Gaming

Flight Simulation was one of the first mainstream commercial uses for video games. Funded primarily by the U.S government, flight sims have pushed the envelope in gaming, as well as revolutionized modern air combat training. Thus, over the years there has been many games developed that can be considered classics in this genre, and some that truly took the simulation world by storm. What follows is a list of the 5 best flight simulation games of all time.

One of the best reasons to own any Android product is that there are thousands of games you can download to play. Games have been a part of our culture since we first discovered fire and will remain a part of who we are for the rest of humanity's existence. Games for mobile devices have come a long way in the past few years and this has given the Android games that would be just as at home on a console. While there are thousands of games available for the Android, this article lists ten games that are better than most of the others.

During the year if you’ve read the reviews I’ve submitted you’d know that I have a tendency to compare ‘this keyboard’ to ‘that keyboard’ but what would happen if I compared all the keyboards I reviewed in the past year and picked one to conquer all; A straight up prize fight based on all the categories that matter to you, the consumer. This is the first Keyboard of the Year Award ThinkComputers will ever hand out, so who will reign supreme? Let’s take a look!

I’m sure by now you have heard of Epic Games, they are the creators of the very popular Unreal series, the Unreal Engine that powers many PC games and one of the most popular franchises on the Xbox 360, Gears of War. If you did not know Epic just turned 20 years old (damn that makes me feel old!) and decided to <a href="http://epicgames.com/community/epic-20th-anniversary-commemorative-soundtrack/" target="_blank">give away a pretty sweet soundtrack</a>. We decided for this week’s Gaming Friday article we would a look back at the past 20 years of Epic Games.

Many games have since been made emulating DotA’s basic principle, and an entire genre has been created in its honor. MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) games have grown at a phenomenal rate, and an example of success is League of Legends. Enter DotA 2. The first true successor to the original custom map is currently in-development by Valve and in closed beta. More people are added frequently, with online numbers reaching around 30,000 people at any time of the day.

This past weekend we had the pleasure of attending <a href="http://www.pittco.org/">Pittco’s Iron Storm XIII Lan Party</a>!  This 42 hour event hosted about 150 gamers and started April 20 and concluded on April 22nd.  They had official tournaments for Counter-Strike: Source, League of Legends, Starcraft II, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Halo Reach and many more.  Besides just the tournaments there was quite a lot of gaming going on as well as other fun.  Read on to see what the event was all about!

This week on our Gaming Friday segment we are back to a first-person shooter!  A lot of people may not believe me, but this is my first time playing a Tribes game.  <a href="https://account.hirezstudios.com/tribesascend/" target="new">Tribes Ascend</a> is a upcoming free-to-play multiplayer-only first-person shooter.  I’m sure many of you are familiar with the Tribes franchise.  The Beta for the game is currently out and available for everyone to download.  I have been playing it for the past week and I am really enjoying it.  Read on to see what Tribes Ascend is all about and to see our gameplay video!

Just <a href="http://thinkcomputers.wpengine.com/realm-of-the-mad-god/">a few weeks ago</a> we talked about Realm of the Mad God, the “co-op fantasy mmo shooter” from Wild Shadow Studios.  Even since then a lot of us here at ThinkComputers have been playing the game.  I myself have unlocked all of the character classes, had many level 20 characters, explored many of the dungeons and even defeated Oryx a few times.  Even though I’ve had some awesome characters with great gear I ended up dying and when you die in the game you are permanently dead.  This is a real bummer, but it does keep the game interested.  When you start a new character the first thing you want to do is get back up to level 20 so in this Gaming Friday I will be going over some of the easiest way to reach level 20.

I'm sure many of your are familiar with the term "Rage Quit". Basically what it means is playing a video game, getting so mad at it and flipping out before quitting. I'm sure if you play games you have seen this happen or even done it yourself. It is hilarious when it happens. The guys over at <a href="http://roosterteeth.com" target="_blank">Rooster Teeth</a> (makers of the Red vs. Blue series) actually have a show called <a href="http://achievementhunter.com/archive/?sid=ragequit&v=more" target="_blank">Rage Quit</a>. In the show they have their subject Michael play very hard or difficult games till he flips out. A friend sent me a Rage Quit video a few weeks ago and since then I've watched everyone that they have produced.

Have you ever thought about robbing a bank, c’mon I know you have.  This is just one of the scenarios that you are able to play out online with friends or in single player mode on Payday: The Heist.  This first-person shooter is unlike others where you are fighting in a war, against aliens, or in some arena.  Here you are able to play the bad guys and break the law and six action-packed and thrilling scenarios, one of which is robbing a bank.  Read on to see what this game is all about!