Games and Other Entertainment

The computer isn't all about software intended to make businesses productive. You can also use your computer for entertainment. Computers provide a strong alternative to console game systems like Sony's PlayStation, Microsoft's Xbox, and Nintendo's Wii.

Windows games

Even if you're not an avid gamer, you can still take advantage of games on your computer. Windows comes by default with several pre-installed games, including the immensely popular Solitaire card game, shown in Figure 32.18.

Figure 32.18: Windows Solitaire provides a welcome break from working on a computer.

Other Windows games include FreeCell, Minesweeper, and Spider Solitaire. You can find these games in the Start All Programs Games menu.

Casual games

Casual games can be played in a relatively short period of time; this type of game is common on many different Web sites; they're great for those times you need just a quick break from serious work.

If you're connected to the Internet, you can find casual game sites all over the Web, including the following:

• PopCap Games: This site, located at http://www.popcap.com, offers a large assortment of online games, including the popular Bejeweled game.

• Shockwave: http://www.Shockwave.com is a repository of games created using Flash and includes a large number of different categories.

• GameTap: http://www.GameTap.com is a nostalgic site that features many of the older video games from bygone years. The site requires a fee to sign up for their service.

• Yahoo Games: Located at http://www.games.yahoo.com, this site features many games you can play against other people onlines.

• MSN Games: Another popular site featuring multiplayer games. This site is found at http://www.games.msn.com.

Many of these games are Flash-based and require that you download and install the latest Flash player.

PC games

For many gamers, the PC is the game platform of choice. For many years, video games were developed for the PC before they were released on to the various console systems. Even though many games are developed only for a specific console systems, PC games are still quite common and allow features such as playing over local networks. Many players still prefer PC games over console because of the high resolution that is possible via the video cards.

The speed and resolution of PC games is controlled directly by the video card. Expensive video cards that include built-in graphics processors can accelerate game play at high resolutions. Video cards accelerate the game display using specialized graphics instruction sets that are optimized for performance. The two common display drivers used in games are DirectX and OpenGL. Depending on the game, the latest version of DirectX or OpenGL need to be installed before the game works. The game installation discs will check for the appropriate display drivers and install them if necessary during the installation process.

CROSS-REF 

You can learn more about video cards and graphic controllers in Chapter 10.

LAN games

Although all the various video game consoles support multiple players simultaneously, PC games played over a Local Area Network (LAN) can include tens or even hundreds of players. Each player sits at their own computer, which they don't need to split between the other players and all the action, statistics, and updates to the game are relayed over the network to the other players.

Many first person shooter games such as Doom, Quake, and Half-Life are popular network games, but strategy games such as Warcraft and Age of Empires are also common. One of the key benefits to network games is that the opponents are actual reasoning players instead of the pre-programmed opponents that built into the game. Actual players provide more of challenge to expert players.

Built into most networked games is the ability to chat and send messages to the other players, which can be a useful strategy between team members or a way of taunting the other team. LAN games provide a social experience that is unlike the small room gatherings common for console games.

CROSS-REF 

Networking and establishing a network is covered in Chapter 44.

Online multiplayer games

LAN games are great if you're looking for a challenge after beating all of the game's enemies, but if you don't have access to a network or other players, you can use the Internet to connect to hubs where online players gather to play. Most online gaming hubs provide several different rooms for players of different skill levels and all are closely monitored to prevent abuse.

Note 

The latest consoles also offer methods for connecting to online gaming hubs.

The Internet has also give rise to an entirely new type of game. Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) are games where hundreds or thousands of users play simultaneously in an alternate reality where the players can communicate, interact and play together using an avatar or a virtual character in the game. Several popular MMOG games include Runescape, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, and Everquest.

Gaming hardware

For avid game players, you can install custom hardware such as joysticks and driving wheels that deepen the gaming experience. This additional hardware is typically connected using the USB port. The game must support these devices before you can use them.