So many new PC games to choose from.
The holidays are rapidly approaching, Black Friday is a few days from now, and Christmas shopping will be in full swing. Which means, of course, that millions of PC games will be purchased for friends and loved ones.
Honestly, and we’re in the industry and we still find it amazing, how anyone can choose from all of the games available well, it’s quite amazing.
Which is the prompt for this article, by HiTech Creations, makers of Aces HIgh flight simulator, some guidelines to follow, some questions to ask, which hopefully will make choosing a PC game easier for you shoppers.
Questions to ask before buying.
- Price: Price is something that's usually at the top of most people's list when they are looking to purchase a game, especially at the time of holiday sales.
- Publisher: This is an interesting factor to consider especially in the age of microtransaction-heavy gaming. Does the manufacturer/developer have a good reputation in the industry?
- Update Cadence: It's unrealistic to expect a game to be perfect upon release. Truth is, gaming developers should always be updating their games. This allows them to work out the kinks, so to speak, and to improve upon some features which have fallen short of expectations.
- Genre: The genre of a game is very important and is not always apparent from the name of the game and promotional content released for it. Sometimes, promotional content can mislead the public.
- Reviews: Take the time to research and read reviews on the games you are considering. It is quite easy to find reviews on practically every game being sold, and oftentimes they are quite revealing.
- Specifications: Make sure the game is compatible with the PC which will be operating it. The specs should be apparent somewhere on the packaging.
- Age rating: Important factor for parents, aunties, uncles, grandparents who are purchasing games for their little loved ones. Games are required to have an age rating on their website, so take the time to find it out.
- Platform: Single platform or multiple platforms? As a general rule, games which are multiple platform perform better and are more satisfying to play.
Take them for a test drive.
This is the best word of advice you will find in this article. Sample the games you are considering. For example, our own Aces High offers a free two week download of our game, with no credit card information asked for or required. We think this is very reasonable. These games can be costly, and before we can expect customers to pay for our game, the least we can do is allow them to test it to see if they want to spend their money on it. Quite frankly, if a free version of a game is now available, it is our opinion that there is something the manufacturer wants to hide. Steer clear of those games.
A final word about Aces High.
We have been producing our combat simulator since 2000. For twenty-four years we have made one game, and one game only, is our quest to make the best combat flight simulator on the market. Take our game for that test drive we suggested. See for yourself what a great flight sim game looks like.
Which to choose?
The debate has been going on for as long as online gaming has existed. Should you play the free onlie games or should you pay for online games like our own Aces High, the leading combat simulator?
We have two points worth considering, and we present them to you in an attempt to show no bias whatsoever, despite our pay for flight sim game.
In-game Purchases
One factor that sets apart online free games from their paid counterparts is the presence of in-game purchases. Free games often rely on microtransactions to generate revenue by offering cosmetic upgrades or additional content for purchase within the game.
While this freemium model allows players to enjoy the core game without spending money upfront, it can sometimes lead to an imbalanced playing field. Some players may choose to spend real money to gain an advantage over others, which can affect the overall gaming experience.
Paid games, on the other hand, typically offer a complete and balanced experience without the need for additional purchases. This can be appealing to players who prefer a fair playing ground and want to avoid any pay-to-win scenarios.
Community and Multiplayer Experience
The social aspect of gaming is often a significant factor in deciding between online free games and paid options. Free games usually have a large player base, resulting in a vibrant community with active forums and discussions. This can enhance the multiplayer experience as you can easily find opponents or teammates to play with.
Paid games tend to attract more dedicated gamers who are willing to invest their time and money into their hobby. As a result, these games often offer more robust multiplayer features, including competitive leagues or tournaments that attract skilled players looking for challenging gameplay.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the choice between online free games and paid options depends on your personal preferences and priorities. If you’re on a budget or looking for casual entertainment, online free games provide an excellent avenue for enjoyment without breaking the bank. However, if you seek high-quality graphics, exclusive titles, and balanced gameplay experiences, investing in paid options might be more suitable for you. It’s important to consider factors such as cost-effectiveness, game selection, in-game purchases, community engagement, and multiplayer experiences before making your decision.
Our opinion?
Obviously, we wish you would subscribe to Aces High. We do, after all, offer a free two-week download of Aces High, a gift from us to you, allowing you to experience our game before paying money for it. But, having said that, we are more than willing to admit that many free games are well-worth playing.
A final word about Aces High
The year was 1999, the year our creators and founders sat down and developed Aces High, one of the first combat flight simulator games on the market. Our goal was to create one game, and one game only, and make that game the best in the genre.
After twenty-five years, we believe we have achieved our goal, and we invite you to try Aces High and see for yourself what a truly great flight simulator game is like. Strap on your flight helmet and fly the skies with Aces High.
Everyone is concerned with online privacy and, quite frankly, they have every right to be concerned. Spammers and hackers are seemingly everywhere, not to mention unethical companies which will promise one thing and then do exactly the opposite.
With that in mind, we thought we would take a moment to discuss privacy statements found on all combat simulator games, using our Aces High privacy statement as an example.
HiTech Creations (Aces High) Privacy Statement
Privacy and Data Security
A HiTech Creations, your right to privacy and data security is a primary concern. That's why, when you visit HiTech Creations.com, we help you maintain control over your personal data on the Internet.
HiTech Creations only asks for specific types of personal information
In a few areas on our Web site and online customer support tools, we ask you to provide information that will enable us to enhance your site visit, to assist you with technical support issues or to follow up with you after your visit. It is completely optional for you to participate.
For example, we request information from you when you:
- Register on HiTech Creations.com
- Place an order or create an account
- Provide feedback in an online survey
- Participate in promotional offers
- Request e-mail notification of your account status
- Subscribe to a newsletter or a mailing list
- Request online technical support
In each of the instances above, we may ask for your name, e-mail address, phone number, address, customer number, as well as other similar personal information that is needed to register or subscribe you to services or offers. If we ever ask for significantly different information we will inform you. In the case of newsletters or mailing lists, you will be able to "unsubscribe" to these mailings at any time.
What this means to you, the players.
It means you can play our flight sim game with confidence. You can relax, knowing your personal information is safe. You can use Aces High the way it was meant to be used, for entertainment. You can just play without any other concerns. We are on the job, day and night, protecting your privacy and, should there be a problem, we are “Johnny on the spot” to make that problem go away.
How can we make this promise to you? Simply because, unlike other flight simulators on the market, we have been around for twenty-four years, and that twenty-four years means we have been there, done that, and wrote the book on how to manufacture a game, how to maintain high quality in that game, and how to protect you while you play that game.
Twenty-four years of Aces High. Let that sink in for a while.
A final word about Aces High.
Aces High is older than some of the programmers working on other games, and that means our customers are playing a flight simulator game which has all of the “kinks” worked out.
Protect your privacy? We’ve been doing it for a quarter-century, so we are pretty confident in saying we will continue to do so.
Strap on your flight helmet and fly the skies with Aces High.
Finding the best gaming accessories for you
You can add new dimensions to your PC gaming experience when you choose from a variety of gaming accessories and peripherals suitable for desktop gaming computers and gaming laptops. Gaming headsets are designed to surround you in audio and cancel out background noise, helping you focus on the game. And if you want to be able to move about freely in your gaming chair, consider a pair of wireless PC gaming headphones that don’t keep you tethered to your computer.
A durable gaming keyboard aids in accuracy and speed with anti-ghosting technology and macro keys that allow for pre-set keyboard shortcuts. For even more advanced features that allow for intuitive gaming, a mechanical gaming keyboard has programmable switches and visually stimulating colors to match the action on the screen. Mouse sensitivity is also crucial — the higher the DPI rating of a mouse, the more sensitive it is. When it comes to this key gaming peripheral, you might consider a Wireless gaming mouse that lets you be more flexible with your movements which leads to improved accuracy and success.
These days, virtual reality is the new frontier, and it is a rapidly expanding field for gaming and visual storytelling. You can take your gaming experience to another level entirely when you choose to try out a VR gaming headset.
What do you need to play Aces High?
The bare minimum you need to play our combat flight simulator are a keyboard, mouse and joystick.
Would you like to enhance your play? We recommend an Oculus Rift and Touch Controllers1, HTC Vive1, XBox Controller, microphone, headset.
How about all the rest of that stuff?
If you have the money of course, add to your stockpile of equipment. The more the merrier your gaming experience will be. Mind you, some of this stuff is expensive. That is why our flight simulator can be played, and greatly enjoyed, with only a joystick but, for sure, the game will be more exciting, if that’s even possible, with the newest gaming accessories now being sold, and some of these items can increase your response times by fractions of seconds, which might just be the difference between flying the skies in a mission and crashing shortly after take-off.
Do we have any recommendations?
Honestly, no! It would be nice if we could give you some insider information known only to us, the game designers, but in truth we all use a variety of gaming accessories. Through a process called trial and error, we have found which accessories work best for us, and that is the approach we strongly recommend for you to follow.
A final word about Aces High.
Hey, we probably shouldn’t say this, but Amazon has free returns for Prime members. It would be a great way to test some accessories without committing money to them until you’ve tried and approved of them. And our free two-week download of Aces High means you can test the game and the accessories, basically for free, for a full two weeks.
How great is that?
Aces High, the king of the combat flight simulators, on top since 2000.
Little known fact: MIT computer technicians developed the first video game way back in 1962, but it wasn’t until the mid-Seventies that the first home computer game was developed.
Since then it is safe to say that the gaming world has exploded with many options. If you are a gamer, or a gamer-to-be, you will not suffer from a lack of games to try, with the possibilities at your disposal easily numbering in the thousands.
Which leads us to this question: what genres are there in gaming? How many different types of games are available? We will tackle that question in this article by HiTech Creations, the developers of Aces High, one of the leading combat simulators since our inception in 2000. If you like your action fast and furious, you will love our flight sim game, Aces High.
Various gaming categories
Here are the major categories of gaming available to gamers:
- Role-Playing Games (RPGs)
- Sports Games
- Racing/Simulation
- Real-time Strategy (RTS)
- Sandbox
- Casual and Idle Games
- Puzzle Games
- Turn-based Strategy (TBS)
- Action-Adventure
That is all well and good, but if we were to list the subcategories, it would easily number over fifty.
Pay close attention
Within those major categories/genres, you will quickly notice there is overlap for many games. Our own Aces High falls under Simulation, Strategy, and Action-Adventure, and the same can be said for almost all games available to the public.
To cut through the confusion, we give this description of our combat flight simulator on our website:
Aces High takes the art and science of vintage WW1 and WW2 air combat and sets it in a high intensity online multiplayer environment. Hundreds of players simultaneously battle it out against each other in massive aerial dogfights and bomber raids.
High fidelity flight simulation is the heart of Aces High but it doesn't end there. A war rages on the ground and at sea. Engage enemy armor in tank combat. Protect your fleet as a gunner or make a torpedo run in a PT boat. Lead an assault in an amphibious vehicle. With over 100 warbirds, vehicles, and boats available, you have access to a vast virtual arsenal.
Still confused?
We don’t blame you if this “genre” question confuses you, and we certainly understand that you will want more information before you pay your hard-earned money for a game. That is why we always suggest that gamers sample a game before playing it.
Wait a second! Sample a game? Is that even possible?
It is with our Aces High flight simulator action game. We offer a free two-week download of Aces High, no credit card required. As long as your computer system has the basic hardware needed to play our game, and 99% of computers do, then you can simply download our game and have full access to the game for a full two weeks.
To our way of thinking that is the only way any gamer can truly determine if they will have fun playing that game. In fact, we are a bit surprised more gaming companies do not make a similar offer.
Strap on your flight helmet and fly the skies with Aces High.