By: Dave Blackwell Senior Staff Writer Phoenix Genesis / MBS LP www.phoenixgenesis.com June 8, 2001.

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Video games are an excellent way of reducing stress in everyday life. Like a movie, video games can transport you to any story you wish. But unlike a movie, video games make you think and won't just passively feed your brain. Hand and eye coordination is also improved through (VG) Video Game exposure. Certain fighting or racing games for example, test just how fast your reactions are to the virtual environment, improving hand-eye coordination.

In the news the past few years video games have been labeled dangerous to kids for making them "zombies." Worst still, Video Games are being blamed for the growing number of school shootings that are happening around the country. The truth is however, more and more games released are providing very useful information and because technology is becoming so advanced, games like "Gran Turismo" (a driving game) actually improve driving skills. Another great example is an action game called "Parasite Eve" that incorporates useful scientifc facts about DNA and Mitochondria woven throughout the story. Who knows, maybe one day parents will actuallly want kids to play games as a way of learning.

As you can probably tell, I am a gamer and an avid one at that. Through the years the number of systems available has grown and now the market is very mainstream, taking in more revenue then the movie industry! While not having the privilege of owning every system, I have owned many. Below is a list of systems I have owned throughout the years or still own and enjoy today.

• Atari
  • Atari 2600
• Nintendo
  • NES-Nintendo Entertainment System
  • SNES-Super Nintendo Entertainment System
  • N64-Nintendo 64
  • Gameboy
• Sega
  • Genesis
  • Sega CD
  • Sega Game Gear
  • Dreamcast
• Sony
  • PS-Playstation
  • PS2-Playstation 2

If you're not familiar with the video game world you might at first, think that these are alot of systems to own or have owned. In a sense you're very right because they are not cheap! Systems can run anywhere between $50 to $300 depending on how long they have been on the market and how new the technology is. On the other hand, this industry is still in it's infancy when you compare it to the movie industry which has been around for about a century.

Video Game or Movie?

Video games for the most part were given life in the late 70's and were very primitive with only 2 to 3 objects on screen at one time and in black and white. Today there can be millions of different objects on screen at once and in any color the programmer wishes to use. As you can see, the evolution of gaming is quite similiar to the movie industry. When movies were first introduced they didn't have the flash they do now, although people flocked to them anyways because it was something never before seen. In time, audio was introduced and years later color which added extremely to the movie going experience. In the video game world, programmers are constantly learning new techniques to add to camera movement to show dynamic angles that greatly enhance story elements and graphics that add to the overall game experience. In fact, the advent of CG (computer graphics) show graphics in a different light altogether. CG can show objects on screen clearer, brighter and more explosive then regular graphics can produce. Video game developer and producer Square is going a step further to bridge gaming and film by releasing a full motion picture completly in CG! Thanks to constant advancments in technology, the realism portrayed in this upcoming film is like nothing before seen on the big screen. Lip movement can be rendered practically identical to human movement to better convince the audience of realism. Eyes can blink just like the real thing with body movement like footsteps turning that make the characters on screen life like.

Reference

One of the better Internet sites that is devoted to this growing field is gamespot.com. This site is full of information on systems that are on the market and the games that go with them. I have personally found their reviews on systems and games to be very useful and I trust their judgement regarding when a game is good or bad. They also offer viewable downloads on games that that are still months from release. There are many other VG sites on the web but are not as polished as this site. I myself work on a internet site called Phoenix Genesis which is the world's largest database of VGM soundtracks. I am PG's senior staff writer for video games and to better give you an idea of what I do, go ahead and read my most current review for the site on the Dreamcast game Skies of Arcadia. As you can see, PG not only contains soundtracks but also has mini games, wallpaper and a section to post comments to other visitor's to the site. I know it's natural to be biased, but PG really is the world's largest online site of gaming soundtracks! I hope I have provided helpful information to you if you are interested in video games. This is a very exciting time for this industry and will no doubt keep growing and growing.

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Dave Blackwell is the Senior Staff Writer for Phoenix Genesis.
You can email him at: (badradio27@hotmail.com)
See also: Dave's Faves (Misc. Game Reviews)
and: Dave's Retro Attic Profile.