2007 was a good year for racing games. Fans weren’t exactly spoilt for choice, but it was more a case of quality over quantity. There was something for everyone; Forza Motorsport 2 for the purists and car enthusiasts, DiRT for some off-road escapades and the best car damage ever, and the highly underrated and overlooked PGR4 with its addictive pick-up-and-play approach.

Like in most other genres in 2007, the Xbox 360 came out on top here was well. Forza 2 and PGR4 were exclusive to Microsoft’s console, while DiRT came to the PlayStation 3 months after it did on the Xbox 360.

But 2008 is a new year, and it’s already off to a smashing start – literally. Here’s a look at what racing fans can look forward to in 2008. Once again, there’s something for everyone – simulation, arcade and even some combat racing. And Sony fanboys can finally stop sulking now, because from the looks like it, the PS3 has got some heavy-hitters lining up on the grid.

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While the world hasn’t exactly been going ga-ga over the Xbox 360 Originals service, gamers in India had much to cheer about. When it comes to finding an original Xbox game, it’s probably as easy as finding Altair in a hay-stack. Sure, we don’t have the 120 Gb Elite HDD but that hasn’t deterred us from trying to give ourselves a heartache and download the games on our so-called broadband connections.

The recent addition of Burnout 3 to the Xbox 360 Originals roster meant that Microsoft was serious about “frequently” updating the catalogue. We had hoped that they will use the term “frequently” in a more literal way and it seems like some one is listening!

According to CVG, come 11th January 2008, and the Xbox 360 Original’s game roster will be expanded with three brand new (in a manner of speaking!) Xbox titles in the form of Tecmo’s hit Ninja Gaiden, Criterion’s orgasm-inducing BLACK and Sid Meiers Pirates! The price point is expected to be the same as all the other Xbox 360 Original games i.e. 1200 Microsoft Points which is approximately INR 850.

Ninja Gaiden is one of those few games, after the Halo series, that proved to be system-seller for the Original Xbox. It’s a no-brainer for those who didn’t have the fortune of playing the game on the original Xbox or are looking to own a copy of the game. For those looking for a gun-orgy in completely destructible environments will surely find putting down there moolah for BLACK worth it. And if neither slashing through hordes of ninjas nor blasting your way through baddies is the way you like to relax, then maybe Pirates! is the one which will catch your fancy with it’s open world game play as you merrily sail away sinking merchant ships while romancing the mayors daughter.

Now that we have more choice as far as the Originals game catalogue goes, we have our fingers crossed that Microsoft-India launches the Elite HDD as a separate add-on soon.

Okay, seriously. The one single word that came to mind when I saw this track listing was “w00t”! This has easily got to be one of the best track listings for a game and any game that features a song by Killswitch Engage absolutely must deserve props.

The EA website has confirmed today that some of the tracks included on the new Burnout game include “My Curse” by Killswitch Engage, GNR’s “Paradise City” (how convenient!), Seether’s “Fake It” and Jane’s Addition’s “Stop!” as some of the tracks that will be featured in the game.

FINALLY!!

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The only bad thing about living in India, besides the shitty internet speeds of course has to be the time differences. So when the third trailer for much awaited Grand Theft Auto 4 (GAT4) was announced, it gave us sleepless nights, quite literally. Thanks to the difference in time-zones, we had to stay awake through a good half last night to catch a glimpse of the next GTA4 trailer. Having endured long waits with the previous trailers, we were well prepared for a long wait this time around as well. Thankfully, the wait was all worth it. Before we delve any further, here is the trailer, courtesy, Gametrailers

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Remember how we always keep on bitching about gamers up north in Delhi keep getting lucky with game events being held on a regular basis? Seems like our Mumbai brethren are soon going to join the must-envy list for us poor souls down here at Bangalore.

Quick on the heels of the Xbox India’s “Biggest Gamers’ Night Ever!” and Sony’s Playstation Experience, Mumbai is going to host yet another party in form of the launch of a brand new Xbox Lounge! The official invitation in our hands tells us that on 7th December 2007, the Xbox Lounge is being launched by Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division in collaboration with MobileStore, India’s largest chain of mobile phone retailers. Mr. Rajiv Agarwal, CEO and Director, ‘The MobileStore Ltd’ and Mr. Mohit Anand, Country Manager, Microsoft E&D India will be there to do the honors and address the media.

We also have news that the launch will not be limited to a Mumbai launch but will be rolled out across India. We are pretty sure that the Xbox Lounge will meet with great success over in Mumbai and it is only a matter of time before we get to see such lounges all across India. So while you lucky guys attend the event, I will have to be content with keeping an eye on the MobileStore across the road.

Authors Note: Apparently, Mumbai has been host to an Xbox 360 Lounge since May 25th, 2006. More details can be found at Animationexpress.

The world is such a better place when you’ve got what everyone has. But what makes it even better is when you’ve waited for something for the better part of a decade! Since November 2002, we’ve waited. But now it’s here and Live will now see a new breed of gamers - Maharaja styleee!

Announced to launch officially on 05/11/07, we all waited for that day when Monday would be everyone’s most favourite-est day. But yesterday (04/11/07, well?!), I walked into my regular game/music store to pick up my copy of Orangebox so I could check what all the buzz around Portal was, and what actually greeted me was the nice, ‘hard-to-rip-off’ orangey soft pack screaming for my attention! Xbox Live was here and a day before the official launch date! Now I don’t know how much trouble this will get me into, but what the hell, I’ve said it now!

So yeah - Gold subscriptions here now in 1, 3 and 12 month subscription options and Live points are here too. I picked up a pack of 1600 points for ± 1000 INR (± $26). Picked up good old Castlevania - SOTN and Geometry Wars, although strangely, Doom was not available for purchase! Strange, indeed.

Up next, I’ll check out all the “Edutainment” products we were promised. Hell, maybe they WILL have an ‘Arbiter teaches typing’ game after all!!