04 April,2010 12:09 AM IST | | Sowmya Rajaram
In the form of Game4u, the gaming store in Oshiwara that gets you closer to all the action you want -- strategy, mystery, emotion, or just plain shoot-till-he-bleeds-from-his-ears thrills
If you judge by the cover, two things about Game4u will put you off right at the start -- that unfortunate spelling, and its location in yuppie Mega Mall at Oshiwara. Once you get past those minor gripes though, this one-of-a-kind interactive gaming store is hard not to like, even for a non-avid gamer like me.
Hot game spot
For gaming junkies like Saurabh Deb and Aditya Kopikar, it's a dream come true. The duo, which owns Argus I, a motion graphics and game development company, think it's the shipping cost of Amazon.com saved, for one.
"I've never seen a place where you get everything from the latest games to hardware and accessories, under one roof. It's a one-stop shop for everything related to gaming," says Saurabh.
When we walk in at 1 pm on a Wednesday, the store is pretty empty. Which is to be expected, considering it opened a little over a month ago, the assistants tell us. A random look around reveals that games are grouped by platform -- PS3, PS2, Xbox 360, Wii, etc. The soul-soothing bit is the pre-order section, which saves you the trouble of chewing your nails until that much-awaited game hits the local mall. The titles on offer right now?
The highly-anticipated God of War trilogy, featuring murderous Spartan Kratos, and Street Fighter. Pre-orders will be delivered to your doorstep on the day they're released, if you sign up for them at the store, we're told.
No demo choices
The latest game releases can be tried on demo screens and consoles at the store, giving you a peek into what that pop-thud-bang variety of blood lust is all about before you decide to splurge on it. Saurabh and Aditya give Pacific Rift and God of War, respectively, a try, before falling to their respective virtual deaths. They're on an adrenaline high, but the party's about to slow down, because they discover that they can't choose the games they want to try. "It's no fun if we're forced to play what's already loaded -- like reading a few pages of a book at a bookstore before buying it," Aditya grumbles. We couldn't agree more. Store assistants tell us that it's not just the newest, but also only the most popular ones that make it to the demo screen. "But new games are released all the time, so you'll have different games to try every other week," they assure us. But that's not enough to appease these two disgruntled aficionados, who want the luxury of choice.
Let-down or not, they can't help but acknowledge the sheer variety and scale of not just the games, but also the accessories and hardware on offer here. "There are things here that I've had to hunt for in other stores and beg them to order -- like the media remote, the PS3 cables and the Wii second remote," concedes Saurabh. "It hasn't been easy to find these in other stores -- be it the malls with sections for games, or even the large electronics chains," adds Aditya. Score one for Game4u.
Something for everyone
Limited edition game packages with add-ons like figurines of the characters, T-shirts and exclusive merchandise, aren't exactly the most populous items on display here, Saurabh is quick to point out. "We had the Call of Duty limited edition pack, but it sold out. Street Fighter is also available with figurines and more have been ordered," the assistant is quick to counter.
Point taken
That they're not catering only to the geek variety of goggle-eyed niche gamers is obvious from the large selection of PC games on offer. "Say what you will, but a lot of gamers in India still play on their PC, and don't have money for a PS3 or a Wii console. This section is for them," we're told.
Some quick browsing later, we also take a shot at kicking furry animals across an LCD screen and quite enjoy it. As we make our way out and the glare of the bright sun hits us, we wonder why the AC confines of the dazzling virtual world inside have to collide so harshly with dusty reality. Ah, well. As we've discovered though, escape is only a hop, skip and jump away.
Game4u also has a website where you can order games across the country and have them delivered to your doorstep, free of cost.
What's more, you can pay for games after they've been delivered. Log on to www.game4u.com
