The internets are abuzz, as expected.  There are complaints, there are raves, there are rants and all around LOUD people all excited about this game.

I played it for another few hours last night and walked away unimpressed.  I want to like this game a lot.  Don’t get me wrong, it is fun.  But I don’t see this revolution everyone keeps referring to.  It really does seem like more of the same.  I wonder if the hype will ever wear off the general gaming public or they are seeing something I am missing.

The game is densely packed they say.  Well the buildings do seem closer together alright.  You can’t really drive as fast and as far for as long as you used to, which isn’t always a good thing to advertise.  I haven’t seen as many buildings you can enter as I was led to believe by the gaming media.  I’m only a few hours in which may be the reason.  Perhaps my opinion on this matter will change as time goes on.  I sure hope it does.  I’d hate to think I’m missing out on all the Game of the Year fun everyone else is having.

Achievements don’t seem that inspired so far.  I got one for starting the game pretty much.  I accidentally got one for evading five-0 for a few minutes with a maximum wanted rating.  40 points!  I was testing the speed limit of one of the faster cars.  Since driving on the road without some collision is out of the question, I took the vehicle into the subway system.  I am still early in the game so I don’t have access to the other boroughs.  I don’t know what their reasoning is for blocking off the bridges.  :S  It seems like they didn’t even give it any thought.  The first time the Liberty City bridge was blown up during your accidental rescue.  This time around I have yet to hear a reason.

Some of the issues people are having with the game include the games horrible graphics.  I am glad I am not the only one to notice this.  The framerate is bad but functional but what really bothers me are the terrible shadows.  Especially under the train tracks.

Remember the rumors and concerns regarding why the game was only being shown on the 360 and not the PS3?  It appears as though Rockstars solution to the "rumored" framerate issues on the PS3 were solved by dropping the resolution.  The PS3 version of GTA IV is not running in "full HD" 1080p or "true" HD 720p 2xMSAA like the 360 version.  It is running at 640p without antialiasing.  Some fanboys though are claiming that it still looks better than the 360 version.  :S

I don’t really care, the game is fun.  But it doesn’t feel that much different than GTAIII/San Andreas/Vice City.  It is definitely a lot more sexual though.  The health boost prostitutes are much more graphic than they used to be.  Do they have to be for you to get the idea?  I don’t think Rockstar had to be so graphic to sell this game.  It was a guaranteed blockbuster.  Why would they include stuff that would only get them more media heat.  Strippers?  Fine if they are in the background but to be able to go, sit and watch them?  Why really?  Do you get points?

I don’t mean to question the morality of an adult game.  I am just questioning their reasoning as a developer.  Hentai software is out there, but you rarely find a GOOD game with adult content.  I just question their motives since this is a good developer and a good game.  They didn’t need to shoot themselves in the foot like this.  It was already going to sell.

I have found the motorcycles a lot more manuverable than the cars and trucks.  That is my vehicle of choice for now.

I don’t know anyone personally that has had the game lock up on them but I feel for those that have.  I am interested to find out what percentage of total GTAIV copies sold are having this issue.  More importantly, what percentage on each console.

Tonight I will try to play online a little.  I won’t be playing too much though, I don’t want to ruin any surprizes.

I bought the XBox 360 Grand Theft Auto IV: Special Edition. 

(Product is not exactly like in the picture.  The bag doesn’t have the yellow zipper tags, is 18" long and the CD "case" is actually a cardboard pocket like your typical magazine subscription demo CD pack-in.)

My wife, brother-in-law and I even waited in line at our local GameStop.  I brought it home, opened it up and played it a bit.

The lock box will not serve any purpose in my home but I like the bag and the key chain.  The soundtrack is a surprising plus.  I expected a limited 4 song "sampler" but this CD has a total 16 tracks.  Non of which are all that great mind you but in this day of the RIAA witch hunt, non-DRM is non-DRM.

The bag is a lot smaller than I thought.  I was hoping for a bag the size of the one Niko was using in the trailer.  Something big enough for your typical bank robbery cache of weapons, or Rock Band equipment.  Its still about the size of a small sleeping bag so it is big enough to hold more than a couple of sweaters.  Something interesting about the bag.  It has the Roman Numerals MCMXCVIII engraved near the zipper.  1998.  I guess this places the game date?  Why engrave it on the bag?  What is the significance of it?  The original GTA was released in 1997 so that isn’t it…

As for the game.  I see perfect scores on many websites.  I don’t know why.  The game is fun but it definitely doesn’t seem perfect by any means.  I see some major issues already.

The game is ugly.  The textures, the colors, the backgrounds, the shadows, the cars, the people…

Character control is weird.  Sure the character flows more, "naturally" but that also means you have to sacrifice some responsiveness.  It feels like your character is riding around on a really slow unicycle.  You are steering him around, not running around.  So you lose that jerkiness that comes when you would move your character into odd locations i.e. on objects like boxes and beds and such but at what cost?  There is no analog control even though you use the analog stick.  You tap A if you want to run.

Vehicle control is nonexistent.  Claims of more realistic driving are unsubstantiated.  These cars drive as if the roads were covered in ice and luke warm snot.  I couldn’t possibly be going faster than 30 mph and the car couldn’t turn a corner to save its life.  You have to learn to use the e-brake for nearly every turn if you want to handle these boats.  I can only imagine what the terrible, terrible races will be like.

The camera seems to lag behind a few turns.  Good luck taking a non-collision u-turn.  This game is lauded for its indoor areas.  The few that I have gone into are cramped, making the camera face a random wall most of the time.

If you played the demo (or the full game) of Kane & Lynch then you know what to expect when it comes to foul language.  I’m not offended by it but some people might.  At times it seems unnecessary.

The story, which is what truly matters, is GREAT.  I couldn’t emphasize that enough.  I am intrigued and I am hungry to experience more.  I want to see what happens.  The other GTA’s were great in the beginning but the storyline caused me to lose interest.  Aliens?  Area 51?  Meh.  They don’t belong here.  An original Russian Mob(?) story grabbed me right from the beginning.

I hope this game keeps it interesting enough to convince me to finish this game.

PC - Assassin’s Creed $32.90
PC - Enemy Territory: Quake Wars $14.90
PC - LOST $17.90
PC - TRON 2.0 $2.90
PC - Advent Rising $4.90
PC - Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II $9.90
PC - Mass Effect $37.90
PC - Rainbow Six Vegas 2 $47.90

XBox 360 - Frontlines: Fuel of War $44.90
XBox 360 - Rainbow Six Vegas 2 $44.90
XBox 360 - Grand Theft Auto IV $57.90

PS3 - Unreal Tournament III $40 - Everywhere!
PS3 - 2 Used games $25% off!

The blue blur that just won’t go away no matter how many times you flush.  How many times must Sonic jump the shark before someone just trips him into the lake to get swallowed whole?

When a great game like Ratchet and Clank on the PS3 falls under the radar, what hope does a has-been like Sonic have?  What began with a little toe-tap evolved into an ever so annoying attitude that Sega insists to be cool.  The speed of the game was the selling point back in the Genesis days.  Blast processing took Sonic into the "extreme."  Speed alone won’t cut it anymore.

They seemed to pull it off alright on Sonic Adventure.  It was a good game reminiscent of Sonic but it didn’t feel the same.  I wouldn’t put the blame squarely on Sega’s shoulders for this though.  Even Mario and Samus lost a little of their identity when they entered our third dimension.

Developers spent many hours translating 2D game mechanics into a 3D world.  Sometimes it made some sense but more often then not it was an exercise in frustration for everyone involved.

After a long streak of miserable, mediocre titles, Sega somehow still has the funds to keep crapping out these little blue pellets of disappointment.  With what appears to be a greater concentration on the mechanics that made Sonic such a hit in the 16-Bit era, they are doing it again with Sonic Unleashed.

What Sega fails to accept is that some games just don’t hold up too well.  I could play Super Mario Bros. 1, 2 & 3 today and still have a lot of fun.  I can’t say the same for the Sonic the Hedgehog series.

Sega, please keep Sonic on the portables or as Arcade titles.  Or just let him die with whatever honor he has left.  Don’t force him to keep reliving his painful failures with excruciating repetition.

As a relatively early adopter myself, I got stuck with the sans rumble pak Sixaxis.  Today the controller that should have come packed with the PS3 hits U.S. shores.

Engadget Reports sightings in a Maryland Circuit City.

For the price of a game you too can feel firsthand the innovation first brought to you originally on the Nintendo 64.  Back then Nintendo had the foresight to include a ugly, but functional port on the bottom that would allow for such modifications.  So as not to exclude any early adopters.  I really wish Sony would have paid attention to that.

The Rumble Pak on the Nintendo 64 came as a free pack in with Starfox 64.  A well reviewed first party title.  Can we possibly see a free DualShock 3 with MGS4 in our immediate future?

I wouldn’t take that bet.