HELP DESK
Gamers offered options online
By Kim Komando
Computer gaming is fun, but loading up on software can be expensive. Today, many thrifty gamers play online for a monthly fee. Some sites allow you to keep the games, while others are like online rental agencies.
Computer gamers have never had the opportunity to try games before buying them. They could download and play a limited version of a game, but renting one for a day or two was unheard of, until recently. Internet portals, Internet service providers and software publishers now offer access to games without ever entering a store.
For less than $15 a month, users can play more than 175 games on Yahoo! Games on Demand (gamesondemand.yahoo.com). There are games for every category — action, family, role-playing, sports and strategy. A broadband connection and a computer running Windows 95 or later are required.
Once you click on the name of a game you want to play, Yahoo! checks to see if your computer is compatible. Each game has different requirements. For example, "Scrabble" only requires a 333-megahertz processor, 64 megabytes of memory and an 8-megabyte video card. A graphically intensive game such as "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" requires an 800 MHz processor with 256 MB RAM and 64 MB video card.
Once your computer passes the system check, you can start downloading the game through the Yahoo! Game Launcher. It downloads an initial cache of game components. This can take five or more minutes, depending on the size and download speeds. After you have played a game once, you won't have to download the cache again. It's stored on your computer. Other components of the game are streamed across the Internet as you play.
Games downloaded from the Web are the same as the titles in the store. Controls, options and overall game play are identical.
But with a subscription, you can play on different computers. Play a game of bridge on your lunch break at work and later play "Roller Coaster Tycoon" at home using the same account. You also can try games you might not normally buy. However, the games aren't yours to keep. Once your subscription expires, you lose access to them.
The service is aimed toward moderate gamers. Hardcore gamers will probably find the selection of games dated. Although there are popular titles, such as "Rise of Nations" and "Tomb Raider," many other titles were released months or years ago. If you're dying to play the latest and greatest like "Doom 3," you'll have to buy it.
There are other on-demand game services. Software company Atari (atariondemand.com) and ISPs Comcast (comcast.net/gamesondemand) and RCN (rcn.com) have similar offerings.
If you prefer puzzles and gaming, take a look at RealArcade (real.com). It features more than 200 downloadable games and 60 free games, the majority of which are word games and puzzles. RealArcade works with both dial-up and broadband connections on PCs running Windows 95 and later.
For $6.95 per month, you can purchase the RealArcade GamePass. It works like a book-of-the-month club. You get to download and own the full version of one game per month.
Once you buy a game, it's yours to keep. You do not have to remain a GamePass member to continue playing it.
Each kind of service appeals to different gamers. If you want to play a variety of games, check into an on-demand service. If you enjoy playing a few puzzle and word games, RealArcade should fit the bill.
Reach Kim Komando at www.komando.com/newsletter.asp.
