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Archive for the ‘Action’ Category
It was a cold winter in New York and I was one of the unlucky few that had to go to work. It had been snowing all morning, and by 2 PM, we had 12 inches of snow. Business was done, and my co-worker and I were sent home. Getting home was not a problem for me since I lived a few blocks away, but my buddy Andrei was totally screwed. So as a gesture of concern I invited the guy over for a cup of coffee. By the evening, the roads had cleared and buses resumed service. Andrei went home but forgot his goodie bag, and out of no fault of my own, I was compelled to open the plastic bag only to come upon something which would change me forever. Andrei had forgotten his very new and very precious copy of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. I popped that bad boy in and that was it, my first sandbox-style Action-Adventure.
Being a true metal-head and a gamer, I always felt that video games need more metal, which is probably why I loved Quake II – one of my favorite tracks till this day is “Quad Machine” by Sonic Mayhem. Although Vice City did have ‘V-Rock’ and those splendid tracks by Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth, it kinda left me craving for more. “Couldn’t they have more Metal,” I would ask myself. And then after all that time, here is Brütal Legend!
Coming close on the heels of the blockbuster The Dark Knight featuring the late actor, Heath Ledger’s amazingly spine-chilling portrayal of the Joker, fans could be forgiven to assume Batman: Arkham Asylum to be just another attempt to cash in on the success of the movie with a video-game tie in. Thankfully, for both gamers as well Batman fans, not only is Arkham Asylum a superbly executed game in it’s own right but also a great chance for fans of the series to romp through the grounds of the iconic Arkham Asylum as the caped crusader.
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Surprises come in many shapes and sizes but we certainly were not expecting one to resemble a pint-sized Ninja. Having been waiting for months now for any news of IO Interactive’s bald assassin, we sure had our collective eyebrows raised, when instead of Agent 47, IO decided to spring a completely brand new game, Mini Ninjas at us. Shoving away the piano wire quickly in our back-pocket, we set down to see if this undoubtedly kid-friendly looking game would keep us distracted until IO Interactive decided to let the bar-coded assassin loose. And oh-boy, were we distracted or what!
On September 22nd, Microsoft India hosted a launch party for the latest and much anticipated addition to the Halo saga, Halo 3: ODST, formerly Halo 3: Recon, was set up to be different from the previous installments, with a new concept, a different look and even a new protagonist. Many excited gamers assembled at the PVR Select Citywalk theater to view the unveiling of the latest Microsoft/Bungie masterpiece, and boy, as always they did not disappoint us . Even Bollywood celebrities could not keep themselves away, as Dino Morea and Aftab Shivdasani made an appearance and checked out the scene; however, the Bollywood glam wore off when one of the actors casually asked one of the gamers, “How much does an Xbox go for these days…?” Yes, I was speechless. But putting that aside, I was fortunate enough to receive a copy and review the game.
After a dearth of games this summer, TGS ‘09 promises to bring in a new breeze of title announcement to flog in the ever ongoing console wars and drool at all the screenshots and videos of the soon-to-be-released games.
After wowing us during E3 2009, Sam Fisher sneaks in onto the TGS show floor. Here is a video of that, giving the sneaking a miss and rather concentrating on all the close-quarter combat. Sam Fisher seems to be in his element here, taking no prisoners and dispatching off enemies with a cold detachment. Have a look.
Microsoft India does know how to throw a party. They set the ball rolling with the launch of Halo 3, following up with Gears of War, Mass Effect and then Gears of War II. With the Halo 3: ODST all set to hit the Indian shelves, Microsoft India went all out with launch party for this hotly anticipated game.
Held at PVR Cinemas, Saket, New Delhi, this event had it all; right from big-screen gaming to booth babes and free Halo 3: ODST T-shirts. A strong crowd turnout and lot of excitement followed. TAPians Vijay and Ren were right there to catch the moments on their camera. Inexplicably, video cameras were not allowed. But then, pictures speak a thousand words. Hit the jump to see a couple million!
Just a day more to go before the doors to Gotham’s city’s Arkham Asylum, a “psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane” are thrown wide open for you. With the Joker at the helm, the inmates at the Arkham Asylum are hell-bent on seeing off Batman once and for all. By the looks of the demo, the game promises to be an enjoyable ride into the dark and sinister world of Arkham Asylum.
The Xbox 360 and the PS3 version of Batman: Arkham Asylum are all set to release in India on the 28th of August, 2009 at a suggested price-point of INR 2499. E-express Interactive will be handling the distribution reins in India. PC enthusiasts will have to wait for their fix a little while longer as the Games For Windows title is set to be released on 18th September, this year.
Not to be outdone by its fellow Sony-platform developing brethren, Washington-based Sucker Punch Productions finally gets its chance to show off Playstation 3 owners what it’s been cooking for the past several years. But rather than sticking to its anthropomorphic animal parade of cel-shaded thievery and macking-it-up with police officials in quick-time ballroom dances, Sucker Punch brings an altogether new IP to the mix. inFamous is an open-world action thriller drenched in heavy comic book tones and one hell of an opening sequence. After waking up from a cataclysmic event, delivery boy Cole McGrath ends up in a hospital and learns that he’s the sole cause and survivor of an immense explosion in Empire City, caused by a package he was asked by an anonymous sender to unwrap. To put it in Zero Wing broken Engrish, somebody set up him the bomb. With his entire hometown (what’s left of it, anyway) tossed into mass hysteria, McGrath takes the center of public blame. All this trouble, and for what? Just for a silly plot-device to net Cole some killer electrical powers?
Actually, wait. That sounds quite the bitchin’ compensation deal.
“Think someone could spend half their life in a slam with a horse bit in their mouth and not believe? Think he could start out in some liquor store trash bin with an umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and not believe? Got it all wrong, holy man. I absolutely believe in God… And I absolutely hate the fucker.”
If you had watched the 2000 sci-fi film Pitch Black, you may remember this line. It gives you a small peek into the harsh upbringing and violent streak of one of the best anti-heroes in the gaming world – Richard B. Riddick. This was also the first time that the character of Riddick was introduced to the world. Four years after Pitch Black a second movie called “The Chronicles of Riddick” was released and this time it was accompanied by a game based on the lead protagonist of the movie – Riddick. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay released on the Xbox and a little later on the PC. The game turned out to be sleeper hit on the Xbox and even though it was highly acclaimed on the PC, the sales were pretty low. The lack of any kind of promotion for the PC version, save for an odd trailer probably was one of the reasons for the low sales. I wasn’t even aware of the game and happened to pick up the game on an impulse. I came to know it was a movie-based game and I was initially skeptical considering how movie based games always turned out to be mediocre efforts and were mere cash-ins, but I was absolutely blown away when I started playing the game. The game turned out to be a lot of fun and had a great blend and balance of various gameplay elements supported by a good story, amazing voice acting, a great atmosphere and superb visuals. To date it remains one of my favorite PC games of all time.
I really enjoyed the first Call of Juarez game when it was released in 2006. The game was set in 19th century Wild West, a setting rarely used in shooters which seem to be content with sticking to generic themes where you are either fighting aliens or shooting Nazi’s for the umpteenth time or gunning down mutants and zombies. Call of Juarez on the contrary, was a refreshing change. It helped that it was my first foray in this type of a genre as well. Needless to say, I was impressed.