Just like songs, movies and basically any other form of entertainment that you might imagine, video games are divided into different categories, commonly referred to as genres. Not surprisingly, the bounds and criteria that apply for each genre are not strictly defined; thus, it is not uncommon that genre types might overlap or that a game belongs to more than one genre. Considering all the above, it is still possible to define some standard genres; below you will find some of the most popular ones along with their main characteristics.

Fighting games: Have you ever had the chance to play Street-Fighter? Well, if so, then this is the perfect sample to be used when describing what fighting games are all about. In fighting games you usually have to destroy your opponent (either human or computer) using martial arts, superpower movements or even handheld guns(less commonly). Some of the most popular fighting games are Street-Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Virtua Fighter, Soul Calibour and Tekken.

First Person Shooters (FPS): This is one of the most popular game genres. In FPS games you are usually impersonating a game character and you are navigating through a virtual world from the point of view of the character. This means that usually your screen is located to the position where your characters head is supposed to be; usually, you can only see the hands of your character. FPS games have a great emphasis on guns and action; whether it is a futuristic plasma blaster, a knife, a grenade or a common AK-47, chances are that if you play an FPS game you will also be holding something that kills. Apart from that, FPS games also show a great emphasis on online multiplayer modes; there is almost no FPS game nowadays that doesn’t support some type of multiplayer mode. Some popular FPS games are Half-Life/Counterstrike, Quake4, DOOM3, Painkiller etc.

Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG): Those are games aimed at creating a virtual environment where thousands of players are able to play and interact with each other in real time, inside the virtual world. Popular games of this genre are: World Of Warcraft, Lineage, Neverwinter nights etc.
Simulations: Those are games where you are usually handling a vehicle; whether it is a car, an aircraft or a space rocket, you are usually assigned with special tasks that you need to accomplish in order to advance to the next levels. Popular simulation games are Falcon 4.0, Ace combat, MS Train Simulator, Trainz etc.

Finally, Strategy games are games where (as the name suggests) you have to use your strategic abilities in order to defeat your enemy. In most strategy games, you can create new buildings build new troops and research new technologies. Although there are games that fall into this category that do not really require much brains, some titles require some really sophisticated movements in order to win. Popular strategy games are StarCraft: Brood War, Warcraft3 and Age of Empires.

About the Author:
By: Gabriel Adams
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