By Oneil Walker, Contributor
A computer screen displays an online gambling website. - Reuters
Most people believe it is a computer game installed on their machine that links with a server and enables them to play against an opponent. But the truth is, any game that is played via the world-wide web is an online game. The game could be as simple as ping pong or Jeopardy, or as complex as World of War Craft. To try to categorise these games is quite difficult but I decided to place them in two groups, online games for computers and those for video game consoles.
Computer games
Computer games cover: personal computers, laptops and personal digital assistants. Personal digital assistants are like your palm pilot, pocket PC or Windows CE compatible devices. All these devices connect the same way and play several games. The advantages of these devices are endless. You can just log on and start playing your favourite games from your machine without opening up a browser. Most games that are installed on these devices detect your Internet connection and logging on automatically gives you the latest updates and patches as it starts up.
If you have a friend who is also online, it easily links you both and allows you to play against or with that person. These games must be installed to be played online. If you don't have these installed, then you can visit sites such as Yahoo! and MSN free online games to play.
There are other sites that have simple requirements, such as
loading an application onto your browser to make it work. These scare me at times, but it is all in the name of gaming. You also have flash sites where people upload their creations for you to play for free. These are the best. When the public has a say in 'gaming', the possibilities are
endless.
Video game consoles
This group includes your typical Xbox360, PS3 and Wii consoles and your hand-held games like the PSP and Nintendo DS. These gaming devices are now even more popular in the online gaming world. With the introduction of wireless technology, people no longer stay home and play these consoles. In Jamaica, you have people in cafés, restaurants, clubs and even on the sidewalks playing online games. The good thing about most of these consoles is that once you own the game, playing online is free.
Some of these consoles also have an arena/mall where you can get demo games and added features for a particular game, all for free.
Next week, we will have a list of sites that offer online gaming.
Did you know?
1. That Dreamcast was the first console to go online.
2. Doom was the first online 'first-person' shooter game.
3. The first online game was Maze War by Xerox PARC.
Done by GameYaad.com
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