UNREAL TOURNAMENT 3

GAME DETAILS :-

Developer : Epic Games

Publisher : Midway Games and Valve Corporation (Steam)

Engine : Unreal Engine 3 with PhysX

Genre : First-Person Shooter

Release Date : November 19 , 2007

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS :-

Operating System : Windows XP / Windows Vista

CPU : Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor / AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+

Memory (RAM) : 2 GB

Graphics Hardware : DirectX 9.0c Compatible Video Card with Memory 512 MB

[NVIDIA : GeForce 7900 Series
ATI : Radeon X1300 Series]

Hard Disk Space : 8 GB

GAME FEATURES :-

Unreal Tournament 3 doesn't make huge changes to the formula, but still ends up feeling fresh, fast, and very fun. Similar to the previous entries of the series, the game is primarily an online multiplayer title offering several game modes, including large-scale Warfare, Capture-the-Flag, and Deathmatch. It also includes an extensive offline single-player game with an in-depth story, advancing from the simple tournament ladder to such concepts as team members with their own individual personalities. The maps you'll see in the single-player campaign are the same maps you'll see online, at least until the mod-making scene shifts into high gear. You'll get into matches using a typical PC-style server browser, but the game tries to keep you away from a full list of every server running by moving you through some console-game-style menus to filter down to the gametype you want to see.

Unreal Tournament 3 comes with six different modes of play. Deathmatch is the standard free-for-all battle. Team deathmatch, as you'd expect, breaks you up into two teams. Duel is a one-on-one mode where two players go at it while other players spectate. All three of these modes are played on the same set of deathmatch-friendly maps. Unreal Tournament 3 also has a standard capture-the-flag mode, complete with the translocator, the teleporter gun that has made Unreal Tournament 3's take on Capture The Flag stand apart from most others. There's a new vehicle Capture The Flag mode, which takes the standard Capture The Flag concept and places it onto larger battlefields. As the name suggests, you have a number of vehicles that you can use toward your goal of grabbing the opposing team's flag and getting it back to your base. The largest mode is called warfare, and like onslaught mode before it, it's played on even bigger maps, with more vehicles. The vehicles have been split into two factions, the Axon vehicles and Necris vehicles. The Axon vehicles are the same vehicles from Unreal Tournament 2004, but several have significant gameplay changes. In addition, every player is equipped with a personal hoverboard on vehicle maps, which is a skateboard-like device that allows players to traverse large maps and grapple onto other teammates' vehicles. However, the hoverboard is very vulnerable to attack, and any kind of hit will knock the player off the board and disable him or her for several seconds. Additionally, the player cannot use any weapons while on the board. Unlike the previous Unreal Tournament games, where the single player campaign follows a plot based around the Tournament Grand Championship, the single player campaign does not follow a plot based around the Tournament Grand Championship, and therefore several of the teams within Unreal Tournament 3 are not Tournament competitors.

The game's textures, character models, and animation are all top-notch when you've got everything turned up. Characters can be tweaked and modified using different torso pieces, shoulder plates, and more. The handful of levels that have running liquids in them have good-looking water effects, too. Overall, it's a very sharp-looking game if your machine can hang with its higher settings. The audio fits right in with what you'd expect a Unreal Tournament game to sound like. The music is high in energy, the explosions and gunfire sound great, and the character voices, which occasionally pipe up to taunt you when you get killed, fit right in as well. It's a very basic, straightforward package, but don't take that to mean that Unreal Tournament 3 is a no-frills sequel. With its variety of modes and its occasionally crazy high-speed action , Unreal Tournament 3 still feels very different than the typical first-person shooter coming out these days. On top of that, it's very exciting and just as much fun now as it has been in previous installments.

GAME REVIEW :-

8.5/10

Unreal Tournament 3 Trailer :-

FLIGHT SIMULATOR X: ACCELERATION

GAME DETAILS :-

Developer : ACES Studios

Publisher : Microsoft

Engine : Not Revealed

Genre : Simulation

Release Date : October 23 , 2007

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS :-

Operating System : Windows XP / Windows Vista

CPU : Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor / AMD Athlon64 X2 4400+

Memory (RAM) : 2 GB

Graphics Hardware : DirectX 10.0 Compatible Video Card with Memory 256 MB

[NVIDIA : GeForce 8800 Series
ATI : Radeon HD 3800 Series]

Hard Disk Space : 3 GB

GAME FEATURES :-

New aircraft, new missions, and new multiplayer racing modes make Acceleration a worthy addition for any Flight Simulation X fanatic. Flight Simulator X: Acceleration adds more of what makes the sim great, offering three new aircraft, more than 30 new single-player missions, and 19 multiplayer missions/races. If you're a Flight Simulator X aficionado, this expansion pack is a must-have. The three new aircraft are very different from one another and provide fascinating new capabilities, introduced via the new missions. The Boeing F/A-18A Hornet is a fighter/attack jet with a breathtaking amount of power. While there are, alas, no useable weapons on this simulated jet, it is fully capable of carrier operations, and most of the included missions involving the Hornet require both a takeoff and landing on a carrier. Taking off is a blast, literally: Gently taxi up to the catapult, lower and attach the launch bar, throttle up, and then fire the catapult and hang on as you're launched off the edge of the carrier. Easy enough, but as any naval flight sim fan can tell you, landing on the deck of a moving carrier is a nerve-racking experience in the best of conditions; throw in bad weather and/or darkness and you'll be wiping the sweat off the keyboard. Acceleration provides a superb re-creation of carrier landings, complete with "calling the ball" and an on-deck flight officer talking you in.

Red Bull racing is, in a word, insane. In Acceleration you're provided with three Red Bull racing venues: Istanbul, Longleat in the UK, and Tempelhof AFB in Berlin. Flying an extremely nimble Extra 300S, you are required to fly through a series of very closely spaced pylons, extremely low to the ground, with some requiring a wings-level pass, some requiring a knife-edge pass, and some allowing either. At certain points during the race you'll also be required to perform specific aerobatic maneuvers. Fly too high through a gate: penalty. Go through the gate in the wrong position: penalty. Touch a pylon: big penalty. The single-player racing missions in Acceleration (both Reno and Red Bull) are intended as practice for the multiplayer mode. Multiplayer offers 19 racing "missions," including the aforementioned Reno and Red Bull formats, cross-country races in both small prop planes and gliders, and an exhilarating race through a deep canyon in F/A-18s. In addition to the added missions and aircraft, Acceleration applies the latest SP2 upgrade to Flight Simulator X. Our tests showed a relatively small frame rate increase on a midrange system, and reports in the forums seem to indicate that SP2 isn't magic; it won't allow you to significantly raise the graphics level at which you can effectively run the sim, but you may gain a few frame rates here and there. One caveat: If you have a lot of third-party add-ons for Flight Simulator X, SP2 and some SDK changes may result in a few odd quirks, with some reporting the need to do a fresh install of Flight Simulator X, followed by an install of Acceleration, to smooth out the issues.

There are a lot of third-party add-ons for Flight Sim X, and you can make an argument that, for example, the detailing is higher in one of these add-on F/A-18s. But the added capabilities that Acceleration brings to the sim, such as the hoist and retrieval capability with the new helicopter, the carrier operations, and the new multiplayer racing missions, make this a very attractive and recommended expansion for any Flight Simulator X fan.

GAME REVIEW :-

8.5/10

Flight Simulator X: Acceleration Trailer :-

ASSASSIN'S CREED

GAME DETAILS :-

Developer : Ubisoft Montreal

Publisher : Ubisoft

Engine : Scimitar

Genre : Action-Adventure, Sandbox and Stealth

Release Date : April 8 , 2008

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS :-

Operating System : Windows XP / Windows Vista

CPU : Intel Core 2 Duo Processor / AMD Athlon64 X2 4400+

Memory (RAM) : 3 GB

Graphics Hardware : DirectX 10.0 Compatible Video Card with Memory 512 MB

[NVIDIA : GeForce 8800 Series
ATI : Radeon HD 3800 Series]

Hard Disk Space : 8 GB

GAME FEATURES :-

The main story of Assassin's Creed takes place in September 2012; Desmond Miles, a bartender, is kidnapped by the company Abstergo Industries for use as a test subject in the "Animus", a device that can stimulate the recall of ancestral memories buried in the user's DNA. Desmond at first has trouble adjusting to the device, but eventually is able to relive Altaïr's exploits over the next several days. Much of the core game is then presented from Altaïr's point-of-view as seen by Desmond, though at times interrupted by glitches resulting from the Animus. Altaïr methodically completes each task, learning that each target is connected to Robert and the Templars and share their mysterious goals. As he completes each of the assassinations, he finds out that the Templars are trying to trick the Muslim and Christian forces to work together and face a common enemy, the assassins, as to bring peace and unity to the world. Altaïr's final target, de Sablé, reveals in his dying words that Al Mualim is himself a member of the Knights Templar, and used Altaïr to kill the other members so he could keep the treasure for himself. Altaïr quickly returns to Masyaf to accost his master. Al Mualim reveals the truth; the Piece of Eden which he had received from one of the men in the Temple after Altaïr's transgression, creates illusions, and he denounces religion and other seemingly supernatural events as illusions caused by it. He then states his intention to use the artifact to compel mankind into a brainwashed state and so bring an end to conflict. Altaïr is eventually able to see through deceptions created by the artifact to kill Al Mualim. When Altaïr recovers the artifact, the Piece of Eden activates, showing a holographic view of the world with numerous locations of other Pieces of Eden marked across the globe.

When the process is complete, Desmond learns that Abstergo is a modern-day version of the Knights Templar, and are already seeking other artifacts at locations identified in Altaïr's memory. He further learns that the equivalent modern-day assassins had tried to rescue him before the memory was complete but had failed. Though Desmond is to be silenced with his role complete, a researcher named Lucy Stillman manages to save him, revealing herself to be part of the assassins. Though Desmond remains trapped in the Abstergo laboratory, his experience in the Animus has created a "bleeding effect" of Altaïr's life in his own, allowing him to see strange messages painted on the walls of his room. The messages all deal with various forms of the end of the world from different cultures, including several references to the date December 21, 2012 a date that Abstergo plans to launch a satellite that will "permanently end the war".

In Assassin's Creed, the greatest joy comes from the smallest details, and for every nerve-racking battle, there's a quiet moment that cuts to the game's heart and soul. Climbing towers to uncover portions of the map is a simple mechanic but forever satisfying, thanks to the beautiful vistas and soft musical themes that accompany the view. There's a ton of stuff to do, and even when you've exhausted your official tasks, you can search for the collectible flags and crosses strewn around the cities and countryside. You could probably plow through the main quest in 20 hours or less, but completists might spend many more finishing every quest and gathering every flag. The PC version of Assassin's Creed isn't the superior one, but this is a case where translation to the PC resulted in some minor hiccups rather than obvious gaffes. If you don't have the opportunity to play it on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, you should pick up a copy and immerse yourself in its memorable world. It's the kind of game you want to show your friends even if they're not into games, and if you have a high-powered computer, it's one that should be in your collection.

GAME REVIEW :-

8.5/10

Assassin's Creed Trailer :-

TEAM FORTRESS 2

GAME DETAILS :-

Developer : Valve Corporation

Publisher : Valve Corporation

Engine : Source Engine

Genre : First-Person Shooter

Release Date : October 9 , 2007

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS :-

Operating System : Windows XP / Windows Vista

CPU : Intel Pentium 4 Processor / AMD Athlon64 3000+

Memory (RAM) : 1 GB

Graphics Hardware : DirectX 9.0c Compatible Video Card with Memory 256 MB

[NVIDIA : GeForce 7800 Series
ATI : Radeon X1800 Series]

Hard Disk Space : 5 GB

GAME FEATURES :-

Team Fortress 2 sets a brilliant stage for its signature brand of class-based multiplayer mayhem. Like its predecessors, Team Fortress 2 is focused around two opposing teams competing for an objective. These teams, Reliable Excavation & Demolition (RED) and Builders League United (BLU), are meant to represent two holding corporations that secretly control every government on the planet. The game was released with six official maps, although 11 extra maps and eight arena maps have been included in subsequent updates. When players join a level for the first time, an introductory video shows how to complete its objectives. Player limits are 24 on the PC, although the player limit has been altered on some servers to reach as high as 34, and 16 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

In Capture the Flag maps, the objective for both teams is to obtain a briefcase of intelligence from the enemy team's base and return it to their own base while preventing the opposing team from doing the same. In some levels, the objective for both teams is to secure all the points on the map. On other levels, one team already holds all the points and must defend them from the other for a set amount of time. A third variation, introduced with the map "Hydro", is based on territory: each team must capture the other team's single active control point to secure that section of the map. Once all sections have been captured by one team, they are then able to attack the other team's base directly. There are nine player classes in Team Fortress 2, categorized into offense, defense, and support roles. Each class has at least three weapons: a unique primary weapon, a secondary weapon such as a shotgun or pistol, and a distinct melee weapon in keeping with the character, such as a liquor bottle for the demoman, a kukri for the sniper, and a fire axe for the pyro. The three offensive classes are the scout, the soldier, and the pyro. The demoman, the heavy, and the engineer make up the defensive classes. The final category, support, consists of the medic, the sniper, and the spy. The last support class is the spy, a character with a heavy french accent and a penchant for cigarettes. In addition to a revolver , the spy is equipped with covert tools, such as a temporary cloaking device , an electronic sapper to sabotage engineers' structures and the ability to disguise as other players. The spy can also use his butterfly knife to backstab and instantly kill enemy players.

Since the game's release last October, Valve has released a few new maps and game modes, slowly expanding the somewhat sparse catalog. They have also recently released three new weapons for the medic that you unlock by completing achievements. These weapons feature slight stat tweaks and new abilities that add a new element of customization to the class, and no doubt herald future weapon deployments for the other classes. Valve has done a fantastic job creating and balancing the maps, classes, and other game elements that are within their control. Still, Team Fortress 2 is a purely multiplayer game and, as such, lives and dies by the team. Most of the time you'll find yourself well matched, but the inherent uncertainty of the game can make for some vexing sessions. Your best move is to seek out friends and servers that are least likely to yield such sessions, and then enjoy the fertile battlegrounds that Team Fortress 2 so expertly cultivates. You'd be remiss not to reap this harvest.

GAME REVIEW :-

8.5/10

Team Fortress 2 Trailer :-

CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR

GAME DETAILS :-

Developer : Treyarch , Certain Affinity, n-Space and Rebellion

Publisher : Activision

Engine : Call Of Duty 4 Engine

Genre : First-Person Shooter

Release Date : November 10 , 2008

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS :-

Operating System : Windows XP / Windows Vista

CPU : Intel Core 2 Duo Processor / AMD Athlon64 X2 4800+

Memory (RAM) : 2 GB

Graphics Hardware : DirectX 10.0 Compatible Video Card with Memory 256 MB

[NVIDIA : GeForce 8600 Series
ATI : Radeon HD 3400 Series]

Hard Disk Space : 8 GB

GAME FEATURES :-

World at War brings proven Call of Duty mechanics back to WWII with great success. The game starts in Makin Island at night on August 17, 1942. Private Miller watches the torture and execution of a fellow soldier by the Japanese. As they turn towards Miller, he is rescued by his crew and they assault the island, replicating the Makin Island raid. The following mission then starts two years later, where the Americans assault the Japanese-held island of Peleliu. Miller calls in rocket strikes to take out Japanese Ha-Go tanks. At the end of the mission, Sergeant Sullivan is fatally impaled through the stomach by a Japanese soldier wielding a katana. The game returns back to Peleliu, where the Americans are pushing further inland through the island. The penultimate mission starts as Reznov drags Dimitri out of the U-Bahn to regroup with Soviet infantry and finally snaps at Chernov, who has been writing a diary of his experiences by giving him the Soviet flag to plant when they take the Reichstag. They clear out buildings along a street to proceed towards the plaza outside the Reichstag, where Dimitri destroys Flak 88's and they take out the remaining German infantry defending the entrance to the Reichstag. As they enter the Reichstag, they kill German soldiers in corridors, a lobby and the main room. Before he can do so, a wounded German soldier rises up and shoots Dimitri with a pistol. Reznov comes to Dimitri's aid and kills the German with his machete. He helps Dimitri up and cuts the swastika off the flagpole at the top of the Reichstag. Dimitri then plants the flag, signaling Soviet victory over Germany (as Reznov had previously given the flag to Chernov, it is assumed that he was killed in the battle). A final cutscene details the end of the war in Europe, the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the peace accord signed as a result.

There are, of course, new maps, and the bonuses you earn for kill streaks have been updated (notably, the attack helicopter you earned after seven kills in Modern Warfare is now a pack of nasty attack dogs). There are also a few maps that support tanks, powerful additions that mix things up without being too dominant. Most of the modes remain the same, though some have received slight tweaks and Capture the Flag has returned after a hiatus from Modern Warfare. The most striking new mode is actually a cooperative game called Nazi Zombies, playable when you beat the campaign (or play with someone who has). This absurd game puts up to four players in a house that is being assaulted by the undead. Killing the fiends and repairing the barricades earns you points that you then spend to replenish ammunition, buy new guns, and unlock new areas of the house. Though the random weapon box, assorted power-ups, and skills of your teammates add some variation, each play-through is similar to the last. Still, it makes for some intense, frantic fun and provides a welcome, if slightly bizarre, change of pace. By staying largely true to the formula that made Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare so successful, Call of Duty: World at War has ensured a proven level of technical quality, particularly in the multiplayer arena. On the other hand, one of Modern Warfare's strengths was its fresh approach, and by embracing a familiar setting and familiar mechanics, World at War achieves greatness but falls short of excellence. This is only a bad thing if you are expecting this game to top its benchmark predecessor.

GAME REVIEW :-

8.5/10

Call Of Duty: World At War Trailer :-