Game Playing Tips
By: Jesse Thiessen

This is just a list of a few pointers I thought up for playing games. Little tips to help you improve. Note: This is meant for serious playing. Not for good old casual playing like seeing if you can beat the Caverns on Goldeneye for the 1000th time.

If you any ideas for additions to the list, send them to me at coolsurferjt@yahoo.com and if they're good I'll post them.

-Have nobody else in the room, unless they keep their mouth shut, which is pretty damn rare.

-Don't play music (non-game music) if the game requires timing, (most often these are sports games) or if the sound assists your game. If the sound isn't that important to the game, such as a racing game, play something punkish with raw energy. The Offspring is the best for this, as well as pre-14:59 Sugar Ray, Blink 182, Korn, and Rage Against The Machine.

-Never relax. Chips and drinks distract you, (Unless you need caffeine to get on with the game) and leaning back on a bed/couch/chair doesn't make you as focused. Sitting (not lying) on the floor's a good idea, or just make sure you're on the edge of your seat.

-Concentrate. Shut out any distracting noises, and make sure nothing else can avert your eyes from the screen.

-In multiplayer games, try and distract your opponents. Talk mindless chatter to them, not really paying attention to what's coming out of your mouth. Hopefully, they'll be distracted and you can catch them unsuspectingly and kick their ass. It's not a bad idea to make sure your opponents have a good sense of humor too. [Ed: This is one of my favorite tactics.  I'll often talk about stuff they're interested in but I'm really not...that way I can blabber on about it, they'll get interested in what I'm saying, and then they die.]

-If there's something pissing you off that you can never get past, (The Invincibility cheat in Goldeneye is my favorite example) set a 3-4 hour chunk of time for game playing. Take no breaks except if you have to take a leak, (game playing while you're holding it in is a major no-no) and with any luck, you'll be able to get past that tough spot.