Category Archives: Gaming

Great Beginner Golfing Tips

While golf is one of those sports that many people enjoy, actually mastering it can often be a difficult challenge. On top of that, golf is a sport that tends to cost quite a bit of money. If it is your first time playing golf, you will need a few beginner golfing tips in order to help you get started. There are some players who spend a great deal of money on this fun sport simply because they are not guided properly when it comes to what they should be doing as a beginner. Read through these tips and other tips on golf swing to learn what a new golfer should do and avoid being like those who spend too much money.

1. Choosing your clubs. If you are a beginner, it is a good idea to not spend a lot of money on your clubs. Wait until you get a good handle on the game and have some skill before you invest in the expensive clubs. There are many good sets that cost less than $150 as well as many great bargains at garage or yard sales.

2. Take some lessons. If learning to play golf is a top priority, then taking lessons might be a good choice for you. However, you do not need a golf school to learn the game, you can hire one of the local pros instead and it will be much less expensive.

3. Choose an area that is good for practicing. In fact, you can even practice in your own backyard when you use balls meant for practice instead of the real golf balls. You can also practice putting in your living room. The driving range offers a great place to practice as well.

4. Find out where the beginners play. Many beginners will start playing at par-3 courses. These courses typically have nine holes, each a par-3. It is a good idea to avoid courses with a lot of sand and water because these can be quite difficult for the beginner.

Use these helpful beginner golfing tips and you will get a good start playing a fun game.

Action-packed dirt bike games

Racing games sure have come a long way. In the “olden” days, you might be able to find a simple dirt bike game that attempted to simulate the high energy experience of racing around a rough track. Today, there are a lot of choices in games, and they include far more the standard dirt bike to drive and crash up, too.

Here are the features of a couple of the highest rated games available today.

Pure (rating 4 out of 5)

Pure, by Disney, is predominately an ATV motocross game (PlayStation 3, Xbox, and PC). You are given a lot of flexibility in building your own custom vehicle from the ground up. And you can race across seven of the world’s most dramatic natural environments, modeled after the real places, including Wyoming, New Mexico, and Italy. In all, there are more than 30 tracks to try out.

Reviewers generally like the graphics of this game, and the customization of the vehicles. One negative statement that comes up is the lack of variation in the game play experience, and that it tended to become repetitive, but overall are good value.

MX vs ATV Reflex (rating 4 out of 5)

A slightly newer release than Pure, MX vs. ATV Reflex (PlayStation 3, Xbox, Nintendo DS, and Sony PSP) adds several different dimensions to the genre. First, there are a wider variety of vehicle classes you can pilot, including ATVs, buggies, motorcycles, and trucks. One of the coolest features I think is the real time terrain deformation, that is, as you and other drivers go around the track, furrows and damage done by the vehicles is preserved for the next lap, making each lap a new challenge as you adjust to changing conditions.

Also, as you make your way through the game you can encounter famous top riders in the sport, and you can test your skill against their digital personas. Another feature that the makers tout is the wreck avoidance system, giving rise to the “reflex” part of the title. As you attempt death-defying tricks, jumps, and feats, the game tells you if you are not pulling out of it in time to land safely. The wreck avoidance system gives you a chance, with quick reflexes, to save yourself at the last second—if you are fast enough.

Motorstorm Pacific Rift (rating 4.5 out of 5)

Motorstorm (PlayStation 3) takes this game style to a different level, claiming to be faster, and more brutal than the competition. The game features 8 different vehicle classes (bikes, ATV, buggies, rally cars, racing trucks, mud pluggers, monster trucks, and big rigs). Winning is not the only thing in this game, as you also score points for how you race, and how well you out compete and out crush your opponents.

Unlike the other games that seeks to simulate real-world places, this game’s action takes place on a single Pacific island set aside for the races. But the island is large enough to have four distinct zones, and therefore, four distinct types of racing: air, fire, water, and earth.

Unlike some games, it does feature a split screen view for multi-player action with friends, and it also boasts of real-time track deformation. Action is the name of this game, as it claims to be brutal, dangerous, relentless, and unpredictable. Reviewers rate the experience very highly. The limited platform availability is the only down side of this game, unless of course you have the PlayStation—in which case, you can gloat over your friends.

See also
Fishing games—a sea of options

Fishing games—a sea of options

Fishing remains a very popular past time for many people. And, there are many reasons that people seek it out, ranging from some low-key family time, solitude on quite waters, the thrill of fighting with another species, to professional and tournament fishers interested in competition.

When you cannot get out on the water, you may be interested in a fishing game to help pass the time, and the range of titles and formats can be overwhelming. There is a tough balance to achieve in fishing games—enough action for the video gamer, and enough simulated fishing to satisfy the fishers, and this explains why there are few fishing games that have been really successful. Here, I will provide comments about a few of the best-reviewed fishing games out there today.

Atlus Pro Fishing Challenge (rating 4 out of 5)

For simulation games, an older and highly rated game is Atlus Pro Fishing Challenge (for Xbox). With the fishing rod controller, this game provides an in-depth experience, simulating a real fishing trip. The game features 4 photorealistic lakes. You create your avatar and there are many “skins” to select from, including both men and women. You gear up at the tackle shop and head for the water. The game has over 100 pieces of tackle including rods, lines, reels, and lures. As you progress in the game and win tournaments you can unlock optional gear and clothing as a reward.

You select lures, rods, reels, and other equipment and learn about water conditions as to where to find the best fish. Depth, water temperature, and other environmental variables are given for you to find the best holes. One feature that may be a plus or a negative is that the action is all viewed from above water—just like in real life you are not transported to an underwater view of the action. You cast, and trawl, and when a fish bites the real fun begins.

You cannot just reel it in—your line will break or the fish will otherwise get away. Instead, you must “play” the fish, letting it battle you until it fatigues and you can safely bring it aboard, just as in real life. You can even utilize the online gaming experience to visit a virtual lake and interact with other anglers. This is as close to a real in-door fishing experience you are likely to get.

Rapala Pro Fishing (rating 4 out of 5)

Rapala Pro Fishing (PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation3, and Nintendo Wii) has also been around for a while, and is generally well reviewed. In contrast to Pro Fishing Challenge, it is slightly more of an arcade experience in that you do not have to fuss as much with all the variables to start fishing, but there are variables to play with. The game features 11 species of fish, 12 localities around the world, and 2 game modes, free and tournament.

You have a fishing buddy in the game that can help by pointing out various tips to improve your experience, such as changing lures and other things that can be a big help. The camera view briefly shows you underwater scenes as fish approach and takes the hook. After that, it is above water views as you fight to land your fish. If you leave too much slack in the line your fish will throw the hook. Keep the line too tight and it could snap.

Rapala Pro Bass Fishing 2010 (rating 4.5 out of 5)

One of the newest video fish games on the market is Rapala Pro Bass Fishing 2010 (Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2 and 3, Xbox, Nintendo DS, and Sony PSP). This game comes in both a standard edition and a rod peripheral bundle edition. The game features over 25 species of trophy fish as well as many lures, boats, and other gear. There are several game modes including free, amateur, pro, and legendary, and head to head, with 4 levels of competitions at each. There are a variety of competitions styles within the game, including heaviest, longest fish, most fish caught in a given period, and so on.

This game boasts of a true tournament structure, with the action presented as a live TV event, including announcers calling the action. Being very new, many reviewers really like how this game makes use of the newest PlayStation move technology.

The game features a lot of different gear, with 49 lures, and extra rods, reels, and boats. Built-in fish-o-pedia will tell you if you have the right lure for the target species you are after. Once hooked, the view shows a split screen view of both above and under-water action. You fight your fish, working to keep it in the center of the screen so it does not snap your line and get away.

Given the diversity of formats available for this game, and the quality of its graphics, I think this is the game I would opt for, all things being equal, if I wanted just one fishing game in my collection.

Fishing Controllers

Of course, a true fishing experience involves a quality fishing controller. Here is a list of several fishing controllers you can get for your system. This section is not comprehensive, and I have not reviewed these controllers, but list them for you as a place to start if you need a controller and will not get one with the game bundle you purchase. Happy fishing!

Naki Bass Champion X Fishing Controller for Xbox

Naki Bass Champion 2 Fishing Controller for PS2

Wii Fishing Rod with Reel for Nintendo Wii

Boneblogger: Science and the outdoors

Exploring the natural world