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Counter Strike
Minimum System Requirements
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CPU:
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Pentium 4 processor (3.0 GHz, or better)
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CPU Speed:
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3.0 GHz
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RAM:
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1 GB
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OS:
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Windows 7 (32/64-bit)/Vista/XP
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Video Card:
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DirectX 9 level Graphics Card
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Sound Card:
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Yes
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Free Disk Space:
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4.6 GB
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To Download(click below)
Thief-Game Review
PROS
- Brilliant ambiance
- Commendable visuals
- Smooth gameplay
- Great music
CONS
- Story seems to lack direction
- Characters not very well-defined
- No replay factor
Summary
With the perfect ambiance and interesting gameplay, Thief makes for a good play, even if it is lacking in some of the essentials.
Review
Introduction
Stealth games are not everyone’s cup of tea. Something we'd spoken about in great detail last month. This goes for both, gamers as well as game designers. The mind and skill-set to play stealth is very different from first-person shooters, real-time strategy, or MOBA. Not to say that it’s a better genre of games, but it is an acquired taste honed over time, and frankly, for a game like Thief that has a cult-followed history of taking the term ‘cloak-and-dagger’ literally, you really need to have the patience to pull through. When the new game was announced, fans were bifurcated. While some scoffed at Square Enix’s attempt at cashing in on Eidos’ glory days. Some hoped for the best, thinking that the classic would take to a whole new level with new-age graphics and the creativity that modern CG brought to the table.
Both valid arguments, based on gaming potential. But as usual, people have a way of wasting most of the potential out there.
First Impressions
Our first impressions of the game were, admittedly, hopeful. The first thing a veteran gamer would notice is that the gameplay has mostly stayed the same as the 1998 game. The first person perspective, with your characters hands showing in the lower quarter of the screen. The arrow types and uses, too, toed the similarities to the original. It was a familiar experience, and yet, different. The story seemed less concrete than expected, in the beginning. You are thrown right into the game, with little or no introduction to the main character. It works, if you’re attuned to the Thief world, but for a n00b, the initial experience of the game may seem to lack depth – Something that does not happen with the first trilogy.
Our first impressions of the game were, admittedly, hopeful. The first thing a veteran gamer would notice is that the gameplay has mostly stayed the same as the 1998 game. The first person perspective, with your characters hands showing in the lower quarter of the screen. The arrow types and uses, too, toed the similarities to the original. It was a familiar experience, and yet, different. The story seemed less concrete than expected, in the beginning. You are thrown right into the game, with little or no introduction to the main character. It works, if you’re attuned to the Thief world, but for a n00b, the initial experience of the game may seem to lack depth – Something that does not happen with the first trilogy.
No, it’s not a remake
Despite the fact that everyone (including us) has drawn parallels to the original Thief, one must step back and look at the game as a fresh idea, just to see if biases make the judgement of the game inaccurate. Looking at the character (Garrett) and the shadowy steampunk backdrop the game is set against, the game brings nothing new to the gaming world. It’s just another stealth game, and one trudges through the first few chapters following the instructions on-screen like a good little zombie.
Despite the fact that everyone (including us) has drawn parallels to the original Thief, one must step back and look at the game as a fresh idea, just to see if biases make the judgement of the game inaccurate. Looking at the character (Garrett) and the shadowy steampunk backdrop the game is set against, the game brings nothing new to the gaming world. It’s just another stealth game, and one trudges through the first few chapters following the instructions on-screen like a good little zombie.
The new Thief is set several years after the classic
As you pick up documents and if you keep your eyes open, you will notice references to the original game littered across the world. This indicates that the story of your master thief is set a few hundred years after the original master-thief (also called Garrett – must not have been too many names for thieves in this world to pick from).
Plot, Characters, Difficulty
The story is straightforward – you are Garrett, a thief in a city that looks inspired by Victorian Goth-influenced England in the middle of the Industrial Age. Factions of the old Thief world, like the Keepers and Hammerites are seemingly extinct. The world is plagued by a disease that is referred to as ‘the blight’ and new resistance cells are on the rise against the supreme power in the city, hoping to free it from squalor.
The characters of the game lack depth and seem to exist only for the sake of convenience, at times. Even the main character is underplayed and unsatisfying, leaving a lot to be desired.
The difficulty level is also a confusing aspect of the game. While certain features, like lock-picking and the parkour are way too easy, the game environment in-between story-based missions have been pushed up on the difficulty scale.
The story is straightforward – you are Garrett, a thief in a city that looks inspired by Victorian Goth-influenced England in the middle of the Industrial Age. Factions of the old Thief world, like the Keepers and Hammerites are seemingly extinct. The world is plagued by a disease that is referred to as ‘the blight’ and new resistance cells are on the rise against the supreme power in the city, hoping to free it from squalor.
The characters of the game lack depth and seem to exist only for the sake of convenience, at times. Even the main character is underplayed and unsatisfying, leaving a lot to be desired.
The difficulty level is also a confusing aspect of the game. While certain features, like lock-picking and the parkour are way too easy, the game environment in-between story-based missions have been pushed up on the difficulty scale.
Turning the Focus Mode to the technical side...
When it comes to the graphics, Thief had some pretty good attention to detail. Cutscenes included, the game designers seem to have spent quite some time in detailing and the intricacies of design. From the textures and soft-focused backgrounds, to the detail in the character models, the game may not be the ultimate in graphics, but it does come quite close.
The game’s AI tends to lack the knack for realism though, at times. Sometimes, you find yourself wondering if it’s really possible for an enemy to not notice someone who’s standing inches from him, close enough to pick the pixels off his eyebrows.
Some aspects of the game design stand out though. Focus Mode being one of them. Much like Batman’s ‘Detective Mode’ in the Arkham games, it highlights anything important on your screen, like enemies, traps and secrets. It doesn’t, however help you see the outline of said enemies in an adjoining room. Simply the ones visible to you on your screen. It’s useful in a stealth game like thief, keeping the distractions aside.
The arrows used by Garrett are also interesting. While some arrows from the original games (Fire arrow, gas arrow, water arrow), have been modified and kept in the game, some (like the moss arrow) have been adapted into upgrades while some (flashbang arrow) have been converted into throwable objects.
Another striking change is the restriction on melee weapons in the game. Unlike The Dark Project, this game has no swords or warhammer. Instead, your character has a blackjack to knock out victims and a wide range of arrows for ranged attacks, indicating from the start that this game isn’t about upfront face-to-face combat. One needs to sneak around, or distract/dispatch targets from a distance. The game has also received flack (for good reason) for the random glitches and crashes. More for the glitches rather than the crashes. At times, your character will refuse to move or strafe mid-chapter, making you restore to last checkpoint. So frequent game saves are highly recommended. At least until Square Enix releases a patch for the same.
When it comes to the graphics, Thief had some pretty good attention to detail. Cutscenes included, the game designers seem to have spent quite some time in detailing and the intricacies of design. From the textures and soft-focused backgrounds, to the detail in the character models, the game may not be the ultimate in graphics, but it does come quite close.
The game’s AI tends to lack the knack for realism though, at times. Sometimes, you find yourself wondering if it’s really possible for an enemy to not notice someone who’s standing inches from him, close enough to pick the pixels off his eyebrows.
Some aspects of the game design stand out though. Focus Mode being one of them. Much like Batman’s ‘Detective Mode’ in the Arkham games, it highlights anything important on your screen, like enemies, traps and secrets. It doesn’t, however help you see the outline of said enemies in an adjoining room. Simply the ones visible to you on your screen. It’s useful in a stealth game like thief, keeping the distractions aside.
The arrows used by Garrett are also interesting. While some arrows from the original games (Fire arrow, gas arrow, water arrow), have been modified and kept in the game, some (like the moss arrow) have been adapted into upgrades while some (flashbang arrow) have been converted into throwable objects.
Another striking change is the restriction on melee weapons in the game. Unlike The Dark Project, this game has no swords or warhammer. Instead, your character has a blackjack to knock out victims and a wide range of arrows for ranged attacks, indicating from the start that this game isn’t about upfront face-to-face combat. One needs to sneak around, or distract/dispatch targets from a distance. The game has also received flack (for good reason) for the random glitches and crashes. More for the glitches rather than the crashes. At times, your character will refuse to move or strafe mid-chapter, making you restore to last checkpoint. So frequent game saves are highly recommended. At least until Square Enix releases a patch for the same.
The Gameplay mechanics are impressive
 The Thief Soundtrack – It really sets the mood | The Soundtrack The game’s core was composed by french musician Luc St-Pierre. Admittedly, not the best music we’ve heard in a game, but it works splendidly within the confines of the game itself. With an orchestral base, the score shows a distinct Hans Zimmer influence and maintains the tension and suspense generated by the game. As a whole, this ambient music, along with the game’s own commendable sound effects sets the mood just right. |
A Homage?
Though the game is a sequel, the game as a whole seems more like a homage to the original. Which is fine, if that’s why you’re playing it. However, for freshers to the Thiefverse, the game would seem tedious and unfulfilling. Not to mention, slow. One gets the feeling that the game designers felt like experimenting with the genre. While some levels seem straightforward - sneak and steal, others are borderline horror gaming. While attempting to make the Thief games more interesting and expand on the richness of the world the game is based in, the designers’ plan may have backfired.
At the end of it all, Thief is a must-play for fans but no huge miss for other gamers. With nothing to really hook you on to, and the zero replay value of the game, the Thief franchise may finally fizzle out of existence.
Though the game is a sequel, the game as a whole seems more like a homage to the original. Which is fine, if that’s why you’re playing it. However, for freshers to the Thiefverse, the game would seem tedious and unfulfilling. Not to mention, slow. One gets the feeling that the game designers felt like experimenting with the genre. While some levels seem straightforward - sneak and steal, others are borderline horror gaming. While attempting to make the Thief games more interesting and expand on the richness of the world the game is based in, the designers’ plan may have backfired.
At the end of it all, Thief is a must-play for fans but no huge miss for other gamers. With nothing to really hook you on to, and the zero replay value of the game, the Thief franchise may finally fizzle out of existence.
Will Thief fans slowly fizzle out of existence?
Minimum System Requirements:OS: Windows Vista with Platform Update for Windows Vista
Processor: High-Performance Dual Core CPU or Quad Core CPU
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: AMD Radeon 4800 series / Nvidia GTS 250
DirectX: Version 10
Hard Drive: 20 GB available space
Processor: High-Performance Dual Core CPU or Quad Core CPU
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: AMD Radeon 4800 series / Nvidia GTS 250
DirectX: Version 10
Hard Drive: 20 GB available space
The PC version of this game is available on Amazon for Rs. 999/-
Reus: Review
Summary
In the shadow of Giants: Reus is a casual strategy game with no instruction manual. Perfect for people with an over-eager God complex.Take control of your three giants and go crazy on your own 2-dimensional planet. Help humanity rise or fall. Raise mountains, burrow seas, create your own paradise.
Launched in May 2013, Reus is an indie game created by Abbey games. A company whose claim to fame is the game Tinytanic. Tinytanic was a game created by Abbey Games in 2012 in a span of 72 hours for the Ludam Dare competition. Moving a bit further from what Tinytanic did, Reus is similarly a strategy game based on the theme of social experimentation.
Reus plays on the hubris of humanity, and broadly asks the question ‘what would you do if the world was within your control?’ The visuals may not be state-of-the-art, but following the trend set by most indie games in recent times, Reus aims at the bigger picture.
One must be warned that this game isn't for people looking for high-end serious gaming. It is, in essence, a casual game. Not being one for the long haul, the game has an element of relaxation.
You don't control units, like most strategy games. In fact, you have very little control over the people as a whole. What you can control, is the environment in which each civilization thrives. And as Darwin always maintained, human beings are a product of their environment. Limit resources to keep them from developing too fast, pile them up with food sources to make them expand to fit an ever-increasing population destroy villages that get too greedy for their own good - these are your methods, and four massive giants are your tools to pull this off.
The game has enough to keep most people occupied, trying out several permutations and combinations to bring out the best (or worst) in human society.
Reus plays on the hubris of humanity, and broadly asks the question ‘what would you do if the world was within your control?’ The visuals may not be state-of-the-art, but following the trend set by most indie games in recent times, Reus aims at the bigger picture.
One must be warned that this game isn't for people looking for high-end serious gaming. It is, in essence, a casual game. Not being one for the long haul, the game has an element of relaxation.
You don't control units, like most strategy games. In fact, you have very little control over the people as a whole. What you can control, is the environment in which each civilization thrives. And as Darwin always maintained, human beings are a product of their environment. Limit resources to keep them from developing too fast, pile them up with food sources to make them expand to fit an ever-increasing population destroy villages that get too greedy for their own good - these are your methods, and four massive giants are your tools to pull this off.
The game has enough to keep most people occupied, trying out several permutations and combinations to bring out the best (or worst) in human society.
The game is accurately named ‘Reus’ which coincides with the German word ‘Riese’ and the old Norse ‘risi’, both meaning ‘Giant’. The game starts at the beginning of time, with the awakening of the planet’s four giants - fairly straightforwardly named after the four elements they control – The rock giant, the forest giant, the ocean giant and the swamp giant. Looking upon a barren plain, the giants take it upon themselves to breathe life into it, making it habitable, thus giving humanity a chance to grow and thrive.
The game has two modes. The Era mode and Freeplay. The Era mode puts a time limit on your game; the minimum being thirty minutes, the maximum being two hours. The freeplay mode gives you a free reign when it comes to time, letting you go crazy developing, but limits your in-game achievements.
Summarized, Reus is not the kind of game most gamers would find worthwhile. It is, however, a great game to sit back, relax and just enjoy, with its surprisingly fluid visuals and almost unpredictable gameplay. A must-have for the casual gamer. The game is available for download on Steam.
Summarized, Reus is not the kind of game most gamers would find worthwhile. It is, however, a great game to sit back, relax and just enjoy, with its surprisingly fluid visuals and almost unpredictable gameplay. A must-have for the casual gamer. The game is available for download on Steam.
Genre: Indie, Simulation, Strategy
Developer, Publisher: Abbey Games
Release Date: 16 May 2013
The Stanley Parable Review
Summary
The Stanley Parable is a game that will make you question the very reason for your own existence and possibly cause a mild case of paranoid insanity and an aversion to the metaphysical. The Stanley Parable is an interesting game with a simple gameplay, but a very unique narrative structure. Definitely a must-play!
Review
The Stanley Parable is a game that is built to uncannily take a peek into your head and anticipate your every move, regardless of how creative you get in the game world. The creator is your God, and regardless of you trying to prove that you are in control of your life, you will be smitten. The Stanley Parable was originally built as a Hal-Life 2 mod before expanding to a standalone game.
Advance warning: There is ONE spoiler in the review below. So please, make the meaningful decision.
The Stanley Parable is joins the likes of Dear Esther and Gone Home – story-based interactive gameplay with a penchant for messing with your head. Avoid at all costs if you dislike having dreams of walking down endless corridors with a deep voice whispering in your head telling you how worthless you really are. Also, expect to have your share of lightbulb moments. Some of the best moments in The Stanley Parable depend on how slowly they start making sense; because when they do strike you, the reward is in that moment of revelation itself.
Built on a healthy dose of witty (and occasionally, dark) humour and a heavy existentialist influence, this game is surreal and never fails to surprise you (well, unless you’ve played it a few hundred times over, but that can be said for anything, right?). It is engrossing to a point of making you actually talk to your computer and expect a reply. Followed by a moment of complete incredulity when you realize how stupid you really feel. The Stanley Parable pushes the metaphysical to a level beyond anything we have seen in gaming, so far.
The RED Door
The Stanley Parable is smart, and sometimes borders on pretentious. The narrator is the saving grace in most of these situations, but he is, after all, one man against an army of billions of gamers. Cutting him that slack, there’s also the problem of mechanical gamers who will follow the rules, refrain from stepping out of line, ending The Stanley Parable confused and completely missing the point.
Intelligent and insightful, this game is highly recommended for psychiatrists to conduct personality evaluations. On a philosophical level, it takes quite a few runthroughs to understand its depth, what with dozens of easter eggs and an equal number of possible endings (and even more routes to get there), this game will either enthrall you, or make you curl up in the corner and make you really wish the Matrix has you.
Before you choose whether or not to immerse in The Stanley parable, please remember – Not doing so…
...is also a choice.
Can you stay on the Adventure Line?
Download link: http://dgit.in/tspgame
Minimum System Requirements:
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7/8
Processor: 3.0 GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 (or higher) or AMD64X2 (or higher)
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: Video card must be 128 MB or more and should be a DirectX 9-compatible with support for Pixel Shader 2.0b (ATI Radeon X800 or higher / NVIDIA GeForce 7600 or higher / Intel HD Graphics 2000 or higher - *NOT* an Express graphics card).
Hard Drive: 3 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible
Reliance Games launches The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
After Krissh 3 and Chennai Express, games based on blockbuster movies are catching up. Now, Reliance Games has launched a new game based on soon to be released movie - Hunger Games. Users can download the game on the App Store and Google Play.
The game is based on an upcoming film, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which is slated to release in India on 6th December, 2013. The Hunger Games is a runner game in which players run through the Districts of Panem, collecting Sparks. Players can also invite friends to play the game and share scores.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Panem Run features:
- Users explore the Districts of Panem and run endlessly as a member of your current District.
- Share scores with friends and compete on leader board.
- Dodge, Jump and Smash through obstacles and gain sparks
- Share scores with friends and compete on leader board.
- Dodge, Jump and Smash through obstacles and gain sparks
"We are proud to be able to give fans of The Hunger Games films an opportunity to immerse themselves in the game,” said Manish Agarwal, CEO of Reliance Entertainment Digital. “The social features are a great way for the fans to connect with other fans worldwide.”
“Being able to play as a citizen of Panem further expands the world-building experience we’ve created for our fans,” said Danielle De Palma, Lionsgate Senior Vice President of Digital Marketing. “The game provides an exciting new narrative for the core fans while offering a challenge for players of all skill levels.”
Reliance Games has launched a game based on Hollywood blockbuster Pacific Rim for iOS and Android in September. Players are expected to defeat Kaijus, aliens that have risen from the sea to wipe out the humanity. The mobile game is available on the App Store and Google Play store.
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