OK - I am a complete, total gaming novice.

[Flaxbee]

Know nothing about it at all, but for various reasons, would like to know a little more (nieces and nephews I'd like to be able to talk to). Are there any good sites that discuss games? Good games, bad games, non-killing games? Just general info sites?

Anything to help me reduce my ignorance will be appreciated! Thanks!

edited to add that I've cross-posted this in the Lounge.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. Here's a site that's good as far as reviews etc.:

http://www.gamespot.com/

It helps to have an idea what kind of games your relatives like.

"Shooter" games like Half Life 2?

"Role Playing" games like World of Warcraft or Oblivion?

"Real Time Strategy" games like Starcraft or Command and Conquer?

"God" games like Civilization or Black and White?

Or are they primarily into console games, as opposed to personal computer games? (XBOX, Playstation etc.)

A site like Gamespot has sections for all of the above. If you are interested in a particular game you can look it up under its corresponding platform, read reviews, see screenshots etc.

[sam sarrha]

4. i think they are asking what those games are like and how they work and what is in them.. what is it

the game is trying to achieve.. like i got the new starwars and there is just a lot of running around.. it never seemed to have a goal i was involved in.. no strategy to achieve a goal , no problem solving..which is why i play games..

frequently the games best aspect is the multilayer community.. i played on the Salvation Air Force in Crimson Skies for 5 years.. my team members were my best friends, but the foul mouthed miscreants got the game taken out of the zone.. plus there were so many new games with 10's of thousands of players on hundreds of different games.. if you subscribe to a server be sure you can Block individuals.

[NuttyFluffers]

2. also try GameFAQs

the reviews, like on all websites, should be taken with a grain of salt. but gameFAQs is a great place to know what's out there, what region and system a game is available at, and pretty solid categorization. it's a bit dry, as in lack of pictures, but a great source nonetheless. also great for codes, cheats, walkthroughs, etc. for extra help. since a few games have some "naughty" cheats it's a good place to see if a game has content you don't want to inadvertently expose your child relatives.

i also love Home of the Underdogs, but this is mostly for abandonware and other really old games. but it's a far more mature location for gamers and has quality reviews and recommendations. it also gives a great description of genres and games along with recommendations of similar titles to compare.

give us a little bit about what you are looking for, we could probably help considerably here. i did some fan reviews in my time, and have been gaming for most of my life with 20+ years of experience, so i think i can help. i'm also rather non-conformist, too, so i can cover some stuff that would not normally be the latest rage but would be excellent quality.

[ComerPerro]

3. try World of Warcraft. very fun, highly addictive MMORPG. And, just like addictive drugs

your first hit is free...

(you can get a ten day guest pass, and when you register your account you get your first month of server access free. after that its 15 dollars a month)