India has a rich mythological background and there are numerous stories, legends and superheroes that have the potential into turning into an action or role playing game franchise. Things are changing and yesterday GameGuru.in had a chance to visit the launch of the Hanuman Returns at Taj Land’s End in western Mumbai.
The animation film did not interest us that much but what caught our eye was the launch of the Hanuman Returns mobile game, although we were disappointed that they did not have a game made for the PC or the consoles. But still it was great to know that there was an adventure game for the enthusiasts.
MOBILE GAME
The Hanuman Returns mobile game has not been released as yet but we did get to preview it. Jump Games was kind enough to set up two kiosks to beam the game directly into mobile phones via Bluetooth. All we had to do was punch in the four digit pin code and we got the game directly in to our Nokia E61i. The game seems to be compatible with most phones as we were bewildered when we saw the list of phones on the menu of the kiosk.
There was some time before the event could start. Till then we thought why not try out the game there and then itself. As soon as you start the application, you can make out that the Hanuman Returns mobile game is not some run-of-the-mill app made to promote the film. The interface is quite slick and when you start playing the game, you observe that the devs must have spent a lot of time making the game and it does seem meticulously done.
The Hanuman Returns mobile game is more of an adventure game and reminds one of those Japanese games that were released in the time of the NES and Super NES. The game sees Hanuman jumping around like Mario but he has a weapon in his hand! Sometimes it is a cricket bat and sometimes with his Gadda (Mace). There are many stages and just as in the mythological story, the power-ups are through the power of Sun.
JUMP GAMES
We had to wait for a long time before the event as it didn’t start very soon. They were waiting for the celebrities to arrive. Famous directors such as David Dhawan, Nagesh Kukunoor, some Kiran guy (pardon me for not knowing about Hindi film star wannabes) and yeah, there was Achala Sachdev who choreographed the fashion show. But till then we had a word with the spokeswoman of Jump Games.
When I quizzed her about any new initiatives by Jump Games related to big movies, all she said was ‘No Comments’. When I later asked her about the Hanuman Return game, she said that the game was first in the series and there would surely be more new games in some time. One more interesting thing that we spoke on was about the hottest gadget in the world today, the iPhone by Apple. It seems that Jump Games is excited about the technological marvel and when I asked her about would Jump Games would be developing an iPhone games, she gave a very diplomatic answer. It seems that they are exploring about the whole thing and even she did seem a little bit excited.
The chief executive officer of Jump Games, Salil Bhargava was present at the event. He said, “Animated films have always been a great content source for gaming, and with a larger than life character like Hanuman, a game holds incredible scope. This is the first time that the audiences will be witnessing the rise of an Indian superhero and we are thrilled to have partnered with Percept Picture Company in bringing Hanuman Returns to the mobile medium. We have created a game that is fast-paced and fun, and wonderfully captures Hanuman’s experience on the mobile. Hanuman Returns is a great film and we’re sure the mobile game will equally appeal to the audiences globally.”
INDIAN COSPLAY?
Cosplay (in the Japanese culture is something that has excited people all over the western the world. Here at the Hanuman Returns launch event there was a fashion show that featured the characters from the movie. However, if you have a closer look at the part of the event, you have a feeling that it was something akin to a cosplay. First we had a look at the baddies from the movie and then came the nice characters.
First came Aghori and Guru Shukracharya followed by the One Eyed Man and Rahu Ketu. Afterwards, we saw Narad Muni (who by the way had replaced the Veena with a guitar) and then it was Lord Brahma and Vishnu and Hanumans parents and friends. But it was intriguing to see such a show put up and it would be great all games based on Indian mythology have something like it as cosplay is really big and most gamers just love it. As you can make out from the pictures, the characters really come out and a person does feel that they are watching cosplay but an Indian one.
The Hanuman Returns mobile game is expected to release two weeks before the movie, which hits the theaters on December 28, 2007.