User:BangkokHoyt

BangkokHoyt is a Wikipedia user originally from Montana, U.S.A. He has lived in the U.S. states of Idaho, Arizona, Alaska, Nevada, and Washington, as well as Bangkok and Phetchabun, Thailand. He has had many jobs from lumberjack to police officer and is currently working as a defense contractor driving truck in Iraq.

This is not intended to be an advertisement. This advise is based on my own limited experience as I only recently became a gamer. The hardware and games that I discuss are what I have used. There are a few things that I am not interested in and so base those recommendations on published reviews and note that.

Many people have expressed an interest in gaming and usually ask me questions far outside the beginner's scope. Video games are much like any other form of entertainment in that they have many different genres and play styles that appeal to different people. The only way you will learn what kind of gaming style appeals to you is to actually play some games. But it can seem a little daunting when a person first starts gaming. They often expect to just jump right into it and feel all the action and excitement right away. Unfortunately, due to the interactive nature of video games, your gaming experience will be directly related to your gaming skills. This does not mean that you need to be a master gamer to have a good time. Most gaming titles are written in a way that you can adjust the difficulty of the game from very easy to very hard. But you do need to develop the basic skills needed to operate the game system you are playing the game on. You need to have patience when you start gaming for the first time or after having been away for a few years, which seems to be the case for most adults that express this interest.

For people in this position I recommend starting with a portable gaming system so that you can take it with you wherever you go. In your spare time while waiting on buses, planes, or enjoying an overpriced coffee based product, you can begin to develop the skills needed to be a gamer. After you become a gamer with your portable system, then you can move on to the console systems. The Playstation Portable, known as the PSP, is a perfect first system. There are a multitude of games covering every style and genre imaginable. And if you find that you just don't like gaming, you can also use your PSP as a portable player for movies, music, and internet browsing.

There are quite a few different models of PSP's. The biggest difference between the models is that one utilizes only downloaded material. So if you are internet savy and have internet access the PSP Go might be the model you like. But if you have reservations about figuring out the downloading process or have limited internet access, then you want to stay away from the PSP Go and purchase one of the other PSP systems that utilize UMD's (Universal Medi Discs). With these other systems, you purchase a gaming disc (UMD) just like you would for a console system via a brick and mortar store or an internet mail order store. I myself prefer utilizing UMD's because I do not have adequate internet access in Iraq. One distinct advantage to the PSP Go's digital media route is that some games, for example The Sims 2, have awfully long pauses while playing the game when the system is loading data. This can harm the gaming experience when these load times are long. The PSP Go's digital media usually decreases this phenomena dramatically. But for most quality games, loading times are not much of an issue.

After you choose your PSP model, you need to find a game that appeals to you. Here is a small list of the very best games available on the PSP, while trying to represent the major different styles:

Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception - This is a very good game if you think you might like a flying game. There is a story line and a number of fighter jets to fly.

Burnout Legends - This is a very highly rated driving game. I am not a fan of driving games so I have not played it, but it has received very high ratings.

Call of Duty: Roads to Victory - This is third person shooter game that takes place during World War II. It is a good game for a beginner as it follows a straight guided story line but has many different scenes and is exciting.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII - This is a Role Playing Game, (RPG). The Final Fantasy franchise is often regarded (perhaps inaccurately) as the creator of the modern RPG gaming style. This game is a newly upgraded version from this franchise and will represent the RPG style well, though I have not played it.

God of War: Chains of Olypus - This is another third person perspective game that follows a straight guided story line just as Call of Duty does, but this is a hack and slash game as opposed to being a shooter game. This is also a good game for a beginner because the God of War franchise is highly successful and this game takes place at the chronological beginning of the franchise.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories - This is an open sand box type of game, meaning you are free to move around, explore the world, and do many different things at your own pace. There is a storyline that can guide you to do different things and ultimately win the game. This is a very large and long game, and while fun it does contain violence, drugs, sex, and adult language.

Little Big Planet - This is a very unique game and I have reservations about recommending it for the beginner, but I list it because it represents the best in the "build your own game" genre. To be sure, there are other games that attempt some of what Little Big Planet does, but none of them come close to the completeness that this game does. And even if you are not interested in creating your own games, you can play through the stages it provides as a platformer game.

Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters - This is a platformer game. I am not a big fan of platformers, but this game is so well put together and works with the PSP so well that it is one of the few platformer games that I actually completed.

Rock Band Unplugged - Because of the portable nature of the PSP there really is not much available in the currently popular musical games. But this one has received very high reviews though I have not played it myself.

The Sims 2: Castaway - This is a life simulation game that takes place on deserted islands. The Sims is the most popular franchise in the simulation genre and this game is one of their best. It still has some load time issues for those who play it from the UMD, but it is reasonable, (unlike The Sims 2, wich was completely unbarable).

Tekken 6 - This is a fighting game. I'm not a fan of matched fighting games so have not played it, but this is supposed to be one of the best. I do admit that the graphics for this game are beautiful.

When you shop for games, please be aware that close is not good enough when you are looking at titles. For example, if you order The Sims 2 but were trying to order The Sims 2: Castaway, you will be very disappointed. Also, to help ensure that you don't waste your money on a crappy game, you need to look up the reviews for it before you order it. As the previous example illustrates, even a great franchise can put out a crappy game. (As a side note, The Sims 2 is not a crappy game, it is actually an excellent game, but many find it unplayable from a UMD because of the extensive load times.) I recommend the internet site www.gamespot.com to read reviews of games before you purchase them. There are many other websites that provide the same services in formats you may like better so search around the internet and find one that helps you.

Also, there are many magazines that you can subscribe to that will give you reviews and previews of upcoming games and hardware. One of the best independant magazines is Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM). They have been around since the beginning of video games and while they had a short hiatus recently, they are back in the publishing game. And if you do enjoy your PSP and are thinking of getting more Playstation hardware, PlayStation: The Official Magazine (PTOM) may be a good magazine for you. While their objectivity is not what EGM is, they do provide a good look at everything going on in the Playstation world.

I hope this helps you to find fun, excitement, relaxation, and entertainment in the world of video games.