Big Geek Daddy
What’s There To Know About Computer Gaming?
Ratings:
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory
organization that applies and enforces ratings, advertising guidelines,
and online privacy principles for computer and video games in the United
States.  The ratings can serve as a useful guide for parents concerned
about the content their kids are being exposed to while playing games.
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Titles rated EC - (Early Childhood) have content that may be
suitable for ages 3 and older. Contains no material that
parents would find inappropriate.


EVERYONE
Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for
ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal
cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild
language.

EVERYONE 10+
Titles rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) have content that
may be suitable for ages 10 and older. Titles in this category
may contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild
language, and/or minimal suggestive themes.

TEEN
Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for
ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain
violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood
and/or infrequent use of strong language.

MATURE
Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for
persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain
intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, and/or
strong language.

ADULTS ONLY
Titles rated AO (Adults Only) have content that should only be
played by persons 18 years and older. Titles in this category
may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or
graphic sexual content and nudity.

RATING PENDING
Titles listed as RP (Rating Pending) - have been submitted to
the ESRB and are awaiting final rating. (This symbol appears
only in advertising prior to a game's release.)
Game Platforms:
Gaming Platforms are the heart of all things gaming and you’ll get various
opinions on which platform is the best depending on who you talk to.  It is
pretty much a consensus though that as far as graphics performance
goes though that nothing beats an actual computer gaming system.  The
main reason for this is due to the rapid advancements in graphics card
technology as well as other PC components that support the experience
such as faster Hard Drives, Memory, and CPU’s.  This is not to say that you
won’t have an enjoyable experience on another console other than a PC
and probably for much less in cost, just that the PC is the most versatile.

The Platforms:

Gaming Computers – Any computer used for gaming, vast differences in
quality level and pricing.
Retail - $499 and higher with systems costing several thousand dollars
being common.  Please keep in mind that the lower end systems will
probably not support many of the newer games due to the intense
graphics required to play the games.

Xbox 360 - The successor to Microsoft's original Xbox.  The Xbox 360 is
currently the only Seventh Generation console available.
Retail - $399.00 and higher depending on configuration.

PlayStation 2 –  The Sony PS2 is part of the sixth generation era, and has
become the fastest selling gaming console in history, with over 100 million
units shipped by November 2005, beating the previous record holder, the
PlayStation, by three years and nine months.  
Retail - $149.99 and higher.

PlayStation3 (PS3) – Currently in development and like the Xbox 360 will
be a Seventh Generation console.  It’s scheduled to launch in time for
Xmas 2006 and will probably retail for $400 - $450.

Gamecube - Nintendo's fourth home video game console, belonging to the
Sixth generation era—the same generation as  Sony's PlayStation 2, and
Microsoft's original Xbox.
Retail - $99.99 and higher.

Wii (formerly Revolution) – Nintendo’s next generation console is slated
for a pre Xmas 2006 launch and as the name implies is rumored to be
vastly different than any console currently available.  The anticipated price
is under $250 retail.  Wii Website

Handheld Game Consoles - A lightweight, portable electronic machine for
playing video games. Unlike the other platforms, however, the controls,
screen and speakers are all part of a single unit.
Retail - $89.99 and higher.
Considerations:
It is not for me to say that one of these will be any better for you than the others; however, it is fair to say that if you want the most customizable and
upgradeable platform then the Gaming PC is the platform you should be looking at.  If you buy a decent system to start then it costs much less to
upgrade as more advanced games become available along with better graphics cards to experience better game play.  Gaming PC’s are available
from a number of retail outlets, online vendors such as Dell and Alienware, and Custom PC builders like myself in your local community.

When buying a game make sure the platform you are using supports it.  This is most often an issue with PC Games where someone buys the latest
and greatest game then can’t understand why it won’t run properly.  It’s also a major reason why people either upgrade the parts in their current
computer system or buy an entirely new computer every several years.  On every PC Game is a set of “System Requirements” to let you know the
bare minimum to get the game to run.  Using the game Battlefield as an example here are the requirements:

System Requirements:
OS: Windows XP (32-bit) with Admin rights
CPU:1.7 GHz Intel Celeron D/Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP/Sempron or greater
RAM:512 MB or more
Disc Drive:8x or faster CD/DVD drive
Hard Drive:2.3 GB or more free space
Video:DirectX 9.0c compatible
Sound:DirectX 9.0c compatible
Supported 128 MB video card with the newest manufacturer drivers

Supported Video Cards:
ATI Radeon: X700 (PCIe), X600 (PCIe), X800 XT Platinum Edition, X800 PRO, X300 series. 9800 series, 9700 series, 9600 series, 9559 (RV350LX),
9500 series, 8500 series.

NVIDIA GeForce: 6600 (PCIe), PCX 5900 (PCIe). 5800 series (AGP). 6800 Ultra, 6800 GT, 6800. FX 5950 series, FX 5900 series, FX 5700 series.

Supported Processors:
Intel Pentium 4, Xeon, Extreme Edition, Celeron D.
AMD Athlon XP, Athlon 64, Athlon 64-FX, Sempron.

Obviously, in order to figure out if your computer will play this game you have to know what your computers specs are so dig those out of the original
paperwork or look it up on the manufacturer’s website according to your model number.  Failing that, call your local neighborhood Geek over and ask
them to help you determine this.

One major point to consider if you’re trying to decide between an Apple or Windows based computer is that there are far more games suited to
run on a Windows Operating System.
Resources:
Wikipedia.com – The Free Encyclopedia.  A great resource for finding information on games or any other subject.
nzone.com – This site is sponsored by nVIDIA and has a download section where you can download free demos of various games to try then before
you purchase.
windowsmarketplace.com – More than 5000 downloads from over 2000 different companies – all Free!
GameSpy.com – An extensive site for all multiplayer games and gamers.
GameSpot.com – A site devoted to PC games.
FilePlanet.com – Another good site for free downloads of demos and game trailers.
TweakGuides.com – A good site for guides to improve your computers performance and “Tweaks” for individual games.
Download PC Games Direct to Your Hard Drive!
Video Games_2005
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