Are you one of those who love video games that can spend a reasonable time of the week enjoying their favorite titles? Do you like to record videos or take screenshots of the different situations that occur while you entertain yourself? Well, then, you don't need to struggle with the original Windows options, but you can use external tools, such as FRAPS.

FRAPS is a paid application specially developed for players who want to save both videos and screenshots of their games and who want to do it, avoiding the usual complications. Thanks to this software, you can carry out these tasks fast and straightforwardly, with excellent compatibility with most current computer games.

FRAPS generally works with all games that use technologies such as DirectX or OpenGL, allowing gamers to take the screenshots or recordings they want and then manage them as they see fit. And best of all, and something essential in terms of such programs, is that we can launch its functions directly from the keyboard, thus avoiding having to close the games to take advantage of them.

Since we talk about these essential features, we have to say that the first of them, which allows you to capture screen recordings of everything that happens while playing, will offer you the ability to generate a video file with audio included. Here it is convenient that if you are looking for a particular format for your videos or modifying other parameters, check them before starting the recording.

And secondly, there is no doubt that the screenshots are the other strong point of FRAPS. We must say that many programs developed to make screenshots do not work when we have games open, which is why it is convenient to have an application that aims to carry out these tasks in those cases. Again here, you can select the most suitable formats for your intentions.

Most of the time, that remains active; FRAPS does it in the background, and we can activate its different functions through keys, which are F9 and F10, although you can change them if you prefer. While running, this utility will show you the frames or frames per second in one of the corners of the monitor, so you always have this information about the performance of your PC at hand.

And as it has its codecs, FRAPS assures us that it records the screen with almost all existing games today, but also, the overall quality of these recordings is well above the average segment.

Finally, remember that we said initially that FRAPS is a paid service, which we can try in a limited way to see if it is what we are looking for. This free alternative will allow us to store images only in BMP format in this particular case. At the same time, the videos we record must have a maximum duration of 30 seconds and will be added a watermark unless we buy the program.

The user interface of FRAPS can be analyzed in two different ways, and one of them, when it is minimized and running in the background, does not deserve too many comments as it is almost invisible. Then yes, when we talk about the management of its features, we can find a very own design, different from any similar service, which is perhaps too loaded with colors but complies anyway.

About the main positive features of FRAPS, we have to talk about the possibility of enjoying most of the games, as it has above-average compatibility. In addition, you should not lose sight of the fact that it will show you the FPS on the screen at all times, that it has its codecs always to ensure the best quality, and of course, that it can record video with sound in several of the most popular formats. This obviates the apparent issue that you must pay to use this service without limitations.

As for the worst of FRAPS, we have to point out that we have encountered some interference when running this application simultaneously with certain games. This has not been a constant situation, but you must remember that you may experience these problems in some particular circumstances.

In conclusion, if you are willing to pay for software that allows you to take both screenshots and recordings of your gaming sessions, FRAPS is one of the best alternatives that you should consider. Most of the time, it is a stable application with excellent compatibility and offers many output formats, both for image and video, so little more could be demanded.