The games you can play

Turn into a gaming addict with gaming consoles and new games in the new year

Your home entertainment system is incomplete if it doesn't include a gaming console ""so put that on your list of must-haves in the new year. While personal computers are still the largest platform for games, there are very good reasons to buy consoles.

The hardcore gamer spends over Rs 65,000 to get a good gaming performance from a PC, while a console will deliver the same or better at a quarter of the price.

And whereas your PC configuration determines the graphic and video quality, the visual output from consoles is only restricted by the quality and size of your television.

Consoles are diminutive and fit easily into existing home entertainment systems. And also double up as CD and DVD players. "It's a market that is going to be bigger than PC games," says Mumbai-based gaming retailer, Anil Narang.

Shivam Enterprises, Narang's gaming outlet, has seen the gaming console business grow rapidly in the last year.

Worldwide, Sony's Playstation 2 and Microsoft's X-Box are the two most popular gaming consoles today. While both companies have not officially launched the consoles in India, authorised dealers import them. Retailers like Narang currently stock only the latest version of Playstation 2 (PS2), which is the slimmer 70000 series.

However, scout around and you will be able to find the older versions as well. The 70000 series PS2 is priced at Rs 13,999 (with a little bargaining it can be yours for Rs 12,500).

"Apart from the slimmer design, the newer PS2 comes with an online adaptor that allows players to hook up on the internet to play against or with each other," says a gamer. The X-Box is marked at Rs 12,999 and is again discounted at par with the PS2.

Because the PS2 was launched globally a year before the X-Box, it set the standard for gaming consoles. Micro-soft's X-Box is better in terms of graphics but the number of games makes the PS2 the more attractive option.

However, Microsoft hits back with an in-built 4 GB hard disk to store game data, whereas Sony forces you to spend extra for a memory card.

Of course, there's always the grey market, where console prices are just a tad lower at Rs 11,500. That's primarily because grey market consoles come fitted with mod chips.

This allows the console to read pirated gaming discs. If you buy a console from an authorised dealer complete with warranty and bill, you can't run pirated software. Gaming CDs from authorised retailers cost anywhere between Rs 2,750 and Rs 3,999, while pirated CDs range from Rs 50-150, depending on the game release date.

Gaming software is a huge, eclectic mix of virtual worlds. You can fly, drive, run and shoot through these worlds, depending on your preference.

In India, the current buying trends seem to favour first person shooters (where you play a soldier, vigilante or hitman and shoot everything that moves) and sports games like cricket and football. Driving games are a close third.

The current hot pick list includes Burnout 3, Need For Speed Underground 2, Smackdown versus Raw, Prince of Persia Warrior Within, Def Jam: Fight for NY, FIFA Soccer 2005, Cricket 2004, Driver 3, Ghost Recon 2, NBA Live 2005 and Madden NFL 2005, all priced at Rs 2,999. Games already popular in the US like Star Wars: Battlefront, Mortal Kombat: Deception and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas are expected to hit the shelves soon.

Burnout 3 and Need For Speed Underground 2 are probably the most popular driving games currently. Both are available on PS2 as well as X-Box and showcase fast driving action.

Need For Speed Underground 2 is based on the film The Fast & The Furious and explodes onscreen with tons of tuned cars in illegal street races. Burnout 3 is about driving mayhem, crashing cars hard and earning bonuses and points from the stylistic and collateral damage elements of the crashes.

Prince of Persia is the second console release that follows the original smash hit PC game. Warrior Within takes a darker look at the now familiar prince and uses some fantastic graphics and outstandingly fluid character animation to floor gamers with a hard-hitting third person action game.

While X-Box games are harder to find, there is quite an impressive list. Tony Hawk's Underground 2, X-Men Legends, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Medal of Honour: Rising Sun, Harry Potter & Prisoners Of Azkaban, 007: Everything or Nothing, Cat Woman at Rs 2,750 and Fable priced at Rs 3,499 are just a few. Halo 2, NBA Live 2005, Star Wars Battlefront are expected in the second week of January and will be priced either Rs 2,750 or Rs 2,999.

Halo 2 is probably the most widely expected X-Box game ever. Regarded by many as the most complete first person shooter, it builds on the previous version's convincing virtual sci-fi universe and uses X-Box's graphic capabilities to the very limit.

Just be warned that most of the games are addictive, so if you succumb, be prepared to spend time away from work with your new console.