Gaming

Computer and video games allow you to take control of characters or things in a pretend world. You could play as a cartoon superhero like Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog, or could become a soldier in a war game. What happens in games varies a lot between different games and some games are only meant to be played by adults. You should look on the box of a videogame to see what the age rating is, and whether you are old enough to play.

Many computer and video games are multiplayer games that allow you to play with other people via the Internet. Many of these games allow you to play against another human player in a football match or race in a driving game for example. These games can be played on a PC or a games console such as an X-Box or Playstation and are very similar to playing the game against a friend at home, except that there is always someone available to play against somewhere through the Internet.

If you have an Xbox or Xbox 360 console you can connect to the Internet and find players to play with or against. You can connect to the Internet, with a broadband Internet connection, and within minutes be playing online with friends or strangers.

With modern consoles, and broadband Internet connections, online systems like Xbox Live also allow you to communicate with voice chat whilst you arrange and play games. Chat is like a normal telephone call while you play. Because you can play with both friends and strangers, it is important to follow the advice given for text chat and instant messaging, as well as figuring out how to ignore or block nuisance players. Remember, that the chat is to help you have fun in games – if it isn’t helping you have fun then don’t use it. You shouldn’t have to be hurt by anyone else online, and you should keep online friends online.

Age and Content Ratings

Since 2003, computer and video games have to be given an age rating to let you know if you are old enough to play. The age rating isn’t to tell you how difficult a game is, it’s to tell you whether it will be suitable, or whether it’s made for adults. The ratings also help parents to choose games that are appropriate for kids.

Shops that sell computer and videogames are only allowed to sell them to people that are old enough. If they do not know how old you are they should ask you for some ID, or not sell the game to you.

Games Machines (PC)

There are lots for games available to play on Personal Computers (PCs). A lot of games for PC are made for older kids, or adults, but there are still many games available for younger kids too, such as Sonic 3D, Scrabble Junior and Dance Mat games. However, the most popular PC games tend to be FPSs (First-Person [Perspective] Shooters), online games and strategy games, which are normally meant for adults. Lots of PC games are meant only for adults to play.

You need to check that your computer is powerful enough to play some PC games. You can check on the game box how powerful your PC needs to be to play a certain game. There are normally two sets of computer hardware listed: Minimum requirements and Recommended requirements. Although the game will work at the minimum requirements, it is best if your PC has the recommended requirements, otherwise the graphics might be jerky or very low quality. Normally you’ll need a pretty good graphics card, lots of memory and a few gigabytes of hard drive space to install and play a new PC game.

Consoles

There are lots of different consoles available to play games on: Sony Playstation, PS2, PS3, X-Box, X-Box 360, Nintendo Wii and more.

If you buy a game for your console you don’t have to check if it will work like you do with a PC game. Any Playstation 2 game will work with your Playstation 2 console for example. Consoles are considered best for games by some people because they are built to be the best they can at playing games, unlike PCs, which are built to do lots of other things such as word processing and surfing the web. But some people think that only certain types of games are available on consoles and that some types of games don’t play very well without a keyboard (such as a strategy game for example).

Lots of consoles also include features such as DVD players, and files for downloading (such as X-box Live on Xbox 360 and Blue-Ray discs on Playstation 3 for example). You should remember that downloadable content and films may have age restrictions – just like DVDs – to tell you how old you need to be to watch.

Handhelds

Handheld devices like the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP let you play games on the move – on the train, or bus for example. Although they will only have a few hours battery life, you can charge them up at home, or take a power adaptor with you to charge them at a friend’s house.

Handhelds aren’t as powerful as most PCs and consoles for playing games, but they are smaller, lighter and more practical to carry around. Current games on handhelds are normally as good (graphically) as games that people played on consoles about 5-10 years ago.

Mobiles

You can now play games on mobile phones. Although most phones aren’t as powerful as other handhelds, there are still some fun games available. You can also get a lot of Java games for free for your mobile phone, or download others cheaply. Pay attention to any hidden fees you may have to pay to access games. Some companies ask you to sign-up to a weekly download, where although you get a new game every week, the costs can soon become expensive.