Games I played - the reviews!!

here is the list/review of the games which I have enjoyed in the last 1 month..

NOTE : All of these are on the PC Platform only.
NOTE : This scoring scale is COMPLETELY different from my movie rating scale!!

Mafia : Very very interesting mafiaso story line with a huge city map and a number of intersting story taks to complete.. full entertainer.. but those who have already sampled the GTA series will be disappointed that it doesnt offer the sheer amount of interactivity and hidden missions that GTA does!!

Score : 74 - worth playing

Quake 4 : After a long 6 year gap, ID has finally released the sequel to the super famous "Quake 3 Arena". And is it worth the wait? Maybe..
The single player mode is back with a aliens vs. hero superbash storyline and it does well throughout.. the graphics are of course outstanding.. downers.. nothing really new in the multiplayers format.. if u play Quake only for mutiplayers anddont enjoy FPS single player games.. stay away.. stick to Q3A itself!!

Score : 77 - play if u like single player FPS's

Enter the Matrix : Of course, this game was released long ago.. around the time that the movie 2 was to come out.. but even keeping this in mind, I was a little disappointed.. we follow the course of events around Niobe / Ghost and the storyline really adds to the matrix movies, and this game has the most impressive set of cutscenes ever, but gameplay wise it is just above average.. but if u r a Matrix fan, dont miss it!!

Score : 71 - play if u r logged into the Matrix, otherwise u can give it a miss!!

Thats it for now.. of course I keep playing Q3A, no need to really score that.. it is a classic.. coming up next is "Prince of Persia - Sands Of time" and boy is it cool!! It is defenitely better than the games I have mentioned above!! Watch this blog for more!!

The pleasures of gaming!!

Even normally. my blogs are very erratic and infrequent but now I think it is even more so.. and there is a very good reason for it..

That is of course that I have now acquired a PC built solely for the purpose of gaming.. within some budgetary constraints of course.. my comp doesnt have the latest dual display adapter "SLI" technology but it packs enough of a punch to run todays games smoothly and thats saying a lot!!

Heres the config.. budget gamers.. take note..

Intel P4 3.0 GHz (2MB L2) with xtended 64 bit memory (save Rs. 2k by going for same chip @ 2.8GHz)

512 MB DDR RAM @ 400 MHz (save Rs. 1k by going for 333MHz RAM)

200 GB SATA HDD (save Rs. 3k by going for 120 GB non-SATA disk)

Intel 915G MB (u can only get a better board than this.. so if u want one.. it will ADD to ur bill!!)

DVD Writer - sony (save Rs. 1.5k go for DVD\CDRW combo)

nVidia 6200 wTurbocache Technology (this is the best bet for budget gamers - if u have money to splurge, choose 2 7800 cards with SLI tech!!)

Creative 4.1 surround speakers (save Rs. 3k by choosing 2,1 speakers, add Rs. 1.5k for 5.1 speakers and REAL surround sound!!)

UPS (absolutely essential!!)

17" Flat CRT Monitor (save Rs. 2k for 15" flat - add Rs. 10k for TFT monitor)

thats it.. choose a proper table/chair combo to go with this.. nad you are all set for full entertainment :) It cost me abt 43k.. so u have an estimate now..

Which is what I did, now I am enjoying abt 5-6 hours of gaming everyday and it jacks up to even 12-14 in the weekends!! Of course, this means that all my other work (whether planned or current)suffers but who cares !!!

Harry Potter 4 - the best HP movie yet!!

HP is finally here.. and boy is it good!!

First of all, a note of caution for muggles - especially for those who have no ideas about the characters / background info / theories built into HP.. you dont stand a chance with this movie.. there is no attempt to introduce/familiarise the regular cast in this movie.. even the openinig credits have been done away with.. we see a blob with the movie name and we join he action right away.. Its upto the viewer to come prepared for the movie.. If you still haven't started reading HP.. no point in really seeing this movie :)

I always thought part 4 was best suited for onscreen adaptation and the movie doesn't disappoint.. The TriWizard Tournament with its tough tasks, Harry growing up and adolescent issues with girls and of course the parallel rise to power of Lord voldermot .. It all unfolds with rapid pace and the viewer is enthralled from the word "go"..

The screenplay writers (Steve Kloves & co) have impressed in shrinking this huge pillow of a book to its current 2.5 hours version.. of course a lot of lighter moments which add to the charm ut not to the plot, have been removed. Also suffering is "THe Quidditch World Cup" which really looks grandeously fabulous but is restricted to just a couple of minutes of on-screen time..

Also finally a director (Mike Newell) has restricted himself from religiously following the book.. he has taken some liberties (like the intro scenes of the other school students) most of which work out.. but some of them really miss out (like the always shouting Dumbledore - huh? y on earth would a calm old guy keep shouting?)..

I will refrain from telling the story.. as we all know what this movie is all about.. being a big budget production.. there are no problems with the graphics here.. the performances are also good.. the music score is kind of irritating at the beginning (the "Krum" theme).. but then as we near the end.. it becomes flawlessly suited to the situation..

All in all, this is as good as a HP movie can get.. but I think part 5 is going to suffer in this retrospect.. it is to be made on an already weak book.. also the cast is getting older.. u can see it on the screen.. they are outgrowing their screen ages.. but then.. we can always keep hoping.. cant we??!!

Score : 74

The Legend Of Zorro - huh?

I also caught "The Legend Of Zorro" this weekend.. and surprisingly.. it was like a Bollywood movie.. lots of emotions.. some sword fighting scenes.. which very really very poor.. some very bad graphics.. a family which is torn apart by circumstnaces coming together at the climax to vanquish the villains.. well.. is this Zorro or what?.. the only saving grace is of course CZJ.. whp looks as lovely as ever..

AS is the case with many many movies, the original is far far better..

Score : 53

Sivakasi - fireworks?

Sivakasi.. is Std (not the fireworks) Vijay fare..

Vijay is poor guy, an orphan, running a welding shop.. very violent, but good-at-heart.. after some atercations.. rich girl (thats Asin) falls in love with him (some real goofy logix used here).. he in turn loves her after trying to steer her away from him as every poor but good hero must.. and after another completely irrational sequence.. it turns out Vijay has a family whom he ran away from 15 yrs back.. and the girl tells him he must win back his family to win her back.. and so he goes back to his hometown..

All that is the first half.. and the entire half goes thru' with nothing really happening in terms of the story.. there are a lot of "hero-worship" scenes.. unfortunately Vijay is not yet upto the Rajni level.. so unless u r a fan, most of this will fall flat!! also, the director has included audience response (whistles, applause, etc) in the background score.. so even if no one is appriciating the scenes, u will feel that the theatre is enjoying watching it..

Anyways.. when vijay goes to his homeplace, he finds that his brother (PrakashRaj) is ill-treating his mother and sister and also that he was responsible for the death of his father. Then, project vendatta starts. The film, very literally, picks up pace from here. how he overcomes all odds forms the rest of the engaging second half.

Really, the movie is quite entertaining if you are willing to overlook a number of glaring logic failures.. scenes have been strung together because they look good.. but how did the story move from Point A to Point B? Thats upto your own creativity.
Performances.. are more or less ok.. Asin plays the lively girl to the hilt.. PrakashRaj is impressive as the villain.. Vijay too plays his role well.. but it really pains me to see him playing this sort of role again and again.. he seems talented enough to do much more varied roles.. only time will tell this.. music is really loud.. and all the songs have the "that-tune-I-know-from-somewhere-else" feel..

Overall, normal Vijay masala, and really njoyable if u r a Vijay rasigar..

Score : 56