Victor
& the vanquished
Set
out on a mission to rescue the US
space station from the Russian Federation
in this thrilling game
GAMING
Vanquish is a Sci-Fi third person shooter,
set in the distant future. Developed
by PlatinumGames and published
by Sega, the game is one of the
better 3D shooters around. The
action is continuous and the screen
is filled with explosions and
bullets as bots gun down each
other and hover over the devastated
landscape. In
the distant future, the human
population has overgrown earth
and its resources. Nations fight
to get hold of the resources.
The US government has launched
a space station called the O’Neill
Cylinder that converts solar energy
and beams it down to earth.
The Russian star forces headed
by Victor Zaitsev have seized
the space station and want US
to surrender unconditionally to
them.
The US President puts together
a crack special forces team headed
by Lieutenant-Colonel Burns. The
team is made of veteran marines
and space farers and also Sam
Gideon, a researcher with DARPA.
You play as Sam with the suit
and go out on the rescue mission.
The suit has Augmented Reality
mode - AR Mode and this allows
you to slow down time and blast
away enemies even as you dodge
their weapons. The suit also has
the slider mechanism that allows
you to slide at high speed.
The
game pace is very fast and the
number of enemies innumerable.
The enemy bots keep piling in
large numbers and the boss fights
are never ending. Be prepared
to die a number of times since
the AI is good.
I
rate this game at 9 on a 1 to
10 scale for game play, action
and storyline. The game will cost
about
`1,000
and is certainly worth the buy.
- Shashi Kadapa
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DVD
Bowling
for Columbine
`
349
Director: Michael Moore
Starring: Michael Moore Shemaroo
Bowling
for Columbine succeeds equally
well as a provocative essay on
gun violence in America and an
opportunity for the writer/director
to engage in some heavy self-promotion.
The point of the film is to determine
why gun violence especially that
of children on children is rampant
in US of A. Viewers should be
aware that the director has a
history of ‘faking’
scenes. So, unlike a traditional
documentary, not everything can
be believed. Regardless, Bowling
for Columbine is powerful, thought-provoking,
and, upon occasion, bitingly funny.
Moore’s easygoing tone never
makes the viewer feel threatened
- just as his rumpled personal
appearance puts his victims and
adversaries at ease. The movie
offers something for everyone.
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MUSIC
When the
Sun Goes Down
`
295
Singer: Selena Gomez Universal
Music India
On
her third album with her group,
the Scene, Selena Gomez takes
on themes related to going out
and the night-time, but maintains
a light touch. It is all wrapped
up in smart pop melodies, electropop
flourishes, and winning emotional
engagement. This is her best vocal
album yet. Obvious when you listen
to the songs here co-written by
Britney Spears and Katy Perry.
Whiplash, with its edgy electro
bounce sounds like a Britney track,
but there is significantly more
resonance to the voice of Selena.
That’s More Like It includes
the trademark sliding into high
register of a Katy Perry song,
and Selena handles the vocal difficulty
with admirable skill. Top tracks
include Love You Like a Love Song,
Hit the Lights, That’s More
Like It.
-
Reviews by Ravish Khapra
