VIDEO GAMES AND GAMING

Beginning any new hobby, pastime, or skill requires a little time, the proper tools, and a willingness to learn. Taking a moment for yourself to challenge your boundaries and try something new is a very rewarding accomplishment.

Yes, even in the video games and gaming world, there are beginners. Newly acquainted players with a need to learn quickly and eventually surpass their competition. Video games and gaming have been around since the Atari age and are not likely to fade into the background of life anytime soon.

The gaming systems today have climbed mountains over the systems of old. With RPG (role playing games), music games, first person shooters, the list is long and the game choices are staggering. Choosing a gaming system first would be the best place to start.

Looking at and evaluating the gaming systems offered today isn't as hard as it seems once you know how to weigh the pros and cons of each system. Check how many different games are compatible with each system and rank the system with a good selection high. See if the system offers online gaming and multiple player options if these choices are important to you. Take a look at the graphics and ask around about ease of use and glitches. Knowing you system takes you more than half way to becoming a video game guru and king.

Starting with some games that include a great tutorial like Dungeons and Dragons Heroes, any movie theme game, with a great one being Haunted Mansion, or Guitar Hero. All these video games include a no nonsense tutorial and are quite self explanatory. Once you get started with a game that tips you along as you play, you will be ready to step it up a notch. I recommend always taking a journey into the past and revisiting your old games as you acquire new ones. It is a real confidence booster as you realize just how much skill you have gained since the first time.

Racing and Skater games are a nice bridge between jumping in with the big fish and going to town on your starter games. Your reflexes get incredibly quick during play of these video games. You will also find that you are no longer looking for the buttons, but feeling your way around the controllers. The 'aware factor' of the video game becomes heightened and video games and gaming begin to be relaxing and fun instead of difficult and tiring. Conquering tricks and speeding to the finish line both boost your reaction time and your ability to recall effects on your controller.

One more set of interval choices and you will be a force to be reckoned with concerning video games and gaming. Let's get up and become active with our systems. Dance, Dance Revolution is an outstanding way to keep away the couch potato syndrome and add to the dexterity of your gaming skills. The Wii system has numerous video game and gaming selections to get you motivated as well.

When you are ready and you want another challenge, my first suggestion would be to try out Fable The Lost Chapters or Baulders Gate. Once you have mastered these few video games, gaming will become what it was meant to be, Kings will be born, and a new master will be rise to the top.

Stephanie Haile Google Me aka Wavecritter

Video Games and Gaming Baulders Gate, Dungeons and Dragons Heroes, Fable, Gauntlet Legends Seven Sorrows

Dungeons and Dragons Heroes!

Now here is a game worth its weight in gold, And I am talking about the weight of the entire realm! This one is THE very best starter game for teaching and learning around. A self teacher with the outstanding tutorial and as a learning game For the teacher/student situation.

FABLE!

Fable is such a brilliant second video game to master. It is a single player game, so no help with an added character on this, but it is time to play solo and experience no backup.

Gauntlet Legends Seven Sorrows!

Here is a powerful game to get you uber experience in the video game world. Another great multi player, so back up again! Gets you very comfortable in the overwhelming situations arena.

OGRE ISLAND ONLINE!

I talked about this awesome online MMORPG in my first show to great length, but we also had to include it in this list of top video games for learning. Just Go Try Out This Game OgreIsland dot com , It is free to play!

Gaulders Gate Dark Alliance 2

Baulders Gate 2 Dark Alliance is the sequel to Baulders Gate. This game is on XBox and other consoles. A Playstation 2 game. A continuation of the Baulders gate where each character has their own story line. They each are going to the town of Baulders Gate for a different reason, some for fame, some for money, and some for their pasts.

Each character you choose like the Dwarvan Rogue, Moon Elf Necromancer, Human Barbarian, Human Cleric, and a Dark Elf Monk, and 2 Secret characters you can unlock (shhhhhh) when you beat the game on certain difficulty levels.

Dalton and Stephanie Haile

Wyverex and Wavecritter

Movie Games and DDR!

Dance, Dance Revolution, commonly known as DDR, Is Great Fun! This game is a good "breaking up the mix" sort of game that will increase your speed and also clam you down when you hop into the "Fray" or the "Mix" or better know as pulling a "Leroy Jenkins". The Movie Games are a great "mix" as well, games like Haunted Mansion, Finding Nemo, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

ENCLAVE!

For knowledge about "in game" money management, this game can't be beat! It is challenging but will teach you about class differentials and max out your talents and skills concentration for gaming in general.

Generally speaking, although there are exceptions, it is easier to stay "in touch" with our teenage daughters than it is with our teenage sons. On the surface, it may not appear so, but how often do you get to really talk with your growing son? How much one on one time do you get? And I don't mean from the stands of a sporting event that he is participating in.

There are several ways to accomplish this major goal as a parent. You could go hiking together, camping, fishing, but these are usually "Dad" times to bond. Some Moms do this as well, but I found something that is fun, a bit challenging, and just about anyone can do it. Now, this is for the Mom whose boys enjoy video games and are completely brilliant at them, getting bored easily because they beat the game so quickly. Ask them to teach you how to play, be very interested, and genuinely wish to learn!

The easiest game I found, and the one my son taught me first, is Dungeons and Dragons Heroes for the XBox. It is a two player game, comes with a tutorial that you stay in until you have it all figured out and learn the controls, the graphics are pretty good, and will retain your sons interest for enough time to get you started. The choices in the two player game catagory are very limited, but after you master Dungeons and Dragons Heroes, try another XBox game called Baldurs Gate Dark Alliance 2. This is a more challenging game that will hold both you and your son's attention a bit longer as there is an awesome side quest to find soul shards. As you get more comfortable with the game systems, you start incorporating other topics into your conversations besides just the games and "which button do I push?" Before long, he will start to tell you important things about his day or even his thoughts. Understand, that if he is really good at the games, for him, it is a relaxing, no brainer activity, and those are the most opportune times to get to know who your son really is.

Yes, it might be a lot of work to learn something new, or you just don't have time, or it is too hard. OK, this is not for everyone and certainly there are other ways, but this way works And you obtain a skill to boot! Trust me, video games Are a skill! Some help with History, like Age Of Empires will give you is a big plus. Age Of Empires is a PC game that comes in different eras. A brilliant learning tool on the Roman Empire and tacticle manoeuvers, while you learn better to interact with your son.

Or, you could choose a racing game, like Mario Cart! It is a benefit to their later driving abilities and found with the Nintendo systems. Haunted Mansion is an XBox figure it out puzzle type game that boosts your thinking and reasoning skills. Even Fable, which is absolutely brilliant by the way, shows them morality as they and you journey through life. Fable and Haunted Mansion are one player games, but you can help him figure out the puzzles in the Haunted Mansion, and with Fable, the beautiful graphics are like watching a movie play out by your sons hand.

The best part of this adventure through gaming, other than the main purpose of getting closer with your son, is when you can play the cool old stuff we used to play, like Pacman and Gallaga. Nintendo has these for their system. Your son might say that the graphics are a bit on the lame side, but you will enjoy the play time together, no matter how short.

Don't wait for them to want to do something with you, it may not happen right away. And, offering to do something with your son out in public is not always received with great eagerness. This is at home, no one has to be informed that your son is "hanging out" with his Mom, that is, until you get good and then become a bragging right for your son! Well worth the effort at that point!

You can spend time online at Amazon, or drive down to EB Games or Gamestop for inexpensive, used games. There really are only a few select "greats" that never get old. Enjoy your new skill and the new relationship with your son!