Best Video Games of the Summer

By Christine Flanders

I am a thirty-seven year old female. I am not particularly computer savvy. I don’t know what most of the features on my cell phone are for. I don’t text. But I love video games like the proverbial fat kid loves cake. I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a gamer. I’m not even very good at playing video games. What I am is persistent.

I am perfectly willing to sit, unwashed and disheveled in my p.j.s, for fourteen hours straight trying to perfect that certain little left jump, spin, and flip combo that will allow me to pull that lever before the spiked ceiling collapses on me for the umpteenth time. That being said, here are a few reasons why other computer illiterates like me need to get off the board games and get on board with the video game revolution.

Tomb Raider Anniversary Edition: Yes, Lara Croft is back for another adventure, this one just released in June. What is wonderful about the Tomb Raider franchise are the exotic jungle locales, the complex puzzles, and of course the Indiana Jones motif. Like all of Lara’s adventures, the premise is presumably an effort to acquire some obscure artifact before it falls into the hands of evildoers (though I don’t know many legitimate archaeologists who carry automatic weapons and often leave the ancient ruins in shambles).

Originally appearing in 1996, Tomb Raider was the first game to successfully immerse the player in a pseudo three-dimensional environment. Rather than the linear Pitfall Harry-style of the popular Super Mario Bros. games, Lara could move into the depth of the frame and manipulate much of her environment.

The Anniversary Edition brings back all that is fun about the best Tomb Raider incarnations. Lara travels to Peru, Greece and Egypt. The landscapes are detailed, inviting and executed on a grand scale. She has excellent maneuverability and much of the trick is getting a handle on how to make her move with precision.

World of Warcraft: Yes, this has been around for a couple of years now, but how many video games let you interact with other players online, in real time, all over the world? Most of the “people” you will encounter in WoW are the avatars of other players whose strategy is spontaneous and unique, rather than part of predetermined program reacting to a single player’s actions. A newcomer to WoW will have to choose his or her character traits from one of ten different races.

Each race originates from a home country and that is where individuals choosing a character from that race begin the game. Players gain experience and elevate in rank by completing missions. Elevation in rank allows entry to other countries. The landscape is of the Tokien variety—often resembling something from the Lord of the Rings. Character mobility is fairly rudimentary: forwards, backwards, left, and right.

But the real strength of WoW lies in the necessity to interact with other players. Many missions can only be accomplished by a group of players banding together their vastly different skills to overcome an obstacle. Another really interesting thing about WoW is that it has become so popular it has spawned a virtual economy. For real currency a player can buy or sell WoW gold, weapons, and other virtually valuable items on eBay. WoW is an ever evolving world. The latest expansion pack, “The Burning Crusade” adds a new continent.

Bioshock: Welcome to Rapture, an underwater utopia created by scientists in the 1940’s looking to escape the horror of two World Wars and the looming threat of “The Bomb.” Rapture is a haven hidden on the bottom of the ocean. Unfortunately something has gone very wrong in Rapture.

This first person shooter-style game unfolds in a shadowy, art-deco cityscape. Most of the inhabitants are dead and the ones that are left are not quite…well…right. Let’s just say there has been a large amount of genetic enhancement going on in Rapture, not all of it for the better.
What is unusual about Bioshock that it is entirely interactive. In most video games, the only parts of the environment that the player can interact with are the ones that lead to the next stage. The rest is just scenery.

Not so with Bioshock. The creators boast that this game is all about choices. Each player can choose what to explore and follow their own moral compass in deciding how to play the game.
Each experience will be entirely unique. Available on X Box 360, the graphics are high definition1080p quality. Sleek and stylish, the stills alone made me want to drop $450 on an X Box. The water looks amazing. Bioshock was released Monday, August 21, 2007.

About the Author:Christine Flanders is a freelance writer for Indocquent.com Indocquent.com is an online resource that allows businesses and individuals to promote their products and services in 20,000 cities in over 200 countries around the world.