Transformers - The Game

Activision's next summer blockbuster arrives with a bang. Transformers fans weren't eager to embrace the movie when it was first announced but subsequent trailers have warmed them up to the idea. It's gone from "Why bother?" to one of the summer's most anticipated movies. But it wouldn't be a summer blockbuster without a big game attached. Thankfully, Activision and Traveller's Tales have filled the void.

Transformers' story is apparently loosely based on the movie, which is in turned based on the Transformers universe. It tells the battle between two transforming machines, the Autobots (good) and Decepticons (bad). Their battle has moved on to Earth where something called Allspark is now found. Both groups anxiously want to take control of the device and desperately want to make sure it doesn't fall in the hands of the other side. The story works out well and begins with an excellent CGI introduction by Blur Studios and manages to hold your attention.

Transformers lets you choose which side you want to play as, either the Autobots or the Decepticons. The game lets you switch between both sides easily and has a separate storyline, written by the movie's author, for each side. If you play as the Autobots, you’ll take control of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and company as you try to find the AllSpark and save humanity. The Decepticons simply want to destroy the Autobots and take control of the AllSpark. The game lets you roam around the city looking for new missions. Transformers doesn't break new ground with its mission design. The missions are generally simple. You're trying to find or collect something, rescue someone, destroy a particular enemy, or compete in a race. As with other movie licenses, Traveller's Tales included a number of new characters to beef up the storyline. The PC version supports the Xbox 360 controller, although the game is still plenty playable with a keyboard and mouse.

Transformers does include a good amount of unlockable, bonus content. By completing certain objectives and chapters, you'll be able to unlock playable characters, movie trailers, and artwork. The core storylines take four-to-five hours a piece, but the unlockable content does a good job at increasing the replay value of the game.

The game's graphics are great. Traveller's Tales worked with CGI house Industrial Light & Magic, which worked on the film, and was granted access to the character models used in the movie. The result is fantastically detailed characters. You can see every moving part and see how they actually transform from vehicles to robots. The environments don't quite share the same level of detail but do end up looking pretty good thanks in large part to the game's great lighting effects (which are just a touch better on Xbox 360). The game does have quite a few framedrops on PS3 and Xbox 360, some of which are quite bad, but those are not frequent enough to tangibly affect the gameplay.

The sound package is even more impressive. Activision managed to get the key cast members like Megan Fox, Keith David and Shia Lebeouf in the game, in addition to Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, who were the original voices of Optimus Prime and Megatron. The soundtrack is mostly comprised of modern rock songs, which is in sync with what we expect from the movie. The game's various sound effects, especially the explosions, are all good.

Transformers doesn't make any radical changes to the classic action game genre, but it does have likeable characters and top-notch production values, coupled with enjoyable gameplay. For a Transformers fan, that's more than enough. Your new summer blockbuster has arrived.

The Godfather

The Godfather

Maker: Electronic Arts
Genre: Historic Action Adventure
Release Date: 21^st Mar 2006
Rating: 4/5
Screenshots

This is a game made on the superhit hollywood movie "The Godfather" in the year 1972. Most of us were not even born at that time but we do know that Ram Gopal Verma's "Sarkar" was on the same concept.
The game feature a great level of resemblance with the movie. The charaters of the game and that of the movie are same. The storyline too follows the same patten. To insert the missions the storyline is disturbed a little but that surely adds the entertainment value to the game.
The faces in the game are exact to the actors of the film. The voice and the expressions are matched to the extent that in some cutscenes we feel that we are watching an animated version of the film.
The 70s theme and the cars are adapted very well. The length of the game is really long giving you many hours of pure playing pleasure.
The sounds and the music of the game is copied well from the movie. The soundtracks of the movie has been taken in the game and also the background music is used when a cutscene is going on or on a mission. In all the music make the game relate to the movie for your eyers.
The game is more like GTA (Grand Thieft Auto) in the 70s. The game is very much like any GTA game and fails to provide novelty. The game lacks a little in this area. There are side missions similar to GTA and Gun with the main gameplay but as usual no one would bother to play them when you are playing the main storyline.
The game surely is the topper in the month and earns the deserved rating. It is surely a must try if you like action games but if you prefer racing sims or business games this is not the one for you.

Screenshot:

Counter Strike: Condition Zero

Counter Strike: Condition Zero
Half-Life was the first game launched in the series followed by the best multiplayer game yet, Counter Strike. As a multiplayer game it had everything a gamer need. But what to do if there are no players in the parlor or if you are sitting at home and no one else to play with. In India we do not have fast internet speed at all the places to play the game on the Internet. You purchased a game for Rs.999 and now all the money gone in drain “Sara paisa pani mein mil gaya”.

So what you do is download free add-on software like K-bot, etc which add computer players as your opponents and your teammates. Some programs do not run, some become extremely slow and only few such programs work properly.

Counter Strike: Condition Zero comes with a feature where you can add such bots (computer controlled players). The only other good thing about Condition Zero is that it is a stand-alone which means it does not require any other game as a base like counter-strike required half-life.

A very basic game and lacks mission objectives. Only two types of missions:
1. Hostage rescue - Counter Terrorists
2. Bomb Planting – Terrorists
You can choose to be a terrorist or a counter terrorist (CT). Depending on it you have your goals. Select the number of bots which can join either team randomly or on your will. There is a bit of customizing which you can do regarding the rounds, time limit, etc.

As a whole it will give you a good game play for about 25hours after which you will start searching for some other options if you have played the earlier counter strike games.

Power Gamer Rating: 4/5

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

The new game of GTA Series is back with the name " GTA SA - Grand Theft Auto San Andreas ". As of its old games you are in a role of criminal. The Main Charatcer of this SA is Carl Johnson as CJ who just returned from jail. The Story starts from a small hood in a small town and then ends up with 3 cities "Los Santos, San Fiero and San Ventures" and some of the hills where CJ have to do lot of missions.


The New Additions in the game is about the Girlfriends. There are 6 Girlfriends for CJ in the game from which you can find couple of them in missions and rest of them you have to find it manually. The Other Addition about game is the Hoods, you can start gang wars with other gang hoods and then can win their hood and other gangs can also win your hood by wars. As of the cars in last GTA Series there are lot of new cars in it and additional point there is bikes and even bycycles, with some of the choppers, aeroplanes and army planes.


In SA as of its GTA series some of the missions are so easy that you can clear it without any trouble but some missions are so difficult that you have to try it again and again to clear that mission. There are also some mini games of poker and star wars in SA which you can play a visit fo CASINO or some other places like that. And also with that some dancing activities and car dancing is included in the game.


But the game has been banned in some of the countries (even in India) due to some sexual contents and violance. The Game Includes HOT COFFEE mode which has some pornography which was first implimated but in final version it is not included, although you can access that scenes with a patch thats why government bans this game.


However the game also includes some bugs like cars crashes peoples dont know how to drive cars and bikes in game, and like time runs fast as of normal time but still GTA SA is the good game to play in recent time.

PGI Ratings: 4.5/5


System Requirements :-
256 MB RAM, 1.7 Ghz Processor, 4.3 GB Free space
" For Full lightning and blur effects you need a heavy graphics card like GEForce or RivaTNT "

Review by:
JAMES
PGI Writer
y2j826@hotmail.com

World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft

Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Genre: Role-Playing Game (RPG)
Release date: 23^rd Nov 2004
Screenshots
Rating: 5/5

I respect game development studios. Theirs is an enviable job, to be sure. They take their passions for gaming that took root when they were young, enthralled by the games of days gone by, and strive to tell new stories to the gamers of today. Now, as in all things, there are those that do this job better than others - as we all know, there are good games, and there are bad games - but there are a choice few studios who set the standard by consistently producing not just good games, but great games. Blizzard Studios is one such developer.

From the company's first truly successful title, WarCraft, Blizzard earned its stripes, dominating the RTS and RPG genres by sticking to a tried and true method - not releasing a game before it's done. When highly anticipated games like StarCraft, Diablo II, and WarCraft III (along with all of the expansion modules) were in development, Blizzard always took the extra time to go over every detail, squash every bug, and take the time needed to make sure the game was done right.

The formula is this: Build the game. Test it MERCILESSLY in-house, squash the bugs, and then release a wide beta that will give you an idea of what the unwashed masses will do to the game, squash those bugs, rinse, repeat, wipe hands on pants. After all that is completed, then release the game and sit back and count the truckloads of cash that come pouring in from a job well done.

And for the most part, the formula works. Even when they shift to new genres, they take their time, meticulously learning the lessons needed to bring a great game to life, and to that end, Blizzard has yet to make a game that isn't very, very good.

So here we are, in the golden days of massively multiplayer gaming. The RTS world was set on its ear with Blizzard's offering of WarCraft III, and its follow-up expansion pack, The Frozen Throne, so the logical next move would be to convert the WarCraft world into an MMORPG to continue the story, with the world of Azeroth rendered in beautiful detail. For years, Blizzard labored to bring to life an MMORPG worthy of carrying the name WarCraft.

But even with the formula applied, Blizzard forgot about one critical factor that every MMORPG takes for granted. The players.

Mind you, Blizzard is no newcomer to scores of people playing on its servers. Blizzard runs hundreds of thousands of players daily through its Battle.Net system, hosting characters for the Diablo series, as well as hosting games on WarCraft and StarCraft, so they know what it takes to please the masses, but never have they tackled a project with such a vast scope as to render an entire world for the exclusive use of its players in real-time. A difficult task - probably the toughest challenge Blizzard has faced to date - so the question is, does the formula still hold true?

So, with that in mind, let's take a good hard look at the World of WarCraft, shall we?

The game takes place in the world of Azeroth, several years following the conclusion of WCIII: The Frozen Throne, with both continents of the world fully populated, and the détente between the Alliance and the Horde gone by the wayside. King Arthas, having merged with the Lich King, is holed up on the Frozen Throne of Icecrown. The former undead Scourge, now calling themselves the Forsaken, have cast their lot with Thrall, and are allied with the Horde, while the Alliance is bringing in the ancient Night Elves to help them rebuild their ravaged land. It is a time of uncertainty and chaos, and both the Alliance and the Horde need strong heroes to step forward and defend their lands from any and all who would threaten their respective ways of life. The lines of good and evil have been grayed beyond distinction, with the Alliance no longer being as "good" as they once touted themselves as, and the Horde showing their deep commitment to honor makes them not as "evil" as everyone thinks they are. Both sides find themselves on equal moral ground as they cling to their homelands.

Players can step into the shoes of any of the eight races, with the Humans, Dwarves, Gnomes and Night Elves on the Alliance side, or the Orcs, Trolls, Undead and Tauren of the Horde. Once you choose your race, it is then time to select a class dependant on which race you choose. After that, it's off to the races, with each person making his/her own way in the world.

Visually speaking, the game is gorgeous, with the entire continent seamlessly displayed as you explore new locations. You can move from a bustling city directly into the field, entering new zones with no loading times whatsoever. The only time the game reloads for any purpose is when you teleport, enter an instance dungeon or switch continents. Other than that, you can run from one end of the world to the next with no downtime. The player models are beautiful, detailed and dressed to the nines, and are very smoothly animated. There are some clipping issues between the models and the terrain, but when you have that many models running around, some of that is to be expected. The spell effects are modest, and aren't as brilliant as in WCIII, and I believe this was done to trim bandwidth more than anything else, but in all honesty they look pretty dang good. They get the job done nicely without overly taxing your system.

The audio quality is decent as well, bringing all the sounds of battle to the forefront with relatively good quality. They do a fine job of tying the whole game experience together nicely. They're not overly well done, nor are there the customary Blizzard voice-overs. If every NPC were voiced, the game would weigh in at three to five times the current size of the game, which weighs in at a good 4GB.

But let's not kid ourselves here, boys and girls. The burning question on your minds is how well does the game actually play? You've all heard the rumors and complaints about the overwhelming lag, but are these just speed bumps on the road that leads to a great game, or are they insurmountable obstacles that great storytelling can't overcome?

Well, the answer is…both. Sort of.

Need For Speed: Most Wanted

Need For Speed: Most WantedDeveloper: Electronic Arts
Publisher: EA Games
Genre: Racing Simulation
Rating: 4/5

play Need for Speed 2 SE. The launch of the latest Need for Speed in end 2005 has given hardcore gamers a new reason to smile.
The game is called Most Wanted which means we expect the return of the cops. This time the cops are not going to go down so easily. EA (The developers of NFS series) has claimed that the gameplay can remind you of a hollywood seen in a movie. Hollywood style cop chase with spike strip, road block and police chopper hovering above. Become the heros from "The Fast and the Furious" or take on the speed with "Gone in 60 seconds".
There will be stunts to perform in the free rome world. There will be days and nights in the game just as we saw it in GTA:VC and GTA:SA. We can only race during night times and for the day time there are a lot of things to do just as we had in Need for Speed: Underground 2.
Gamers loved the sports cars in all the titles till HP2 and then missed them in Underground 1 & 2. Guess what?? sports cars are also in now. Looking at the screenshots of the game reviled so far we have seen Carrera GT BMW M5 and Chevi, Lotus comes back from 6 and Audi TT will also feature in NFS:MW. The sum of street cars as well as sports cars will make the game look very good. We have not seen or heard about any Ferrari of a McLaren yet but we do have Carrera GT. In India Ferrari is the most fav sports car due to F1 but sorry folks no news of the scarlet speeder till now.
Looking at the game from an Indian prespective it should do good in the Indian markets with price app Rs.999 to Rs.1499. With a good gameplay and still keeping the Free Rome Mode, good list of cars and Customise, Good Music (Which all previous NFS games has) and The Cops the game should be a good deal.

Age of Empires III

Age of Empires III

Release Date: 18/10/2005
Developer: Ensemble Studios
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Genre: Real-Time Strategy, War.
Ratings: 4/5

Age of Empires (further refered as aoe or aoe3 for age of empires 3) has always been a good selling game in the India market. The sale of aoe2 in the entire world was 16 million in which 0.5 million (app number) were sold in Indian markets leagally. The lates game to the sequel is the Age od Empires III. The game promises the gamers to give more than they expect, "Umeed se Zaida"

Age of Empires III will offer gamers the next level of realism, with advanced battle physics and unparalleled visual detail. The new game picks up where Age of Empires II: Age of Kings left off, placing gamers in the position of a European power determined to explore, colonize and conquer the New World. This time period features stunning scenes, from towering European cathedrals to courageous tribes of Native Americans, and spectacular combat with Industrial Age units like rifled infantry, cavalry and tall ships bristling with cannons.

Age of Empires III will once again demonstrate the real real-time strategy (RTS) genre. The game will set a new standard for visual quality and amaze gamers with detail never before seen in an RTS. Age of Empires III will excite strategy gamers with new game-play elements, including the concept of a “Home City,“ new civilizations, units, technologies and an immersive new single-player campaign that will span three generations.

Power Gamer India was the first ones to tell you about it and it will continue to do so. The Demo of the game is available and could be downloaded.