buy this game) has sold more copies last year than big games such as Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and World of Warcraft. Can you believe that? I sure can!

Will Wright, the genius behind The Sims franchise, must be ecstatic right now; and he should very well be! With all the copies that his games (from the very first Sims to the latest), he should be all set for the rest of his life. Not only that, his name will forever be remembered by the countless gamers he has made happy!

So just how many copies were sold in 2009? You might not believe this, but The Sims 3 sold 1.4 million copies in its first week alone. By the end of June 2009, this figure had risen to 3.7 million. Unfortunately, EA has not released the exact figures for the whole year. That makes me wonder, but let’s just give them the benefit of a doubt, shall we? After all, this is not the first time that a Sims game has been proclaimed the best-selling PC game for the year. In fact, this is the sixth time in 10 years that this has happened.

If you haven’t tried The Sims 3 yet, I suggest you go buy one now.

Tags: best-selling games, EA, PC-games, The Sims 3, Will Wright

What’s great when you have preschool-aged kids is that you can experiment with kid-friendly games and get away with it. Our latest addiction to date is World of Goo, which is a physics-based game that is somewhat a cross between Worms and The Incredible Machine–games I loved to play when I was younger (and when computers were much, much slower).

The main objective of the game is to get a requisite number of goo balls to the pipe representing the exit. In order to do so, the player must use their various abilities to build bridges, towers and other structures to overcome gravity and various terrain difficulties such as chasms, hills, spikes or cliffs. Extra Goos recovered in the pipe are pumped through to the World of Goo Corporation, a sandbox area where the objective is to compete with other players worldwide by building the tallest tower possible.[9] Players can also try to achieve the “Obsessive Completion Distinction (OCD) Flag” for each level by completing the level under more stringent criteria,[10] such as collecting a larger number of Goo balls, finishing under a set amount of time or using as few moves as possible.

For small kids, the enjoyment here is seeing all those goo-balls move around in their, well, gooey glory. For us adults, the novelty here is how physics can be so fun. That’s something you don’t see everyday, not unless you’re a physicist perhaps.

The game even has an online aspect to it, where you can submit your scores and pit yourself against other World of Goo players around the world.

World of Goo is originally a Wii release, but it is also available for Windows and Mac. You can download a demo version and get yourself some good ol’ physics fun. Just be sure to wash all that goo off your hands after playing! This game sure results in sweaty palms from all the fun.

Tags: building, goo, physics

I have been hearing and reading about Spore for many weeks now but for some reason, I didn’t really get attracted to it. However, I did not really pay attention to the game – I didn’t even really bother to find out all about the idea behind the game play. I am starting to think that I might have been wrong in doing that. The game has only been recently released and it seems to be gaining a strong following. So I have decided to go against my inexplicable apathy towards the game and this is what I found out.

Wikipedia writes this about the game:

Spore is a multi-genre “massively single-player online game” developed by Maxis and designed by Will Wright. It allows a player to control the evolution of a species from its beginnings as a unicellular organism, through development as an intelligent and social creature, to interstellar exploration as a spacefaring culture. It has drawn wide attention for its massive scope, and its use of open-ended gameplay and procedural generation.

I was really NOT paying attention – I did not have the slightest clue that it Will Wright is behind Spore. If I had known that, I would have immediately taken a look. Will Wright is a legend on his own and I have always looked up to him and loved his games.

So how is Spore doing? Only a month into its release, it has already sold a million copies. Not bad, eh? Now I am a bit scared to get the game…scared because I might get caught up in it just like I got caught up in Will Wright’s other games.

Ever dream of being in the marines and reaching the stage of being part of the elite Special Forces that undergo special training in the military? Well, thanks to Tom Clancy, aspiring special forces units players can have the chance with this new installment where the called upon special forces known as “Ghosts” have to face the rising rebellion threat on the borders of Mexico to stave off the probable crisis that may extend towards the United States.

Such a scenario offers a realistic modern day life happening, with due reference towards the ongoing war in Iraq. Offered through game engines as the PC, PSP, PS3 and Xbox 360, people can make their own destiny and fight off the rebellion forces and make sure that they stay within their territorial bounds.

Ghost Recon offers high-end technological machinery to serve as the available weapons to fight off the rebellion forces. With the setting of the year in 2014, it will not be surprising why such new developed weapons are not possible once the real world reaches this date.

[tags]ghost recon, tom clancy, xbox, ps2, ps3, psp[/tags]

Tags: ghost-recon, PS2, PS3, PSP, tom-clancy, Xbox