I tried my hands at GTA IV today. I didn’t play it for long & maybe that is why I’m not able to come to a conclusion on whether I like it or not. I loved spending hours together in the old GTA III. I even loved the top-view GTA II. But when it came to San Andreas, I simply couldn’t find it in me to finish even the first mission where they give you a cycle to outrun a car. I don’t know why, but I simply didn’t fancy that game. So, I didn’t have high hopes for this one.

A friend of mine was playing the game & I took over simply to check out the car control. Weirdly enough, I loved it. The car behaves like a real car in the sense, it simply wouldn’t turn as it used to in the earlier versions. The car control was kind of addictive, but tough at the same time. The game has the old storyline, similar missions, same cops roaming randomly & the same ambulances that come to the rescue of injured people. None of that was either new or interesting.

There was a mobile which was supposed to give us some options & then, I was asked to choose between two options at times like for example, when I was about to drop my date, I could ask her whether I could come in or I could just say goodbye. I don’t think it would alter the story, but it was good to have a pseudo feeling of being in control of the story. Besides that, the physics in the game is probably the most note-worthy part of the game.

Though driving the car is a lot tougher now, it is also a lot of fun. Sadly though, there are some catches in that too. The controls are in ‘wasd’, which for a guy like me who plays the game simply to drive the cars & bikes, is stupid. We could probably change the controls but I didn’t want to mess around with it since ‘up/down’ were used for the mobile and I wouldn’t be playing for long anyway. If this wasn’t bad enough, the camera takes a long time to get back into position when we reverse or slide. Basically, we have to move the mouse to look at where we are going during turns. I have...

I managed to get my hands on Burnout Paradise (PC version of course) & I've been playing it a lot lately. At first, the game seemed too easy & I felt that I'll soon loose interest in the game coz a game that doesn't challenge you is, not a game at all. I also hate having to scout the map for routes in the middle of a race. Though its a small map, I'm not good at remembering things.

But rest assured, these negative points don't bother me at all right now coz, the game is simply one helluva fun ride. The game is also tough once you reach the half way mark. The scenery, the speed, the jumps & the crashes are simply out of this world but at the same time, seem very real. Its been a while since I really enjoyed a proper, free roaming game that has bikes in it.

Things got a little frustrating once I reached the half way mark where races were really tough, the speed was too high, the routes were confusing & I kept crashing again & again. But as always, only with defeat, we improve. After some struggle, I learned the trick & it is weirdly, to go slow.

Don't use the NOS like a mad man, in fact, don't press it for more than a couple of seconds unless you are near the finishing line. You won't be able to handle the speed later & eventually will crash. Instead, use it to boost you when the car is slow. Spare even the accelerator. Once you've picked up enough speed thanks to NOS, you'll overtake your opponents even when not pressing the accelerator. Drive only as fast as you think you can control your car, coz it is all about avoiding the traffic.

I've got 2 more races to upgrade from Class A. But I've got a review tomorrow, so, I'll rest the tires for a while. Catch ya later..

I haven't been blogging for a while now. I have no excuses and I'm not sure whether I'll blog regularly even after this, but I do have another blog now for the gamers in India. Its more of an official blog from the project 'GoLive' and since I'm one of the few writers in that project, it'll mostly contain my entries. So gamers, here is the link to check out - http://imbagamingblog.imbagamer.com

Getting back to today's blog, I want to talk about 'spending time together'. Its something that I've for a while felt that my friends are doing but I'm not able to do. The irony is that love spending time with friends. But my only problem is that I like to spend it by doing things that I like, for example, gaming, movies etc. So, I was eagerly waiting for the right opportunity to go out. Suddenly, I saw two ads in the paper, one for a rock show and the other for an Autoshow. The best part is probably that both the venues were nearby.

The rock show is by Opeth in IIT which for a guy in Chennai, is a very rare opportunity. The only drawback here is probably the price of the ticket which is around Rs.500. But you should expect that price considering that Opeth is an international rock band. Bringing them to India, let alone Chennai is a big deal. Then, comes the AutoShow. Its an exhibition of the finest luxury cars, the vintage automobiles and the latest bikes. They also have a bike stunt show and all this, probably for free. What else could you ask for?

Ok now, we've got two worthy events to attend & I was looking forward to them. Reality came crashing down when I started to approach my friends to attend the event & buy the tickets. My friends were very excited about the rock show, but the price, was weirdly, something their parents couldn't afford. The price made one of my friends think twice while the other couldn't win his battle against his parents to justify the money. Not to mention that one guy has to go to some temple on that day with his family. So, the rock show plan sunk...

I was on a three day road-trip to Yercaud (hill), which is around 380kms. from Chennai if you take the shortest route. Road-trip meaning, we travelled the distance in our bikes. I’ve got a Bajaj CT100 which was obviously the least powerful bike in the trip. We weren’t even sure whether it would make it. The trip was everything we wanted it to be & more. We got together at 8 in the morning on Friday and started our journey. We had a wonderful time along the highway for around 200 kilometers. Then, we decided to take a detour through a village. It wasn’t exactly planned, but it was the best decision we could’ve taken. The ride through villages and their forgotten roads are something that I won’t forget anytime soon.
We did have some hiccups early on. One of the bikes got punctured, twice, thus wasting more than an hour and a half. But, without these troubles along the way, the trip wouldn’t have been complete. We finally reached the base of the mountain after sunset. Going uphill at night wasn’t something that we were planning to do, but the sceneries along the way tempted us to stop time and again, which combined with the puncture, made us late. But forget the lights, going uphill on a 100cc bike with a pillion rider and some luggage is no easy task, especially in that freezing weather. We did make it as enjoyable as we can and reached the hotel for dinner.
Do you remember how the time flies when you are having fun? Well, we still don’t understand how the next day ended so fast. We were just cruising along the hilly road, taking photos, trekking some uncharted paths, riding the bike to the peaks and just lying down on the grass. It seemed as if the day ended quicker than the time it took to snap our fingers. It was Sunday already and none of us were ready to return, but we had to. For me, the trip down hill was the best time I ever had on a bike so far, in my life. The curves, the hairpin bends, the climate, the view, it was all too much. It was as if my racing games came to life...

As you may or may not know, for more than a month, I’ve been involved with a start-up company called GoLive. The company is basically an initiative by gamers who wanted to help improve the standards of gaming in India. As the veteran presenter Jeremy Clarkson used to say ‘How hard can it be?’ was probably what went through the minds of these enthusiastic youngsters in their new adventure. I was introduced to this initiative by one Ravi who is undoubtedly the inspirational head of the company. I was initially taken in as the content creator for their website which was obviously, about gaming. Having spent the past couple of years in the field, I was very keen on becoming a part of this initiative and if possible, forge a career in it.

But as with everything, time has a harsh way of teaching us lessons. Maybe it is not fair to blame it on time, but it is not fair to blame it on anything else either. Maybe, this is how every company grew up and I’m just new to the whole process. Over the course of one month, the company struggled but at the same time, achieved a lot. But the way we’ve had to change directions and rethink our paths, is very disheartening. It is as if your new born baby grew up in a day and now, wants its own way of life. Your dreams don’t shatter, but it simply ain’t your dream anymore.

Then again, not all dreams come true, at least not exactly in the way you dreamed it. Life takes it own course. And the best thing to do, is probably to change along with it. The website is going to be a collaborative effort with another organization which already has experience in the Indian gaming scenario. As I said, the change is probably just another step towards the realization of our dream. As long as we are able to remember our dream and work towards it, we are in the right path. I strongly believe in inspiration and motivation. I only wish that I had a person next to me right now, who can do both, by simply working with me towards a common objective.

Perception, to me, is the single most interesting phenomenon of a human mind. The obvious fact is that perceptions differ from person to person and it is the reason we are, who we are. The perception in general, depends a lot on the society, culture and the environment in which we grow or live in. It is this perception that creates the generation gap, the gender differences, culture differences and so on. When you think of how something is perfectly normal somewhere, completely abnormal somewhere else and not even possible in yet another place, it really is intriguing.

Of course, there are a lot of examples for this, with the most obvious one being the way divorce is looked at in the Western societies and in our society. As always, I hate treading on the usual path and so, I’m going to talk about something different. Again, this may seem less important like my last topic might’ve been, but I guess my perception is simply different. Moving back to the topic, everybody is aware of the trend of American choppers. Fat guys with beards and tattoos riding big bikes on the open roads in America, is a simple way of explaining the trend. This is nothing new, nothing out of the ordinary, at least for them. It is a way of life. They love the open roads, the usual wind in their hairs and their not-so-usual monstrosities that they call as ‘choppers’. These are journeys without destinations or rather, journeys where the destination is the journey itself.

Then, there is this weird phenomenon in a country called Finland. You may or may not know this, but, Finland is all about racing. It has a huge history of race veterans and with valid reasons. The country is like a hillside, where the roads are full of crests and dips. Driving through these roads in itself, is a challenging task. To them, racing is a part of their life. There are local races every weekend around Finland, where the participants are the usual family folks. From a 12 year old boy to a 75 year old person and everyone in between,...

A lot has happened in the past week; a lot of problems and sufferings were caused. There was this financial crisis in the international scene. Then, the terror attack in Mumbai at the national level. The cyclone and the flood in the state level. A lot has been said and done about these issues. We've probably had enough of it from the media and in our daily chats. Lets talk about a lighter issue. A relatively smaller, but none-the-less, an issue. I'm talking about electricity shortage..

Remember the old saying that we take things for granted when we have it in plenty! Well, we may not have had plenty, but we did have a good supply of electricity, but in the recent weeks, things have changed. Initially, they cut the power for an hour and a half daily. They did change the timings, but it was either from the moment I wake to the moment I leave for college or from the moment I return from college to evening. It really gets on my nerve to wake up to a dark, sweaty morning. By the way, that is how a morning is, without power - dark and sweaty.

If that wasn't bad enough, the Electricity Board got a great excuse recently. The cyclone, the rain, the flood and what not! Nothing could stop them now. They would cut the power whenever they want, as long as they want. They would cut the power in the middle of the night (2am to be exact) and we didn't have power till 2pm. A friend comes over to my place and we spend 15 minutes frantically trying to enter a room (in an online game client) and just when we enter, boom, the inevitable happens again.

That really made us wonder. Is there anything fun to do without electricity! I mean, surely there must be something that both of us would be interested in and would be fun to do. But I really couldn’t think of anything. We could go out and play some outdoor sport, but not in this rain. If its not the rain, it would be the sun/heat. Cards and board games, well, they are not really something we play at home these days. Sit and chat? Maybe, but we did...

Memento, the maestro's masterpiece.. You see, I'm a big fan of Nolan's 'The Dark Knight'. I strongly believe that he really revolutionized the superhero genre of Hollywood in 2008. The most notable of Nolan's creations before TDK is 'Memento'. The movie is about a guy who can't create new memories after an injury to his head. So, for the rest of his life, the last thing he remembers, is his wife, dying. Now, he is out to get revenge; searching for the person who did this to him. If he can't even remember what he was doing 15 minutes ago, how will he avenge his wife's death?

That looks like a good plot. But that alone is definitely not enough to make a great movie. Now, enters the screenplay. When a story is narrated like that, from the start to the finish, everything is crystal clear to you. How then, will you understand what he is going through? So, the movie plays in 2 different orders. Both are inter-cut alternatively. One, from the start to the finish, which is black and white. The other, starts from the end and plays back in color. As the character puts the pieces together, so must you. There are 2 other characters fighting for his trust. Whom to trust? And to top all this, there is a twist at the end. You might understand some of this if you had seen 'The Prestige' or 'Ghajini'. But nothing can prepare you for the roller-coaster ride this movie will take you for..

Top Gear is back. Ok, many of you might not know what Top Gear is, but trust me, you should. Its a programme about cars on BBC2. Actually, no, strike that off, its more of a programme about 3 unbelievably humorous guys doing the craziest stuffs with cars. They take you on a journey to heaven if you are a petrol-head or on a fun filled tour of automobiles if you aren't that interested in cars. Its supposed to be a programme reviewing cars, basically. But, that is only a very small portion of what they actually accomplish. They are a complete laugh riot to watch. And what makes them so special, is that, they...

Studying M.Sc. Electronic Media, I know quite a bit about the field of media. Creativity is something that is hard to even define. I think the secret is in finding time to be creative. When you are comfortable and inspired with time in your hands, creativity will come to you. But, when you are comfortable and you have time to kill, you'll obviously become lazy. At least, that is the case with me. Then, the key is in the inspiration. When you have a good inspiration, no amount of time is enough, you'll keep working & you'll keep improving. Inspiration can be anything. You can get inspired by money, friends, a role model, a great work, a challenge, fame or a simple dream. It doesn't matter what inspires you, as long as you are inspired enough to get the job done.

I'm talking about movie making because, I've started work on some game videos today & am hoping to finish a couple of DotA videos by Friday to highlight the matches in the last ImbaGamer DotACup. I did start working on a DotA video a long time ago, but scraped it because of various reasons. The most important reason was obviously lack of inspiration. I guess I felt as if I was doing something all alone and for no one. But this time, its different. Its my job. So, obviously money is the inspiration here, if not the desire to help improve the DotA community.

What I'm basically trying to achieve with these videos is, to inspire everyone to watch the best DotA games played in India. Not many people have the patience to sit through a 1 hour replay. But everybody is interested in watching the best teams in action. So, this will be the best of both worlds. You could say, its kinda similar to highlights of a cricket match. Of course, the commentary and the statistics form the basic structure of a cricket highlight, but I won't be doing that for the DotA video right now. I'll start off with the basics and will let my work inspire me further to create a proper highlight video. Will post the video by tomorrow, so, you DotA...

Friday was almost the last day of college for my class. After this, we'll never again sit together in a class room. So, we thought it was only obvious that we should get together & make it a day to remember for the rest of our lives. Before I continue, let me make this clear. My classmates aren't like the usual college bunch. I mean, we aren't that close, we were almost never united in anything. So, coming together & making it a memorable experience is rather a hard target to achieve. But still, we decided to invite all the boys to Mahabalipuram (50 kms. from Chennai). Out of the 28 boys, 19 of them made it.

Most of them spent the whole day in water. If it wasn't the beach water, it was the swimming pool; after the swimming pool, it was alcohol. We had a lot of fun in the first 2 sessions. Though I don't drink, the alcohol (third) session which started at 9pm in the night, was one of the best times I've had in my life. Basically, we sat down in a room and decided to talk. Not your everyday chit-chat, but about our 5 years in this college. We decided to talk frankly about eachother, about our feelings for one-another, about the positives and negatives of each person sparing no details. And until then, I had no idea that so many incidents have happened in my own class. My view completely changed after that discussion.

It lasted for nearly 6 hours. We kept talking till 3am. It was the time to forgive & forget. I mean, its not every day that you go announce to your classmates that 'I hate this guy the most in our class' and that too right in front of that person. We simply wanted to vent out our feelings so that we don't have any grudges or regrets left; we wanted to part as friends, nothing more, nothing less. Yes, a few did shy away & didn't let out the truth, but most of us did, and only those who did, will really understand how satisfying the feeling was, to simply say it & leave it at that. It was very inspirational how being truthful, is sometimes, such a...