Music HHHH Codemasters, on release, pounds 39.99 TopGear: Overdrive HHHH N64 N64 owners have been begging for a realistic, yet fun driving game since the release of the console. Finally, just in time for St Nick, their prayers have been answered - Nintendo have released TopGear: Overdrive. This is one of the most playable games on the N64. All you do is pick a car you can afford, win races, buy bigger cars, win more races, and buy even bigger cars. The twist to the game is that in order to win, you have to cheat! With smooth graphics and great gameplay, TopGear comes out near the front of the pack. Nintendo, on release, pounds 44.99 Wargasm HHHHH PC-CD ROM War! Huh! What is it good for? Well.. actually your PC, as Infogrames release an awesome war-strategy-game - quirkily named Wargasm. Dont be fooled, though, this is no ordinary strategy game! Its an instantly playable blood-fest which is so realistic youll think that Hitlers dropped round for a cup of tea and a slice of carnage. You - the player - choose your side, your troops, and can even take control of just one unit. Not only that, but the graphics are simply amazing. Wargasm has it all - make sure you arent left wanting. Infogrames, on release, pounds 39.99 S.C.A.R.S. HHH PlayStation If youre bored with driving the same realistic old cars around the same boring old tracks, then you need S.C.A.R.S., by Acclaim. The aim of the game is to take control of a bizarre futuristic car, pick- up weapons as you drive and blow your opposition away in the quest for glory. The graphics are not exactly stunning, and the controls are a little dodgy, but the gameplay is very addictive, and the two-player option adds that little extra spice. Although S.C.A.R.S. is not the best driving game on the Playstation, it is one of the most action packed. Acclaim, on release, pounds 44.99
While most consumers applaud the institution of the rating system, critics contend that its effectiveness is compromised by some retailers unwillingness to screen buyers. Some video-game retailers continue to sell inappropriate games to underage buyers in spite of the ratings. The ratings themselves attract many underage buyers to the most inappropriate products, which makes sales procedures especially important to enforce. In addition, critics argue, the ratings may prompt many parents to abdicate their own responsibility for monitoring their childrens activities.
The issue of gender bias in video games is another area of considerable debate. Not only are the themes of most video games male-oriented–sports and combat–female characters in the games are portrayed as victims to be rescued by the male hero or objects of violence or sexual desire. The typical female video game character rarely initiates action and is often scantily dressed. Some have argued that the predominantly male themes and passive, sexual female characters will help perpetuate male dominance in everyday life as well as in technology-related industries. There has been a move in recent years to create more games that will appeal to girls as well as to create more gender-neutral games like the popular “Mario” and “Sonic” titles.
Besides the socialization concerns presented by video games, medical concerns were also raised in the early 1990s, when video games were linked to epileptic seizures experienced by some 50 children. About a third of the children had experienced previous seizures, and there was some question about whether the seizures they experienced were actually related to playing or watching a video game. Two large studies later reported that the children who experienced video game-related seizures (VGRS) were particularly sensitive to light and that the video games with their flashing lights merely precipitated, rather than caused, the seizures. Sitting too close to the screen could exacerbate the effects of the light sensitivity, as could the increasingly complex graphic technology featured in todays games. Patients with epilepsy are not thought to be particularly susceptible to VRGS, and no lasting neurological damage has been linked to these seizures.
Despite the controversy surrounding video games, positive benefits have also been noted: development of hand-eye coordination, increase in concentration, logical thinking skills, healthy competition among children as well as socialization skills gained from sharing strategies, and heightened self esteem resulting from successful performances.
The educational potential and use of video games remains untapped, and many believe that technological advances will allow the development of more complex educational software to accompany the already dazzling video displays. In the future, many hope that video games will encompass both entertainment and education.
When the basic “electronic tennis” game Pong first appeared in American bars in 1972 it created a sensation that has only since been replicated by the 1990s Karaoke boom in Japan. In relative terms of course Pong was as fun and innovative in the 1970s as any video game now but the basic principles of video gaming have always in any case remained the same–score the points beat the enemy come back for more. The term “video game” could only really be applied when Atari and Nintendo introduced game consoles into the home throughout the 1970s; the idea being that you would slot your Pong cartridges into the console and play the games through your television set–hence video rather than computer games. But the term has come to cover the main aspect of the medium playing sight-and-sound games through any convenient screen.
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