Thank you The Quarto Group for sending us this book to review!

This book is a guide to Fortnite players who had just started playing the game. It provides lots of tips and tricks to help you survive a good amount of time in a match. If you don't already know, Fortnite is a Battle Royale game, so the tips that this book gives are very nice to know when you are being attacked by another player.

This book is very useful, but it is also very outdated. When this book was made, it was in season 5 of the game. As of this review, it is in season 10. That does matter a lot, because the creators of Fortnite have removed and added some weapons and features since then.

This book helps you decide what gaming platform you want to play Fortnite on, learn the controls, helps you decide if you want to play Battle Royale or Save the World mode, and so much more. It tells you what to do when you encounter another player, stumble into a build battle, and how to use your weapons and conserve your ammo. It tells you what building materials to use, their advantages and disadvantages, and also what every item and weapon can do. It provides a description of a weapon, how easy or hard it is to find, and where to find them. It also tells you how to build a base and how to invade other bases as well. It also describes each location and tells the reader how many players usually land at that location.

I think that this book is very useful and whenever I play Fortnite: Battle Royale I use these techniques and I use the hints and tips that it gives me. There is also another book like this one called the 100% Unofficial Fortnite Pro Guide. If you read this one and use it, then you should also read the Pro Guide.

 Are your kids into Xbox One? Then maybe you are looking for games suitable for young players. Here is the selection of the best Xbox One games for kids in 2019.

Top Five Best Xbox One Games For Kids In 2019

If your child loves your new Xbox One, don't you hurry to ban them from playing. There is a massive choice of best Xbox One games, which are suitable for young children. These games will help your child to delve into an exciting fantasy world and wind down. 

1. Spyro Trilogy

All kids love dragons. Especially those which breathe fire and burn things. So, the Spyro Trilogy will be a perfect adventure for your child. This bright and fun game will let your child explore realms, solve puzzles and test their skills at completing various missions. Don't forget to install a parental control app to manage screen time of your kiddo.

Author: Brett Weiss
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
Hardcover book
464 full-color pages
Over 375 games covered
MSRP: $49.99

Thank you Schiffer Publishing for sending us this book to review!

As I mentioned in my SNES Omnibus Volume 1 review, I was blessed to grow up as video games did, and played tons of Atari, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), and got my Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in what was probably early high school. Based on the release date of Super Mario All-Stars as mentioned in this book, I believe it was 1993.

This book celebrates this generation of gaming by devoting one or two pages to each and every game in the SNES library. This volume covers every game in alphabetical order, starting with ‘Natsume Championship Wrestling’ and ending with ‘Zoop’. I highly recommend you check out Volume 1, as well as this one.

The gaming world is one of the most popular industries among today’s internet users and technology savvies. Video games are extremely fun and engaging and can take you to a completely different universe.

It is extremely interesting to observe how the graphic design and the functionalities of video games have changed over the last decade. From classic popular games like Pac-Man or Super Mario which used to thrive among gaming enthusiasts many years ago, to VR games. Thanks to technological advancements and the rise of machine learning, game developers have been empowered to create games that take players into an exciting digital world. These days, video games have evolved so much to the point where they offer a complex digital world with a multitude of possibilities for gaming enthusiasts.  

With the developments in the gaming industry, people are spending more and more time on video games, especially when there are thousands of video games out there and thousands more are created every year. Thus, the increasing demand for video game localizations. But, expanding into international markets would require a great deal of effort, particularly if you are an indie game developer. Budget wise, is it feasible to market your product into different languages?

Fret not, there are affordable options to localize your game. You can certainly minimize your spending if you target specific markets that essentially speak the same language—this would be a good start. You can also collaborate with a good translation and localization agency and ask for advice on how to cut back the costs of your game translation and localization needs. This is something most consumers are forgetting, you can always ask them to configure the service in such a way that it would turn into a win-win scenario. With this in mind, it would certainly be wise to localize your game or you might suffer embarrassing setbacks that might affect the playability of your game altogether (this is specifically true for games that are highly dependent on dialogue).

And of course everyone can remember the phenomenal video game translation fail of Zero Wing’s opening cut scene, “all your base are belong to us”, an improper translation turned meme that has entered legendary status, it all worked out for Sega at the time but nowadays mistranslations are just annoying. To avoid these embarrassing mistakes, one must certainly consider game localization services in order to ensure that your game projects its intended meaning. You would not want a twelve year old kid laughing at your blood, sweat and tears would you?

Gaming has certainly evolved over the last decade.  Kids don’t use their consoles solely for gaming anymore.  An extensive interconnected network of millions of gamers is available for playing any time of the day or night.  

You can talk, text, send emails, send pictures, watch streaming movies/television, play games, and more from the access granted through one gaming console.  This means that parents have a heightened sense of danger, and must pay closer attention to what their kids are doing.  

Make use of the parental controls

Get to know your child’s preferred console.  All modern gaming consoles come equipped with the option of parental controls.  

Dig into the specific options you have for your child’s platform, and set them to your liking.  Here is where you can place a password on purchases from the online game stores, and keep your kids from blowing money without permission. 

Thank you Quarry Books for sending us a review copy!

Minecraft Life Hacks Lab for Kids is a book that teaches kids some things about communication skills, building self-confidence, and much more. It has some stuff to do and build in Minecraft, and some stuff to do in real life.

There are two chapters: Life Hacks: Acquiring Skills and Life Hacks: Applying Skills to Projects. Chapter one teaches children skills (hence the name) like emotional empathy, problem solving, and much more. Chapter two teaches children ways to use those skills. For example, you would make an animated movie in real life, as well as a short film in Minecraft.

This book has twenty-four labs (twelve in each chapter), which are things that you can do. In every chapter, there are 6 in game labs, and 6 labs to do in real life. Most of the things that you have to do in real life have something to do with what you do in-game. As an example, you had to draw a map of a house, and then building the house you drew in Minecraft. It made you build your character as well, and it had you fill it with positive messages to gain self-confidence. A lot of the things you do in Minecraft relate to the real world. It makes you build a farm, but the farm has to be the same style of farm that you can find in the real world. It also had you build a democracy, which was interesting. My favorite thing to do was building a roller coaster that described me. I put lots of work into it, and it turned out very well.

Overall, this book was fun to work on and I loved building some of the things, and then testing to see if they work, and then fixing them if they don't work correctly. The only thing it had wrong was the estimated time that it takes to build something. The book said it would take one to two hours to do something, but I was able to do it in ten to fifteen minutes. Other than that, the book is great and I think that lots of people who enjoy Minecraft should read it and use it as well.

One of the most worrying things about being a gamer in 2019 is the deluge of stereotypes that the gamer community finds itself battling against. Let’s face it, video games (and the people who play them) are no stranger to controversy. From political outcry over violent games like Mortal Kombat and Duke Nukem to the frankly abysmal display of behavior in “Gamergate”, there’s a lot to reinforce the stereotype that so many gamers rail against. No matter how old, well educated and morally centered we may get, no matter how much we may read the Bible and try and lead lives that exemplify Christian values we can still find ourselves tarred with the “stereotypical gamer” brush. The popular image of an antisocial, basement dwelling and aggressively male teenager living out violent or misogynistic fantasies through their games is, tragically, one which still pervades in our popular culture today.

This is such a shame as many of us are far from this stereotype. We are nice, socially well adjusted, morally and spiritually sound people. Some of us may see gaming alone as a way to let off steam after a busy and stressful work day. But we also enjoy playing fun and wholesome games with friends and family.

With this in mind, we’re going to look at some fun and wholesome games that everyone in your family and friendship group can enjoy! We’re going to look at a wide range of games so that no matter what your hardware or personal preferences you’ll find something that you, your friends and your family will enjoy playing...

VR Games

It’s little wonder than the average age of a gamer is 33. They were coming to age just as video games really began to take off, and once they were on the hook, it was unlikely that they were going to stop. After all, games have just continued to get better and better, and in many ways, they’re “better” for people than watching TV shows and movies, which are passive experiences. When it comes to gaming, they’re involved every step of the way. Studies have shown that gaming can also have a positive impact on teenagers, especially older teenagers, as it develops their cognitive abilities, and, despite what people think, their social skills too -- they’re rarely playing by themselves, after all.

If you’ve got a teenager of your own, or are indeed a teenager yourself, then take read below, where we outline some of the best types of games for this age bracket. 

All Things Sport

It’s true that children should be spending more time in the outdoors than they currently do. It seems like when we were younger, we were always outside -- but times have changed. Even though crime is lower than what it was in decades past (it’s practically at an all-time low), perception of crime has gone up. And that’s what counts to parents. So if teenagers aren’t able to go out and play sports with their friends anymore, then they should at least be able to play them at home (and also with their friends). Get your child the latest soccer, basketball, or NFL game, and you’ll be keeping your child interested in sport, and they’ll be more likely to play when they’re older.

Games played on a surface or board with counters or pieces are made to move around that board which contains some pre-marked areas according to some rules are known as board games.

Board games are of different types and have various genres. They have been quite popular among youngsters. Such games are often entertained in Evening or House parties. Board Games Land provides detailed information on such games.

Board games cover a wide range; beginning from basic childhood games such as Ludo, Snakes and Ladders, Monopoly to thought-provoking games such as Chess to adult games such as Splendor, Dixit, etc. Thus board games are made eligible and entertaining for all ages. Apart from just fun board games do carry other values too and the majors are given below:

1. Fun value

Playing board games brings forth fun and lightheartedness amongst the sordid realities of life. It helps avoid boredom and act as a means to cut off time.

Between Earth and Sky (Music from "Chrono Trigger")
By Julia Henderson
Published by: Materia Collective
Julia Henderson: Producer, Arranger, Lyricist, Vocals, Mix Engineer
Alejandro Hernández: Mastering Engineer
Lorenzo de Sequera: Album Art

Thank you Materia Collective for sending us this album on MP3 to review!

Chrono Trigger is one of those rare games that actually deserves all of the unbridled praise that it gets. It was also a capstone on the total domination by the 1990s Squaresoft during the Super Nintendo era of RPGs, and is an absolute classic still worth playing today. One of the many ways in which Chrono Trigger excelled was in its music.

It's funny; during this era, Nobuo Uematsu was king of the Final Fantasy music empire, and while he did contribute to Chrono Trigger's soundtrack, the majority of the truly memorable tracks came not from him, but from Yasunori Mitsuda's excellent compositions. It is from these that Julia Henderson takes her inspiration in the development of this album.

It is only six tracks, and just over twenty-three and a half minutes long. Thankfully, the price is quite reasonable at only $5 on Bandcamp; at that price, it's well worth it.

Perfecting your translation and language skills needn't be a bore. With the right approach, it can even be fun! Video games offer a terrific opportunity to hone your proficiency in another tongue while taking part in some healthy competition. Additionally, there are so many genres to choose from and devices to use for gaming that nearly anyone can find something to capture their interest. When you find something that you enjoy, playing it in order to practise your second language will hardly seem like learning at all.

What Are the Advantages of Video Game Translation?

Aside from the obvious reason that improving your video game translation prowess will give you a competitive edge, there is another reason to take part in this enriching experience.

Both the gaming and translation industries are growing by leaps and bounds. The market for video games is expected to be worth around 90 billion dollars by 2020. Further, annual spending on professional translation services is expected to reach over 56 billion dollars by 2021. If you have ever considered a career in mobile and video game translation or even app translation, there has never been a better time than now.

Understanding Video Game Localization

Introduction

The gaming industry is often dealing with concerns about the influence and overall value of the content that it delivers to the users, particularly the younger generation. Violence, sexual and otherwise less appropriate characters, and game concepts represent the mainstream of the gaming market, which forces many people to question the actual value of such content and the effects of the gaming experience on the more sensitive members of the gaming community.

Nevertheless, the industry is not absent of valuable options, in fact, there is a whole spectrum of different educational PC games that are fun and provide a meaningful array of content, some of which holds real academic value. Therefore, in this article we are going to let you in on top 10 educational games you can enjoy.

Human Resource Machine

A 2D game with simple-enough graphics that don't have any negative influence on the gaming experience. The HRM sets you up as a worker in a company assigned for various task divided into 37 levels. With each level you complete, your character gets promoted, thus moving to the higher floor of the company building. 

This programming puzzler allows you to learn the basics of assembly code by assigning you with different tasks that you have to complete with simple drag and drop commands. The game starts with only two commands, but as you reach higher levels the number of commands increases, allowing you more automation options.

Thank you Scarlet Moon Productions for sending us this digital album to review!

The World Is Square began in 2003 and took over fifteen years to complete by Mustin who is best known as one of the founders of OneUp Studios/The OneUps. This album features classic Square Enix music from hit games like Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IV, VI, and VII. The eight tracks are given an electronic jazz twist and sound great. There is some creative license, but the songs are still very recognizable.

The songs range from three to over six minutes each. It takes a little over thirty-seven minutes to hear the whole album and I’m always looking for more when it’s finished. The calm and relaxing tracks would make excellent hold music; I certainly wouldn’t mind listening to it while waiting.

The first track is Fear of the Heaven from Secret of Mana. I have to confess that I have not played this game (yet), but the song, acoustic guitar, and vocals are good. Thankfully, I have played all of the Final Fantasy games represented on this album. Final Fantasy IV’s main theme is the second track. One of the most popular songs from Final Fantasy IV, Theme of Love, is the third song. The violin work on this track is exceptional.

Chrono Trigger fans will enjoy Forest Butterflies and From the Bottom. William Carlos Reyes provides the guitar playing for From the Bottom and does an excellent job. We’ve previously reviewed his album Guitar Collections Final Fantasy IV.

Are you an enthusiastic gamer? You most definitely understand the need to stay safe whenever you are playing a game online. The internet is free and a large village that has every type of person. Some are there to enjoy its connectivity and easy access to information, while others target victims to hack and steal their information. Whichever the case, you must ensure that you have a good antivirus to keep you safe whenever you are playing online.

For a good antivirus for gaming, you must consider if it has a gaming mode. In some cases, the game/gaming mode is when the antivirus can run smoothly even as you play your game. In other words, the antivirus should be able to run without lagging your computer as you play.

TotalAV is one of the best antivirus programs that you can use for gaming. With this antivirus, you can play a heavy game as it continues to keep you safe. But that’s not all; here is why you should use TotalAV for gaming.

• Accurate Virus Detection

How would you feel if you were sure that the antivirus you have on your computer could alert you of any possible threats? It would be a great experience because you will not have to worry about having any possible malware or virus on your computer. If there is any virus that has gotten into your PC, TotalAV will detect it in a matter of seconds.

It will also find any affected file and quarantine or delete it accordingly. Nonetheless, this can take some time to finish based on the complexity of the virus. The best part is that it will scan for any malware whenever you visit a website. So if the game redirects you to their official website, you’re still good to go. If you are overly suspicious of any website, you can use the security tools to scan those websites or check for any suspicious links that are sent in your game’s chat room.

PC games become more and more popular each year. There are declines and recoveries of individual representatives in this rhythm. Many agencies even create particular ratings of the most popular PC games to find out what games were popular during the reporting period.

In this material, the specialists of the gaming website EGamersWorld have prepared the analysis of changes in the popularity of games in March 2019.

The list of the most popular PC games looked in the following way in March 2018:

1. League of Legends (Riot Games)
2. PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS (Bluehole Studio)
3. Fortnite (Epic Games)
4. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment)
5. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)

The situation changed in a year and there are slight changes on this list in March 2019:

1. League of Legends (Riot Games)
2. Apex Legends (Electronic Arts)
3. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve Corporation)
4. Minecraft (Mojang)
5. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment)

League of Legends is the unconditional leader, it didn’t leave the first place during the year. The MOBA strategy has been holding the leading position for years. Such a result was achieved due to the significant fan base from Southeast Asia. Many tournaments with a big prize pool, nice coverage, and a good organization allow the game to keep the leading status.

Top Seven Highly Anticipated Video Games in 2019

2019 looks promising with new unforgettable and classic video games marketed to be offered to gamers of all ages. And although it may be hard to live up to the 2018 hype with hits such as Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Monster Hunter: World, and many others offered by Homeofarcadia, 2019 is stirring anticipation with more incredible games for people around the globe.

Here are the top 7 video games set to be released in 2019 that is brewing excitement to every gamer out there.

1. Resident Evil 2 Remake

Capcom already had a great year in 2018, but they still started the year with a bang, releasing one of their most successful games in one of their most successful franchises ever made: Resident Evil 2.

And this remake isn’t just a simple graphics update, either. Developers and publishers have announced that there are several changes that every gamer will love, including gaming mechanics, character design as well as an array of bonuses such as character skins and alternative weapons.

There’s been a lot of talk about game streaming services for the masses. What about those who don’t have fiber, cable, or DSL internet? Atari hasn’t forgotten about them! In fact, they have the perfect streaming console solution that runs games great for those with dial-up internet access! The 8GB of storage is plenty of space to hold the entire game library of the 2600, 5200, and 7800 systems combined! Cloud saves are a standard feature as well so your progress in E.T. will not be lost!

There are three affordable subscription plans available and the same stylish console can be used for any or all of the plans:

• For $26.00 a year you get access to all 565 of the 2600 series games.
• The $52.00 annual plan gets you access to the Atari 2600 titles plus the official 69 from the 5200 series. The number pad controller is also included in this bundle.
• For $78.00 a year you get access to the 59 7800 games as well as all of the titles of the 5600 and 2600 systems. Durable metal reinforced joysticks are included in this bundle.

Today, most service providers and website owners do their best to protect their customers.

This is usually done by monitoring their networks and blocking any abuses when flagged or reported by other users. Whenever an abuse is detected, they may either choose to block the contravening user’s account or they might put a full-on ban on that user’s IP address.

Obviously, the best way to avoid having your IP address banned is to simply read and follow the service providers rules and regulations.

But fortunately, if you find yourself having been banned for whatever reason, there are a few stealthy workarounds that you can employ to regain access to the service.

In essence, since your IP address has been blocked, you’re going to need to change your IP address. This can be done in a number of ways, such as using a proxy server or a service such as ExpressVPN. But we’ll get to a bit further on in this article.

Do you remember the times when your parents used to tell you to stop playing video games and go study because video games are a waste of time? Well, it turns out they did not see the whole picture. In the past several years, Esports has become a budding industry, allowing gamers to earn millions of dollars.

So, if you are good at playing video games and you’re wondering whether you should or shouldn’t try to go professional, the answer is now more complicated. There is a lot of money to be made, and you will be part of a rapidly growing industry.

In their infographic named “The Rise of Esports,” NJ Games states that the highest-paid esports team, Team Liquid, earns almost $24 million a year. The second and third highest-paying teams, Evil Geniuses and Team OG earn $20.5 million and $17.5 million a year, respectively. Therefore, the amount of money that you can get as a professional esports team is much higher than in many “real” sports.

If you climb the esports ladder and become one of the best players in the world, such as Kuro Takhasomi, Johan Sundstein, or Amer Al-Barkawi, you can earn millions in net worth.

Moreover, when it comes to the future of esports, there’s no need to be skeptical. The future seems as bright as it can be, as experts predict that the industry will continue to grow. All of the major sports leagues are investing tens of millions of dollars each year in tournaments and new video games, as the industry is becoming more profitable by the day. Also, there are serious indications that esports may become an Olympic sport as well, perhaps as soon as 2024 Paris Olympics.

Game providers know how to create games; they have countless ideas and once they finish a game they want to sell it fast to start designing another one. When getting started in the game design and diving right in, developers consider it a rewarding and fun experience. They share their visions with the world and they are working on something they are passionate about. However, there are times when the passions of the developer are not the same as the ones of the gamer, especially now when the gaming industry is in a major transformation.

Gaming has grown in a subculture nowadays and gamers are very determined when it comes to the features they want from their games. For the gaming providers, every year means 12 months of opportunities to launch new games and to make money. However, in order to make money they need to find out what the requirements of the market are.

Why is market research needed?

Market research helps gaming providers know their clients. They get to find out who their clients are because the audience is continuously changing. The main question gaming providers have is what do people want from their games?

First, they want to have a spectacular gaming experience and 4K games are nowadays considered the standard ones. The latest trends have shown that more and more gamers want to play games that include support for PS4 and Xbox One X with HDR included. The majority of them have PC monitors with HBR support and this is a sign that the tech industry is heading to a new direction. Players want to offer their eyes a visual feast when trying a new experience, and if the game promises them the best experience, they will be interested to try it. Gaming developers have to implement higher resolutions and High Dynamic Range on their products more than ever if they want people to buy them. Considering that nowadays high-quality monitors and TVs come at affordable prices, market research reveals that clients are interested in visuals more than ever.