The Knight, the Knight Riders & SRK

Globalization! That is a hell of a curse! We do not bother what our siblings are doing with their life, but we know all about a movie or sports icon; we do not bother to find out how our parents are earning to fend for us, but we discuss at length how much exactly the Stars are getting paid. Definitely a very strange time to live in Watson!

Sourav Ganguly – Prince of Calcutta, actually, he has been a very sensational personality, all throughout his cricketing career and beyond. And he is the one in the news. Recently, we ogled at the auction of players for the IPL 4. I somehow hate this concept… seems very cheap when world class players go under the hammer… underwear of eminent persons are also sold the same way… what an analogy! Anyway, coming back to the point of argument, the whole City of Joy is in an uproar presently because, none of the 10 franchises decided to “buy” Sourav… as if we would like the franchise owners telling us, what we should have for lunch… (Man! I wish one of them would! Then I can play the trump card, “I am a victim of the circumstances… These Rich people always scorn and interfere into the healthy life of us middle class citizens”!) My point here is, India is a Democratic Republic, and the Franchises belong to independent individuals, who have as much right as we do… They being Rich, and Public Figures, neither make them divine, nor give us right to make decisions for them!

Ganguly has been a tremendous cricketer and one of the best captains, in all forms of Sports. He was a guy, impartial, with instincts, and most of courage and confidence. He fought the Arrogant Aussies eyeball to eyeball, and returned the English sledging. There has never been a doubt about his class, and there never can be. But what we must accept is, every good thing must come to an end. The Franchise owners, they are all corporate officials… they know business way better than us… and somehow, Sourav doesn’t fit into their scheme. They know, it might be a risk putting their money behind an old horse and so, they thought better of it. Now, is it in our position to ask questions? It is their household, and hence their CHOICE!

Poor SRK… I really feel sorry for him! I can’t figure out why he is being portrayed as a villain by all. One eminent cricketer/selector has expressed his doubt (& I was shocked to read this) that perhaps, SRK hates Ganguly so much, that the humiliation of not being picked by any franchise, which was meted out to Sourav, was his handiwork! Libelous! There are several Cricketing reasons, for which, Ganguly was not a welcome choice to any of the teams.

I do not claim to be a great critic, or to have profound knowledge of the game. But what my simple understanding tells me is that Sourav himself is largely responsible for the insult he had to face. It is very necessary to be pragmatic in Life. Ganguly, who has been a brilliant reader of the game of Cricket should have seen this coming. He could have taken a path of honor like Anil Kumble did. It is important to know, where to stop… where one should draw the line…. The entry you get is often not of importance, but the exit you chose for yourself actually defines the manner in which you will be remembered.

To the people I say, “Get a Life Men!” This is one reason, I get annoyed with Indians in general, and Bangalis in particular. Being a Bangali myself, the manner in which such issues are magnified makes me feel sorry. I can guarantee one thing, in spite of not being a prophet. Today these people, some of them eminent and distinguished intellectuals, are blowing this whole matter into gigantic proportions. I firmly believe this is for cheap publicity as this sensitive issue provides them with a ladder to reach the public. I wonder why the political Dadas and Didis have already not joined the fray! If, Sourav would have been picked by any of the franchises, then, these people will run (naked?!) on the streets of Kolkata demanding that he be made the Captain! I have a potentially brilliant suggestion for all such fanatic supporters: None would deny that Ganguly is a rich person himself, and with his already flourishing restaurant and an upcoming school. So, being a small industrialist himself, may be tomorrow he (with financial backing from such die-hard supporters of his) buy an IPL team, and naming it Dadu’s (sic) XI!!! Well, Shane Warne has already proved his point by being the coach and captain of a team. This will be a novelty with Sourav Ganguly, as the Owner, Coach & Captain of his team! Rajnikanth issshtyle….

~ from the heart of a true Sourav fan & the brain of a realist

Warhammer 40,000: Soulstorm

Publisher: THQ

Developer: Iron Lore

Genre: Sci-Fi Real Time Strategy

Release Date: Mar 4, 2008

ESRB: Mature

System Requirements:

Processor: Pentium IV 2.0 GHz or equivalent

RAM: 512 MB

Graphic Card: 64 MB

Hard Disk Drive: 3.5GB free space

Soulstorm is the 3^rd and the final addition to the four year long running science fiction real-time-strategy franchise Warhammer 40,000. This series takes you in the post-apocalyptic era, where humans under the God-Emperor are claiming settlements in various stellar systems, across galaxies. There are several war hungry alien forces, of course, who pose a serious threat to this expansion program. There are others who fight to restore balance in the Universe. And there are those who are tainted by corruption and thus submit themselves to darkness. The popularity of this series leads to the fact that this is a strategy game packed with action. Soulstorm simply takes you to another dimension, where death is considered an honor! “Walk steadily and carry a big gun!” and such battle cries are sure to send a chill down your spine. The advanced technology, and weaponry is sure to please any game geek.

Soulstorm is a stand-alone expansion, following the 2006 Dark Crusade. This game, like its predecessors is action packed, but somehow gives a feeling of déjà vu. The non-linear campaign does lack a good story line, as it is based on a risk-style turn-based tactical map. However, it does give you a taste of intergalactic warfare as the battle ground spans the four planets and the three moons in the Kaurava System. The plot revolves around a warp storm that draws the interest of the game's nine factions to the Kaurava system, setting up a battle royal, which appears more like individual skirmishes. This makes the scenarios repetitive.

The races who fight for victory are the Imperial Guards, the regular human soldiers who serve the enigmatic Emperor; the Orks, savage war mongers; the Tau, who believe they are fighting for the Greater Good; the Space Marines, the empire’s elite soldiers and zealots, who fight for honor; the Chaos Marines, the dark forces who love bloodshed; the Necrons, the undead dwellers of the underworld; the Elders, arch-enemy of Necrons, trying to restore balance in the Galaxy; the Dark-Elders, demons who scavenge on souls; and the Sisters of Battle, a fanatically religious group who take it upon them to purge the world. The last two are the additions in Soulstorm. This add-on also experiences the addition of aerial units to the already fabulous armies.

The visual of this game, is again top notch. The gory battles and the persisting blood and body, gives a touch of reality. The best part of this game is it can run on basic configurations. Higher configurations however provide wonderful details. The terrain successfully gives a post-apocalyptic feeling.

The sound effects are also good. But somehow the same slogans make things boring.

Soulstorm is an epic in its own right, and a fitting end to the Warhammer 40,000 saga. So, garb your war-gear and go battle!

Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: Criterion Games

Genre: Racing

Release Date: Feb 5, 2009

ESRB: Everyone 10+

System Requirements:

Processor: 2.8 GHz or equivalent

RAM: 1GB

Graphic Card: 128 MB

Hard Disk Drive: 4GB free space

“Welcome to Paradise City!” This is how you are greeted when you enter this amazing world of driving! Burnout Paradise offers you open-world free form racing. And wait, that is just not it! You can perform various stunts, crash into almost anything, takedown vehicles and race against time. Perhaps the best part of this game is its variety, and you are your own boss while exploiting it.

The game has 70+ unlockable vehicles, of different modes: Speed, Stunt and Aggression. Spread across Paradise City are various points, which allow you to start a event of your will, be it Stunt Run where you crash bill boards and perform super jumps in air, Race where you beat other cars to the checkpoint or Burning Route where you need to race against time at Burnout speed, there is excitement at every corner, literally! Other available missions are Road Rage where you have to smash up other cars to win, and the Marked Man, where you are the target, and need to reach the checkpoint before you are totaled by your nagging pursuers. Some challenges involve nothing more than reaching seemingly inaccessible areas. The Showtime mode allows you to crash on vehicles at will, and cause damage. Then there is offline racing where you beat the best time of another player, across almost every highway. Occasionally you find some crazy driver roving Paradise City with a new car. But there cannot be two Kings in a city. Just shut the vehicle down, and add it to your collection.

You'll spend the majority of your time in Paradise City on four wheels, but there's an option to use just two. Paradise Bikes are just as amazing being blisteringly fast. And they hardly take a damage as you race on, or rather, crash on!

The multiplayer mode of this game is equally versatile. The Burnout Paradise Party, an offline pass-the-controller mode should provide chill out fun while hanging in with friends. Going online too is just a few clicks away, and you can pop into any race, anytime.

Visually, this game is a sumptuous feast. Running at its highest resolution, Paradise City has never looked crisper or more vibrant. Every wreck, every smash is superbly detailed and realistic as the cars deform just as you would want them to. The weather effect, and the night time Paradise City provides any gamers delight!

The audio effects are top-notch; the screech of brakes, the horn of the car and other such ambient noises make the game more realistic. Unfortunately, DJ Atomica continues to irritate as you try to drive and relax.

Undoubtedly, this 2009 release is one of the best PC Racing games available till date. So what are you all game freaks waiting for? Grab your copy, and Game On! There are yet more features, which you will discover first hand!