Alienware Spaceship, Bangalore : Hands on
A few days ago, Bangalore witnessed the birth of India’s first Alienware Gaming Lounge  ( Spaceship). Now you all know what to expect, but we are here to give you a more in depth coverage of what is India’s finest gaming lounge.
As soon as take your seat, you feel like as if you are in heaven. And it’s not because of the pixel crunching beast in front of you. The chairs themselves are custom made from Alienware and are as comfortable as computer chairs can get. They offer full back support along with a head cushion. Lights are switched off to create the perfect atmosphere for gaming and succeeds in truly immersing you in the game. Unlike other gaming cafes, you won’t notice the dozens of people sitting around you, which can constantly get annoying and ruin the experience. In other words, you feel like you are right at home. Each Aurora Desktop houses a pair of GTX 260’s running in SLI which is hooked up to a 23†Alienware monitor (only a monitor of such calibre can do the desktop justice). The headphones offer virtual surround sound. Don’t be fooled by the word virtual, these are just as good as a set of 5.1 speakers.
Initial games installed include COD WaW, COD MW2, L4D,L4D 2,GTA 4, AC 2,Dirt 3,Team Fortress 2, WOW (though it’s of no use since you need to have a paid subscription) Half Life 2, Arkham Asylum and much more. The list just blows away what other gaming cafe’s have on offer. But this is just the initial list of games. More games are expected to arrive very soon including Crysis and plenty of EA Sports games (But you would have to be an absolute lunatic if you decide to play FIFA 10 over COD on a desktop like this). All of them run at 1920 X 1080 with AA and AF enabled. Plus, you also get the option to play in 3D. That’s right; all the desktops come with Nvidia 3D Vision. A must try for those who haven’t experienced it yet. But it takes quite a bit of time for your eyes to get adjusted to it and you may experience some eye strain while playing.
Now here is the part for which you have all been waiting for, Pricing. This Treatment, worthy of the Gods, will set you back by Rs 100 an hour. Expensive yes, but worth it? HELL YES. Keep in mind that this is not your regular PC. If you want to play on desktops whose price tag exceeds well into six digits, you better cough up the green. Hell, I’m surprised they don’t charge Rs 200 for what they have to offer. No other PC gaming lounge in India can offer the same experience and the price is totally justified especially when you consider that you pay Rs 30 – 50 for what your local or Zapak gaming cafes offer which is a trifle when compared to what the Spaceship has on offer. If you still disagree with the price, the only thing which I can tell you is get your ass there and try it out for yourself and then talk.
The only complaint that I have is that it is located too far away from where most people live. Here is the address: # 644, 80 Feet Road, Koramangala 4th Block. But it won’t help much once you reach the area. Getting to the place was hell for me as none of the locals had heard about it. In order to spare you form the torment; the lounge is located opposite to Maharajah Hotel and is on the same road as the Sony Centre, about 300 metres from there. So now you know where to go, if you want the ultimate gaming experience in the country, let alone the city.
