The ways that World of Warcraft (WoW) macro commands can help you are probably too numerous to mention but here are a few ideas. They are useful for speeding up common tasks so that you can accomplish them just with a click. This is extremely useful if you are rushed upon or in a panic. They automate the game so that maybe you don’t need to worry about redoing complex moves, such as in quests or PVP combat. The macros make the game less tedious and time consuming doing common activities but more than that add a whole new dimension of fun and character. This is where you can add your own personal battle cries, funny sayings or even make lightning fast multiple cast spells in random or sequence. Warriors often need them more than other types where they can be useful equipping certain slots when needed.

The types of slash commands available, for creating your macros with, range from personalizing and communicating with others to controlling your character. You can /shout, /yell. /whisper, /talk to other players, or just simply /laugh, /dance, /bow or /wave to them. You might /follow, /assist, or /cast spells on them or /use trinkets available to you.

They are easily made using the Creating Macros interface. You can call this up by either pressing escape or the Game Menu button and then clicking on ‘Macros’, or just say ‘/macros’ in the chat box. The interface gives you the ability to create, edit or delete macros where once you give it a name you have a long selection of icons to choose from to attach to it. The edit window is where you can place the slash commands, on each line, so that the macro can then be saved. There are two kinds of macros here denoted by the tabs available, one ‘General’ set that can be used anywhere in the realm and the other specific tab for macros for that particular character. Once the macro has been created it be placed on the action bar for quick use or if selected can be bound to a key or mouse event. These bound macros are great for very quick response and you have a numerous set of keys and event to choose from. The macros can also work in different ways depending on what keys you are pressing, one spell maybe when you press ‘shift’, another if you press ‘alt’.

If you haven’t already done so then learn what you can do with WoW macro commands and do not get put off by all the options, it may be daunting at first but once you have created a few to help your game you will never look back.

I should admit that my favorite hobby is to play computer games – they make me fell free and capable of everything or almost everything. Simulation plane games are a good example for something that is not very probable to be tried for real – it needs a lot of effort, training, physical abilities and luck to become one of the few, which have the chance to sit in the cockpit of an airplane as pilots. But with computer flight simulators, the wonderful feeling of flying like a bird, is accessible for everyone with some computer literacy.

In the field of flight simulation there are several games that are close to perfection in their recreation of reality. With different games we have and different simulation plane styles. For example “ProFlightSimulator” and “Microsoft Flight Simulator” are trying to recreate realistic flying, while “X-Plane” try to burst the boundaries of reality and to offer futuristic flying. The story is different for simulators like “IL-2 Sturmovik” and “Lock On: Modern Air Combat”, because they add and more than a fair amount of combat action.

If you are in to fight simulations (I’m not much of a fan personally) you may wish to test “IL-2 Sturmovik” and “Lock On: Modern Air Combat” as they offer the best in WWII style or contemporary combat flying. In those games you are able to command fighters and other combat planes and event to conduct a simulation plane cooperative combat, which could be fun for a while. You also will gain access to many classical battle-planes and see them in action, which is quite different feeling than only flying them.

Closer to the real everyday flying you may get if you test “Microsoft Flight Simulator” or “X-Plane”, which are real simulation plane games, full of many airplanes, helicopters and other flying stuff. “X-Plane” has a bit more free approach to realistic flying, however, giving full freedom of the player to fly all kinds of existent and nonexistent flying machines, while “Microsoft Flight Simulator” has more conservative approach, but a bit more limited selection of available planes. Both simulators are certainly good for a while or for change, but I can’t see myself “flying” them constantly.

You may have noticed by now, that I’m a bit picky with my simulation plane games and always find something that is able to spoil the game. This, however, is only partially true, as for the moment I’m still to find the downside of “ProFlightSimulator”. It is a game with that much reality installed, that I sometimes introduce myself as a part-time pilot with an impressive number of flight hours behind my back. “ProFlightSimulator” really gives you access to everything that is accessible for a real pilot – more than 120 real planes, 20.000 real world airports and even different weather conditions. This game is really addicting, just try it and you’ll see.

So, you’ve decided to take the heroic journey to defend Azeroth. But, just how do you go about it? Here’s a simplified guide to help you get started with the World of Warcraft.

1. Check if your computer system matches the requirements of the game. Once you’ve confirmed that, you can purchase and download the basic version of the World of Warcraft. There are available optional expansion packs, which you can try later on once you have gained enough experience. You might also want to avail of the 14-day free trial of the game.

2. Log in and choose your server type. There are four server types to choose from: Normal; PvP; RP; and RP-PvP. Normal server is the most popular choice. It is the standard version of the game. PvP, on the other hand, presents random player versus player combats. RP stands for role-playing. These servers would require you to follow a particular code of conduct and rules on naming of characters. You need to thoroughly familiarize yourself with your chosen server’s rules. Lastly, RP-PvP are servers that combine both player versus player combats with the rules of role-playing. If you’re just starting out with the game, it is advisable that you choose the Normal server. This will help you to get familiar with the different aspects of the game. Later on, you can transfer to another server simply by creating a new character.

Another point to consider in your choice of servers is the server population. Try to find a server that has just to right size of population. You don’t want to be in a server that is already over populated, or one that is too sparsely populated.

3. Create your character. You can either be with the Horde or with the Alliance. The race you choose for your character will determine which league you will belong. You would be provided with descriptions of the different races. The choice is completely yours!

4. Get to know the user interface. Aside from the default interface, there are downloadable interfaces, which offer additional features. Just keep in mind to scan any downloads for viruses before installing them.

The usual keys for moving around are the arrow keys, or if you’re left-handed, the WASD keys. You can also you the mouse or the trackball.

The action bar is at the bottom left of the screen. This is where you have your array of spells and magical powers. Each of these special powers would be accessible through the number keys on your keyboard.

Practice using the different keys until you develop an instinct for them. You will obtain mastery of the different keys as your character gains more experience. If you opt to use add-ons, assign keys to them that are nearest your most used keys. This will help you to locate the keys quickly during combat.

5. You will be interacting with non-player characters or NPCs in the game. Some of them would have yellow exclamation points above their heads, which identifies them to be quest givers. Choose your quest by clicking on specific NPCs. You would be provided with details on each specific quest, and it would be up to you if you want to accept a quest or not. Some quests will lead you to another NPC with a gray question mark above their head. This would signify that that particular NPC has a mission task for you to do.

6. Once you have accomplished your quest, you will find NPCs with yellow question marks on their heads. These NPCs are the ones who will be handing you your rewards for your completed quests. You would, then, have the quest recorded as part of your experience from that mission.

7. Near the area where your character first appeared, you would see several levels of enemies. To fight any of these characters, just right click on them. Use the powers that you have on your action bar by accessing the specific control keys.

8. Good luck on your continued quest of defending Azeroth!

Starcraft
Starcraft ranks in at #10 on this list. An amazingly popular game, it was released in 1998 and is still being played. Starcraft is a RTS game that pits the Zerg, Protoss, and Terran against each other. Each have a unique play style utilizing their strengths and weaknesses.

SiN Episodes: Emergence
At #9 SiN Episodes is a game you might have never head of. It’s a continuation of the game SiN, released in 1998. It was released on Steam, and is unique in the fact that it was the first game created by a major developer that was released without a publisher. SiN episodes is a FPS game that takes place some time in the future in a mega city. You play the roll of a cop who has been injected with an experimental “Super Soldier” drug that is looking for the cure. It plays like many other source games, so if you enjoy them, you will probably enjoy SiN, along with it’s many easter eggs. The best part though? The primary villian is a lady by the name of Elexis Sinclaire.

Sins of a Solar Empire
#8 is another game you may or may not have heard of. Sins of a Solar Empire is a pretty epic RTS game set in space. Released in 2008 with an expansion in 2009 and another in 2010, Sins has become a popular game among the RTS crowd. The basis of the game is to colonize planets through one of 3 methods: Through force, as par in a RTS game, buying them(with a ton of money), or through a religious coupe. This makes things a little interesting, as you have to make sure your people actually like you. You have the ability to build massive space fleets, and the unique feature to zoom in as close as a spaceship window, and far enough out to see multiple galaxies. Though not much real use, it’s a very interesting feature.

Age of Empires 2
#7 is my favorite RTS game(you may notice there are a few on this list). It pits ancient civilizations against each other in a battle to the death (or whatever else, with all the custom maps). Age of Empires had awesome fan made maps that changed the play style. One good example was Archer Blood. In this custom map, each user got a fortress and and tower. You spawned archers at a constant interval with upgrades coming depending on how many kills you got. The final goal being to destroy the enemies tower. There were also games like the reenactment of Helms Deep. Overall it was a solid base RTS, even without custom maps, giving many choices of different civilizations, each with unique bonuses.

Battlefield 3
At #6, battlefield 3 is a pretty standard FPS game. The story line is forgettable, if you even do it, but multiplayer is addicting. Like Battlefield 2 before it, there are lots of maps, and plenty of guns. As well as fighting as a grunt, you can get in a tank, LAV, hummer, jet, or helicopter. It’s got a nice ranking system where the more you play with a particular gun, the more upgrades you get for it. You can play as anything from a scout sniper to a combat medic, with each roll getting unique weapons and unlocks. There’s not a lot more to say, other than it’s pretty.

DOOM 3
#5 is the third shooter on this list, and the third version of the classic game, DOOM. Set on mars in the future, you, as the original space marine, have to fight your way through demons to save the day. Doom is meant to be a scary game, and they went about achieving this in different ways. First of all, pretty much everywhere you go is covered in gore, so this might be a reason it’s rated M. The second way is through sound. Id, the makers of Doom, use many creepy, almost not there sounds, partnered with the fact that you hear people getting killed, either over the radio you carry, or by being close to their location. Finally, they use lighting. The complex you’re in has been ravaged by demons, and thus not all the lights work. There’s flickering, shadows, and just plain dark spots. To combat this you have a flashlight, but in the original game, you can’t use the flashlight and a gun at the same time, forcing you to either see what’s coming after you, or defend against what’s coming after you.

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
#4 is a new game, released 11/11/11. It’s set 200 years after Oblivion, putting the player in the province of Skyrim on the continent Tamriel. Skyrim is a large RPG game that gives you plenty of freedom with your character. Want to be a giant nord with a battle ax? A sneaky elf with daggers? A furry with a klepto problem? What about a giant furry with daggers? It’s all possible in Skyrim. Skyrim has a nice, though rather short main quest, with a massive amount of side quests and land to explore. Also, like Oblivion and Morrowind before it, there are plenty of mods, with more being constantly added. The best part however is that almost nothing is bolted down, and you can steal massive amounts of stuff until your home looks like this.

The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
#3 is another Elder Scrolls game. Again, set in Tamriel, but this time in the province of Morrowind, more specifically the island of Vvardenfell. The main story line is rather nice, with plenty to do and lots of side story lines as well. Getting into guilds is much harder than with Skyrim, and require a lot more questing, going into dungeons, etc. The game was absolutely beautiful at release in 2002, pushing computers to the limit, and can still look nice now with mods. The game world is amazingly detailed with plenty to do, and there are massive amounts of mods that add to it, from tiny houses to entire new lands. Coupled with the mods, the immersion and ability to consume time rivals that of an MMO. Which brings us to:

World of Warcraft
#2, World of Warcraft has been the MMO since 2004. Built upon the game world of Warcraft 3 and it’s predecessors, WoW is a huge MMO giving users thousands, if not millions of things to do, from collecting pets to killing the opposing faction. WoW is split up into two factions at war, the Alliance and the Horde, each with it’s unique races. Between the land masses of Kalimdor, the Easter Kingdoms, Northrend, and Outlands, there is plenty to explore. WoW has 3 expansions out, with a fourth on the horizon. Although it’s no longer at it’s peak after nearly 8 years, WoW still has 10 million active players, more than any other paid MMO. If you haven’t tried it yet, you can now level up to 20 for free. It’s worth downloading just to give it a shot.

Diablo 2
Number 1 on the list is another Blizzard game. Diablo II was released in 2000, with it’s Lord of Destruction expansion released in 2001. Diablo is a multiplayer RPG. Not really an MMO, as you can only play with 7 other people at a time. You fight your way through 4(5 with the expansion) different unique areas over three difficulties to progress, gain gear, and reach level 99. It’s easily re-playable and fun to use all the different classes. Every map is generated when you load the world, so it’s very hard to get the same layout twice, keeping the gameplay fresh even though it’s the same areas. I, along with countless others, have spent way too much time on Diablo II, and will probably spend countless more hours on it considering blizzard is still releasing patches for it. The dark, grungy feel of the game is amazing. With a simple interface and ease of play, it makes it an easy game to get hooked on.

The power of flight has only really existed for mankind for roughly the last 100 years, although people have always envied birds and their ability to fly. There is something alluring about soaring through the air. Many of us will never get to fly, and if we do, it will only be as a passenger. However, there are ways to mimic flight. Flight simulator games can let you control a virtual airplane and see how it handles.

There are many kinds of aircraft, so there are lots of different kinds of games. Some of the most popular ones are games centered around the World Wars, which both had a significant amount of aerial combat. You can imagine yourself as a heroic pilot in WWI, trusting your bi-plane hundreds of feet above the air. You will be attempting to outmaneuver opposing planes while simultaneously up your machine gun sights for that crucial shot.

By WWII, planes had evolved a lot more. Navigational tools had improved, and guns and gas tanks were bigger and better. Instead of merely seeking to shoot down opposing aircraft or scout enemy positions, many planes were used as long-range bombers designed to wreak havoc on enemy cities. If you play a game based around a WWII plane, you may have to worry about dodging flak fire, running out of fuel on long missions, hitting your target, and avoiding enemy planes. Some free online flight simulator games will even have campaign modes, where you start out on simple missions and advance to more complex ones as you show you have what it takes to succeed in the air.

Some games are not based around combat, but more on demonstrating skill based around handling a plane. These types of games will reward you for your ability to do barrel rolls, loops, and other difficult maneuvers. Some may give you a course with obstacles to fly around and might add a timer to increase the pressure.

Games can vary on their control and what perspective you see the plane from. The most authentic games strive to recreate the cockpit and present you with information about altitude, fuel, and navigation. Other games will have you controlling a plane, but typically the view is from the side or from the top, instead of inside the cockpit.

Most of the time the controls will be somewhat similar. You normally have the option to speed up, slow down, and to use your wing flaps to change direction. The skill lies in knowing how to combine these movements to direct yourself in the air.

Flying is not as easy as it looks. Luckily, if you want to get some practice in, you have all kinds of free online flight simulator games to try. You can try dog fighting in WWI, important bombing missions in WWII, or simply seeing how well you can handle a plan by executing intricate maneuvers. Go with a classic feel and see things from inside the cockpit, or it makes you more comfortable, control the plane from an outside view.