Gameplay Can't Get Better: Half-Life 2

I had not played Half-Life 2 when I thought Call of Duty had the best gameplay. Having said that, I am not taking anything away from Call of Duty; not even comparing as both are of different genres. Just that I liked this game almost as much as Call of Duty. Half-life 2 has very well designed graphics and awesome gameplay. You get an almost real-life feel when you are in the game. I must say that one has to be really intelligent to finish the game without any help.

There were many occasions where I needed help, but somehow got myself out of the conundrum. For instance there is a place where I had to open a big door in the middle of the road so that I can take my (customised) bike through. Walking was not an option. There was a room that had one battery on the table - there were 2 more slots. I confirmed that this was connected to the door and figured out that I must find 2 more batteries and lay it on the empty slots to open the door. One battery was found outside, but nowhere could I find another one. There was a damaged car in a distance and guess what - found the battery inside car engine. This was it. I had a great sense of pride as if I had done something great in real-life; well, it doesn't matter as long as we are happy isn't it.

There was one place I could not find the solution to get through - I figured it out anyway; after all, why do we have internet for. May be if I had tried more, I could have found it by myself. The experience I had in the entire game was good. Being the lead character in the game, I had a sophisticated feeling throughout. The rich look of the game environment added more value. There are places where we cannot control what happens in the game - that's the beauty of it. It added more flavour by being more challenging. The end was way over cool. I loved the way they related the end to the beginning - I understood it only after I played the first level again. Enjoyed it all the way. I am pretty much looking forward to play the sequel.

If you love challenges with excellent gameplay, this game is for you.

Rift Quests - Which Quest Is Right For You?

Rift quests are the basis of the popular MMORPG, there are numerous amounts of these throughout the game regardless of your race or calling. There are not only just one type of quest however there are different types and in this guide I'll describe the different types which will help you understand which ones are right for you.

The first type you'll notice is the storyline type. This is the main story of either The Guardians or The Defiant. Most of these are solo type missions for you to go through alone however you may end up in a position here you may need the help of some more people. You are given rewards for completing these missions and you can also get yourself some rare rewards for completing off storyline missions in the game. As you play though you may notice that you receive more missions available as you complete other certain missions.

As mentioned you will receive many rewards for the completion of the quests including experience, items, soul rewards and more which you may find useful later on in the game.

The next type of quest which you may be interested in is the dungeon type. Unlike the storyline type this type of mission is one that needs group help. As for your group you will need one that is well rounded; a healer, a defensive player, someone who can attack from long range and someone who can deal a lot of physical damage. These are the main players you'll need in your group and you may also need more of one type of person too.

The goal for this type of mission is defeat the bosses and obstacles that come at you. It is a fun type of quest to play though especially if you have a group of friends on the game already.

Make sure that before you start with your journey that you get all the quests from the questing hub. This will help you save some time on the game and will mean that you will also level up through the game even faster.

I recommend that you only do one of the rift quests at a time as this will save you time travelling around and trying to complete multiple ones at a time. You should try to make sure that you also complete them in one area first so you don't waste your time travelling to different areas of the map just for one mission.

These rift quests are the basis of the game and will keep you entertained throughout. However you may find yourself struggling through these quests and may find that you need a helping hand which is where a rift levelling guide may come in handy for you.

One guide that I do recommend that you at least check out is in both written and video format and has many benefits included with it so make sure you check out this rift beginners guide.

How To Master WoW By Using Macro Commands

The ways that World of Warcraft (WoW) macro commands can help you are probably too numerous to mention but here are a few ideas. They are useful for speeding up common tasks so that you can accomplish them just with a click. This is extremely useful if you are rushed upon or in a panic. They automate the game so that maybe you don't need to worry about redoing complex moves, such as in quests or PVP combat. The macros make the game less tedious and time consuming doing common activities but more than that add a whole new dimension of fun and character. This is where you can add your own personal battle cries, funny sayings or even make lightning fast multiple cast spells in random or sequence. Warriors often need them more than other types where they can be useful equipping certain slots when needed.

The types of slash commands available, for creating your macros with, range from personalizing and communicating with others to controlling your character. You can /shout, /yell. /whisper, /talk to other players, or just simply /laugh, /dance, /bow or /wave to them. You might /follow, /assist, or /cast spells on them or /use trinkets available to you.

They are easily made using the Creating Macros interface. You can call this up by either pressing escape or the Game Menu button and then clicking on 'Macros', or just say '/macros' in the chat box. The interface gives you the ability to create, edit or delete macros where once you give it a name you have a long selection of icons to choose from to attach to it. The edit window is where you can place the slash commands, on each line, so that the macro can then be saved. There are two kinds of macros here denoted by the tabs available, one 'General' set that can be used anywhere in the realm and the other specific tab for macros for that particular character. Once the macro has been created it be placed on the action bar for quick use or if selected can be bound to a key or mouse event. These bound macros are great for very quick response and you have a numerous set of keys and event to choose from. The macros can also work in different ways depending on what keys you are pressing, one spell maybe when you press 'shift', another if you press 'alt'.

If you haven't already done so then learn what you can do with WoW macro commands and do not get put off by all the options, it may be daunting at first but once you have created a few to help your game you will never look back.

To watch videos and learn more about World of Warcraft check out Wow Macro Commands or WoW Macro Videos

How To Make Gold Coins In Skyrim

Skyrim is by far the easiest of all Elder Scroll games when it comes to earning thousands of gold coins in a short time, and there are quite literally loads of ways to do it.

You will find below just a few examples of the types of ways you can actually earn gold when adventuring inside the fantastic Skyrim role playing game.

Collecting Wild Plants To Make Potions

There are thousands upon thousands of flowers and plants strewn across the Skyrim landscape, and taking the time to collect all these beautiful forms of nature can yield a nice amount of gold coins. Especially when visiting an alchemists and mixing the various plants or flowers to produce potions, which can be sold for profit to the various alchemists and shopkeepers.

The only flaw with this method is learning the best plants and flowers to mix together to produce potions that make the most gold coins, because at the beginning you will need to experiment mixing plants and flowers to gain knowledge on the effects each combination has. But flowers and plants are free to pick so there are no overheads just pure profit.

Hunting And Harvesting Meat

This is one of my favourite methods of making gold coins, just because chasing after and shooting arrows at animals with a long bow is fun. There are loads and loads of wild animals in Skyrim such as deer, elk, rabbits, foxes, bears, wolves and a whole host of animals which can be hunted for their skins and meat.

This method though time consuming is really one for players who like to slowly accumulate gold coins over time, maybe taking on the role of a huntsman for a while trying to earn lots of gold coins.

Chopping Wood

Yes there are menial jobs in Skyrim and chopping wood is one of them, arming yourself with a woodsman's axe and heading over to a vacant tree stump next to a pile of wood ready for the chopping is a tedious but very profitable way of making some gold coins when desperate.

If you don't mind spending some chopping wood over and over again, you can build up quite a fair bit of gold coin in a short space of time and is an infinite supply of gold coins when times get hard.

Mining For Ore, Smelting And Producing Weapons

There are lots of ore mines strewn across Skyrim, some which are owned by companies and some which are occupied by bandits or other nasty creatures which will need to be cleared out.

You will usually find a pick axe lying around in the mine, and looking around for the various ore deposits (indicated by a rock with a reddish tint) so you can start chipping away at the ore rich rock to gather some valuable ore.

Many types of ore can be found inside all the mines across Skyrim, and include ore such as gold, silver, iron, and several others. These raw materials must then be turned into ingots by visiting a smelting oven and producing the ingots with the particular ore you have.

You can then use the various ingots to aid in producing valuable and sort after weapons, which will making you lots and lots of gold coins as your Smithing attribute rises.

The only true flaw in this method is the amount of ore deposit found in the cave, and the time passing before the ore regenerates because it depletes when you mine the ore.

Final Word On Making Money In Skyrim

There are lots of other ways to earn yourself valuable gold coins, and taking the time to explore the Skyrim landscape will help you find out some of these hidden methods.

Simon Ecclestone

Learn the secret of how to make more money than you will ever need in Skyrim, with our exclusive video on making Skyrim Gold Coins.

Battleship Games: Develop Strategy And Wit

When it comes to the simplest of games, battleship games are not really the first ones that come to mind. And compared to other board games in the market, this one is not as interactive since there are only two players allowed for each game. But when you want something that will challenge your wit and give you a run for you money in terms of your strategic prowess, battleship is the best game for you. Many people have been playing battleship for years already yet recently, there is a decline in the attention that the game is getting.

There are a lot of reasons why you may not progress in a game such as battleship. But there are also a lot of reasons why you should begin to love it as well. Listed below are the reasons why you can grow to love battleship games.

Strategy, Strategy And More Strategy

Some have argued that they see no point in battleship games, that guessing which part of the board each shop is tends to be prolonging and the game can carry on for hours at a time. The early stages of the game tend to be the longest as you try to feel each other out with each hit that you declare. Battleship is truly a thinking mans game, and this should be the first thing on the mind of anybody who wants to play it.

With each move that you make on those 100 grids on your board, you are making a crucial attempt to win. And with each mistake that you make, it can prove to be costly. A game can last for as long as 4 hours to 30 minutes, so in a way one cannot just say that the game it too prolonging. Depending on your strategy, battleship games can easily have the tides turned.

Battleship Game: Develop Your Wit

More people prefer chess over a battleship game maybe because it is easier. Each move is pre-destined and there is lesser flexibility in strategy. Battleship on the other hand, allows you to be freer in terms of the moves that you can do on the field. This gives you the initiative that strategies do definitely win the game, rather than the power of each character that you have on the field. With even one ship available in your field and an armada for your opponent, you can still win the game.

For more information about battleship games visit our website http://battleshipgames.net/.

Best PS3 Games Released in 2011: Favorites

The entire PlayStation 3 gaming industry has improved vastly due to this year's video game releases which boast of 3D graphics. Graphics are emerging that are fast with very fluid movement, very lifelike and the landscapes are highly imaginative and stunningly beautiful. The major gaming companies have increased their time invested into improving game play with a range of innovative ideas applied during the making of this season's new releases. For PlayStation 3 players who love their games to be challenging or fast and furious; these are my favorites for 2011.

1. SOCOM 4: US Navy Seals - The graphics are stunning and the gameplay will keep you engrossed for hours.

2. Killzone 3: - New characters have been added to this first person shooters game and the action is very fast. The 3D graphics result in very realistic characters.

3. MLB 11: The Show - Top quality, with the baseball playing experience feeling even more realistic due to the 3D effect. The gameplay has improved greatly in the best baseball simulation game ever produced.

4. Mortal Kombat 9: - This has got to be the best fighting game in the market. The gameplay has improved significantly, providing even more challenge to the players. Each character is fitted with two fatalities and the game is gorier than ever before.

5. Crysis 2: - The 3D graphics are spectacular in this release and the gameplay is drastically better, providing very interesting and enthralling gameplay.

6. Portal 2: - Portal 2 is a symbol of human ingenuity as the game will make you tap parts of your brain that you have never utilised before. The game if full of innovative puzzles wherein you would be required to use portal guns to open portals, solve puzzles and counter hazards such as gun turrets, toxins, toxic gas, giant pistons, and torrents of realistic gunfire. With a perfect mix of innovative gameplay and sharp comedy writing, Portal 2 defines itself as the best video game in the market to date.

7. Assassin's Creed: - Revelations is due to be released on Nov, 15th 2011 for PS 3 and Xbox360 by Ubisoft, we had to mention this upcoming video game because it is set to bust all the charts that ever existed. The game will be playable in full 3D and includes the three protagonists from the previous games: Ezio, Altair and Desmond. New gameplay additions include an item called the hookblade, which can be used to zipline across the city or grab enemies to yank them in for a combo attack. The hookblade reportedly speeds up navigation by around 30 percent. Along with the hookblade, Ezio will also have 300 different bomb variations at his disposal, which will be craftable. Players will be able to customize their characters' appearance and weapons, as well as start a guild. New multiplayer modes will be added to the already existing modes, including "story-oriented quests", as well as a much requested Capture the Flag mode. Sounds good!

For more information and to view live gameplay footage of these Playstation3 favorites, please go to http://www.videogamesprofile.com/

A Few Computer Game Reviews You Shouldn't Miss

Solitaire...

In the gaming community this title is arguably the most recognizable of all games.

Solitaire has a history dating back to the mid 18th century. The first written record is 1783 when it appeared in a German book of games. Different languages attached different names - Britain referred to the game as "Patience". The French used the word "Success" (translation reussite) and Polish, Norwegian and Danish used the word "Kabal" or "Kabala" (translation secret knowledge) Today we refer to the most popular version as "Klondike" which is said to be a result of the layout resembling the form of the "Klondike" mountain. (1)

In the 1980's solitaire acquired a new venue. Computer games became popular and solitaire was the most popular of those early games. The computer removed the need to shuffle and deal the cards and one never lost a card from the computer deck.

Solitaire is defined by Wikipedia as "any tabletop game which one can play by oneself or with other people." (2)

The basic premise of Solitaire was to deal a portion of the deck on 7 foundation piles. Starting with the first pile the first card dealt is face up and the other 6 are face down. The next pile starts with a card face up on the second pile and the rest are face down. This method of dealing the cards continues with the first card dealt face up on the next pile and the balance face down until the 7th pile has a card dealt face up. The rest of the cards are dealt in groups of three on to a discard pile. The object is to add to each pile either one card higher or lower and the opposite suit color. The objective is to start a separate pile for each suit with the ace and build to the king by manoeuvring the cards on the 7 piles to expose the next required card for the suit piles.

From there several different styles evolved. Free Cell uses the same procedure but when one of the seven piles is cleared the only card that can be added is a king and it builds down to the ace for the suit piles. Spider solitaire has three levels of difficulty: using one suit and moving up to three suits. The object is to build from the king to the ace. As each suit is completed it is removed from the play board, making the balance of the game progressively easier.

The game site iwin (a company specializing in computer games) has developed a Solitaire game as a spinoff of their Jewel Quest series of match three games. The current offering is Jewel Quest III and it combines an updated version of Solitaire that expands the playing field with extra pile locations.

The game site pogo (also a game developer for computer games) has developed a series of Solitaire games the are unique to their site. They include such versions as rainy day solitaire which adds piles to be dealt face up so one can choose which pile to use, an extra pile for sorting the cards into suits and 2 extra free cells to better manipulate the cards into suits working from the king to ace. Aces up uses only 4 piles and the object is to remove all of the cards except for the ace. Anything higher than that is removed if the ace is open. If not the cards are removed if the higher value card of the same suit is exposed. There are several other variations on the basic premise of creating the suit, either from king to ace or vice versa.

As computer games become more sophisticated solitaire can expect to evolve since it has become so popular that computer systems are set up with an operating system that includes at least one version of Solitaire. It has been an instrument in teaching children to count and when first invented was even interpreted by fortune tellers. Who would have guessed that 52 cards could become so important in our evolution?