By Blood

I think one of the few questions that has crossed our minds once or twice while trying to decide what new game to buy is "Is this game going to be good or will it suck"? Believe me I have bought more than a few games that weren’t worth the gas money it cost me to go down and pick it up.

The old saying "never judge a book by it’s cover" applies to software too. A flashy cover with a neat picture may not necessarily be the best buy or a good game. On the flip side if the cover of the box sucks and looks like it was designed by your mom it may not be a bad game (though experience tells us it more that likely is). The point I am trying to make is never judge a game by the box it’s in. Marketing companies are paid to make the product appealing on the outside so you will buy it. The marketers don’t really care how great a game is they just want you to spend your money on it, keep this in mind.

There are a few considerations to make while preparing to buy a game. The first questions you should ask yourself is "is the price of the game worth what I am getting"? Some companies think that it is perfectly reasonable to charge $60 for a small, poorly written game. Do some research find out what the game entails. Pcshooter or any other similar sites look at the game in depth before or shortly after it is released. Let people who really know games have a look at it and see what they are saying. I recommend you check three or four different sites to see if there is a common theme to the reviews about the game. If three out of four reviewers mention the same problem with a game then chances are the problem exists and the game may really suck! I would be very hesitant to rely on one review. Check out a few reviews to get a well rounded opinion. Just because I like a game doesn't mean you will. But if a group of different people don't like a game there is usually a good reason why. 

Check into the storyline for the game. Is there a storyline is it interesting to you? One of my biggest pet peeves and the thing that will turn me off of a game faster is a neat game engine and lame story or worse yet no story. Everyone loves a good multiplayer game. Be honest with yourself how often will you be able to play multiplayer? (if you aren’t sitting down right now I recommend you do so now, if things get to rough take deep slow breaths) Sometimes your ISP may be having problems, other times you may not be able to find people to play with. When those sad an unfortunate situations happen you are going to have to read a book or play single player mode. I know, I know who wants to play single player games. Well sometimes there is no other option. A game with a good storyline (a storyline that is integrated into the game itself not just a good story in the game manual) will be fun and interesting even in single player mode.