IVG’s very own Sameer Desai has been whisked away to Games Convention Asia, one of the biggest gaming expos in the continent. He writes back with daily updates on the going-ons at the event.

Today was the first day of Games Convention Asia in Singapore. We flew in at about 8 am and we had to make it to the convention centre by noon. By the way, the convention centre is right in the middle of the Marina Bay F1 circuit. The stands are already up and so are the barricades and lights; its gonna be awesome. But back to GCA.

We got to the convention centre at about 11:30 for EA’s press conference. While there many announcements made, none of them affect us in India. Rock Band was finally announced for Asia, bit no confirmation of India. Same goes for PC titles FIFA Online 2 and NBA Street Online, which have been developed in Korea and will be available in several countries in Asia, but not India, at least for now. Other than that, there were the customary presentations for FIFA 09, Need For Speed: Undercover, and Sim Animals.

Following the hour-long, uneventful EA conference, we headed to the show floor after a quick lunch. I got to play a few games, and there are still so many still to play. Here’s the games I did play and my brief impressions:

Mirror’s Edge: Awesome! Difficult, but awesome! However, only the first level was there on the floor.
FIFA 09: Not much different from the demo, but more the something good never hurts.
Need For Speed: Undercover: The feel is a lot like Most Wanted. It’s definitely an improvement over ProStreet, but too many framerate, pop-in and freezing issues. It’s still an early build though.
Saints Row 2: Only the first jailbreak mission of the game was there on demo. I loved it; hand-to-hand combat is awesome and it’s pretty crisp visually too.

That’s all I can think of for now after a tiring day. Will try and post more after day two.

Ever wanted to show off your elite gaming skills and win some cool swag in the process? Well here’s your chance. Microsoft-India and The History Channel present “The Human Weapon Gaming Nights”.

To be held on Friday, September 19, 2008 at The Living Room, Residency Cross Road, Bangalore from 4 PM onwards, the event lets you compete against others in games like dead or alive, halo 3, gears of war etc. You can also win some cool prizes including the grand prize an Xbox 360 console. So register here and Enjoy!.

press release

Bengaluru, September 15, 2008 – Here is your chance to challenge your colleagues, beat your friends or kill your enemies to become a true-blue ‘Human Weapon’. The History Channel is organizing Human Weapon Gaming Nights, for all gaming enthusiasts in the city to promote its biggest property this season, ‘Human Weapon’. The series, which takes viewers on a scintillating journey through the varied world of martial arts, airs every week on Wednesday and Thursday nights at 10 PM.

Human Weapon Gaming Night is being organized in association with Microsoft Xbox 360 on Friday, September 19, 2008 at The Living Room, Residency Cross Road from 4 PM onwards. Participants need to log onto www.historychannelindia.com/humanweapon/contest to register for the gaming night. Thrilling games such as Halo 3, Gears of war, Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden 2 promise to be the star attraction of the evening as they provide a direct connect to the series’ overriding theme. The winner of the championship will take home a dream prize – an Xbox 360 along with other goodies.

“A great blend of information and entertainment, Human Weapon is our biggest ace this season. Our partnership with like-minded partners such as Microsoft for this initiative allows us to fully and effectively engage with our target audience”, said Rajesh Sheshadri, Senior Vice President, Content & Communications, The History Channel.

“Xbox 360 is extremely happy to be partnering with The History channel for the Human weapons gamer night. As two young and dynamic brands providing unparalleled entertainment; it is but a natural coming together for us to provide the best of gaming and entertainment experiences to our audiences. This unique event is also a great platform to showcase some of the exciting new stuff Xbox 360 has planned for the upcoming festival season. The exciting Gears of War 2 arrives in November alongside other hits like Fallout 3 and Fable 2 as well as the exciting new Xbox Live experience”, said Ashim Dass Mathur, National Marketing Manager, Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division.

The next pit stop for this two-city gaming tournament is New Delhi, where the activity will take place on September 26 at Café Morrison. So here is your chance to pit yourself against other gamers and show off your gaming skills to win exciting prizes.

The PlayStation 3’s Platinum Games line-up just keeps getting better. After the likes of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, MotorStorm and Resistance: Fall of Man, you can now race around Paradise City for less with Burnout Paradise joining the ranks.

When PS3 Platinum Games were first announced last month, Burnout Paradise strangely made it on to advertising posters, banners etc, but it never really showed up in stores. But it’s here now and should be in stores across India by the end of September at a discounted price of Rs 1,499.

Interestingly, Burnout Paradise is still not a Platinum title in the UK, which is strange because in such cases, India usually mirrors SCEE practices. Not that we’re complaining; we now have two decent racing games on the PS3’s Platinum line-up (and no, the other one is not NFS ProStreet).

Check out our Platinum Titles forum thread for a list of other PS3 Platinum titles.

It’s been way too long since our last IVG Offer. So now that the calm has passed, its time for the storm. IVG Offer season begins with FIFA 09, but unfortunately, the offer is only for the PlayStation 3 version, since EA’s Xbox 360 distributors aren’t very co-operative when it comes to discounts.

Before I proceed with the offer, a brief introduction. IVG Offers are, to put it simply, bulk orders that IVG places on behalf of its members. Since we order in bulk, the people we order from (distributors or retailers) give us discounts, which we pass on to members. Members pre-order the game on our forums and we take payment a few days before the game’s release. The games usually reach us a day before or the same day they hit retail in Mumbai, and we courier them out ourselves via DTDC. In the past, we have had successful IVG Offers on Heavenly Sword, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Burnout Paradise, Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, God of War: Chains of Olympus, and Grand Theft Auto 4, and a not-so-successful offer on Metal Gear Solid 4 (but that wasn’t our fault).

IVG Offers are back! Even Francky can barely contain himself

Hit the jump dor the the FIFA 09 offer details

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By now the saga of Too Human is the stuff of legends. Ten years in the making, and originally destined for the PS One, the game finally found its home on the Xbox 360. Let’s just say that the first installment in the trilogy probably should have been released during the PS One era to have gotten our full appreciation. As it stands today, its fun but it’s a bit of a mess.

Too Human’s story is a unique take on Norse mythology. The usual staple of Norse gods are present - Odin, Thor, Loki, etc., but gods in Too Human are essentially cybernetically-enhanced humans; in other words, a geek’s wet dream. The gods in Too Human are known as the Aesir (from Wikipedia : In Old Norse, æsir, is the term denoting the principal gods of the pantheon of Norse paganism. They include many of the major figures, such as Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. They are one of the two groups of gods, the other being the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two are described as having waged war against one another in the Æsir-Vanir War‎, resulting in the unification of the two into a single tribe of gods). The Aesir are all part of the Aesir Corporation that looks after MidGard (Gasp!! a well known reference here) - the capital city of the human race.

You play Baldur (not the most obvious choice of gods for an action hero since Baldur is the Norse God of light and beauty), one of the Aesir who has suffered a personal tragedy. You are tasked with tacking the increasing menace posed by a race of machines, which is attacking humans and sucking the blood and organs out of them.

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Another year-end brings another chapter in the long-running Need For Speed series – the first name in racing games (whether you like it or not). And regardless of how previous instalments were received by critics and gamers, each new game brings renewed optimism. Is this the year that EA brings Need For Speed back to the front of the crowded pack of arcade racers?

Things are certainly shaping up well over at Black Box. Need For Speed: Undercover looks to bring back the intense car chases that made Most Wanted a fan favourite, and tying these frantic high-speed highway pursuits together is a gripping story featuring live action cutscenes with big-budget production values and an accomplished cast led by Maggie Q.

We’re going to have the opportunity to sit down with John Doyle, who is a producer on the Need For Speed series, and put across some questions from the IndianVideoGamer Community regarding the upcoming Need For Speed: Undercover. So if there’s anything you’d like to know about the game – the gameplay, the story, the setting, the soundtrack, or anything else that’s on our mind, head over to our forums and post your questions for John. We will try our best to get all of your questions answered.

To post your questions for John Doyle, click here.

As the Nintendo Wii begins to quietly make its way into stores across India with ninja-like stealth in readiness for its September 30 launch date along with the DS Lite, we caught up with Mahesh Toshniwal of Samurai Games India Pvt Ltd, official distributors of the Wii and DS in India, to confirm to us the news that surfaced recently and to give us answers to some questions that many of you may have had on your minds.

Firstly, can you tell us a bit about Samurai India; its history and current operations?
Samurai introduced 8-bit Nintendo video games in India in 1987 and was instrumental in bringing Nintendo Home Video Games to India. Samurai is an authorised reseller of Active Boeki K. K. of Kobe, Japan, who is the distributor for Nintendo in South-East Asia, the Middle East and India. Incidentally, Active Boeki’s chief is an Indian from Ajmer - Mr Suresh K. Lal.

What is the release date for the Wii and DS in India?
Release date for Wii and DS Lite is 30th September, 2008.

How much will the Wii and DS be priced at?
The MRP for the Wii is Rs 19,990 and the DS Lite is priced at Rs 7,990 inclusive of all taxes.

Will the Wii come bundled with Wii Sports?
Yes, the Wii will come bundled with Wii Sports and with an original 220 Volts Nintendo AC adapter.

Will you also bring Wii and DS first-party titles to India and what will be the price range for Wii and DS games?
Yes, we will bring first-party as well as licensee software to India and prices will depend on the individual titles.

What is the role of HCL in bringing the Wii and DS to India?
We have tied up with HCL to sell the Wii and DS through 20 stores across Mumbai and Delhi. Based on the success of the operation, these arrangements may change over time.

Will the Wii in India be PAL or NTSC-U/C?
The Wii will be NTSC.

Besides Nintendo, which publishers’ games will you distribute?
We have already tied up with a few publishers and negotiations with others are underway.*

Hit the jump for the rest of the interview

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After a massively successful season last year, the FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC), a tie-up between FIFA and Sony PlayStation, revolving around EA Sports’ popular FIFA franchise, is back for its fifth season, allowing FIFA 09 players from around the world to participate in this unique event via events around the world and online through their PlayStation 3 consoles.

This year’s FIWC kicks off with the European launch of FIFA 09 on October 3, and like last year, there will be an FIWC event in India, where you can test your skills against the best in the country in a bid to become one of the 32 finalists, who will head to the FIFA World Player Gala event to fight it out against the best in the world. The qualifiers kick off in New Zealand on October 25, and we’ll let you know when we have the confirmed dates and venues for India. Qualifying events will take place in 19 physical FIWC 09 Qualifier Events all over the world including Australia, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Italy, South Africa and the US.

And if you can’t make it to the qualifying events, worry not. You can also participate in the FIWC qualifiers from your living room, over the PlayStation Network on your PlayStation 3. The overall winner for this year’s event walks away with a cool USD 20,000 cash prize and an all new KIA ‘Soul’ to go with it. The runner up will take home USD 5,000, while the third-place finisher will be awarded USD 1,000.

Click here for more information on the FIFA Interactive World Cup, and if you think you’ve got what it takes, head over to PSN and download the FIFA 09 demo to get a head start on the competition.

Hit the jump for the full press release

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Konami today announced that it had secured a four-year licensing contract to the UEFA Champions League, and with it came a game trailer to celebrate the signing, indicating that the Champions League would be included in Konami’s upcoming Pro Evolution Soccer 2009.

For those who don’t know, the UEFA Champions League is Europe’s premier club football competition. Top clubs from around the continent compete in this annual tournament to be crowned European club champion. EA Sports had the license to the Champions League from the 2004-2005 season, up until last year, and Eidos and Take-Two had it before them.

The rumours of Konami securing the license had been doing the rounds for a couple of months and all that while there was a fear in the back of my mind that Konami would do the unthinkable – release Champions League as a separate game, just like EA Sports did. Today’s announcement, stating that the Champions League would be integrated into Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, has allayed those fears, but it makes one think – why didn’t EA do that when they had the license? Why didn’t they put the Champions League in their annual flagship FIFA titles, rather than milking it the way they did and forcing people to buy something that, frankly, didn’t offer anything new at all?

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It came as a surprise to many when Sony announced at this years E3 conference that a new Ratchet and Clank (R&C) game was coming to the PlayStation 3 and that it would be available via the PSN store. It was later revealed that the game an episodic title, set somewhere between the events of the 2007’s Tools of Destruction (ToD) and 2009’s upcoming Ratchet game, which is revealed in the end credits. While it may not live up to the high standards of the earlier games in the series, Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty is a fine game that should not be missed by any of the series’ fans.

Quest for Booty picks up right after the events of ToD, with clank missing, abducted by the mysterious Zoni. Ratchet’s quest begins with him trying to find a mysterious pirate known as Darkwater, who is the only one who can lead him to the Zoni. The game begins with Ratchet and his female companion Talwyn invading some pirate ships, where he soon finds the secret about Captain Darkwater and his treasure. The story retains the usual humorous charm of the previous games, mainly due to some excellent writing and dialogue. Also, the game is set up in a way that players who haven’t played Tools of Destruction can get right into it without feeling lost.

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