online-gaming digital digitalhome Virgin Media

Playing games against the computer is fun, but the real challenge comes when you take on real people online. You can learn strategies against computer-controlled opponents in 3D shooters and racing games, but actual people are much harder to second guess.

Hardware
The type of hardware you need obviously depends on the style of game you want to play. There's a wide choice ranging from 3D shooters like Prey and Half-Life 2, to role-playing games (RPGs) such as World of Warcraft and puzzle games like Tetris or Sudoku. For graphically intensive games you'll need a PC that can handle 3D, which means you’ll need a reasonably expensive graphics card. Take a look at the NVIDIA (www.nvidia.com) or ATI (www.ati.com) websites. A PC with a fast processor and at least 1GB of memory is also useful.

Mostly though, you'll need broadband, and the faster the better. Online games suffer from a problem called lag, also known as latency. Although the game you’re playing is installed on your PC, the action (who is doing what and where) is all hosted on a server somewhere else. This server keeps track of everything, and sends and receives game updates to and from all the connected systems.

In a local game (one played entirely on your PC) bullets start flying the moment you hit the fire button. On a server, however, bad lag can delay firing by half a second or so – just long enough for the other player to have moved out of harm’s way. The other problem with lag is that other players may appear to jerk around instead of moving smoothly. So, for example, one moment they could be directly in front of you, and a second or so later they might appear off to the left, or some way in the distance.

A fast connection can reduce this problem, as can joining a UK or European-based server (so the data doesn't have as far to travel). Most games will have a selection of servers to choose from.

If you have a firewall (software or hardware) you may also need to configure it to allow you to join an online game. Read your manual for details.

Console gaming
Using your PC isn't the only way to play games online. Consoles such as the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii can use your broadband connection too. These are ready for online play immediately – connect your modem or router, create an account (there is a range of differently priced packages) and start playing. Your network can be wired or wireless and you can also connect portable gaming devices such as the PSP and Nintendo DS to a Wi-Fi connection.

Page 2:How to connect to a game