Wonder how you can increase your headshot count?  Curious about how to get better at handling a controller?  Need help being able to make that turn without crashing?  Here are 7 tips to help you become a better gamer.  Special thanks to WrothChild for the article suggestion!

1.  Go old school

Playing games from the NES era is a great way to increase you gaming abilities.  Old school games are uncompromising in their difficulty, and due to the limited number of buttons, you can focus more on what is happening on screen instead of having to move your hands all over the place.  Some recommended games to increase general awareness and reaction times:  Guardian Legend, Ninja Gaiden, Ghosts and Goblins, and the grand daddy of em all: Silver Surfer.

2.  Stretch!

Keeping your fingers stretched is essential, especially with fighting and racing games.  If you keep your fingers loose and limber, you will find yourself having an easier time with fatigue as well as having more control over analogue sticks and triggers.  This tip doesn’t have huge results, but over time you will notice a slight difference.  Also, get a forearm exerciser; this will help prevent you from injuring your wrists/lower forearms, which is always a good thing.

3.  Forums

Forums are a GREAT way to get better at a specific game.  Jeremy from Pure Pwnage said it best: “If you combine what you’ve figured out with what other people have figured out…that’s how you stay ahead.”  Strategies and suggestions abound on forums, and if you tend to play games in the same genre you will find tactics in one game will often transfer over to other games.  Just be careful where you go…places like IGN are a breeding ground for idiocy.  Try to stick to the official or unofficial forums for a specific game, as they tend to be easier to swallow.

4.  Play on hard mode

Most games offer various difficulty levels.  If you want to get better, you are going to have to be challenged.  Yes, you will get frustrated.  Yes, it will take longer to get through a game.  However, you will also find yourself getting better and better.  Unfortunately though, this is not a tip that applies to every game.  Batman: Arkham Asylum is a perfect example of this.  The enemies aren’t necessarily harder, they just take a lot more hits before they go unconscious…to the point where the game just isn’t fun.  Use this tip at your discretion, but I suggest you start every new game on hard (or the equivalent.)  You can take this to the extreme by trying to play through Ninja Gaiden Black on every difficulty level. 

5.  Practice, practice, practice

Like anything else, the only way you will get better at gaming is to practice.  I’m not saying you will be the next Park Sung-Joon if you just practice, but you will find your skills quickly improving.  A huge part of gaming (ESPECIALLY fighting games) is all about muscle memory.  Being able to constantly pull off a combo or an attack or making a turn is essential to being a better gamer; the more you practice, the easier it will be for you to do so.  If you just play single-player, this isn’t really as big of a deal… but you will still feel better knowing you could pwn your friends if the opportunity came up.

6.  Find the gear that works for you

It is very important that you feel comfortable with the controller or keyboard/mouse combo that you use.  Having a setup that feels right makes a big difference in your confidence and your ability to have your intentions translated into game space.  I personally have a GameStop skin over my 360 pad because I find it to be more comfortable.  I also find regular mice nearly impossible to use for PC gaming, and instead use a trackball.  Go to a place like Fry’s or Microcenter and try out their keyboards and mice before you buy one.  Make sure it fits comfortably.  Don’t be embarrassed or ashamed if you spend an hour in the mice aisle; it is important you find what you like.

7.  Don’t get too emotionally invested

If you find yourself struggling to get past a certain section or level, or if you find yourself getting completely pwned while playing online, just put down the controller and walk away.  You can’t play well when you are flustered, and any attempts to do so could put you off from continuing the game at a later date.  You will find that if you are stuck at a certain part in a game, walking away and coming back to it is sometimes all it takes.  If you still struggle though, don’t feel bad about heading over to gamefaqs.com for a quick peek at what you should do.  It’s better to have someone else’s help for a 5 minute segment of a game rather than getting frustrated and never finishing it.  Still, I highly discourage reading any more of a FAQ/walkthrough than you absolutely need to…getting help is one thing, but if you are just going to do the whole game with a walkthrough, why are you even playing it?