Review Of Ghajini - The Game

By Roy Daniel D'Silva, January 3, 2009 - 10:45 IST

Watch Ghajini - The Game promo

Finally the buzz around the release of the latest Aamir Khan starrer Ghajini has just toned down. The film makers were all set to take Indian film making to the next level with a supporting full fledged 3D computer game based on the movie. This brings us to the game that is touted to be the first Indian Action 3D game - which it is not, the first 3D full fledged game made by an Indian Gaming Studio was Bhagat Singh.

The Mission/Storyline
Who is "GHAJINI"? For one man who has nothing left in his life, it is the end of a long road. Sanjay's last memory is the brutal murder of his girlfriend Kalpana and her last whispered word - "Ghajini". Will he find what he is looking for and avenge her murder? Experience the story through the unique perspective of a man who forgets but does not forgive. Experience his panic and paranoia as he comes to grips with his condition and tries to make sense of a world that is rapidly fading. Help him piece together the fragments of his life by sneaking into heavily guarded buildings searching for a reason to go on. Join him as he fights against those who have taken away his past, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. Find out what lies at the end of that road.

Character(s)
Sanjay is the protagonist of the game. His girlfriend Kalpana has been murdered by someone powerful who is trying to bury the truth. After an injury to the head, he developed a form of short term memory loss where he can't form any new memories. His last memory is the word "Ghajini" from his dying girlfriend's lips. Now his mission is to find out what that word means.

Artwork
The artwork is dark and crisp, totally relevant to the concept of the movie. The artwork will remind players of the artwork found in comic books by Indrajal, like Bahadur, of course, we would have to be in the age range of 25-30 to have this connect.

User Interface/Controls
The user interface is pretty bland and commonplace, with players provided with just the health bar and the inventory bar. What this game seriously lacks is a map, especially in the beginning levels, where the main protagonist has to move stealthily from corner to corner.

Gameplay
The gameplay is quite engaging and engrossing, but because of the insane difficulty that is Ghajini - The Game, it does leave a bitter taste in the mouth at the end of it. The game designers should understand that there is a very low pixel count between engrossing and frustrating and this game diddle daddles around that count.

Check out the screenshots of the game

What Does the Game Lack, anyway?
The game lacks ingame options like Save and Quick Save, which does not make any sense in 2008, we all have good enough virtual memory to run ten softwares together, forget saving games whenever we want.

Also, the game sleeve is quite harsh about the minimum requirements and system requirements, but the end product seems like its just dusting the resources of your NVIDIA 7 or 8 series. We did not get the NVIDIA 8 series to see a low polygon bush without bump mapping or a torchlight that looks like a bouquet of flowers - sorry, but its just not done.

The events and puzzles in the game will again remind players of several games that they have been playing, so simply put, there is no WOW factor in the gameplay for this one.

Characterisation
To be very frank, it may seem that the Team A was sent to 'tackle' the characters and Team B was sent to 'take care' of the scenario and other backgrounds. Everyone, from the main protagonist to the cops is well made and is detailed out. If you find yourself saying 'bribe the cop and get out', you know that the character artists have won the day!

Sound
Make no mistake about it, Aamir Khan has give it all to his (first?) voice over assignment, but we have heard better, and that's his problem. Aamir Khan tries and succeeds in inducing the pathos of a 'wronged person', but its Mother Nature that plots against him when it comes to his voice in the game. Our ears are more trained to hear the baritonish voice of Hugh Jackman, or the gruff voice of Bruce Willis, or the cent percent baritone of Amitabh Bachchan as that of the 'wronged one' and the 'against the system' guy.

Excluding that, the game is almost stunning in terms of sound. All voice-overs are perfectly done. The background music is another highpoint of the game. However, with such a great music score, we'd like the background music to be more prominent in the game.

Download Ghajini - The Game wallpapers

Fun Factor
Would you have fun playing this game? Frankly speaking, the game is very tough. Of course, if you have liked the movie and you treat the game as just a add-on to the movie

Overall
Yes, we will find ourselves saying that we should not compare Ghajini with the other games, but it is time for Indian Gaming Studios to wake up and smell the coffee. We came in the race very late, but that does not mean that they can get away with such unpardonable acts like Ghajini - the Game.

Minimum System Requirements
Windows* XP SP2 with admin rights*
Intel* Pentium* 4 2.4 GHz+ or equivalent 1 GB RAM
Intel* G965**, NVIDIA Geforce* 6600 or ATI Radeon* X800 With 256 MB Video Memory
1 GB Free Hard Drive Space
OpenAL / DirectX* 9.0c compliant Audio
* Compatible with Windows Vista
** Compatible with Intel Integrated Graphics Chipset G965 and above (may require additional RAM for Shared Video Memory)


Price: Rs. 199

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Major Dinosaur Site Founded By China

The new discoveries include a large hadrosaur, or "duck-billed" dinosaur

Scientists in China say they believe a group of dinosaur fossils discovered in the east of the country could be the largest collection ever found.

The researchers, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, say they have unearthed 7600 dinosaur bones since March in Shandong province.

Most of the bones date back to the late Cretaceous period which is around the time when dinosaurs became extinct.

The scientists hope the find will help to explain why the creatures died out.

"Dinosaur City"

Zhucheng in Shandong province is known locally as "dinosaur city" and has been the scene of several important finds since the 1960s.

However, the researchers say a new fossil field discovered during mining explorations earlier this year appears to be even more important.

About 3000 dinosaur bones have been dug up from a single pit just a few hundred metres long and thousands of others have been unearthed at a number of sites nearby.

Professor Zhao Xijin, the palaeontologist in charge of the excavations, told Chinese state media: "This group of fossilised dinosaurs is currently the largest ever discovered in the world... in terms of area."

The full details of the findings have not yet been published. But they are reported to include tyrannosaurus and ankylosaurus bones, as well as what could be the largest duck-billed dinosaur ever excavated.

Extinction clues

Mr Zhao said the uncovering of so many remains in such a small area is significant.

Zhao Xijin is renowned for fossil finds, such as this parrot-beaked dinosaur

"The discoveries are expected to contribute to research on the mystery of dinosaur extinction", he said.

Detailed information on the fossil find is not expected to be published in scientific journals until later in 2009.

However, a leading palaeontologist, Dr Paul Barrett, of London's Natural History Museum, told BBC News that the claim this find is the "world's largest" is likely to be credible.

Excavations are currently suspended for the winter but will resume when the weather gets warmer. The scientists say they're expecting to find even more dinosaur remains.

The local authorities in Shandong are making plans to set up a fossil park in the area.

Bug affected Microsoft Zune

The problem appears restricted to first-generation 30GB Zune players

Faulty software has crippled 30GB first generation versions of the Microsoft Zune digital media player, affecting thousands of customers worldwide.

The company said it was aware of the problem, and offered advice to Zune users on how to solve it.

Customers have reported that their devices refuse to boot up, and freeze when the start-screen appears.

The Zune was launched in 2006 as Microsoft's contender to Apple's highly successful iPod player.

Uncertainty

Discussing the cause on some user forums, some owners have said they believe the problems are due it being the first time the Zune will have updated its calendars following a Leap year.

On the Zune Insider website, Microsoft said it had been aware of the problem since early in the morning of December 31.

It said its technical team "jumped on the problem immediately and isolated the issue" - a fault in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year.

Said Microsoft: "The issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009.

"We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT).

"By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on."

When Microsoft launched the Zune in 2006 the company hoped it could become a serious rival to the iPod player.

But sales of the Zune so far have been a fraction compared to Apple's best-seller.

The problem appears restricted to 30GB first generation Zune players. Later 80GB and 120GB models appear to be unaffected.

Sixth Day of Gaza Voilence

Israel says it is fighting Hamas, not the people of Gaza

Violence has continued in the Gaza Strip for a sixth day, after calls for a UN-backed ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants foundered.

A series of Israeli air strikes hit the parliament building and the justice ministry. There are reports of damage to a children's hospital.

Rockets fired by Hamas militants have again landed in Beersheba, some 40km (24 miles) inside Israel.

Israel on Wednesday rejected calls for a 48-hour truce to allow aid into Gaza.

A draft UN resolution put forward by Egypt and Libya failed after the US and UK complained that it called on Israel to ends its air assaults but made no mention of Hamas rocket attacks against Israel, which they say started the latest hostilities.

Since the Israeli air offensive began on Saturday, jets and attack helicopters have targeted Hamas security compounds, government buildings, smuggling tunnels under the border with Egypt and homes belonging to militant leaders.

Palestinian officials say 391 Palestinians have died in the Israeli air strikes; four Israelis have been killed by rockets fired from Gaza, which is under Hamas control.

Aid distribution

Palestinians sources say Gaza's Justice Ministry, Legislative Assembly and Education ministry were hit.

A workshop and several money changers' officers were also hit, one of which was close to a children's hospital.

Israel said it targeted at least five smuggling tunnels along the border with Egypt, a weapons manufacturing and storage facility in central Gaza, and a Hamas police command centre in Rafah.

The UN's relief agency, Unwra, says Gaza is facing a dire humanitarian situation and is on the brink of catastrophe.

It has resumed the distribution of food and medical supplies in Gaza.

The agency's Commissioner-General, Karen AbuZayd, said 20,000 people a day had been without food aid for two weeks.

"People are doing pretty badly," she told the BBC.

"We do see for the very first time people going through the rubbish dumps looking for things, people begging, which is quite a new phenomenon."

However, Capt Benjamin Rutland of the Israeli Defence Force told the BBC that enough food and medical supplies were getting through.

Despite the failure of the initial UN talks, diplomatic efforts continue to bring an end to the fighting.

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has said he would visit the region on Monday, although he is not scheduled to travel to Gaza.

Israel and Hamas say they may consider a ceasefire in the future, but their terms are very different.

Israel wants a permanent end to Hamas rocket attacks, while Hamas wants the Israeli air strikes to stop and the blockade on Gaza to be lifted.

Opinion polls in Israel indicate strong public backing for the air campaign, but support for risky action on the ground is much lower.

However, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has spoken of "widening and deepening the operation".

The Haaretz newspaper reported on Thursday that the Israeli army had recommended a major but short-term ground offensive.

Israel has massed forces along the boundary with Gaza and has declared the area around it a "closed military zone", leading to speculation a ground offensive into the tiny coastal strip could be imminent.

International reporters have been barred from entering Gaza, however Israel's Supreme Court told the government to allow at least some foreign journalists to enter.

The government was given until Thursday morning to respond.