Art

*EDIT*  There is a link above this.  Sorry for not making the link more obvious.

When Fable first came out, it was pretty much universally thrashed for not living up to expectations.  I think that we all learned a lesson from that: Molyneux learned not to over-hype his games, and we as gamers learned to wait and see.

All in all though, I remember breezing through that game in a relatively short amount of time (something to the tune of 10ish hours if my memory serves me correctly) and thinking, “That was fun… but it wasn’t definitive”.

I’ve sort of purposely not sought out information on the upcoming sequel, but I’m holding out high hope.   I WANT to love Fable…

Speaking of other games I want to love… the upcoming Penny-Arcade will hold a special place in my heart.  I trust the think-tank over at PA to deliver nothing less than a stellar experience with a fantastic story, as Tycho’s writing skills are top notch.  Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness game trailer over at the xbox live site.

I’m starting to rethink this whole Apple’s Cool thing…

I’ve been looking at there stuff more and more lately and have come to some disturbing conclusions.  Where shall I start?

iPhone: Outside of sheer storage space, 16gb on the higher end models, I’ve yet to find anything that makes this phone worth 499.  It makes phone calls, it sends text and picture messages, it surfs the web (although this is shoddy at best on AT&T’s network).  It plays music and video… In short it does the same things that many other phones do on the market… but that cost much less money.

iMac/Book: I used to have this thing with about how great they were, how indispensable they were.  And yet, I have seen several units under repair, I watch one crash earlier this week, and the available things for them are a mixed bag.  While some of them are fantastically designed (Time Machine, iPod integration, built-in iSights on the notebooks and iMacs) some are just downright frustrating. 

A few good examples: 1.) Try finding a webcam for your computer if you have a MacPro.  You can’t.  You have to either find one used (great, hand-me-down crap).  2.) You have to use 3rd party support.  While this may not seem to be a terribly tough thing, in practicality, I watched a Mac Genius fumble around and struggle for almost an hour and half to no avail.

As for iLife, it’s better than nothing, but far from the freeware that I can get for my WinPC.  I will grant the resistance to Viruses and SpyWare.  But here’s the catch, there are still viruses and spyware for mac.  In fact, the amount has grown with the increased popularity of the systems…  And try getting rid of it without redoing the machine.

iPod:  I really don’t have anything against the iPod except there insistance at using a native proprietary format (which makes them no better than their friends to the north).  I tried to transfer my music from one system to another… what a drag.  And what a shame if you have TWO computers (like quite a few households in America).  That fantastic song you just downloaded can only be on one of them (without a stupid amount of effort… and by stupid I mean more than copy/paste.)

I’m gonna simmer on this a while.

-Gr00ve

Chalk this story up to sheer befuddlement.

For a company who holds your online privacy so close to chest as to require some rather excessive ‘friend code’ to see another player on-line, I find it hilariously brazen for even Nintendo to as so much require someone to send in data — regardless of how anonymous it is — to be able to get something as mundane as Nintendo DS demo downloads.

If you were giving away a free Pokeman game or something, sure…but demos, srsly?

Sorry, but Thursday and Friday will be postless days.  Both Th!nk and I will be out of town.  So without further adieu, a re-cap:

Th!nk gone on vaykay.

Gr00ve rockin’ Red Wings tickets.

Boddington’s is great beer.

Corona is not.

If the cheese is holding it all together it counts as one nacho.

Alright… I used a mulligan. But to be fair, I had a long day. And besides… happy cinco de mayo! Buenos Nachos and Hasta Corona!

As Th!nk kept the site up to snuff while my computer was thrashed by teh intarwebs, so shall I keep it up to date on his vacation.

I’ve been able to look past the driving in GTA: IV, in fact I’ve become passable at the concept.  I haven’t even hit up multiplayer yet but after hearing my roommate squeal hysterically with delight as he blew up some friends with a rocket launcher, I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.

Probably 2 months ago or so, I bought Call of Duty (for which you know my affection) and Assassin’s Creed.  I’ve not hardly played Assassin’s Creed and yet I skipped over it for GTA: IV.  Perhaps it will enter my gaming peripheral at another time… but I’m starting to wonder if in my old age of 23 my attention span is such that I can’t dedicate myself to games that involved anymore?

Welp, as time, and Michigan’s unemployment rate would have it, I’m making a move back to the west side of Michigan this weekend. Nevermind the fact that the house we were going to move in to decided to pull out at the last minute because of our dog. Oh well, things will work out.

Anyways, as a honeymoon and graduation present to the both myself and my wife, we’re going to spend a week in Gulf Shores, Alabama. I’ll try and write something meaningful this weekend, maybe even publish my first column I’ve been working on the past two/three weeks! But, as far as that, updates from me this coming week will be fairly few and far between. That is, unless I get sick while I’m down there and have nothing better to do

I’m sure Gr00ve will do just a dandy job at keeping us updated this week; again, I’ll try to post a few things, but I don’t want my faithful readers to hold their breath. Have a good week!

I’ve just started to delve into the mass that is Grand Theft Auto IV.  So far, I agree with Th!nk.  The driving is downright torturous though.  As much as I like the detail, driving may be what pushes me away.  Details to come.

Full Disclosure: I am not done with the game. I am roughly 35% of the way through and have yet to touch the online component. However, in the vein that I am going on my honeymoon in a few days for a week and will be without the videogame, I figure it is in my interest to supply you, our faithful readers, with my review of the game thus far. I will re-post and edit (if necessary) the review once I completely finish the game. My impressions of the game are after the jump

With Grand Theft Auto III, publisher Rockstar set out to change the perception of gaming as we know it. Many will credit the milestone release as, for better a worse, the mark in which we say “gaming changed forever.”

GTA proved that sandbox worlds could work, that non-linear gameplay is, for most circumstances, superior to its opposite and that, more importantly, if your presentation is top-notch, people will forgive your minor errors.

It also proved that violence, drugs, sex, and a push for a more mature thematic structure (I’ll use that term lightly, as looking back, GTA is nowhere near realistic), have a place in games, and, in the same fold, in the media.

And to say the least, while there is no shortage of the aforementioned in this installment, there’s much more gravity to each time you push some blow, hit up a girlfriend or knock over a pedestrian. One can easily finger this ‘pull’ solely to the details of GTA IV. Pedestrians now crumple, or pop off cars if hit correctly; no longer folding as they had in the series’ past — this is readily seen when Niko is just nudged by a car, he fells towards the hood, using his arms to keep him steady as he rolls somewhat against the collision. Reckless driving even feels…reckless, as pedestrians no longer thump on the ground, yelp and then explode into blood puddles on the ground, counting down until they become tongue-in-cheek sidewalk-chalked outlines; depending on where you strike them, they bounce off the car or roll to side, tumbling as the speed of the car sends them. If you strike a pedestrian fast enough and manage to kill them, you’ll see blood streaks on your car where you hit them.

It’s details like these that drive this game to the heights it’s reached so far — the fact you can drive down streets, see districts where poverty has taken its toll, rambling idiots trolling the sidewalks and even the occasional sidewalk preacher preaching a gospel of impending doom. You feel as though, if you weren’t here today, this would be happening. Take a taxi cab throughout the city and watch as you’re driven through, as the taxi driver gets into small accidents occasionally, or bigger ones if you’re in a hurry.

There’s also the fact that, for the first time in the series, your contacts no longer remain people who give you missions, disappear for a quarter of the game, then come back and visit you again. No, these contacts call and text message you asking you to hang out with them. And you can do the same — want to go get drunk with your cousin Roman and stumble around yelling “HEY YELLOOOOOOOOW CAAAAAAAAAR” as you’re trying to hail a taxi — go for it! Wanna go bowling with a date you’ve picked up off of love-meet.net? Do it! There’s a living, breathing social ecosystem that lets you interact with the characters as much, or as little, as you so desire.

The story itself is fantastic — without revealing details, it is one of the more intriguing and immersing storylines I’ve had the chance to experience in some time.

But the game is not perfect. The driving, in my eyes, is worse off than it has been before. As much as I detested the more arcadey controls of the series’ past, I believe that this new driving-physics overhaul Rockstar done was not in the best interest of the game. I usually remedy the driving, however, by using a taxi. I’ve also come across sections, mainly on the bridges, where textures refuse to load for a section of the road. I make a turn or do a small jump along the sidewall of a bridge, and what used to be pavement is now a tannish-gray missing texture. It shortly rectifies itself, but it is an annoyance.

For all it’s worth, the first incarnation of Grand Theft Auto, on the then-”next-gen” system (PlayStation 2, for those playing at home), was a game on a console where “none had gone before.” It is only fitting to say that, the latest incarnation of Grand Theft Auto goes further into the brave new world and comes out a more improved, desirable and creative franchise than before.

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