CS:GO has the potential for becoming better and more popular than its previous versions. There are new weapons, game modes and equipment.

If you play online CS, you would have come across GunGame, which is not possible in offline mode. But CS:GO has included in its mode known as Arsenal mode. GunGame is a mode where every player starts of with the least powerful gun (Glock), a kill will earn you new and better weapons. You return your weapon even on dying and coming back (respawning). But if you get knifed by your opponent, you lose you weapon and have to start from the beginning! Now, that’s FUBAR.

There are 8 new weapons in CS:GO out of which the molotov cocktail, decoy grenades have been added to the equipment menu. A new shotgun and machine gun have also been added. As in the previous versions, it’s not possible to buy defusal kits, it is randomly given to two CTs. As for the gameplay, not much can be said. I found the molotov cocktail to be more an eye-catcher. Molotov Cocktail is a bottle full of flammable liquid when thrown shatters and spreads the liquid and a lit rag create flames. There’s no counter-equipment and it imparts heavy damage even after leaving the fired area.

The graphics is in no way similar to CS 1.6, its more like CSS. Though it sounds exciting, but can it really be as exciting as CS 1.6 which was partly loved because of its non-realistic graphics. The simplicity of the environment was a major factor. Will it be accepted unlike CSS? CS:GO will surely “Go go go” but will it be up or down??

You may think it’s a just another shooting game. But that’s where most people are wrong. CS is not just about shooting at all. It needs a lot more skills like strategy, reflexes, instinct, and always keeps you on your toes. It’s more of a phenomenon which has changed LAN gaming. The importance of cooperation and timing is more crucial than anything in CS. It’s more commonly known as “team work”. At the end of the day, it is a shooting game and getting “headshots” does count. But there’s always the “luck” factor in the mix. If I go into the details, I can keep going on till the end of time, so it’s better if you experience it first-hand.
The game is too addictive though. Even those aren’t into gaming can fall a prey for it. In spite of its low end graphics, the game has never been shunned aside by the younger generation who crave for “life like” games. This has to be because of the gameplay where you never get bored even though you play the same map over and over again. If you play on your own, you may not find it to be much fun but on the other hand, if you sit down to play with a group of friends, time just flies! You’ll be surprised at how quickly time can pass.:D And never be surprised if you pull an all-nighter (accidentally) while playing CS…because it’s pretty natural to get so caught up in the game and not notice the time until it’s too late.

Then again, CS also has a commercial side to it. Few people take up CS as their profession! Maybe that’s a career option. There are international tournaments for CS where its clan based and also nation based. The cash prizes are pretty high! Strategy videos for each map are put up in YouTube and there are also dedicated websites, guides for special types of weapons (like AWP etc.). A guy whose CS name is “fRoD” has also released a whole book with a gameplay tutorial CD!! Sick huh?! He is one of the best at present from clan EG (Evil Geniuses). But arguably the best team is Na`Vi with their spearhead “Markeloff”.
If you ask me, playing CS is the best stress buster. The satisfaction you get when you win is incomparable. You feel like you have achieved something big in life (though it’s almost nothing )! It can bring you back from the dead. Well, as a matter of fact, anything which keeps you occupied works. But anyways, CS FTW!!!! \m/ For all the guys out there, if you haven’t tried it yet, you really should!

the three robots (eye, hand and foot)

hand-bot – main purpose to retrieve objects. can climb but needs a foot bot to move around.
foot-bot – has wheels. has a gripper to hold on to a hand-bot or another foot-bot.
eye-bot – it scans the whole area to spot the target and also analyses the environment. It can also fly and stick to the ceiling!

Swarmanoid caught the eye when it won the AAAI 2011 Video Competition. In that video, the Swarmanoid is deployed to find and retrieve a book from a shelf. if you get the time, have a look at it because describing the video won’t be any fun and it’ll probably take out the fun of watching the video.

hand bot picking the book

In the video they said it can be used in unstructured environments and also replace human workers in hazardous environments. But Swarmanoids are also robots. They’ve already been robotic arms and limbs in factories and hazardous areas like nuclear reactors. So i thought, “What is the difference?” Just think about it. Ok, its small, agile and quick in the search part, but the foot-bots were really slow and all, but that can be modified. Looking at it from a different angle, it is like a lot of pieces falling into place to do a task. That’s surely new.  It is fully automated and each type of robot can communicate with each other using different colours and also infrared radiation (similar to humans).

No robots have been fire-fighters till now. These robots could be stationed in buildings and as and when a fire accident comes up, they can be a part of the search team for sure but can the hand-bot lift humans… have to work on that aspect too.

Overall, an innovative concept for the near future.

iCloud, the new service which launches along with iOS 5 this fall. What’s all this hype about anyways? Apple always tends to be a step ahead of everyone in its own way, that also includes Price too

iCloud was recently unveiled on June 6^th 2011 at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). It’s like the improvised version of MobileMe, and iTools.

iCloud is a “cloud computing” service where you can store your data for free! If you think that’s not something new, I’d agree. But I forgot to mention something else… something important. With I iCloud, you don’t have to manage your i devices! Everything happens “automatically”. Very similar to Apple’s MobileMe, but the only difference is that it’s free (Conditions Apply ). You still have to purchase music from the AppStore. The free space (about 5GB) is for mails, photos, settings etc… (so much for being free).

iCloud is more like Sky Drive, where you can store your data, but with iCloud you can also access it from any of your Apple devices (iPod, iPad, iPhone, etc). It is something new where iCloud seems like something hovering in mid-sky, like a flying hard drive. And you can catch it with any your device anytime. You can a lot with iCloud. Like, you can take a picture on your iPhone, and if you’re connected through iCloud, it’ll be shared with all your I’s. You buy from one device iCloud brings it to all your devices.

iCloud is heart and soul of iOS 5. The new iPhone, iPod touch, iPads are also based on this. Apple keeps talking about it as if it’s the best way to manage… but what is the use of having all the data in every device? Just a waste of storage. Also, the speed hasn’t been stressed upon, which obviously depends on your Wi-Fi or internet connection. So, “instant access” – whatever.

Apple always comes up with something new to dazzle us. May not be much of a hit here in India, but could well prove to smash the US markets.

The much awaited FIFA 12 is hitting the markets later this year. To be precise, end of fall. The upcoming version of FIFA (12) promises PC gamers equal experience as the console version (fingers crossed ). And the game developers have proclaimed that this version is a revolution!! Well, lets have a peek into the (so called) improvements…

Features

1. Player Impact Engine – the all-new real time physics engine. It should add fluidity to the game. Basically it defines collisions more precisely. Players roll over or fly face-forward as crunching tackles are made on them. Also, when a player dribbles past another and the defender just sticks out a leg. To make it more realistic the dribbler just avoids it by jumping over. Injuries are more realistic and true. With the Player Impact Engine, it can determine if the player is hurt, injured and how long he’ll be out. Does that mean injuries weren’t real in the previous versions?? o.O

2. Pro Player Intelligence – This provides a level of AI to the players themselves. They are aware of their strengths, their team’s strength. so if there’s a Crouch (aerial threat) in the box, balls will be often crossed. On the other hand, a Villa (classical finisher) will lead to a play more like Barca’s where they pass around till they find the right time and space for the “killer pass”. So the CPU players are supposed to act a little more realistic. Also, each player has his own style of play.

3. Precision Dribbling – Its more of close control dribbling. Players like Messi can take deft touches and skip past challenges more easily. I find not much difference when they talk about it. Maybe the gameplay can give us more insight.

4. Tactical Defending – the defending system has been worked upon, so they say. its more reliant on timing rather just getting lucky with being at the right place at the right time. The physicality has been retained. So there’s still jostling where it becomes easier for players like Drogba to run with the ball. “Putting your body on the line” to block is supposedly a new feature, but i swear i’ve seen that a few times in FIFA 11.

5. EA Sports Football Club – something really new. You get to choose your favourite football club and your success fetches points for your club. It depends on how frequently you play and also your results. Its not necessary for you to pick the club you support. For example, if you’re a Sunderland fan, you can pick Arsenal or Liverpool in your career mode. Your performance is reflected on the performance of the team you support. So they sort of progress and come up in your career mode similar to your performance. There are also Challenges and Story-lines to boost your XP points.

6. New Commentators – the well known “sexist comments” by Andy Gray had him kicked off the Sky Sports commentary team as well as the FIFA team. He has been replaces by ex-English striker Alan Smith. Personally speaking, I’d prefer Andy Gray any day. And to top it, people have started a group in FB – “Remove Alan Smith from Sky Sports” or something like that.

I had my own expectations on FIFA 12. Something i would have liked to see in FIFA 12:
- Starting from scratch in manager mode. Similar to FIFA 05. You start off at lower clubs, build up your rep and then get to go to higher clubs or bring up the club you started off with. I also looked forward to a key or key combi for diving.. but FIFA support “Fairplay”. *sad*
- Managing International teams and helping them qualify and win “The World Cup” or Continental glory. Also something I had hoped would be incorporated.. Sadly its not to be!!

But after all, it is EA Sports FIFA!! Can’t wait for it come out. ) Feel free to add anything you think i might have missed out..