by norm stovall norm@904skate.com
Video games can encourage all kinds of social activity, even if they are mostly associated anti-social crowd. Lately, it seems, game developers have been doing their best to move away from the hardcore-gamers-only market, expanding the reach of video games and making them accessible to everyone, from your 4-year-old niece to your 80 year-old grandmas. Is it a good idea? Sure it is! I mean, games like The Legend of Zelda have taught us that games can be a great experience for the individual, but there are countless multiplayer games available now that are great for creating memorable entertainment and bonding experiences. Whether you are swinging your Wii remote with your 4 best friends, or your are raiding dark caves as a group over the Internet in World of WarCraft online, playing games with others is a great way to build social skills. (Especially if you don’t have any to begin with.)
The Nintendo Wii may be the saving grace for the video game community. Why? Because it is FUN! Even my grandmother loves Wii Sports. Some people may be initially put off by the family friendly selection of games and the seemingly gimmicky controllers, but when you get past that, the Nintendo Wii is a breath of fresh air. Games like Wii Sports involve physically swinging and maneuvering the controller to interact with the game. 4-player tennis matches have never been more fun, and playing Wii Sports will keep you on your feet and as active as ever. If are lucky enough to get your hands on a Wii console, go ahead and invite all your friends and family members over to play. Other great multiplayer titles include Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, Rayman: Raving Rabbids, and Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam. ,
There are many aspects to online gaming, and many types of sub-cultures surrounding it. You have your geeky socialites playing Second Life (Mac OSX, Windows XP), you have your online RPG players in World of WarCraft, (Mac OSX, Windows XP), and you have your shooter crowd, consisting of console and PC gamers playing everything from Unreal Tournament to Halo 2 and Gears of War. So, which online genre is right for you? If you love fantasy games, you can’t go wrong with online RPGs for the PC such as World of WarCraft and Final Fantasy XI. If shooting people and stealing their flag is more your thing, you can either power up your PC, or pick up an Xbox 360 for a whole slew of great shooter games. Of course, there is more to online gaming than Shooters and Role-Players. If you are interested in casual arcade-style gaming online, Xbox Live arcade is loaded with choices that are amazingly accessible to everyone.
Professional video gaming? Yes, it does exist. One of the most popular games associated with video game competition is Halo 2, Microsoft’s flagship title for Xbox and Xbox 360. With a little practice, (ok, a ton of practice and a bunch of talent, too) you can be climbing the ranks in tournaments all over the world. So what types of games do people play professionally? Mostly Shooters. Games like Halo, Unreal, and Counter Strike all come to mind. There are, however, many other organizations for sports games like Golden Tee (a local bar favorite) and John Madden Football, Fighting games like Street Fighter 3 and Super Smash Brothers, and Classic games such as Pac-Man of all things. How do you get involved? Get yourself to an online message board, for starters, and check out these following sites: www.mlgpro.com (Major League Gaming), www.smashboards.com (a Smash Brothers Specific site), and www.shoryken.com/forums (a fighting game specific site forum).
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