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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So here it is, long overdue but as complete as I can make it: The Sprint Mogul, by HTC.

The major thing that drew me to this particular phone was the size of the keyboard.  Especially for guys who have bigger hands and thus, bigger thumbs, the larger keys make it easier to function the device.

The SmartPhone comes complete with Windows Mobile 6, including Office Mobile; Wi-Fi; TeleNav, a GPS utility that is included with the latest rendition of the phone; and a host of other standard functionalities.

So here it is!

Cost: You can obtain the phone after savings and rebate for $199.99.  Figure in at least $39.99 for a PowerPack Plan (450 Minutes) and $30.00 for a Pro Pack, and you’ve got about $70 a month for a bill.  Unlimited Web & E-Mail, Texting, plus the Nav feature.  Music is per song, and TV unfortunately at this time is “unavailable”… although there are 3rd party applications to support it.  Nights and weekends, typical of Sprint, start at 7:00.

Cool: Touch Screen, with really smooth controls.  Most functions (other than text input) can be done with one hand.  Also has a “Jog Wheel” for scrolling through features or navigating web pages. 

Placement allows you to use the wheel when the phone is in portrait or landscape.  Location of all buttons is logical for that matter, although incidental button presses aren’t hard.  This isn’t that much of a nuisence though.

Crap: At least of the last upgrade, there is still a problem with memory drain, so you’ll have to reboot once in a while to freshen things up a bit (Windows 98 anyone?).  Internet Explorer doesn’t do justice to some pages, including this one.  Mobile versions of sites do exist, but aren’t always as fully featured as I would like them to be.  Opera offers a free version of there browser for mobile devices that seems to a do a little better, but even that can be a hassle.  There NEEDS to be a device backup feature , something that it possible to do a full sync of info AND programs.

Consensus: Overall, good.  The benefits outweigh the disadvantages.  I’m really happy with what I can get done (like posting more, hopefully) and love being able to execute computer functions and communications on-the-go.  It’s very familiar for Windows Users, who shouldn’t have a hard time adapting to it.  I strongly feel that they need to include a backup utility that backs up programs.  Users who download software can lose it just as quickly which can be very frustrating.  I would recommend this phone, but there are some improvements it could use.

I’m stuck in the middle with what to say about Vegas 2, other than “whatever your feelings were about the first game, they won’t change based on the second.”

What it comes down to is that:

• The storyline makes little sense, has little bearing and forces your created character “Bishop” play the role of teacher and all-around good guy
• The game is fairly buggy; audio tracks glitch and loop infinitely and guns refuse to display hi-res textures until you switch weapons during a Terrorist Hunt
• The AI is a bit more aggressive, but also feels stupider on this victory lap; oftentimes, enemies will just stand still looking around when they should be pursuing
• The leveling/experience system adds something to the game…
• As does the character creation system; it’s nice to be able to skin your own character, customize their gear and camouflage
• Nearly half of the Terrorist Hunt maps are updated versions from Vegas 1; spend some more time creating new levels for crying out loud!

As much as I was really looking forward to this game, I can’t help but say that I’m fairly disappointed with how it turned out. If this were treated and priced more like an expansion pack, I would have been much more complacent with the game itself, but in it’s current state, I can’t help but hope that then next Rainbow Six game that gets released adds something new to the mix. In a way, it’s like ordering a favorite meal at a new diner and finding it surprisingly average and not really satisfying.

… I would let Th!nkEmpire handle all of the reviews, but I feel that I must do my civic duty and release a firestorm of obscenities at SimpleTech’s external hard drive.

The Packaging: Promises a stylish, yet functional exterior.  The case to the hard drive is a glossy deep blue, with a LED lighted blue oval ring on the top.  In the center of the ring sits a button, which is supposed to activate a “One-Click Backup” feature.

The Promise: The drive promises a simple, easy-to-use, One-Click feature for backing up a system.  The LED-lit oval, the oval lights up according to how much space is being consumed by the drive.

The Price: Reasonably priced, especially given all the features.  I wonder why that is?

The Reality: This piece of $h!7 causes my computer to completely and instantaneously reboot every time you try to do a automated backup.  Therefore, the One-Click feature is useless.  And to top it off the LED doesn’t work properly. 

The Verdict: Leave this one on the shelf.