The Current State of PC Gaming and the "Sysifos Problem"

Full disclosure before you start reading this article; I am a PC gamer at heart. But I am also a gamer that enjoys great games on whatever platform they are available.

I currently own an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii (hey, don't laugh, it seemed like a good idea at the time) and a Nintendo DS.

So I bear no ill will towards consoles, even though the majority of my everyday gaming takes place on PC.

It seems that as of late the PC is having somewhat of a resurgence as a major platform for "Triple A" games.

Battlefield 3 is a good example of a major release that flexes its muscles on the PC platform in comparison to the console version.

The current generation of consoles are getting pretty long in the tooth by now.
With 5-6 years under their belt, it is no wonder that game developers are trying to squeeze out the last drops of gaming juice from these partially mummified fruits of gaming hardware.

Of course, this also means that the current console generation has a huge audience by now, so there is plenty of incentive to still keep pumping out your games on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

But it does look like new games are now first shown on the PC, where developers can give a truly stunning presentation, before a more toned down version that can run on consoles is demonstrated.

This is a very natural development, as game makers will of course always be chasing those stunning visuals that will make the jaws of the public drop open and do their best "fish-on-land" impression.

Since the guts of the consoles have pretty much given all that they are going to give, it is becoming almost impossible to get this sort of reaction from simply being clever with your coding.

You need more horsepower than what you can find withering inside a PlayStation or Xbox.
Enter the PC with its constantly shifting hardware that has by now completely and utterly eclipsed that of the consoles.

This allows game developers to create those stand out visuals that will get heads turning and preorders rolling.
Even if it turns out to be a bit of the old smoke and mirror, showing off the PC version of the game on a super high end PC, while Joe Mario Kart ends up ordering the Xbox 360 version that only has half of the graphical bells and none of the whistles of the PC version.

This is something that we have seen before and it's a cycle that I call the "PC Sisyfos problem".

Picture the preference for PC's as a big hill.
At the bottom of the hill is a large rock that gets pushed up to top of the hill as PC games slowly gain momentum against their console counterparts, as their technology continues to evolve.

Every new major console generation launch sees the release of hardware that is usually equal or better to most hardcore gaming PC's that are out at the time.
Coupled with the fact that you are working with a fixed platform, this means that developers are able to churn out some games that put most of the contemporary PC games to shame and makes all gamers go "oooh, shiny shiny!".

The rock is at the bottom of the hill

This effect starts to wane a bit, but after the first couple of years it's not that pronounced, because developers may be struggling with hardware that is slowly becoming obsolete, but they are also learning all the tricks that they can use to cram still more power out of the box.

The rock starts slowly being pushed up the hill

Inevitably of course, this development of squeezing ever more power out of the same hardware reaches a limit.
This is when you start noticing that PC games are beginning to look noticeably better than their console counterparts, and probably where we were at about 12-18 months ago.

The rock is now very close to the top of the hill

Finally we enter a brief period, where it is evident to everyone that the PC is just punching the consoles in the face and taking their lunch money in terms of hardware power.

All the visually impressive stuff is being shown on PC's and consoles have well and truly hit their performance ceiling.

The rock reaches the top of the hill and everyone wipes the sweat off their faces and enjoy a brief and ill advised round of "hells yeah, in your face Microsoft/Sony/Sega/Nintendo".

This is the point where the next generation of consoles is announced.

Crammed full of next generation hardware and sporting tech demonstration videos that make PC gamers weep salty tears of envy, they immediately rally the gaming public towards this new beacon of visual splendor.

The rock tumbles headlong down the hillside, crushing any PC fanboys foolish enough to try to stop it.

Right now we are just coming up on the hilltop.

The PC is markedly stronger than the consoles and we have yet to see a response from the big two console makers (Nintendo has pretty much already given up on trying to create consoles that are hardware powerhouses).

So to all my fellow PC gamers that are pushing the rock alongside me I say; Enjoy our brief moment of glory and spot in the sun.
It's been a fun ride and I'll see you all at the bottom of the hill next Christmas.

Don't stop pushing!

I'm a passionate gamer and lover of science fiction.

With more than 25 years of gaming and consuming sci-fi in every media form, I consider myself something of an expert.

I write reviews, impressions, opinion pieces and things that are just meant to make you smile.

If you like this article, then you'll probably like my site, which you can find here:

http://www.lightspeed-gaming.com/

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Gaming Laptops Under $1000

If you're doing a little digging to find a decent gaming laptop under $1000, you might run across several options out there. Your best bet would be to create a list of features you want from the laptop and search according to that list.

A good gaming laptop must first be configured to carry a powerful processor. Now for this limited budget, some good suggestions would be dual-core processors, since these are both powerful and affordable at the same time. Single core processors are great for simple tasks, but since games demand more from the gaming system, it's a lot better if you start with a dual-core processor just to make sure everything runs fine.

In terms of system memory a good target to start at would be 3GB. Extreme gaming laptops might carry up to 16GB, but for a modest gaming laptop, 3 or 4GB of RAM is a good start, since most modern games don't even go beyond 3GB in their system requirements list. This amount will allow you to also do some editing work, graphic design and even a bit of multitasking.

The video card that comes with a gaming laptop has to be dedicated. What this means is that it has to have its own dedicated memory, so it doesn't take from your available RAM in order to run. For this budget you'll probably get away with a decent model from either nVidia or ATI with about 512MB to 1GB of dedicated memory. This is fine if you don't mind running games in medium to high quality settings, but for extreme graphics you'll definitely need to do better than this.

Games are better played when they're viewed properly and you don't have to strain your eyes to keep the crosshair on your target. This means that the screen size on your gaming laptop should not go under 15 inches, since then all the targets you're hunting will be mere pixels. Average laptop screen sizes are in the 15.4 inch range, but you might also find 16 inch screen laptops in this budget range and they're quite capable of displaying decent resolutions too.

The hard drive is often an overlooked feature in gaming laptops, since all it does is store information. You should not overlook one aspect of HDD though, and that is their rpm. More is better in this case, so don't settle for an average laptop hard drive with 5400rpm, but try to go for a 7200 rpm model, or, if you're willing to spend a bit, go for an SSD drive.

Go ahead and check out the Best Gaming Laptop Under $1000 for more information and actual examples.

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PC Vs Console Gaming

In the gaming world, there are several options to choose from when it comes to the platform the game is being played on. There are PC games, and there are console games. The difference lies within the way the game is played.

Gaming is literally a lifestyle choice so each person prefers a slightly different approach when it comes to the way they play a game. Some like computer games, because computers allow them to customize the way they play the game along with certain tweaks in visual details and controls.

Consoles don't demand that you make such tweaks, since they're built with only games in mind. So when a game comes out and it's destined for PlayStation, then, if you own such a console, you're certain you can play that game.

But when a game comes out and it's made for PCs, then you have to check on what the system requirements that game has in order to be played properly. Since games rely heavily on the specs, or hardware of the "console" they're run, for PC users this would mean there's a constant struggle to stay ahead of the gaming developer world and build or purchase the ultimate gaming computer.

In certain cases, it's a lot easier to escape this struggle by purchasing a console and not having to worry if your system meets the necessary minimum hardware in order to run a game.

The downside to consoles is, in my opinion, the lack of precision in movements and control. For instance, if you were to play a shooter game or FPS for short, it would be really hard to aim at the opponents using a game pad.

On the other hand, when using a computer, it's really easy to aim using your mouse at the opponents since you can fine tune the mouse sensitivity and actually get the mouse to work at what speed you require.

Some peripherals allow you to adjust that sensitivity right in the gaming environment and those are called gaming peripherals. These are built only with PCs in mind.

Consoles on the other hand have developed in recent years to create a more engaging environment for the player.

We have seen a lot of new advancements in this area from the Wii remote, allowing you to physically "swing" a golf club, or in the Kinect world, actually detecting your body movements to interact in the gaming world. This means that a console user might get a bit more exercise than a regular PC gamer.

Also, there are certain games which might not work on consoles, like strategy games. These games rely heavily on the use of a computer mouse for unit selection and issuing commands.

There are a lot of advantages to PC gaming as well as console gaming, and there are specific games that can be played on both platforms, without the possibility of moving from one type to the other. It's a matter of level of engagement or immersion that each gamer requires that he get from the game itself.

We, Markets, have made a page about this specific topic entitled: PC Versus Console Gaming with more detailed information about the advantages and disadvantages of both types of platforms.

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What the iPhone 4S Means for iOS Gaming

Apple has always been known as an innovator and a forward-thinker, especially in recent years. Thanks to the success of their flagship product the iPod, the company has gone on to produce some of the most popular gadgets of all time. Take the iPhone for example, since its launch in 2007 it has taken the world by storm, and the numerous renditions of the hardware have made their way to every corner of the world. Now Apple have released the very latest addition to the iPhone family in the form of the iPhone 4S. It looks identical to the popular iPhone 4, but with plenty of extras inside. And one of the biggest focuses for the new device is graphics. Apple claims that the new A5 dual-core processor is capable of delivering seven times the graphical power along with other enhancements. So what can we expect the new iPhone 4S to bring to the world of iOS gaming?

Better graphics

Let's start off with the easy one: the new hardware will be able to produce games that look significantly better than the existing iPhone. The Retina Display is still intact, so graphics will remain crisp and sharp, but now the actual visuals will get an overhaul. Developers have done a lot with the existing hardware, with games like Infinity Blade and Shadowgun being notable cases -- so it'll be great to see what comes next. When Apple announced the iPhone 4S they showed a clip of Infinity Blade II with awesome effects that we can only dream of on the current iPhone, so who knows what other games developers can do with the new iPhone 4S.

More voice integration

The new iPhone comes with a voice-recognition system known as Siri, offering phone users an entirely new way to use their phones. They can do anything from sending a text message to making an order for truck rental, all in just a few words. It's much more than simple voice commands and it's integrated deeply within the phone's firmware. So how will Siri affect gaming? Well, there's been no official confirmation that Siri will be used within games; however if the functionality is there, why wouldn't there eventually be some games that use it? With Siri's first-rate voice recognition capabilities there are all sorts of gameplay twists and turns developers could try out. Sure, they may not all work out, but it'd be a really interesting step for iOS gaming to take.

More developers making better games

With the focus that Apple has put on graphics with this new hardware, it's clear that they're really serious about the iPhone being a 'real' handheld gaming console. There is no doubt that developers will take inspiration from this and start to develop better and better games. Plus, if Apple continue to focus on gaming, we could see some of the big triple-A console titles making their way to the iOS platform. With plenty of controller peripherals in the works for the iPhone and iPad, these games won't even be limited to just touch screen controls anymore -- and let's not forget about the potential of voice control!

The future of iOS gaming

So does the iPhone 4S mark the beginning of something special for iOS gaming? Well, we certainly think so. Apple has created the most powerful smartphone ever and given it bleeding edge tech with which to create better graphics, smoother gameplay, and more possibilities. We can only assume that Apple will continue this trend with the next rendition of the iPhone, and of course, the iPad and iPod Touch too. The entire family of Apple products is likely to grow to allow for more games to be played and to give players more ways to enjoy them. With companies like Nintendo opening the door to gaming for all, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see Apple using the success of their products to make them credible gaming devices. At the moment many people look at them simply as phones, tablets and MP3 players -- but they have so much more potential, especially in the gaming market and we couldn't be more excited to discover what Apple will do with them next.

PocketFullOfApps specializes in iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad Game News, Reviews, Previews, and Giveaways. Follow us on Twitter or Like us on Facebook.
http://pocketfullofapps.com/

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LoSt-CaUzE Gaming Headphones

The LoSt-CaUzE noise canceling gaming headphones by Ablelanet are tough to review. Everyone else online is giving them very high scores, and they do sound great... but the gaming label means that they should do something different than your standard headphones, and they don't. The LoSt-CaUzE headphones are stunning noise canceling headphones, but without a mic or Bluetooth support, I'm not sure they've earned their 'gaming' label, despite the endorsement by Quake master LoSt-CaUzE.The LoSt-CaUzE noise canceling gaming headphones are probably the best headphones you will ever see for the money. While $150 may seem like a lot for headphones, these rank up there with $500 elite headphone made by Bose, Shure or Sennheiser, you'll be hard pressed to get this kind of quality for this low a price elsewhere.

AblePlanet has put together an excellent package that includes a semi-hard case, 1/4 inch adapter, 6 foot extension cord, and an airline adapter, all gold plated for maximum conductivity.

The LoSt-CaUzE noise canceling gaming headphones themselves are attractive (sliver cans, black padded band) and easily adjustable. The cord has a built in sliding volume control, but is rather thin, which leads to occasional (rare) interference by other radio signals, more shielding and a heavier cord would have been nice, but we are already getting a deal. The noise reduction does produce an audible hiss in silent environments (where you wouldn't use it) but it is not at all noticeable in any environment where you may actually turn on the noise reduction, such as a plane, lan party, or gaming tournament.

The LoSt-CaUzE headphones are crisp and clear providing shockingly strong bass at low volumes. This is a mixed blessing. You certainly can hear the bass loud and strong at any level, but it prevents you from turning up the volume too loud. The thought is that audio clarity at a low level will prevent ear damage by providing bass at a low volume level, but really sometimes you want to crank up the volume, turning down the bass on the EQ helps.

The catch? No headset. This means that they are great for single player gaming and music, but any games that require speech will require some sort of external mic. I have been told that a version with a mic will be released in early 2008, however.

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LoSt-CaUzE Gaming Headphones

The LoSt-CaUzE noise canceling gaming headphones by Ablelanet are tough to review. Everyone else online is giving them very high scores, and they do sound great... but the gaming label means that they should do something different than your standard headphones, and they don't. The LoSt-CaUzE headphones are stunning noise canceling headphones, but without a mic or Bluetooth support, I'm not sure they've earned their 'gaming' label, despite the endorsement by Quake master LoSt-CaUzE.The LoSt-CaUzE noise canceling gaming headphones are probably the best headphones you will ever see for the money. While $150 may seem like a lot for headphones, these rank up there with $500 elite headphone made by Bose, Shure or Sennheiser, you'll be hard pressed to get this kind of quality for this low a price elsewhere.

AblePlanet has put together an excellent package that includes a semi-hard case, 1/4 inch adapter, 6 foot extension cord, and an airline adapter, all gold plated for maximum conductivity.

The LoSt-CaUzE noise canceling gaming headphones themselves are attractive (sliver cans, black padded band) and easily adjustable. The cord has a built in sliding volume control, but is rather thin, which leads to occasional (rare) interference by other radio signals, more shielding and a heavier cord would have been nice, but we are already getting a deal. The noise reduction does produce an audible hiss in silent environments (where you wouldn't use it) but it is not at all noticeable in any environment where you may actually turn on the noise reduction, such as a plane, lan party, or gaming tournament.

The LoSt-CaUzE headphones are crisp and clear providing shockingly strong bass at low volumes. This is a mixed blessing. You certainly can hear the bass loud and strong at any level, but it prevents you from turning up the volume too loud. The thought is that audio clarity at a low level will prevent ear damage by providing bass at a low volume level, but really sometimes you want to crank up the volume, turning down the bass on the EQ helps.

The catch? No headset. This means that they are great for single player gaming and music, but any games that require speech will require some sort of external mic. I have been told that a version with a mic will be released in early 2008, however.

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Video Cards for Gaming

March 5 2011

There are a remarkable variety of graphics cards on the market aimed at gamers. While the very latest technology is always expensive, there are also solutions for those who don't have hundreds of dollars to spend. These video cards were selected because they are good values in their class, and they are ordered roughly from fastest (most expensive) to slowest (most affordable). I can't include every quality card, but I do update the list when I can, so your suggestions are welcome.

In late 2010 Nvidia introduced their GeForce 500 series, beginning with the GTX 580 and GTX 570. The former has taken over the top spot in the single-GPU speed contest, but it comes at a price that makes two lesser cards in an SLI or Crossfire configuration a more practical option. The GTX 570 is a dialed down version of the 580, but it readily outperforms the previous generation GTX 480. 1.25 GB of GDDR5 memory is standard on the 570 and it has two 6-pin power connectors. It's priced competitively and it's a great card for high-end gaming.

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Online Gaming Etiquette

It's an unfortunate fact that online gaming involves tolerating a remarkable amount of rudeness, vulgarity, poor sportsmanship, and plain old bad manners. Some game communities are a little more mature than others, but you can generally expect this sort of misbehavior in just about every multiplayer game you come across. I understand that people are largely anonymous online, and they can get very emotionally involved in the competition, but that's no reason to throw out any semblance of politeness or decency. I've put together a few pointers on good online gaming etiquette, although I suspect the worst offenders aren't likely to take notice.

Play Fair
Cheating and using exploits is an admission that you can't win without them. Furthermore, you'll find winning a fair fight a lot more rewarding. If winning is really important to you, keep practicing and learn from what successful players are doing. Should the competition prove to be too much for you, finding a different game is a better solution than cheating.

Be A Good Sport
Laughing at defeated opponents, bragging about your achievements, overdoing it with taunts and emotes, all make you look childish. The fact is, even children should know better. An appropriate emote used at the right moment can be a beautiful thing, but when it accompanies every encounter in the game, it turns into that much more mindless spam, which brings us to our next rule.

Don't Spam
You really don't need to hammer the chat system with WTS messages to sell an item, nor do you need to use every channel in the game when there is a channel dedicated to trade. If people aren't interested, repeating a message in chat every 3 seconds isn't likely to change that. Wait a minute or two, and maybe you'll start to get through to a new audience.

Spare Us the Caps
C'mon people, this is a no-brainer that has been around since the dawn of the Internet - don't use all capital letters in chat. It's the text equivalent of yelling at everyone, and nobody wants to be yelled at.

You Were a Noob Too
Nobody can pick up a new game and instantly familiarize themselves with all its nuances and details. There are heaps of acronyms and slang particular to each game, and it's absurd to expect people to know these things without a little help from other players. Someone once explained to you what was going on, now you can do the same, rather than simply telling them they're "noobs" and leaving it at that.

A Little Teamwork, Please
If you're part of a team, try to cooperate with your teammates a little. Rambo-style gameplay rarely pays off in a team-oriented game, so don't expect your teammates to be right behind you when you go kamakazi into a gauntlet of enemies. Also keep in mind that actually winning the match is more important than being at the top of the scoreboard.

Don't Be a Quitter
It's amazing how often people will disconnect without a word when they're losing, or drop out when their group encounter isn't going well. If you don't think you can win, surrender. If your instance run isn't going well, try to work it out politely or offer some friendly advice. At times when your group isn't up to the task, explain the problem to others without insulting them. You never know what kind of solutions people will come up with until you give them a chance.

Not Everyone Who Wins Is a Cheater
Just because another player kills you a couple times does not mean that they're cheating. As good as you may think you are at any game, there are likely a lot of players who are just as good or better than you are. If you're as hot as all that, then start playing professionally in LAN tournaments where there is no way to cheat. If you're almost certain that someone is cheating, report them to an admin and let them investigate rather than throwing around accusations you can't back up.

Camping Is a Lame Tactic
Although some games encourage it, camping spawn points and corpses is generally a lame tactic. In many cases it's only possible because of flawed game design, but it's still a weak strategy that players with any dignity don't resort to.

Ignore Insults
When someone insults you, your best option is to ignore them. If the insults persist, most chat and voice systems have 'ignore' functions to ensure that further communications from them are blocked. Returning the insults typically only escalates the exchange into something you'll regret later.

Enjoy the Game
Games are meant to be fun, and if you can't laugh it off when things go wrong, or forgive a team member for screwing up, then maybe it's time for a break. Most of us have enough stress in our lives, we don't really care to add a bunch of gaming stress to that. When you start taking it too seriously, it defeats the purpose of playing a game in the first place.

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Will Consoles Kill PC Gaming?

October 7, 2006

With next-generation consoles making their appearance, one of the most vibrant discussions in video gaming these days revolves around the ongoing platform wars. As far as high-end games are concerned, it is evident that consoles have a growing appeal for both gamers and developers. The PC game market doesn't look nearly as healthy, although it's difficult to pin down because it includes such a broad range of products and revenue models. Many sales figures don't include money made through digital distribution, subscription fees, and micro transactions. Nevertheless, if you walk into a game store right now, you'll likely find a lot less space dedicated to PC games than to any of the consoles, and the sales of triple-A PC titles definitely reflects this.

Of course, PC gaming will be around in some form for a long time yet, but is it doomed to become the domain of casual Bejeweled players and the handful of hard-core nerds willing to tinker with their processor clock speeds, as some analysts have suggested? Or is it already there, as many console gamers have suggested?

The Sad State of PC Hardware
Oddly enough, although games probably push the technology curve along more than any other type of application, computer hardware manufacturers are partly to blame for driving gamers to consoles. It's not that their chips aren't fast enough or cheap enough, it's that they could do a much better job of classfying their products in ways consumers could readily understand. A lot of people still look at a computer and just see a box with some plugs on the back. What they need is a simple way to determine what the system's capabilities and upgrade options are, without having to listen to ten minutes of technical mumbo-jumbo that means nothing to them from the salesperson, who often gets it wrong anyway.

What people understand very clearly is the price. This has led to integrating more components into the motherboard to cut costs, which has been terrific for those who stick to office applications, but it's yet another layer of confusion for gamers. Integrated graphics solutions are notoriusly bad for gaming, and the motherboards that use them frequently have no AGP or PCIE slot, so adding a good graphics card isn't an option. Yet, when they proudly advertise on the package that the system has "Intel Integrated Graphics," it's not surprising that some people assume this is a good thing. How many people pick up a budget system unaware that it can't even be upgraded to run graphically demanding games? If you include laptops in the mix, there are a tremendous number of PCs out there that aren't up to task of running recent 3D games.

Which leads me to the next question: why are there so few budget gaming PCs on the market? It seems that "gaming system" has become synonymous with "expensive." I realize that a PC capable of running games is going to cost more than one intended only for email, but you shouldn't have to spend thousands of dollars. As long as you don't expect too much, the parts are actually quite affordable, leading a lot of gamers to build and upgrade their own systems. While some of us enjoy that sort of thing, it's a lot to ask from people that just want to play games.

Fear of Upgrades
Unlike consoles, PC technology doesn't just stand still between generations. The hardware constantly gets more powerful and the games constantly get more demanding. As a result, many gamers are under the impression that they will need a new system every year or two. In fact, you can extend the life of a gaming PC a great deal longer than that by replacing the video card or adding some RAM, but even then, as your system ages, you will probably have to settle for lower graphics settings.

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Gaming with GameSpy

Although many games now come with built-in player matching services for finding games on the Internet, and despite the fact that many of these built-in tools are powered by GameSpy, GameSpy Arcade, the latest incarnation of their stand-alone game matching software, continues to be very popular. I can recall the humble beginnings of this tool, which was one of the first to make finding a Quake server and joining an online game a simple point-and-click process, free from typing in IP addresses and console commands. Since then GameSpy has continually added features, to the point where it is now the most complete gaming service on the Internet, offering not only game matching, but chat, news, player tracking, file downloads, instant messaging, and even a collection of their own free parlor games.

Why use GameSpy Arcade when a game already has functions for finding online games? The most obvious reasons are that many people play more than one game, and that GameSpy has a very sophisticated buddy list system which makes it easy to find your friends. Of course, GameSpy has a variety of other convenient features which appeal to millions of gamers, so here is a quick summary of what GameSpy can do for you.

Multiple Game Support
Arcade now supports over 400 titles, so it scans your system for compatible games and lists them on a handy menu for you automatically. This saves time and makes it possible for you to  move from one game, or mod, to another with minimal effort. It works with both dedicated server games, such as Counter-Strike and Battlefield 1942, as well as peer-to-peer games such as Medieval Total War and Age of Empires.

Player Tracking
This is probably GameSpy's strongest feature, as it greatly simplifies the process of organizing games with specific players. Getting into a game with your friends using to require a lot of searching, Instant Messaging, and exchanging of IP addresses. It worked, but it typically involved running several programs and was cumbersome to say the least. Arcade includes a system called PlayerSpy, which lets users create a "buddy list." Upon running GameSpy, you can see immediately which of you buddies are logged on, and what room they are in or game they are playing. You can join them simply by kicking on their name - a dream come true for online gamers.

Better Filters
Arcade has a variety of server filters that make finding a suitable game quicker, and are superior to what most games offer. I find that being able get a list of Counter-Strike servers that are in my country saves me the trouble of refreshing a list of almost 30,000 servers every time I want to find a game.

Screenshot of GameSpy Arcade

Chat and Instant Messaging
There are an abundance of ways to communicate in Arcade, including public chat rooms, private chat rooms, Instant Messaging, and even voice chat. It's very nice to be able to talk to your chess opponent, for example, as you play. Subscribers get enhanced voice capabilities and the ability to transfer files large than 1 MB.

Free Parlor Games
Even if you don't play high-end action games, Arcade is still worth the download for people that enjoy multiplayer games of Poker, Spades, Hearts, Backgammon, Chess, Checkers, Reversi and YARN.

Game News
I don't care much for Arcade's built-in mini-browser, which seems to like to stop working when a page is half loaded, but they do try to integrate the latest gaming news into the software. Some users will, however, find that this is all the gaming news they need or want.

Downloads
Through a partnership with FilePlanet, GameSpy offers downloads of the latest demos, mods, patches and other files. As these files get larger, it gets harder to find sites serving them up for free. FilePlanet still has free downloads, but you have to register, and then it can be a long wait depending on how busy their servers are.

Cons
It's difficult to complain about a program which offers a free package with ample functionality for unlimited use, not just a short trial period. Of course, if you choose not to subscribe, you will have to tolerate a considerable dose of advertising. Arcade runs large ads that come up before you reach any server lists or other content, making them nearly impossible to ignore, but again, nothing is small price to pay.

Another issue that will concern some gamers is that GameSpy does consume some system resources that the game you are playing might otherwise make use of. Although they have made every effort to minimize this problem, older systems may choke on the load.

Games like EverQuest, which charge monthly fees and run only on official servers, are not supported by GameSpy. You aren't able, for example, to use PlayerSpy to locate a buddy who is playing such a game.

Finally, Mac and Linux users are out of luck, Arcade is only available for Windows. A recent version of IE is also required.

GameSpy 3D
If you don't like Arcade, GameSpy still supports their original game utility, GameSpy 3D. It's a good program if you simply want to find a server to play on, but it lacks the communications features which make organizing with other players so convenient in Arcade.

Download GameSpy

Previous Features

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