What’s InsIde?
Celebrating: PC gaming
W
elcome to a brand new issue of SKOAR!, Digit’s sister publication and India’s only gaming magazine. Through this magazine, we bring you your timely gaming dose: latest reviews, features, and buying advice. Through SKOAR!, we have also had a front row seat to the changing face of gaming over the years. And what a change it has been. Gaming today has long ceased to be a venture exclusive to PCs or consoles, there’s a new kid on the block: handheld gaming (comprising of mobile phone gaming). And the sky seems to Jayesh Shinde be the limit for this phenomenon, as every analyst worth Assistant Manager, Test Center their salt is predicting nothing but limitless potential for “Level 3 Mage” handheld gaming’s growth. But in this special edition of SKOAR!, we are going against the trend by concentrating solely on PC gaming — that platform most of us first started gaming on. We want to bring that good old PC gaming back in focus, celebrate its potential. As you flip through the pages, you will come across articles that look back on some of the best PC gaming titles that were, some of the biggest games and reviews that are, and a contemplative forecast of what the future of PC gaming will be.
We want to bring that good old PC gaming back in focus, celebrate its potential. While working on Digit’s 10th Anniversary Issue — which proved to be more hectic than usual — we had a ton of fun playing games like Crysis 2, Portal 2 and Brink, after work. We had less fun finalising the most memorable Retro Games over the past decade or so — but it was great fun reliving past days. Games like Half-Life, Diablo, The Sims, StarCraft, Caesar III, Homeworld Cataclysm, Recoil, Duke Nukem 3D were each iconic and ground-breaking in their own respect. PC gaming won’t be where it is today if it weren’t for the impact these titles had on the gaming industry. These timeless titles are ingrained in our psyche and we finally get to pay homage to them through this issue of SKOAR!. As we cover the past, we’ve also spared a thought for the future. The Future of PC Gaming takes a look at some of the technologies and ideas that are influencing the gaming industry and the likely direction it’s heading towards — no one direction, mind you. We also list down the Top 10 Upcoming PC Games that we’re eagerly awaiting — yes, it includes the next installment of Max Payne and F.E.A.R 3. I hope you have as much fun reading through this issue of SKOAR! as we’ve had trying to bring it to you. Until next time.
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Content Reviews Crysis 2
04
Portal 2
06
Brink
08
oPeration FlashPoint: 10 red river 2 shiFt 2: unleashed
12
FeatuRes toP 10 uPComing PC
games oF 2011
14
WhiCh alienWare is For you? 18 Future teCh:
PC gaming
20
e3 2011 PrevieW 24 retro games
26
Fastest gPus in the World
32
ColoFon
34
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Crysis 2 By RoBeRt “RaaaBo” SoveReign-Smith editor@thinkdigit.com
I
f you’re a PC gamer, the Crysis series needs no introduction. If not, you can also play a console version, but that’s like riding a cycle with training wheels and a little boy bell. I’m not a console hater, per se, but I do hate it when a great FPS game is “simplified” for console gamers. Although that’s not really the case here, I’d still prefer not to see an aim-assist option in the game menu. Another thing that can drive you crazy is the lack of a quick save function, something that we PC junkies are used to. But I get ahead of myself. Crysis 2 is set in New York – in shambles of course. Everyone loves to bring the Big Apple to ruins for some reason, and you can expect a feast of Hollywood-ish destruction. I won’t reveal the plot line, because there’s just about enough to begin with, but after a few forced cut scenes and some really corny acting, you end up with a Nanosuit. For the uninitiated, that’s a magical suit forged in the fires of Mordor by an evil wizard named Crynet that makes you want to scream “My precious” and cuddle it close to your body. Anyway, without giving too much of the plot away again: aliens are involved, they’re mean looking blighters, and would crush you like a cockroach if it weren’t for your precious nanosuit. The suit is alive with AI and protects you with armour, strength and invisibility to fool Sauron’s…err… alien orcs and the human idiots as well. The good bit of the game comes along when you notice that everything is kept in first person view, though some cut scenes seem to force your head to spin around like the girl from exorcist so that you don’t miss something important. Even upgrades are done by looking at an augmented reality menu on your hand, and twitching a pinkie gives you an extra something or another. Now if only there was a glove controller for the game – that would look and feel more realistic than mouse-clicking the glove. The maps are actually quite linear, and not really as big as they feel. You’ll always have a voice of some friend or another to guide you along, and also seem to urge you forwards when you slow down to grab a bite to eat (in the real world). The suit is so smart, it automagically marks and informs you of targets and dangers, and also of
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Genre: First Person Shooter, Military, Simulation Studio: Crytek Frankfurt & UK Publisher: Electronic Arts Price: PC (MS Windows): `999/-
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much needed ammo refill stops. What’s next, a suit that does the shooting for you as well? The game’s not easy, at a moderate level, but it’s no cakewalk either, and enemy AI seems to be pretty decent. Not in Recruit mode though, because then everyone’s IQ drops to under 80 and enemies react about as quickly as a certain president did when the actual New York was under attack. All of the above may lead you to believe I hated this game, but in truth I enjoyed it a little more than Crysis. What all of the easiness brings is more attention to detail on the part of the gamer, and only when you’re not focusing 24/7 on saving your backside can you look at the screen as a whole and appreciate the lighting effects of the game. Yes, the graphics are pretty good, and in certain areas the lighting is surreal, making you double back to catch that perfect screenshot. It’s also overdone quite a bit in a few places though, but it’s more good than bad. However, hardcore PC enthusiasts will be flabbergasted at the lack of something like an “Insane” graphics setting that would bring the latest hardware to its knees. What isn’t bad at all is the music. In fact it’s just brilliance personified, and I’m not just saying this because it’s composed by Hans Zimmer of Hollywood fame – I had no idea who the composer was when I started playing it. If you want to experience how much a good background score can mask all flaws in a game, this is a must-play. Money well spent, standing ovation, and all that jazz. There’s a multiplayer mode of course, and I hear it’s getting rave reviews from some fraggers, but I wouldn’t know because I’d much rather play the campaign again and again. Besides, all the good multiplayers are probably pulling down settings to bare minimum to get that nanosecond advantage, which just defeats the audio/visual experience of a game that’s known for little else. Plus, it’s like playing Quake III where everyone has invisibility – pointless for multiplayer sissies like me to even attempt. So what do I think of the game? Does it matter? Aren’t you just going to play it anyway? My only recommendation is that even if you own a console, play this game on a PC to fully enjoy what it has to offer, and finally realise how consoles suck at FPS gaming… Viva la PC!
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Portal 2
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Genre: First Person, Puzzle Solver Studio: Valve Corporation Publisher: Valve Corporation Price: PC (MS Windows): `1,999/-
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By RoBeRt “RaaaBo” SoveReign-Smith editor@thinkdigit.com
F
irst-up, a little history. I’m a Valve fanboy, and not ashamed to admit it. Half-life, despite its shitty graphics (by today’s standards), was the first game that hooked me into a story line, actually making me duck when pixellated head crabs jumped up at the screen. It drew you in and pwned you. “There’ll never be another game like this,” I said. Then they brought out Half-life 2, and I was hooked all over again. Then they frustrated the world with the long waits for Half-life 2: Episode 1 and 2, and I was secretly plotting to send them letter bombs when this game called Portal came out. Portal was a revelation. It was immersive, funny and was an FPS game that had no “shooting” to speak of. Oh wait, I forgot that turrets can shoot at you… anyway, Portal was unique, and quirky, and I loved it more than any other game I’ve ever played. When Portal 2 released, I was torn between being sceptical and excited. It was, after all the freshness of the concept that made Portal the iconic game it was, but now the concept was old… Could they pull off another HL2 with Portal 2? All I can tell you to answer that question is that I played and finished Portal 2 in a little over 8 hours, and in one single sitting – much to the chagrin of my wife. “33-year olds don’t do such things”, she said, but the game made me feel like an addicted teenager. Is it better or more iconic than Portal? No, but it certainly is a great game; it’s longer and more fulfilling and there’s just enough newness to keep you playing.
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The game begins with you waking up somewhere in the testing facility, and meeting Wheatley, a robot that looks like one of GLaDOS’ cores that you destroyed in Portal. Very quickly you realise that Wheatley, is, well, special, and is British, apparently. He’s funny though, and you can’t help but laugh at his dialogues. He’s also irritating enough to make you start thinking that this is just a poor substitute to GLaDOS, and not really as funny as the original. Then BAM! You’re quickly brought back to the fun of Portal, as GLaDOS is resurrected just as you were getting bored. Very quickly, you seem to be at the end of the game, and start thinking, waitaminnit, this is even shorter than the first one, isn’t it? Then several plot twists later you begin to realise that this game has been plotted to perfection. Just when you think you’re about to start missing something from Portal, Portal 2 throws a curve ball at you to make you sit up and pay attention. The world map is huge compared to the first part, and the puzzles are a little more challenging. There are also quite a few new props added into the puzzles, which bring a lot of freshness into the game. Along the way you also figure out that you’re still playing as Chell herself, and not just a clone or someone who looks like her. The dialogue is scripted immaculately as expected, but what’s new here is actual conversations between two bots, instead of just one way traffic. What’s also new is that you actually get a true sense of how huge the facility really is, and the attention to detail – especially when you see some of the facility in disrepair – is pretty impressive.
Physics has always been what Portal is all about, and instead of just stuff that’s going through portals, Valve shows off by making things collide and break apart very reliastically. Some of the liquid effects are quite silly though, but seem to add some comic value rather than subtract from the immersiveness of the game. The main USP of Portal 2, however, is always going to be the puzzle solving, and just as you did in the first one, you will struggle at some points, die a few times, and finally figure out the solution that makes you want to face-palm, because it’s always obvious once you’ve finished it. However, what’s truly new in this second edition is the addition of a multiplayer mode. Take the complexity that they’re able to produce with one gun (two portals) and square it, and you’ll get the idea. Being silly on your own and taking forever to get to the solution is one thing, being nagged and prodded (verbally or physically) by a partner just adds another dimension to the game. You’ll find yourself marking spots on maps for “slower” players, and impatiently waiting for them to get the idea. It’s a good experience when your partner is sitting next to you as there’s a lot of shouting and suggesting, but when the partner is unknown, everyone gets a lesson in patience and politeness. A must buy, must play experience that will keep you smiling for up to a week later, and chuckling when you remember a joke from the game. Be prepared for people to walk up and ask, “What’s so funny? Share the joke with us.” Do them a favour, and let them try it out.
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By Jayesh “Big DaDDy” shinDe jayesh.shinde@thinkdigit.com
B
Brink is a fun game with a slightly different approach towards multiplayer gaming and games involving teamwork to take out opponents fighting for a single objective. It has distinct visual appeal, well-crafted characters, tons of customization options right down to the minutest details. Although seemingly fresh, with smart technical tweaks to multiplayer FPS, Brink’s gameplay is often its downfall. Let’s take a closer look...
Story Brink’s events take place in a post apocalyptic future, where the earth is flooded all over by rising water levels, and there is no dry piece of land to stand on. On a floating metropolis called the Ark, tension and conflict is brewing as the city is split into two warring factions — the cops and the rebel
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guerrilla forces. Immediately after starting the game, you have to choose a side — to save the Ark (by teaming up with cops) or escape it (by joining the rebel army). That’s pretty much what the story of Brink is.
Starting
off Immediately after choosing which side you’re playing on, Brink shows one of its most promising aspects — the character customization screen. And there’s a heck of a lot to delve into here, make no mistakes. From face types, to nose structure, skin hue and tattoos, every look is distinctly crafted and goes a long way in moulding you into the bad guy (or the clean-faced good guy) you want to become. In the beginning, only a few customization options and accessories are made available — the rest need to be unlocked by successfully finishing objectives and leveling up. But to Brink’s credit, characters you craft and those portrayed in cut-scenes between missions have a close resemblance —
they’re almost inseparable, and that’s a testimony to great character modelling. It’s one of the game’s highlights. After you’ve customized the character to your tastes, it’s time to jump into Brink’s campaign mode, which is divided into two storylines — you play as a cop trying to squash the rebel uprising and vice versa. Later in the game you can choose to customize your character into a stockier, bulkier physique to carry heavy artillery and guns to blast past opponents — but that sacrifices your innate nimbleness and ability to jump over obstacles in a jiffy. The campaign mode of Brink offers solo or online multiplayer options — we played it in solo mode, with the accompanying characters in the team filled by bots. Brink’s cut-scenes aren’t very informative about the mission objective, and even while playing a level, your character is relegated to be a bystander as missions are led and instructed by a leader and
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Genre: First Person Shooter, Co-op Multiplayer Action Studio: Splash Damage Publisher: Bethesda Softworks Price: PC (MS Windows): `2,700/- (approx)
his team of AIs plot the entire execution — even in cut-scenes NPCs deliberate the course of action. Not very engaging, to tell the truth.
gameplay Getting into the heat of action doesn’t take too long, whether you choose to play on one side or the other. Missions either include deploying explosives at strategic points of the Ark, escort VIPs, or hack into systems, all the time trying to prevent the opposite side from disrupting your plans. Even if you play as one of the bad factions, you do exactly the opposite of what you could’ve done if you played as the good guys. You can play as four classes in Brink — Engineer, Medic, Soldier, Operative. If you’ve played Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, you’ll be right at home with the class distinction. In fact, choosing between different classes within a mission is central to the Brink gameplay philosophy. You can
June 2011
be a Soldier gunning down opponents, but you may switch to a Medic mid-game to revive fallen comrades. It makes for an exciting element in the gameplay, having to choose between various classes, depending on the nature of the mission. Brink offers a total of eight maps for fighting it out, and special mention is deserved for its level design. Maps are well laid out and the terrain takes time to familiarize, different environments have their own unique visual style which is good to see. However, most of the fighting happens at a command post or strategic choke points for the most parts, which can get repetitive after a while.
But I really liked Brink’s unique offering to the co-op FPS multiplayer table — SMART or Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain. Using SMART, you don’t have to remember different keys for crouch, jump, run, etc. — just press a single button to automatically navigate the terrain seamlessly. This allows you to concentrate on shooting peacefully, which is pure bliss. You can also slide under gunfire to an opponent and shoot them from close range! But the size distinction between body type — Large, Medium, Small — doesn’t reflect in real-time character movement. For example, if I’m a Large character, strutting across the map isn’t slower or clumsier (if I’m carrying a heavy weapon) as compared to being a Small guy who darts all over the place. The pacing needs to be distinct to reflect realism in movement, and that seems to be missing. I like Brink’s reward and bonus system, it makes sures you’re involved in any given level as a team, and points aren’t given for being a camper and taking enemies out from a safe spot. For example, you unlock more points for reviving a fallen teammate or hacking into a system (if the need arises) than staying put and shooting at enemies from a distance. You need to move as a pack of wolves and that’s reflected in the awards system.
final thoughtS Brink is a visually engaging game which brings some new features to the co-op multiplayer FPS gaming genre, and its endless level of character customization is an absolute treat. It’s SMART movement system is a welcome relief for the genre. But its missions come across as repetitive and there are certain technical flaws in its gameplay that makes it fall short of greatness. Brink is a good start by Spash Damage, which came into gaming as tweakers and modders, but it isn’t a finished product by a long way.
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OperatiOn F lashpOint :
r ed r iver – t actics On the F ly By ABhinAv A “AltA Av lt ir” lAl abhinav.lal@thinkdigit.com Operation Flashpoint: Red River is the sequel to Codemasters’ Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, a realistic modern tactical military shooter set in the near future – 2013, Tajikistan, where Afghani insurgent forces, the ETIM, are battling the U.S. Marine Corps who are there to liberate the Tajik people, in an operation called Enduring Shield. Provoked by border skirmishes and the deaths of their athletes at the London Olympics, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army joins the fray in later chapters, with the aim to wipe out the Afghani forces. You are Sergeant Kirby, the leader and rifleman of the four man unit, Fireteam Bravo, in the marine squad Out-
law. Right at the beginning, after a long and ranting opening cutscene of the state of the world, and America’s past goofups, you are introduced to your gruff and foul-mouthed CO, Staff Sergeant Damien Knox. He starts off with the opinion that your squad, and the whole world sucks, and slowly, painfully makes his way to grudging acceptance of your meager talents by the end of the game, by which time you will be grudgingly entertained by his choice phrasing. Operation Flashpoint: Red River is an evolved form of Dragon Rising, with an improved command system accessed via the command radial, but with enough toggle-able assists this time around to keep fans of both realistic tactical military shooters and modern run-and-gun varieties like MW2 or 2010’s Medal of
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Genre: First Person Shooter, Military, Simulation Studio: Codemasters Action Studios Publisher: Codemasters/Zapak Games Price: PC (MS Windows): `999/-
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Honour happy. No running or jumping around here — you’ll have to plan in advance, consult maps, order the rest of your team into position, and above all, take cover, a single moment too late and you will be bleeding out on the floor. Codemasters has introduced the command radial with Red River, and it holds a wide variety of orders, arranged around four order groups – follow, maneuver, suppression, and tactics. Throughout the three-act 14-hour long single-player campaign, you direct your AI squad with these commands. While the system is a little unwieldy to begin with, by the end of the game, you are at ease with it – though that doesn’t mean the game becomes much easier, and the correct orders delivered at the right time are still invaluable. Assists are varied, apart from novice stuff like auto-aim, helps supplement the average FPS player’s arsenal with tactical awareness of the battlefield, from radar, objective markers, and even the best route to take. With everything off, advance planning and tactics honed over hours of playing other tactical military shooters will need to come into play to succeed. You have the weapons and the munitions to do it, with nice extras like firing mode added in. Perhaps the only real flaw in the core
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gameplay of Red River is the quality of the AI in the single-player campaign. The remaining three AI on your squad are not very consistent in their efficacy or alacrity in observing orders, and often times, controlling them becomes more of a headache than having them on your team. There are times when you can win an engagement without having to fire a shot, leaving it up to your squad and its orders, and there are times when you are bumped into the line of fire by your ambling and extremely moronic squad mate. This frustration is alleviated in the fourplayer online co-operative mode however, but only if among friends – having often unintelligible orders shouted down at you by strangers can have some undesired effects. Four player co-op is also where you get to choose your types of player – grenadier, rifleman, auto rifleman, or scout. The game’s checkpoint system is a bit unforgiving as well, with a death often plunging you back tens of minutes back, making you replay some difficult parts. What’s worse, is between engagements, you usually jog back to your convoy in an anti-climactic lull, and then, spend about five minutes listening to Knox prattle on, while you sit beside him with your squad, with nothing better to do than to get ir-
ritated, and watch the mountain scenery. Red River doesn’t offer a multiplayer experience other than co-op, but if you are looking for something more than the campaign, there’s the Fireteam Engagements, which are time-based single missions without the lulls, where you gain reward points and a place on leaderboards if you do well. Graphically, the game is quite beautiful at times, from the waterfalls, to the lighting, and mountain skies. However, it lacks the polish of many of its contemporaries, and apart from flawless character modeling, I was surprised and disappointed at the rough edges in everything, and the often low-grade textures for the trees and ground. Pinpoint accuracy is still possible though, with heads clearly distinguishable even hundreds of feet away. Operation Flashpoint: Red River has its flaws – unpredictable team AI, mediocre graphics, and some annoying voice acting – but it still manages to make its name as a one-of-a-kind shooter occupying the middle ground between run-andgun type and realistic shooters, while satisfying even the purists with a smart and challenging campaign, an impressive command system, and an entertaining and satisfying co-op mode.
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By ABhinAv A “AltA Av lt ir” lAl abhinav.lal@thinkdigit.com Need For Speed: Shift was definitely one of the first near simulator level games in the franchise’s history, and converted many of those who sneered at the series before. Perhaps this is the reason Electronic Arts, and developers Slightly Mad Studios decided to drop the NFS tag from the sequel’s name, calling it just Shift 2: Unleashed. Fans of Shift will certainly not be let down, and EA will have earned back more respect from the purists than it lost by making the super arcade styled Need For Speed Hot Pursuit not so long after giving them Shift. Much has improved, from the visual appeal to the physics, the control system to the upgrades and tuning section. Something has been carried over from Criterion’s Hot Pursuit though – Autolog, the social platform to compete on
leaderboards and in multiplayer races, and upload photos. While it’s not something we felt was missing from Shift, it is certainly not an unwelcome addition, and more motivation to whittle entire seconds off your lap times. The Career mode is where the fun begins however, and will consume at least 10 hours for a playthrough. Graphically, Shift 2 Unleashed is a beautiful game, and can be quite demanding on your system at max settings. If your system can handle it though, the overall effect is worth a few less frames a second – truly immersing you. While some lens flares can get a little annoying, the overall improved lighting is phenomenal. With Unleashed, Slightly Mad Studios has also added night driving, with some races in the twilight hours as well. There’s also a new camera angle – the helmet cam, which is a second interior view, moving with the head due to bumps and vibrations, and,
focusing on the apex around a corner. It’s a great way to make the game even more realistic and a definite plus for the overall control. The hood view has also been improved, moving over the hood and also helping you look into corners. As heard in the original, the overall sound production of Shift 2 lends the finishing touches to the visceral experience, making you really feel like the driver of a super sports car. The voices are truly annoying though, and have to be turned way low. Slightly Mad Studios has also added a brand new upgrades and tuning section to the game, and it is the best EA has offered since Need For Speed Underground 2. Everything is customizable, and for those not wanting to pick and choose their way through the options, there’s even a Works level upgrade – maxing out everything at a hefty price. The tuning section is great, nice and detailed, and allowing you to set
Shift 2 UnleaShed:
driver’S Seat action
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8.5
Genre: Race Driving, Simulation Studio: Codemasters Action Studios Publisher: Slightly Mad Studios Price: PC (MS Windows): `999/-
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overall, as well as track based settings. Everything you buy can also be sold back for the same price, a great deal if I ever saw one. EA has also added a live tuning section, helping you further tweak your tuning by testing it on the track. The game’s improved physics modeling leads to better control system, much better than NFS: Shift which was for many drivers overkill without complete tuning options. While they aren’t too many cars on offer, this is no GT5, they are all exceptionally well modeled. There are some flaws with the system though, and Unleashed has an extremely steep learning curve, especially if you start off on Hard mode, Pro driving style. There are no onsite control adjustments such as dead zone, various sensitivities, etc., vital in a racing simulator to get the best out of your car, especially on tracks you are racing for the first time. The rival AI is also quite unforgiving, not only
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catching up no matter how far ahead you leap, but also actively and aggressively holding line. Car on car interactions are not very pleasant, once again demanding a lot from the purist in you, and it can be quite frustrating – spinning out when the car behind decides you’ve braked too hard for a corner, and decides to knock you out off the way. The cars also handles extremely unrealistically when it has even one wheel the sand – I’d prefer the game penalize me, and add time to the lap time rather than suddenly remove all control of a car if you stray a little on the exit. There are also times when the control system just throws you, oversteering when you try too ballsy a move coming back onto the line, which no amount of tuning, sway bar adjustment etc., seemed to niggle out of the game. Yes, the learning curve is steep, and the game expects precision like a hard task master that enjoys
pouring oil below your tires if you act funny. At least throw in a couple of flashbacks in the Pro driving model (there’s one higher, Elite, with everything turned off) if you are going to be so fussy. Those who own a racing wheel will certainly be glad they have one. To be sure - gone is the aggression meter, and you earn XP mostly for leading, drafting, staying on line, and blocking. Another thing missing from the simulator aspect of Shift 2, though it is more than probably a case of me wanting too much, is an in-race tuning system. Hold your horses. While it would be highly unfair to have it in the middle of the race, providing at least a little adjustment, with few major options like final drive ratio, overall suspension, downforce, and at the start of the race would be great – like Dirt 2, though that had only those options to offer, in the entire game. Coupled with in-race control adjustments, Shift 2 has lowered the learning curve, and simplified getting your current car tuned just right without shuttling between the tuning menu and the race, and the long load times in between. A split-screen option, not present even for console versions, would have been welcome as well, something GT5 offers – playing this game on a large screen TV with your friends would rock. However, after warming your nerve endings up, and lots of tweaking settings off the track, Shift 2 is a good answer to what simulation fans will be looking for, without the clinical environment – the motion blur, the spectacular crashes, the amazing sound production, all combine to make the game a thrilling, high-pressure and no-mistakesallowed purist’s wet dream.
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f e at u r e
Top 10
Upcoming pc games
of 2011 The year 2011 seems to be a good one for PC gamers. There’s a new installment of F.E.A.R, Max Payne, Dirt, and Mass Effect, among others. Let’s take a look at what these games have in store:
By Jayesh ”Big DaDDy” shinDe jayesh.shinde@thinkdigit.com Duke Nukem Forever Duke Nukem’s become somewhat of a joke in gaming circles. Since its debut two decades ago, the game’s latest installation has been locked in development since 1997 -- that’s 14 agonizing years for the franchise’s ardent fans without a new Duke Nukem game. It’s been forever! After repeated delays and development hurdles, Duke Nukem Forever finally seems set for a mid-June
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launch date in the U.S. and Europe. What does this installation of Duke Nukem have in store? It’s the same old story -- the blasted alien hordes are back and it’s up to Duke Nukem to save the day yet again. Not only will Duke Nukem sport a brand new look, thanks to the advancement in gaming technology since the late ‘90s, but there’s practically a brand new gameplay to look forward to as well. Duke Nukem continues to be a bad-ass while saving the world from notorious cops, alien invaders and blowing up
bloated alien bosses with insane weapons. Gotta love the blood and gore, aye? The game also promises a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor and it has its fair share of profanity and adult content. If you’ve played the original Duke Nukem, all those years ago, this is one PC game title you just can’t miss. It’s the rebirth of a legend, as the promos claim. Release date: June 14, 2011.
F.e.A.r 3 One of the best horror games for the PC returns with F.E.A.R 3 -- two years after the launch of F.E.A.R 2 and six years after the original F.E.A.R debuted on Windows. F.E.A.R 3’s first person shooter’s
set in the immediate aftermath of the original F.E.A.R game, which introduced legion of players to characters such as Paxton Fettel and Alma Wade on the backdrop of a Japanese-inspired horror theme. Sweeping through a military facility, players are constantly reminded of an eerie, uneasy paranormal threat that seems to ceaselessly hang over the mood of the game. The plot of F.E.A.R 3 tracks back to the events in Fairport that confirm Alma’s psychic influence survived. But worse, Alma’s paranormal power is now growing and flowing over into reality. In a bid to reunite her torn family and a desperate attempt to ensure the sur-
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vival of her bloodline, her supernatural fury and pain repeatedly blasts the city. Armacham’s security force remains violently focused on eliminating all evidence of the events in the city, and the remaining F.E.A.R squad carries on the mission to stop Alma. It’s unclear if the original protagonist Sergeant Michael Becket or Sergeant Manuel Morales -- the only surviving cast from F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin -- will return in F.E.A.R 3’s storyline. But come what may, if you’ve played the original F.E.A.R games, you should look forward to the latest episode in this paranormal thriller. Release date: June 21, 2011
Dirt 3 Speed enthusiasts and fans of racing games have fresh cause for rejoicement as one of the most renowned racing game franchise’s latest avatar is about to grace the gaming world later this month. In fact, by the time you read this, Dirt 3 will have already been launched in late May. The basics are still the same -- Dirt 3 symbolises past Colin McRae Dirt games, a healthy mix of off-road driving sprinkled with the mad world of rally rac-
ing. The last Dirt game -- Dirt 2 -- was released in September 2009. So what should motorsport fans look forward to in the latest installment of Dirt 3? There’s a lot of demanding rally stages that take place in Europe, Africa and the US, the game also features driv-
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ing showcases and career challenges where car control is pushed to its zenith. The game boasts more cars, more locations, more routes and more events than any other game in the series, including over 50 rally cars representing the very best from five decades of the sport. So there you have it, another adrenaline-pumping, heart-racing installment of one of the best rally racing games to grace the PC. Speed aficionados, don’t wait for your fix: Dirt 3 is already out. Release date: May 21, 2011
CAll
oF JuArez - the CArtel The Wild Wild West is back! As you hit the American outback, there’s an investigation pending for you to lead. You’re now part of a special task force put together by the U.S. government to hunt and destroy a Mexican drug cartel after it
bombs a U.S. law enforcement agency in the beginning of the game. You can play as Ben McCall, who’s a merciless LAPD cop and descendant of Ray McCall, or Eddie Guerra, a DEA agent with a severe-gambling habit, or gang-affiliated street punk turned FBI agent, Kim Evans. Each character has their own unique story and quirks. In your hunt for answers and attempt to bring the guilty to justice, you will undertake an epic trip that starts from the streets of modern-day Los Angelez and ends all the way to Ciudad Juarez. Expect to see a great landscape and different, distinct environments in the game. It should be a dusty, weatherbeaten visual treat. As you fight to dismantle the Cartel and unlock the mystery of the bombing, you’ll embark on an epic, bloody road trip from the streets of Los Angeles to Ciudad Juarez. Part of the hit action franchise, Call of Juarez: The Cartel is a first person shooter with an immersive and mature story, players can expect to embark on a journey like no other -one that will take them from the heart of modern day Los Angeles, California to Juarez, Mexico. Release date: June 28, 2011
trACkmANiA 2: CANyoN If you haven’t played TrackMania, you’re probably missing out on the sheer, unbridled joy of racing games that involve having a lot of fun. And just that. Nothing else.
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er will also add a new balancing update as well as an enhanced Replay Channel. So prepare to square off in the streets with legends of the game like Chun-Li and Ryu and have a lot of fun. Release date: July 31, 2011
AliCe: mADNeSS returNS
TrackMania’s a franchise owned and developed by Nadeo -- the game’s published by UbiSoft. The basic agenda of racing on TrackMania’s circuits are a) allmost all of them involve stunt racing on b) crazy, unconventional, challenging track that adds to the overall fun quotient. From news released by Nadeo, TrackMania 2 will preserve lot of the original, distinct flavor of past TrackMania games -- while modernizing it for today’s audience. There is expected to be a championship and co-operative gameplay mode. There’s the all-familiar track editor packed in with new abilities -- like creating geometries, instead of just plonking down existing shapes and objects on track. As per the name of the game, it refers to a new environment that will feature in the upcoming TrackMania 2 game -- Canyon. There is no release date set for this fun racing game, although Nadeo has confirmed the game will be out in July -- the same month when a closed beta version of the game is supposed to release as well. Don’t miss this game for the world! Release date: July 2011
Super Street Fighter iv: ArCADe eDitioN It will be difficult to find a gaming enthusiast who hasn’t tried his or her hand at this legendary fighting game. In Street Fighter IV, Capcom received a lot
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of plaudit for taking the Street Fighter franchise back to its roots and shedding excess weight in the form of unnecessary features. Street Fighter IV, as a result, was a straight-shooting, bare bones street fighting game tuned for modern gameplay techniques. It proved to be a powerful combination, one which gamers and fans of the franchise applauded. The game was a runaway hit when it released back in 2009. The upcoming Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition promises to deliver much of the same magic with a few tweaks here and there. From what we know, Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition features a tall roster of 39 renowned characters such as Ryu, Chun-li, Juri, El Fuerte, and Rufus, while adding 4 new characters, including classic combatants from previous Street Fighter games like Yun and Yang as well as the all-new Oni. The latest installment of Street Fight-
Probably one of the most awaited games of this year, Alice: Madness Returns is a twisted take on the classis Lewis Carroll story we all read when we were growing up -- the game’s version is written by American McGee. Set 10 years after the original ends, the plot of Alice: Madness Retuns revolves around Alice’s quest through a largely tortured and destroyed Wonderland as she hunts for answers to her troubled past and disturbed mental frame of mind. Will she get what she seeks is anybody’s guess. The games visual appeal is newer than the original, we are told. This isn’t a kid’s game by any stretch of the imagination, portraying a dark visual theme that’s almost sinister in nature. Alice: Madness Returns also showcases and entirely new game design to tell a fresh story that has hooks with Alice’s immediate past. In this game, we follow Alice’s footsteps as she hunts to find her parents’ killer, after being released from a mental asylum. A psychiatrist that she’s assigned to for observation may play a role to help her on her quest to conquer her inner demons and set her free. What unexpected adventures await a disturbed Alice as she’s set to take a tumble down the rabbit hole into a dark and now mysterious Wonderland? We can’t
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wait to see. Mark the following date in your calendar, for this game is all things not Alice -- as we were asked to remember. Release date: June 14, 2011
mAx pAyNe 3 Probably the most awaited franchise this year, fans will finally get to see a brand new Max Payne game after waiting for two agonizing years. Originally scheduled for release in 2009, Max Payne was repeatedly pushed back to 2010 and later to 2011. Well, finally, the wait seems to be over -- in a couple of months. Ask Rockstar on what Max Payne 3 will look like and they promise a fresh new chapter of Max Payne’s life in the upcoming game. Max has aged, hardened, and more cynical than probably good for him. According to an official press release of the game, Max Payne 3 shows Max away from New York City. He has been double-crossed in his new city (featured in the game) and is searching for the truth and a way out. It’s a Latin American adventure as the game sets off in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a decade after Max Payne 2. Yet another cause for celebration is the return of James McCaffrey as Max Payne -- his voice and acting through motion capture -- after initially being ‘passed over’ for a slightly older actor for Max’s new state in life. If you’re a fan of the franchise, you are no doubt waiting for this game as bad as we are. And even if you haven’t played a Max Payne game before, we forgive you this heresy if you promise to give Max Payne 3 a try. Release date - August 1, 2011
June 2011
DeuS ex: humAN revolutioN Welcome to the the third installation of the critically acclaimed strategic sci-fi action series, Deux Ex and Deus Ex: Invisible War. Human Revolution, the upcoming chapter of the franchise, is set in futuristic 2027, a quarter of a century before events in Deus Ex takes place -- it’s a flashback of sorts. Primarily a first person shooter, there are expected changes in Human Revolution compared to past Deus Ex games -- including third person perspective in contextual scenarios. Most notable of those is the mechanical augmentation feature -- not nanotech body
StAr WArS: the olD republiC
modifications -- as the game is set before the previous two games. Augmentations are divided into Stealth, Combat, Technology and Social. Players will also fire from a distinct weapon type instead of consuming a unified pool of ammo in Human Revolution, unlike Invisible War. The player will visit five cities over the course of the game. Also, the protagonist in Deus Ex: Human Evolution will have his own apartment to store valuables and collected information. The game will conclude to cast the beginning of the original Deus Ex game, obviously. Release date - August 2011
It’s time to get sucked into the events of a galaxy far, far away. As the world of Star Wars opens its doors exclusively for the PC audience, later this year, war is brewing -- and you’re thrown right in the middle of it all. Welcome to one of the most eagerly awaited MMORPGs of this year. The story of Old Republic takes place around 3,500 years before the Star Wars films, 300 years after the events of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic game. As the Jedis retreat to Coruscant to consult the Force, Siths take control of Korriban where they re-establish the Sith Academy. It’s a recipe for disaster and conflict ensues in no time. There are two factions in the game -- Galactic Republic and Sith Empire, and each have different moralities. Classes in The Old Republic will be customizable for any class to fill any role within a troop. The player can also assign up to five companions to perform different tasks. BioWare recently released footage of space combat in the Old Republic -- needless to say it looks pretty amazing. A Web comic is also released the bridge the gap between events leading up to the upcoming game. As you embark on this fascinating fictional journey -- a space odyssey -I hope the force is strong with you. Release date: Sometime later this year
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buying R e v i eguide ws
Which Alienware is for you?
For high-end gaming on the laptop, it doesn’t get any better than an Alienware. Let’s take a look at the portable gaming options available for you on the iconic Alienware range and what they offer.
In the world of high-end gaming, one name stands out unambiguously as the big daddy of gaming machines manufacturer: Alienware. As part of Dell’s flagship gaming brand, Alienware equips enthusiast gamers with the gaming rigs they desire. Whether it’s bringing the latest and greatest 3D games down to their knees with multiple GPUs or taking your
cool portable machine to a LAN gaming party, Alienware has the right product for your needs. Dell’s Alienware gaming laptops can be found in the following flavours: Alienware M11x, Alienware M14x, and Alienware M17x. Three distinct form factors for three different gaming scenarios. Let’s take a look at which is the best bet for your gaming needs.
Casual gamers that want portability
For Hardcore Gamers (FPS, especially)
I
T
f you prefer portability over brute force, then the Alienware M11x is the best option for a relatively casual gamer like you. The M11x weighs just over 2-kg and is slightly larger than a 10-inch netbook’s dimensions -- the thing can be easily tucked away in your backpack. It sports an iconic angular design and its body is made up of metal, and there’s the hard-to-miss LED glow -- evidence enough that any LAN gaming party you visit, the M11x will make heads turn and be the centre of attention. Portable gaming on a PC doesn’t get any better than the new Alienware M11x.
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he Alienware M14x, the latest entrant in Alienware’s family of gaming laptops. For all practical purposes, and with default configuration upgrades, the Alienware M14x should suffice for most gamers who don’t mind gaming on a 14-inch screen with a 1600x900 pixel resolution. The Alienware M14x can tackle most FPS and other latest games at high settings. Games like Crysis 2, Brink, Call of Duty: Black Ops will play just fine. The laptop comes with Nvidia Optimus for automatic graphics switching, and 7.1-channel surround support.
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Features
Features
11.6-inch form factor, just over 2-kg in weight 1.4-GHz dual-core Intel Core i5-2537M processor 4GB DDR3 RAM / 750GB 7200RPM hard drive 1GB GDDR3 Nvidia GeForce GT 540M (DirectX 11) 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium Price starts at `64,000
14-inch form factor, weighs under 3-kg Quad-core Intel Core i7-2630QM processor Up to 8GB DDR3 RAM at 1600MHz / Up to 750GB 7200RPM drive 1.5GB GDDR3 Nvidia GeForce GT 555M (DirectX 11) 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium Price starts at `82,000
For 3D gamers and HD entertainment
L
ast but not the least, Alienware’s largest gaming laptop in its portfolio, the Alienware M17x. One of the most important aspects of the M17x is its largerthan-life screen size: it measures up to 17.3-inches, with a full-HD 1920x1080 pixel resolution support. Another noteworthy feature of the Alienware M17x is that its first and only Alienware gaming laptop that supports stereoscopic 3D games and video entertainment -- Alienware M11x and Alienware M14x currently lack this option. The Alienware M17x’s hardware configuration is in line and superior than the Alienware M14x -- after all, there needs to be a distinction for gamers to be tempted towards this beast. Apart from the screen size, the M17x offers a standard quad-core 2.2-GHz Intel Core i7-2720QM processor, 8GB DDR3 RAM at 1600MHz, up to 750GB 5200rpm hard drive and 1.5GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M graphics. Not only is this the ultimate gaming machine for fraggers and role-players, but it’s also one of the best entertainment option available on a laptop. Imagine watching a Blu-ray movie with Klipsch onboard speakers in stereoscopic 3D? There’s 7.1-channel surround sound support on the M17x, with high-end display connectivity options (HDMI, DisplayPort), just like the M14x. It doesn’t get better than this.
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If you’re buying an Alienware M17x, not only just an amazing gaming rig, you get one of the best desktop-replacement laptops available in the Indian market. Period. Craving one for your living room?
Features 17-inch form factor, just over 5-kg in weight Offers a standard 9-cell Li-Ion battery 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium 3.2 megapixel webcam with dual-digital microphones Ideal for a high-end gaming and 3D entertainment system. Price starts at `1,58,000
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Future Tech:
PC Gaming
What is the future of gaming on PC going to be like? We gaze into the crystal ball to clear the mist and try to bring technologies and innovation of the coming years into better focus. One thing’s for sure: the future of gaming looks bright. By Jayesh “Big DaDDy” shinDe jayesh.shinde@thinkdigit.com Motion Controllers Gather steaM
to
Nintendo successfully pioneered the latest fad catching the attention of console gaming masses: the motion controller. The Wii remote spurred motion sensing rivals from Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox, in the form of the Move and Kinect, respectively. And increasingly, a lot of console game titles require you to make use of a motion controller for at least some
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part of the game — like Killzone 3. But so far these motion controllers have been limited predominantly for gaming consoles. But we’re seeing some ripples in the PC gaming market, as far as motion controllers are concerned. Richard Marks, the creator of Sony PlayStation’s Move, believes using two Moves simultaneously will open up a whole host of possibilities for gamers and developers alike. Imagine a boxing game which makes use of both hands and other sports games which aren’t optimally exploited by just one motion
controller, and you can see why Marks’ vision is enticing.
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The Razer Hydra is just what Marks was thinking. The Hydra comes with two motion sticks that uses magnetic tracking with a base station, and Valve’s recently launched Portal 2 had some exclusive content to showcase the possibilities of the Razer peripheral (http://goo.gl/ GDCT7). Now it’s just a matter of Logitech, Cooler Master, and other manufacturers hopping on the bandwagon and PC game developers taking note of the opportunity. The consoles will keep refining the motion controller, but we will start seeing games for the Windows platform and PC tuned to exploit motion sensing peripherals like the Razer Hydra.
Console-less
GaMinG Where motion controllers will be rethought, re-visited, and refined, I think the immediate gaming future to be controllerless, kinda like the Microsoft Kinect where you are the center of attention -- not some electronic wand clutched in your palm. But a parallel line of thought envisions a console-less gaming experience in the near future. Companies like ASUS and PrimeSense -- the maker of Kinect’s 3D sensor -- have teamed up to showcase a product that will make console and controller-free gaming a reality on the PC. Enter WAVI Xtion, a Kinectlike device that aims to put you and your gestures in the thick of gaming on a PC near you in a few months. At the time of writing this there are indications that ASUS and PrimeSense may not just restrict the WAVI Xtion for gaming alone but there’s a plan to introduce gesture-enabled apps to interact
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better with your HDTV, stream full-HD 1080p videos wirelessly from the WAVI boxes, and even interact remotely with a PC sitting in the other room. Developer kits for the WAVI Xtion will encourage a healthy number of apps for consumption on your PC as well as HDTV and games will also follow suit.
3D Forget blockbuster movies you’ve watched in three dimensions at the nearest cinema hall, James Cameron, director of Avatar -- which single-handedly brought 3D back into popular imagination -- thinks the gaming industry will drive the growth and mass adoption of 3D by bringing it into people’s homes. And the impact will be felt on PC gaming as well, not just HDTVs or handheld devices. Urging this 3D revolution of sorts will be a whole host of technological breakthroughs achieved on the processor and graphics processing unit of a PC. Nvidia has led the charge of penetrating 3D technology for mainstream and high-end PC gaming with its 3D Vision Kit, which is a combination of GPU, 3D g l a s s e s , software and certified high refresh rate monitors and displays. All this when combined with a steadily burgeoning “3D ready” library of game titles, and you can see why everyone -- not just James Cameron -- is so excited about the potential of 3D gaming on PCs. Nvidia’s latest 500 series of Fermi GPUs support stereoscopic 3D gaming, so do the latest gaming laptops scheduled to launch by HP, Dell Alienware, Sony, and Asus. What about AMD I hear you ask? If you thought Nvidia’s rival in the 3D gaming’s arms
race is sitting quiet, you couldn’t be more wrong. AMD’s approach to 3D gaming on the PC, called AMD HD3D, is different from Nvidia’s 3D Vision. Where Nvidia opts for active shutter glasses, which work with the PC, AMD has allowed their latest Radeon 6000 series graphics to support passive 3D which will eventually do away with any sort of special glasses or head gear. Since AMD doesn’t use the same active shutter technology for stereoscopic 3D as Nvidia, Radeon GPUs will need special monitors to make visuals leap off the screen. Right now, there’s only a handful of device manufacturers which support the TriDef’s stereoscopic 3D software deployed on AMD Radeon GPUs. But expect that number to grow, if AMD continues to dominate the GPU market in the coming years. If Nvidia brought the first tangible, mass market 3D kit for enjoying 3D gaming on your PC, then AMD has raised the bar a bit higher by bringing 3D Blu-ray decoding to HDTVs via HDMI 1.4a connectors -- Nvidia only has a software alternative for now. As far as the library of gaming titles for stereoscopic 3D gaming on the PC goes, it will only gain ground. Sadly, a cure for 3D eyestrain seems unlikely to arrive anytime soon, though.
soCial
GaMinG If you’ve ever gotten irritated by a colleague at work, sister at home, or friend in class repeatedly tending to their virtual
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throwback to the arcade games era. Where complex plots, intense storyline take a backseat for making a lot more simplistic, which doesn’t involve a whole lot of thinking but pure, unbridled joy. Kinda like taking video gaming back to its roots, bringing the fun back. No wonder this space is expected to witness blockbuster growth in the coming years.
entertainMent
farms on a popular social network, there is no respite for you anywhere on the casual gaming horizon yet. Social gaming is all the rage and even non-casual gamers are sucked into this black hole that is increasingly becoming hard to evade. Why? Because social gaming is all around you, and if you aren’t a fan now, you better be one soon. Gaming bigwigs are pumping in their hard-earned millions on the social gaming phenomenon, betting you will join the burgeoning horde of community gaming. And no, we aren’t talking about World Of WarCraft. It’s the “-ville” rage -- cute, nonsuspecting games that crept into your life through the Web browser and you’ve been fighting back for control ever since. Productivity has gone for a toss as game developers like Zynga, Playfish and PopCap have gone viral with their social games, generating record revenues -- and there’s no end in sight just yet. Reports estimate that the global social gaming revenues will touch $3 billion by 2012, and everyone wants a piece of the action. Developers are aiming at a completely new audience of gamers who aren’t into “core” console or PC gaming. This audience -- practically anyone who logs on to the Web through a browser -- is many times larger, more broader than your traditional gaming audience. For them to be hooked on social gaming, developers
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need to make games more engaging. As a rule, developers are understanding the importance of keeping social games free-to-play, with micro-transactions builtin for special upgrades that users can purchase instead of unlocking by levelling up or spending more time in the game. Revenues generated are purely determined by numbers: the more people you reach out to, the better chance of making money. Another strong indicator that browserbased social gaming isn’t disappearing anywhere in a hurry is the relatively less time and expenditure involved in developing a browser-based social game than a full-fledged title for a PC -- a few hundred thousand dollars and six months is all it takes for games like Farmville, Mafia Wars and Restaurant City to get out of the door. Well-known PC gaming titles are being specially tuned and released for the browser-based social gaming audience. Take the case of Sid Meier’s Civilization for instance, which is slated to release soon on Facebook. Mortal Kombat’s upcoming title is believed to have a Facebook version in the works as well. An important aspect of social gaming, acknowledged and understood by most game developers, seems to be its
value While social gaming is a ‘blast from the past’ so to speak, traditional gaming titles on the PC and consoles will focus on a basic premise that’s becoming increasingly inseparable from modern games -- entertainment quotient. Games will have to create an immersive experience that is worth their gamers’ while. Improved CGI will help in realizing this goal to some extent, but it will be a part of the solution. Complex plots, with twists and climaxes, will require games to be expert story-tellers. Because when a gamer buys a title for close to $50, he or she expects nothing less. To that extent games won’t be very different from movies. Background music, carefully drawn out characters, a central storyline, action, adventure, drama -these are the ingredients of a modern game, and they’re only going to get better in the days to come. We will also see concepts like Assassin’s Creed 2, which expanded the scope of the game into movies -- not just cut scenes, for the sake of richer
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storytelling, take center stage in future games that demand an uncompromising approach to the experience they’re trying to deliver. I won’t be surprised if future games maximise their entertainment quotient by having exclusive content in the form of videos or music. Imagine an upcoming movie trailer first shown within a game, or a rock band’s latest single previewed in one of the game’s cut scenes? You will see these promotional ventures as more and more money is pumped into gaming. Advertisers will focus on product placement as well, seeing how adult gaming now targets the 18 to 34year old audience. In short, games of the future will have more than just games to offer. It makes sense, doesn’t it?
virtual reality Anybody here remembers Second Life? The online game which promised to deliver a virtual alternative to our real life? Wasn’t that an interesting concept? Launched back in 2003, some would argue that Second Life was ahead of its time -- it’s not really a game, it doesn’t have a set agenda. It’s a virtual world where people make their online avatars to mingle, connect and live an online existence that borrows heavily from the real world. In that sense, it isn’t really disconnected from our world. It’s very unlike World Of Warcraft, the most subscribed MMORPG in the history of online gaming. WoW is set in a fantasy world where gamers create new identities, based on new races, and play towards achieving a set of goals alone or with a tribe of like-minded fellow players from around the world. Blizzard, WoW’s publisher and developer, keeps things interesting for the millions of WoW players by releasing a new map or two every now and then. A new virtual world for WoW fanatics to explore and conquer. But just like 3D is getting a new lease of life, a la Avatar, so will virtual worlds gain into prominence. So believes yet another filmmaker, Steven Spielberg. According to Spielberg, virtual reality will be redeveloped in the coming decade and creating virtual
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experiences will be an essential part of the entertainment industry -- comprising of movies, music and games.
GaMe enGines Developers are a key piece of the gaming puzzle -- if they don’t invest in the idea of futuristic games and don’t create platforms for games to be built, then none of what we covered here makes any sense. To that effect, Epic Games showcased a sensational preview of its next-gen Unreal Engine, in February-March earlier this year, which raises the bar for 3D gaming graphics to unforeseen levels. The Samaritan Demo based on the Unreal Engine 3 was shown live -- not a studio made cut scene -- at the Game Developers Conference, running on an Intel Core i processor and three Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 in tri-SLI. The point of the demo was to highlight DirectX 11 support. And the resulting footage was mindblowing to say the least. From amazing facial detail like hair,
wrinkles, to stuff like cigarette smoke billowing, even light reflecting differently off a human’s face compared to sweat beads trickling down off it -- just brilliant. Another effect to showcase depth of field highlighted a bright spot out of focus, behind the subject. Reflections came from everywhere -- puddle of water, glistening metal surface -- and from every light source -- countless street lamps. Wherever light couldn’t penetrate a surface, shadows emerged flawlessly. The level of detail, all in real time, is breathtaking. If you haven’t seen the demo yet, check it on YouTube: http://goo.gl/TMpLv Gameloft and LucasArts are the most recent licensees of the Unreal Engine for all future projects from those developers. The list, we think, will only grow. The future of gaming titles will continue their quest to become more photo-realistic in real-time game scenarios, other than just cut-scenes. That’s the bar set by the Unreal Engine’s DirectX 11 demo, can other game engines remain quiet? Not a chance.
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Preview
E3 2011 By Seth “Headshot” Collins
I
f you want to get your hands on the newest console and computer games months before they are released, there are few places better than E3. Held each summer in Los Angeles, California, the Electronics Entertainment Expo is quite a spectacle of an event where video game designers and publishers show off their upcoming software to members of the media and retailers. It isn’t open to the public so only qualified industry professionals will be there, but thanks to news leaks and announcements we already have a good idea what to expect. While many are focusing on console
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gaming this year, especially with Nintendo planning to show off their newest hardware (codenamed Project Café), there will be several major new PC titles on display. Perhaps the biggest and most closely guarded of these games is Blizzard’s Diablo III. First announced in 2008 and in development since 2001, Diablo III is the eagerly anticipated third entry in the series which celebrates its 15th birthday this year and has already sold over 18 million copies worldwide. Featuring a completely new graphics engine, the game looks fantastic and considering its legacy we expect it to play just as well. This will undoubtedly be one of the most talked about games at E3 this year.
2K Games is expected to have 3 games we are very excited about at the show. If you are a PC gamer from years back, the most exciting of these may be the re-imagining of the classic XCOM. While the original was strictly a tactical strategy game, this time they look to combine strategy elements with first-person shooter action and a surreal graphical style. They also are expected to show off BioShock: Infinite, the latest in the hugely popular series. While the previous games took place in an underwater city, this game will see the player adventuring in the clouds. It takes place in a floating city called Columbia, in the year 1912. 2K will also be showcasing The Darkness II. Electronic Arts always has one of the largest booths at E3 and this year looks to be no different. They are expected to have over a dozen playable games at the show including two new role-playing
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Preview
the game uses the FrostBite 2 engine from DICE. Battlefield 3 will also be featured heavily by EA. If you aren’t familiar with this series by now then you probably haven’t been paying much attention, as it started the large scale online combat genre that is now so popular. Developed by DICE, this game will also use their FrostBite 2 engine to allow for fully interactive and destructible buildings, landscapes, and vehicles. For more casual PC gamers EA has the latest expansion for
games. One of the highlights will be Mass Effect 3. While the series started as an Xbox 360 exclusive it has now expanded to both PS3 and PC and the third in this series of universe spanning RPGs is expected to come to all three platforms simultaneously. It is one of several big name role-playing games expected to be at the show and in this installment the Reapers will be bringing the fight to Earth. Also from EA, Star Wars: The Old Republic is a persistent world online RPG that takes place 300 years after Knights of the Old Republic. It is a change of pace for developer BioWare as it will be their first foray in to massively-multiplayer games, but they have proven themselves talented at adapting the Star Wars universe. Need for Speed: The Run should satisfy fans of driving games. This time the player will be avoiding the police while competing in a race across the United States from San Francisco to New York. Graphics and physics should impress as
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The Sims, The Sims 3: Generations. Players can now experience new activities as they grow with their characters from childhood through the teenage years. Ubisoft is another publisher that will have a huge lineup on display. From Rayman Origins to Call of Juarez: The Cartel, there should be something for just about anyone. Their booth will be anchored by three big names. The first is Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, a third-per-
son shooter with a heavy focus on futuristic (but also realistic) combat gear. The second is Driver: San Francisco. In this free-roaming driving game you have access to over 100 cars and use them in an effort to take down a crime lord. The last of the three is Assassin’s Creed Revelations, the third in the award winning series. Developer Ubisoft Montreal hopes to expand on the combat and online multiplayer of the previous games while also expanding on the storyline that stretches across multiple generations and continents. Bethesda Softworks is planning to showcase three big titles at E3. The first of these is Rage, a first-person shooter with graphics powered by id’s new idTech 5 technology, which will also be used in the upcoming Doom 4. Rage takes place on a future Earth where an asteroid impact has sent the world in to chaos. Bethesda will also have Prey 2 on display. The original received mixed reviews from the press and gamers, and with that in mind the designers have taken this sequel in a new direction. Instead of a strictly linear storyline players will now have an open-world to explore, with quests and a morality scale (think Mass Effect). Of course, the biggest game Bethesda will have at the show is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, sequel to 2008’s multi-million selling Oblivion. The new graphical engine looks absolutely fantastic and this open-world RPG will again provide hundreds of hours of gameplay. Bethesda is also promising many tweaks to the gameplay and attribute systems that they hope will make Skyrim even better than Oblivion. In all, there are over 60 new and upcoming PC games that we know will be at the show and there are always many surprises as well. It’s shaping up to be a great year for computer games. The Electronics Entertainment Expo will be held June 7-9, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.
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Retro Games We go back in time and relive the early days of PC gaming, listing iconic titles that captured imagination and played a pivotal role in bringing the gaming industry to its present state.
By Jayesh “Big Daddy” Shinde Siddharth “Tazdingo” Parwatay Nimish “Agent 47” Sawant Duke Nukem 3D Duke Nukem 3D was perhaps the first game to bring in bucket-loads of attitude, mindless action, outrageous weapons, ingame humour and a sprinkling of smut all into one 3D thrill-ride. Like the famous scene from Basic Instinct which ended
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up becoming the most paused scene in movie history, the now famous “Shake it baby” line from Duke Nukem must, in all likelihood be the most played sequence in gaming history. Many a geek would remember doubling over with a mixture of glee and shock back in the day. Duke Nukem 3D had many other firsts to its credit as well — take for instance the way in which you could interact with the environment. Can you think of any game
up until that point which let you actually flush a urinal? Heck, even blow it up if your destruction mongering heart so desires. The levels were elaborate, difficult and raised quite eyebrows in terms of violence and obscenity. Nukem was a game kids played behind closed doors. Ahh the nostalgia. This should be the first retro game you should install from the Digit DVDs irrespective of whether you’ve played it before or not.
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Battlezone Launched way back in ‘98, this game was way ahead of its time and is truly awesome on many fronts. It introduced little Age of Empires / Red Alert playing kids to a whole new type of strategy that put you right in the middle of the action. No longer were you playing God looking down at your little world. Instead you became a soldier (well a commander to be precise) on the battlefield. You planned resources, built buildings, ordered in reinforcements, commandeered vehicles, but all the while you knew you too could bleed. The mix of action and strategy was truly intoxicating. You see your world through the crosshairs of your assault tank, and can bark orders to comrades on your side. Apart from this cerebral trigger happy gameplay, the other important factor going for the game is the story. The story was unlike anything most gamers had ever come across (till then at least). You follow the path of an ancient alien race that occupied our solar system before humanity, through the relics they’ve left behind, slowly uncovering the dark secret to their sudden demise. In a fortuitous meteor shower humans discover a product of alien technology called Biometal which they learn can be crafted into fantastic weapons.
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Biometal as the name suggests is infused with DNA and therefore in a way living. The setting of the game is such that the cold war is still raging strong and your prime objective is to stop Russians from having their way with this new discovery. The alien-lore is fascinatingly told in bits and pieces, even relating it to Greek mythology. Yea the aliens knew the Greeks; (not Egyptians) even biblically at times. The weapons, the strategy and the story all make Battlezone one thrill ride no gamer should miss. Fun to play even today.
Homeworld Cataclysm Like Battlezone above, Homewold, the first in the homeworld series, was by itself a revolution for introducing a new type of gameplay. But we’re going to be a little smug and not let a game enter this list just based on that. Instead, Cataclysm the sequel to the original Homeworld, took that new concept of true 3D space
strategy to new heights and hence makes it to this most hallowed list. What we mean by true 3D is being able to operate not only on the x and y axes but even the z axis. Many people will find simple navigation difficult initially, because in space no one can hear you scream and there is no real up or down. Cataclysm retained all the lineage from homeworld including awesome graphics, immersive gameplay, beautiful cut-scenes, cinematics and music and added something more (if it were possible) by upping the storytelling and beautifully portrayed space battles. You start off as a lowly mining vessel but as the game progresses you quickly discover technology and start retrofitting your ship to a proper warship. The best of these weaponisations is the siege cannon. Just firing that bad boy is joygasmic enough to recommend Cataclysm here. The story unfolds unveiling hidden races that are more technologically advanced, an enemy of ancient origins, and surprises that’ll leave you playing for hours. The virus like nature of the enemy called beast, because of which your own ships turn on you, introduced players to micro-management, although they probably didn’t know it back then. Cataclysm belongs to the good old era when gameplay could be measured in days not hours. Play it now.
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Recoil
Caesar III
Recoil is one of those gutsy games developed by a little known company called Zipper Interactive. It wasn’t a runaway success, in fact it was hardly noticed in the barrage of games released around it at the time, but the game overall was appreciated by critics. Here’s why you should play it. Recoil’s story takes place in the near-future where machines are condemn-
If you’re interested in strategy games, the name Caesar should be well-known to you and needs no explanation. This SimCity based in Roman times was a favorite past time of quite a few gamers back in the late ‘90s. And for good reason. Caesar III was released in 1998 and tried to stay as true as possible to depict a thriving Roman civilization at the height of its power, with its class system and citizens’ class distinction. Your task was to build a city from the ground up into a thriving civilization. It provided pretty good isometric 2D views of the landscape rotating up to 90 degrees, allowing you to plan your management skills appropriately.
ing the human race to slavery — very Terminator or Matrix-like, you’re right. But there’s a resistance brewing, and you’re enrolled in to fight. Your predominant weapon of choice is a tank — a stolen prototype — called BFT or Battle Force Tank. Recoil starts off with a bang, with constant action, intricate weapons, and there’s too much happening to keep pace with. The games weapon effects were awesome for its time — that’s what we like about the game, especially. Some of its levels also look great, even in an era of poor graphics (compared to now). Zipper Interactive definitely won some hearts with this retro gem. Do give it a try, if you can.
There’s a mission mode in the game as well, which is also fun. You start off from the lowest rank (Citizen) and work your way to the very top of the ladder to become Caesar himself. In the process, you have to complete various peaceful and military assignments. The game is a legend in the genre of strategy games and a must-play if you want to dabble with games that require you to think hard.
Max Payne For various reasons, for a lot of gamers, Max Payne remains an important game. It combines third person shooter with a narrative storytelling in a game unlike any other, and an accompanying graphic novel are just some of Max Payne’s acclaimed features. If you like film noir, it’s hard not to be impressed by the feel of the game, taking place mostly late at night or in dinghy surroundings. Plus features like Bullet-time — an option that allowed you to dodge bullets Matrix-style; New York minute — where you had to finish a portion of a game in a limited time frame which would increase as you killed opponents; Dead on Arrival — which allowed limited saving per chapter; just add to the overall fun element. The back story of Max Payne is also gripping: a former NYPD officer and DEA agent gone rogue, starts with the killing of his family by a group of junkies high on a designer drug called Valkyr. Max’s mission is to get to the bottom of the Valkyr trail which brings him face to face with a variety of characters, each with his or her sinister agenda. The whole story is divided into chapters, and with the graphic novel panels interspersed between chapters, it felt like one was reading a thriller novel. With Max Payne, it’s like starting to read an exciting book which you just can’t put down until you’re done and over with.
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StarCraft If World of Warcraft is Blizzard Entertainment’s biggest commercial success, then StarCraft has to be the one that signifies the pinnacle of its achievement. Released all those years ago in 1998, nothing has dominated the real-time strategy genre
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technical depth. Simply put, Half-Life is a gem of a personal-shooter that you simply must try. A true blast from the past!
GTA Vice City
as well as StarCraft has. StarCraft is credited to have single-handedly revived the RTS gaming genre, by re-imagining it and careful innovation. The game has captured imagination, has become a national sensation in South Korea, and in an industry dominated by revolutionary graphics has managed to hold its own even after a decade since its release. It also introduced us to non-suspecting terms like Protoss, Zergs and Terrans — now epic and legendary in stature. A lot of it boils down to StarCraft’s game engine. Its multiplayer mode, especially, relies a lot on using the speciesspecific qualities to make the right moves and win a contest, instead of a much general volume driven approach relied upon by most RTS fans. It also helps that no one race in StarCraft’s universe is superior to another, each have their pros and cons, and victory is determined by careful thinking and timely tactical moves. StarCraft’s futuristic setting is another fascinating aspect of the game. In an era where the life of a computer game is counted in hours not weeks or years, StarCraft has emerged as the grand daddy of them all, preserving its timeless appeal among audiences both young and old. The brain, as they say, never grows old — and that’s the story of StarCraft.
Half-Life From one revolutionary game to another. If StarCraft resuscitated the stale RTS
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genre, Half-Life infused new life in the first-person shooter genre, even owned it for a while. Such is the standing of this game in the history of PC gaming. But there was doubt if the game would ever see the day of light. Valve’s “over ambitious” project was snapped up at the time by Sierra On-Line to publish this milestone in FPS gaming using a modified Quake engine. And the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, the Half-Life has been nearly a movement in PC gaming, reaching cult status and winning millions of fans all over the world. Why is this game so prominent, I hear you ask? There’s nothing great about the game’s plot, in fact some call it an exaggerated version of Doom. But Half-Life achieved some technical breakthroughs. For instance, there are no levels in the game, you are free to move from start to finish, back and forth and so are your enemies — an interesting concept. The game is also renowned for its extremely well-crafted environments and close attention to detail. Lastly, despite being a first-person shooter, Half-Life relies heavily on puzzle solving — not in the traditional sense of the term, but through environments and all things in it. The alien spawn aren’t idiotic but fight back with ingenuity and sometimes with terrifying results. You know when you play Half-Life that the AI is going to be as good as a human opponent — which speaks volumes of the game’s
We think Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto franchise reached a critical balance of gameplay, city landscape, and in-game entertainment with Vice City. After GTA III and Liberty City’s concrete metropolis, the franchise travelled to a fictional Miami, negotiating sun and sand and a growing underbelly of mobsters. This sandbox styled action adventure recreates a 1980’s style and culture of Miami pretty well. The game is also influenced by the movie Scarface starring Al Pacino, and his rags to riches story can be compared with Tommy Vercetti — Vice City’s protagonist. The gameplay is laid back with Tommy being a hired gun for various influential people within Vice City, before rising through the ranks and killing them all to establish himself as
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the kingpin of the mob. The game’s final battles with Diaz, Forelli and Lance are especially iconic in nature with telling cut-scenes. However, a crucial element accompanying the gameplay and setting the general mood of the era is the game’s excellent collection of ‘80s music. These can only be accessed through a vehicle’s radio — there’s rock, there’s pop, there’s blues, and a lot more with music interrupted by scripted RJ babble. It’s a great touch to a good game, one that completes the package nicely for a first-time gamer of the franchise.
Codemaster’s Brian Lara Cricket ‘96 If you’re a cricket fan and haven’t played a cricket game on your PC, this is a great retro to learn the ropes. Codemaster’s Brian Lara Cricket came out a time when the West Indian was all the rage in the cricket world, establishing himself as the best batsman before the Cricket World Cup. The game was released on a variety of platforms, including the Sega Mega Drive and PC. Gameplay’s similar to past Brian Lara Cricket games but there are obvious improvements. Apart from selecting through the international cricket teams (test playing nations) at the time, Brian Lara Cricket ‘96 brought some exciting new features to the franchise.
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Most notable were the ability to compete and play in the English county circuit and a comprehensive player editor. I remember spending countless hours customizing my character and playing the game on my 16-bit Sega Mega Drive back in the day. Practicing in the nets was also a lot of fun. EA also has a few cricket gaming titles over the years, but Codemaster’s Brian Lara Cricket is a special game because of its slightly better visuals and bonus features. Give it a try, if you haven’t.
TrackMania Nations This is easily the most fun racing game you can ever play, and yet it isn’t a Need For Speed, Dirt, Gran Turismo, GTR, F1, Race Driver: GRID and the usual suspects. It’s simple, TrackMania is more than just a racing game, placing high importance on having plain jane, old school fun. In case you don’t know what TrackMania’s all about, here’s the skinny. The game’s about F1-styled cars that run at
breakneck speed on impossible tracks that involve loops and other unexpected twists. While completing a track, you have to earn medals — Bronze, Silver and Gold. And if you’re obsessed, compete on the world stage with racers around the world, beating times set by opponents right down to every microsecond. Carefully orchestrated track navigation and zillions of retakes (practice!) finally gets you anywhere on the leaderboard. That’s why this game is fun, it’s crazily addictive. There’s a track builder in the game as well, so you can go even crazier by creating your own insane track which has crazy loops and involves bouncing on water before crossing the finish line. TrackMania Nations’ mantra is simple — go nuts! Enjoy.
FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 Electronic Arts’ football gaming franchise, the FIFA series, reached a new height with the launch of FIFA Road to World Cup 98. The release celebrated the most followed game on the planet with an all new World Cup campaign and finals that players could take part in. FIFA 98 not only had superior graphics for any FIFA game up until that time, it also encapsulated better team and player customization options. For the first time, all registered FIFA teams (at the time) were featured in the game, and the game also included a licensed soundtrack. The game had 16 distinct stadiums from aroud the world and featured leagues to play in. FIFA 98 also corrected some technical issues with past FIFA games, most notable of which was the offside rule — it was finally
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properly implemented — earlier the referee would blow for offside even if the player wasn’t receiving the ball during a back pass. We also liked new game modes like the five-a-side indoor gameplay option (Futsal?) which was a whole lot of fun to participate in. David Beckham, David Ginola, Raul, and Roy Lassiter graced the covers of this game in different regions as it was released.
Diablo Yet another Blizzard game that finds itself in our list of must try retro games. Diablo is another great example of an action RPG — it is crazily addictive with its combination of action coupled with old-school RPG
with fresh, engaging graphics for a game released back when it did in 1997. The game has three classes of characters to choose from: Warrior, Rogue and Sorcerer. The plot isn’t much different but it’s weirdly engaging. Your character has to fight through sixteen levels to face Diablo or the Devil. Before the final face-off, the player has to get through hordes of undead and demon warriors. The climax at the end of the game is one of the best we’ve seen for a retro RPG — after killing the mortal form of Diablo, the evil spirit is trapped in a soulstone. The player then inserts the soulstone in their skull to contain Diablo, but it turns out that is what Diablo had planned since the beginning. Overall, Diablo catches the attention on various scales: re-playability, design, the game’s dark mood, and engaging score. The only complaint is restricted to the game’s short single-player campaign. Give Diablo a try if you haven’t, it’s an important game in the action RPG sub-genre and yet another blockbuster from Blizzard Entertainment.
The Sims Released in February 2000, The Sims from Electronic Arts caught the gaming world by storm. In merely two years after release, Sims sold more than 6 million copies around the world, making it the best-selling PC game of his-
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tory at the time. So what’s all the fuss about? The Sims is a simulation game that mimics real-life scenarios — it’s a simulation of day-to-day activities of a virtual person’s (or Sims’) life in SimCity. The player is expected to make choices based on his or her virtual environment to take the “storyline” forward. There is no set objective, you are allowed to go along at your pace, but make sure that you reach the personal goals of each Sims. The three life-stages of a Sims include Infant, Child and Adult. The game has excellent music and sound effects, not to mention cleverly animated characters that try their best to impersonate real-world humans.
There’s real thought put into the Sims, with respect to their needs — hunger, hygiene, comfort, bladder, energy, fun, social and room. There’s a necessity to buy stuff in The Sims, just like in real-world, to let your virtual characters feel good about themselves. The Sims is a genre-creating and defining game for simulation based gaming and its worthwhile to pay homage to this landmark moment in video gaming.
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By Jayesh “Big DaDDy” shinDe jayesh.shinde@thinkdigit.com
T
he world of high-end PC gaming is dominated by cuttingedge graphics provided by two dominant forces of the market: AMD and NVIDIA. Both adversaries in a never-ending arms race to build the fastest computer graphics ever made available for the mass market gaming audience. It is always a great time for gamers — depending on how you look at it — when either AMD or NVIDIA are about to release their next-gen PC gaming cards for enthusiast gamers. If history is anything to go by, the see-saw struggle between AMD and NVIDIA to dominate the markets continues to this day. In the latest chapter of this marketdefining rivalry, both AMD and NVIDIA
have released their fastest ever GPUs — AMD’s Radeon HD 6990 and NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 590. But which among them make the fastest graphics card on the planet? Let’s take a look, as consoles are stagnating due to their older graphics technology.
AMD/ATI vs. NvIDIA: A BrIef HIsTory The GPU Wars date back to the late ‘90s, when NVIDIA actually achieved a breakthrough of sorts for PC gaming by introducing the first ever discrete graphics processing unit, the GeForce 256. At the turn of the millenium, the then ATI launched its reply — the Radeon graphics card. And a never-ending graphics arms race was born. Since then, NVIDIA introduced SLI for multi-GPU gaming, and ATI replied with CrossFire. In the ensuing years,
NVIDIA and ATI leap-frogged each other for the claim to have the fastest graphics card in the world. But not until recently when AMD bought ATI back in 2006 has there been a tangible shift. AMD achieved the breakthrough with its ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics, costing significantly lower than the competing NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 and almost matching its performance. And the masses were sold.
The
FasTesT GPUs on The PlaneT
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AMD was the first to launch DirectX 11 compatible GPUs in late 2009, beating NVIDIA in the process, which only launched its first DirectX 11 card — GeForce 400 “Fermi” series — last year. But to NVIDIA’s credit, they are pioneering the PC gaming market by introducing stereoscopic 3D gaming solutions at affordable prices and beating AMD in the process. AMD’s Radeon 6000 series and NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 500 series are only the latest pages of this over a decade-old fierce rivalry between two companies trying to redefine and capture the PC gaming market.
AMD vs. NvIDIA: WHAT’s HAppeNINg
NoW ? Last generation, we saw the balance of this GPU rivalry tilting in favour of AMD which was aggressively coming out with DirectX 11 ready HD 5000 series of cards. NVIDIA was beaten to the punch. But lately NVIDIA has more than covered lost ground, thanks to its “Fermi” GTX 500 series of cards which are largely performing better than the HD 6000 series cards. Till AMD announced its latest generation dual GPU flagship card — the HD 6990 — the only other fastest dual GPU card was its own ie. Radeon HD 5970. NVIDIA’s GTX 295 was no match for the HD 5970 as was seen across benchmarks. But this time around, within two weeks of AMD’s HD 6990 launch, NVIDIA announced the GTX 590, its dual-GPU answer to HD 6990.
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GAME
AMD RADEon HD 6990
nVIDIA GEFoRcE GTX 590
FarCry 2 (1920x1080/Ultra/4xAA)
89.57 fps
78.9 fps
STALKER: Call of Pripyat (1920x1080/4xAA/Ultra)
36.3 fps
69.3 fps
Resident Evil V (1920x1080/8xAA/Motion Blur ON)
110.9 fps
120 fps
Crysis Warhead (1920x1080/DX 10/Very High)
44 fps
39 fps
AMD rADeoN HD 6990 vs. NvIDIA geforce gTX 590 NVIDIA GTX 590 is basically made up of two GTX 580’s having the GF110 architecture. So in a way multiply the specs of GTX 580 by 2 and you have the brand new GeForce GTX 590. The clock speeds though have been reduced to 607MHz (core clock) and 3414MHz data rate (memory clock) to keep the temperatures under check.The card is 11-inches long and has two 8-pin power connectors. The XFX Radeon HD 6990 is based on two Cayman XT GPUs. The Cayman GPU was previously seen on HD 6970. So the HD 6990 is two HD 6970s and has twice the transistors, shader processors, raster operators, etc. The HD 6990 has a BIOS switch just beside the CrossfireX connector which allows you to operate the card in factory mode (core clock: 800 MHz) in position 1 and in the unlocked mode (core clock: 880MHz) in position 2. The HD 6990 is comparitively longer at 12-inches and has two eight pin power connectors. Both the cards are back-plated and
have a centrally located fan section with vapour chamber based cooling for the two GPUs. Both cards come with a single multi-GPU bridge. We ran both the cards on their factory settings ie. 607MHz for GTX 590 and 830MHz for HD 6990. The table below explains how the cards fared against each other. Based on performance, the NVIDIA GTX 590 egdes past the HD 6990 in all our test games except Crysis Warhead, surprisingly. But the difference is not very prominent in most of the games except STALKER: Call of Pripyat. Our performance logsheet gave NVIDIA a score of 88.34 as compared to HD 6990’s 84.36. Pricing of the GTX 590 at `44,250, makes us recommend it over the HD 6990 which comes at `48,000. Although we know that for such cards, the pricing makes very little difference. It all boils down to what games you will be playing and at what resolutions. Above 60 fps everything is comfortably playable and with both these cards, that is a given — at the most extreme of game settings.
THe
fAsTesT gpU Is ... It’s a tie between the AMD Radeon HD 6990 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590. We’ve seen some games have a preference for the Radeon HD 6990, while other games like the NVIDIA GTX 590 better. Unlike the previous generation of cards, neither AMD nor NVIDIA is clearly dominating the extreme gaming segment. There isn’t much to chose between the two cards and that only means well for the future of PC gaming. Until the next generation of GPUs from AMD and NVIDIA.
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What’s InsIde? Don’t Miss on Entertainment DVD
Retro games Battlezone StarCraft Civilization Doom 95 demo
Dune II - The Building of a Dynasty SimCity 2000 Trackmania Nations ESWC X-COM: UFO Defense demo Deus Ex demo Duke Nukem 3D demo Homeworld: Cataclysm Demo Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne demo
& More..
Managing Director : Dr Pramath Raj Sinha Printer and Publisher : Kanak Ghosh Publishing Director : Asheesh Gupta Executive Editor : Robert “Raaabo” Sovereign-Smith Writers : Jayesh “Big Daddy” Shinde Siddharth “Tazdingo” Parwatay Nimish “Agent 47” Sawant Abhinav “Altair” Lal Seth “Headshot” Collins Sr Creative Director Art Director Associate Art Director Sr Visualisers Sr Designers
: : : : :
Jayan Narayanan Binesh Sreedharan Anil VK PC Anoop Prasanth TR, Anil T, Joffy Jose, Anoop Verma, NV Baiju, Chander Dange, Vinod Shinde Designer : Sristi Maurya, Suneesh K, Shigil N, Charu Dwivedi Chief Photographer : Subhojit Paul Sr Photographer : Jiten Gandhi Product Manager : Abhishek Poddar
Sr GM - Operations Manager Operations Asst Production Manager Asst Mgr Mgmt Trainee Executives
: : : : : :
Shivshankar Hiremath Rakesh Upadhyay Vilas Mhatre Vijay Menon Omkar Tarde M P Singh, Mohd. Nadeem Ansari
Head Office Nine Dot Nine Interactive Pvt Ltd Kakson House, 2nd Floor, A & B Wing 80, Sion-Trombay Road, Opposite R K Studio Chembur, Mumbai 400071 help@skoar.com For any business-related enquiries, contact: business@skoar.com Published, Printed and Owned by Nine Dot Nine Interactive Pvt Ltd. Published and printed on their behalf by Kanak Ghosh. Published at Bunglow No. 725, Sector - 1, Shirvane, Nerul, Navi Mumbai - 400076 Printed at Silverpoint Press Pvt Ltd, D107, MIDC, TTC Industrial Area, Nerul, Navi Mumbai - 400076. Editor: Anuradha Das Mathur
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