Where should I buy games?

Smartphone/tablet
All you have to do is visit the online app store supported by your device by clicking on the icon
on your home screen. If you have a Windows phone it’s Windows Store, on Android it’s Google
Play and on Apple phones it’s the App Store. You’ve probably already done this to download
something like Candy Crush Saga or Angry Birds (which are both great games), but there are
more complex options out there too. We’ll get to that tomorrow.
PC
If you want to play games on a PC or Mac, you should probably sign up for Steam. This is
effectively a vast online shop, like the Apple App Store, where you buy games and then
download them straight to your computer – you never need to own a boxed copy. Steam sells
most of the latest blockbuster hits, but also has a vast range of interesting independent games
(made by smaller studios) and a back catalogue of classic titles. There are regular sales too.
Like Netflix or Amazon, Steam will also suggest games based on your previous purchases, and
there’s a social element, so you can connect with friends and find out what they recommend.
There are alternative digital shops (try Good Old Games, Green Man Gaming or EA’s own Origin
store), but Steam dominates the market.
Console
For boxed games, supermarkets and major online stores like Amazon will get you the cheapest
deals on the big new titles. There are a few high street retailers hanging on in there for dear
life: HMV still sells games, and Game has had a resurgence over the last two years – it’s great
for pre-owned titles (as are smaller chains like Planet Games and CEX).
PlayStation, Xbox and Wii also have their own online stores, allowing you to download both
major new titles and smaller indie titles – the prices for big releases can be expensive though,
and they take up lots of space on your hard drive. With both Xbox One and PlayStation 4, if you
pay for a subscription to their online gaming services (Xbox Live and PlayStation Network), you
also get to download free games every month, and you keep these for as long as you’re a
subscriber.
What else do I need?
PC
For PC gaming, you’ll need a decent flatscreen monitor. I’d go for at least a 27-inch Full HD
display, at 120Hz (though 60Hz is fine), with as low a response time (measured in milliseconds)
as possible. There’s a great PC Magazine guide to all the more complicated things you should
look for.
Most games are fine with mouse and keyboard control, but you can also buy a joypad for action
games (the Xbox 360 wired controller is perfect). If you get into flight or space sims a specialist
joystick like the Saitek X52 or Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas X may eventually be a good idea.
Console
If you have a new console, a full high-definition (1080p) flatscreen TV is the idea option, though
an older 720p ‘HD Ready’ set is fine – just something with an HDMI port in the back. I’d say you
need at least a 40-inch display to get the best out of the visuals, but others disagree (and as
commenters are pointing out below, it depends on the size of your room). These days you can
get a good quality, decent-sized LED television for less than £500. LG, Panasonic, Sony and
Samsung are good brands to look for. You need a television with the lowest possible “input lag”
(the time it takes for the screen to respond to joypad movements), which can be an issue with
TVs that use lots of high-tech picture processing technologies. Some have special Game Modes
which tweak settings for speed and motion blur.
You could check out Displaylag.com, which lets you know about the input lag on most major
new screens, or HDTVTest which rates and reviews TVs in a lot of detail and usually mentions
how good they are for gaming.
What about 4K, the new generation of TVs which offer four times the visual clarity of current
HD sets? They’re still a bit pricey and none of the consoles support them yet so it maybe a bit
early to jump on that bandwagon.
So what should I play?
Ah, this is the big question. There is a dizzying array of video game genres, some of them are
self-explanatory (driving sims, flight sims, fighting games, puzzle games), some of them not so
much. Here’s a quick guide:
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First-person shooter (FPS): a shooting game in which you view the environment through the
eyes of the lead protagonist. The aim will usually be to run through a series of linear
environments shooting people/aliens/things.
Current examples: Halo, Call of Duty, Battlefield
Third-person shooter/brawler: like the above except the lead character is visible onscreen, and
there is often an emphasis on melee combat as well as shooting stuff. Current examples:
Bayonetta, Metal Gear Solid, Uncharted
Role-playing game (RPG): an adventure game, usually set in a fantasy or science fiction
environment, where the player character gains new abilities, spells and weapons by fighting
enemies and discovering treasure. This is a process known as collection experience points (XP)
and “levelling up”.
Current examples: Final Fantasy, Dragon Age, Dark Souls, Witcher
Massively multiplayer online game (MMORPG): As above, but played in an online environment
where hundreds of other gamers are also co-operating and competing. Fans usually join guilds
(gaming teams) and attempt missions together.
Current examples: World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, Eve Online
Real-time strategy game (RTS): A battle strategy title in which players control an army of
different vehicles (units) and must direct them against an opponent’s forces. Usually, players
have to mine for resources in order to build units before putting them into battle. Both
competitors move and command their armies at the same time, unlike turn-based strategy
games like Civilization and XCOM.
Current examples: Starcraft 2: Rome: Total War, Company of Heroes
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Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA): A comparatively new genre, in which two small teams
of warriors battle each other on small-scale environments using an array of weapons and spells.
The aim is to destroy the opponent’s base structure. This is a team-based genre, with each
warrior controlled by a different player.
Current examples: League of Legends, Dota 2, Smite
Open-world shooter: an action adventure game in which the player has free access to a large
environment, often a fantasy realm or a modern city, and can freely explore. There is often a
series of narrative missions which move the story along, but the world will also contain an array
of optional side-quests and tasks, which provide different experiences and allow the player to
“level up” with new items and abilities.
Current examples: Grand Theft Auto, Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, Tomb Raider
How do I play online?
You’ll need a broadband internet connection and a router. When you’re looking for a provider,
you need one that offers fast download and upload speeds, and a stable connection with less
jitter (fluctuating performance) and latency (delays in getting data to and from the internet). If
you’re planning to download a lot of games, you should go for a service that offers unlimited
data downloads. Also, find out if the service prioritises gaming traffic: some providers use traffic
management to stabilise the service at peak times, but this can really impact gaming
performance. Generally, Virgin Media, Sky and BT are all okay, but specialist broadband
providers like PlusNet and Zen are pulling in increasingly good reviews.
Once you’re set up, you can either plug your console or PC directly into the router via an
ethernet cable, or you can connect wirelessly via Wi-Fi (if you have a PC you may need to buy a
Wi-Fi dongle for this). Generally, you’ll get a faster more stable gaming experience with a wired
connection. If your games machine is in a different room to your router, you could try a power
line adaptor – this uses your home’s electric wiring as a network.
Most games make it really easy to play against other people online. There will probably be a
“Multiplayer” option on the main menu: just click on that and follow the instructions. You may
get a choice of playing “co-op” (with your friends against computer-controlled enemies) or
“competitive” (playing against other people). If you don’t want to play against strangers,
PlayStation, Xbox, Wii U and Steam all let you create friend lists of players you know, and you’ll
be able to see when your pals are online.