Gifts For Geeks – Christmas 2008 – Part Five

£-varies

Computer Games

Geeks love computer games - well, most of us do!

Geeks who like to game like having lots of games, but be careful, just as music has many genre’s, which people either like or don’t, games fall under many genre’s too.

The key genre’s in PC gaming though FPS, RPG and RTS.

FPS, or First Person Shooter is the kind of game that puts the player behind the crosshairs of a weapon, with the aim to annihilate the enemy, either in a mission based manner, or in a classic ‘Deathmatch’, which pits the player against others in arena style combat.

Games that are currently popular in this genre include Call Of Duty 4 and Call Of Duty: World At War, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead and Unreal Tournament III.

RPG, or Role Play Game is a generally an adventure game played from a third person perspective (camera behind the in-game character). RPG’s are often fantasy based, involving mythical characters and creatures such as orc’s and ogres, dragon’s and wizards and feature turn based combat.

Popular RPG titles include World Of Warcraft (WoW), Warhammer: Age Of Reckoning and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

RTS, or Real Time Strategy games are usually viewed in a top-down manner (the camera is in the sky, looking down on the game-field, and involve controlling units and vehicles with objectives to complete, such as mining ores, collecting food and taking out the enemy encampments.

Red Alert 3, Company Of Hero’s and World In Conflict are popular titles in this genre.

Multiplayer, an important aspect of gaming on the PC is featured in the majority of titles from these three key genre’s, and in all of the titles mentioned. Multiplayer components of the games require an active internet connection, and in almost all cases this means a broadband connection, not dial-up. Make sure you get this right, because if the games requires broadband, and for some strange reason the Geek doesn’t have one, he will be disappointed!

Gifts For Geeks – Christmas 2008 - Part Four

$1.99 USD or £1.30 GBP

ThinkGeek.com has some fantastic Geek Gift idea’s, and one of the simplest is the replacement PC case badges. They come in a range of finishes from white to black through brushed metal, with various logo’s printed on them.

My favorites are FRAG and l337/h4X0r but there are many more to choose from, and at such a low price there is little reason not to get one for your favorite Geek this Christmas!.

Gifts For Geeks – Christmas 2008 – Part Three

£36.82

The G9 is an excellent gaming mouse.  It has a choice of two outer casings -  the small one is textured while the larger one is smooth and broad.

The G9 is so light that Logitech has included weights for those who are used to the feel of heavier gaming mice.  The cable is braided, so it’s less likely to snag than a plastic cable.

The mouse wheel is solid enough for use as a middle button, while the clearly felt increments when rolling the wheel are ideal for precise weapon selection.  There are three sensitivity settings, the highest of which is a ferocious 3200dpi.  The thumb buttons are well situated and have a good, clean response, which is ideal for games such as Call Of Duty 4 in which they serve as ideal melee combat and grenade buttons.

Available from Amazon.co.uk