14 Hours Into GTAIV

Here I am at over 14 hours into this game and I cannot stop playing. It is a huge credit to the folks at Rockstar that they have crafted a world and a story so captivating that it equals some of the best novles I've read in terms of keeping my interest from one "chapter" to the next. The world of Niko Bellic and his cousin Roman is one of violence, humor, and life-changing moral dilemmas that you as a player must navigate. Who would have ever thought that a GTA game would cause you to form such an emotional attachment to its characters? I can't wait to keep playing to see what is next for Niko and his friends.

Just as well drawn as the characters are the various locales around Liberty City. I sat in awe I went to a comedy club in the game and witnessed a fully animated rendition of a famous comedian's stand-up. It was more or less just like being at a real show and it was hilarious and completely mind-blowing at the same time. It's truly amazing how much content Rockstar has squeezed into this title and I keep wondering what I'll discover next in Liberty City.

The core mechanics are now more or less second nature to me and I've seen their strengths and their weaknesses. For the gunplay, this is a clear big step forward for the GTA series. The aim and the ability to take cover strategically have made firefights a much more fluid and enjoyable experience for the player. The only real problem with the shooting mechanic is that if you manage to get a thug behind your player it can be a painful proposition to turn Niko around in time to dispatch them before you're full of lead. Minor nit-picks aside, I would say that the shooting is the biggest area of improvement in GTA's skillset. I noted that the driving controls were much different than previous GTAs in my 6 hours in post. Further playtime has fleshed these differences out further and several missions have sorely tested my driving skills. Usually when I fail a mission repeatedly it's due to losing a target because of inability to keep up with my driving. When it happens it's very frustrating but if I'm honest with myself its more often than not directly related to my choice of car and my sloppy driving.

I did get a very brief opportunity to play some multi-player last night. I only played about 3 games or so but it was enough to see that there was much potential there. The teamwork based multiplayer in a lot of the modes really appeals to me as I can see straight up deathmatch getting old fast. The ability to just drop you and your friends into the city and start causing random mayhem is also very appealing. I can see myself losing many hours with friends just exploring random "I wonder if we can do this..." scenarios.

If you're on the fence about GTAIV, do yourself a favor and GO BUY THIS GAME IMMEDIATELY! Unless something major happens to completely derail my experience with the game then I can completely reaffirm the general sentiment of the gaming press in general with the feeling that this game is truly something special.

6 Hours Into GTA IV

As the title of this post states I'm over 6 hours into the game and its been a wild ride. At first blush I could not escape a feeling of "yep..this is GTA not sure what the fuss is all about..." As I got a few hours into the game the atmosphere of the city began to rear its head along with the wonderfully rich cast of characters you encounter along the way. The more time you spend with this game the more rewarding it gets. It takes awhile to get a handle on the control scheme, this GTA plays much tighter than previous incarnations and it will punish the button masher and hot-headed. I'm still wrapping my head around the cover-mechanic and trying to improve my marksmanship but the driving I've more or less grown accustomed to. Each car has drastically different handling characteristics (I rolled many a SUV/Pickup Truck before the breaks became my friend) and its own unique sound and personality.

Beyond gameplay, I find myself constantly amazed at the level of detail in this world. I spent half an hour just watching the TV in Roman and Niko's safehouse. Each show has a script and is voice acted; Republican Space Rangers was a personal favorite of mine (take that Master Chief!) So far the biggest draw for me has been the storyline and the character of Niko himself. He's an instantly likable character and he has an incredibly expressive character model that really pulls you into the narrative of the game. I actually care what happens to Niko and I'm on pins and needles watching what Liberty City throws at him and his wacky cousin. I'd write more but I have to get myself back into the game to see what happens next. I'll post further impressions as I get deeper into the core of the game and give multiplayer a spin.

Condemned 2: Bloodshot Review

When the Xbox 360 launched I remember picking up the original Condemned as a launch title based upon the strength of the visual presentation. When I began to play the game, what I discovered was a game that created an atmosphere of oppressive evil and urban decay that was more than a little disturbing..but in a completely immersing way. Here we are in 2008 and main character Ethan Thomas is back in Condemned 2: Bloodshot, and he's brought back the franchise's trademark atmosphere along with more than a few improvements to the game design.

When we last saw Ethan Thomas in the original Condemned, he had quit his position as an Agent at the SCU police force. When we catch up to Ethan in the sequel its apparent that retirement is not sitting well with him. Clearly an alcoholic, this Ethan is a disheveled shell of the persona we first met in Condemned Criminal Origins who is running from the dark visions and hallucinations that dog his every move. Shortly after the player witnesses first-hand Ethan's fall from grace, he is whisked back into the investigation that began in the first game through a series of grisly events.

If you have played the first Condemned then you are well aware that it helped solidify the genre of "first person puncher." Just as in the first title, Condemned 2 has your left and right fists mapped respectively to the right and left triggers on the controller. Along the way you'll have many opportunities to pick up all manner of hand-held weapons including pipes, electrical conduit, medieval swords, and even a foos-ball table rod. There are firearms to be had in the game, but ammo is scarce and Ethan's aim is shaky at best due to his alcohol dependence issues. In a twisted streak of creativity, Ethan can momentarily steady his aim by swigging from bottles of alcohol that are strategically placed throughout the game. The combat system works well and has a surprisingly deep combo system that enables you to string together attacks versus wildly mashing down the triggers to pummel your enemies. If the combat system has any big fault it is that tackling multiple foes is often an exercise in frustration due to the one-on-one nature of the attack and defend options given to you as a player. Taken as a whole, the combat system is fast, brutal, and fun. As an added touch, it is possible to trigger finishing moves based upon items in the environment. My personal favorite environmental finishing move involved a human head and a machine press....*crunch*

One of the series' first innovations was the inclusion of the crime scene investigation gameplay mechanic. Condemned 2 takes a much more hands-on approach to these gameplay segments by tasking the player to solve logic based puzzles and utilize observation skills to piece together the relevant threads of a given crime scene. It is a very methodical and simultaneously rewarding experience to enter a crime scene and use tools such as UV Light and Spectrometer to find clues and gain insight into the dark and mysterious things going on in the city. The investigation sections also serve as a nice break from the relentless action and sense of danger that permeate the rest of the gameplay, even it is a little humorous to go from bashing foes in the head with a toilet seat lid to quietly skulking about a crime scene looking for clues. The crime scene investigation mechanic is the biggest area to see improvement in the sequel and it really helps this series stand out from the rest of the FPS pack.

The story of Condemned 2 weaves a complex narrative about a secret evil organization and Ethan's role in the events from the first game forward. The story is more than a little convoluted and by the end you may find yourself scratching your head about the motives of some characters and what exactly a lot of the surprises revealed mean. Condemned 2 is largely effective based upon the quality of the audio visual presentation.

With a 5.1 home theater system, everything from the enraged cursing of your insane opponents to the spot-on environmental effects serve to completely put you into Ethan Thomas's grime covered shoes. I did notice a few minor instances where audio would periodically stutter in intense battles with multiple opponents, and one instance where a character's dialog was mixed too low to hear plainly. These minor nit-picks aside, Condemned 2 boasts a fantastic audio presentation. Much like the audio, the video quality of Condemned 2 also helps to seamlessly transport you into the filthy urban landscape of the game's setting. Much like the first game, this is a very dark game not only in tone but in brightness level. There is an in game brightness level to help those with contrast challenged displays. On fairly high contrast display the game looks very impressive with subtle lighting and highly detailed textures, so detailed in fact that you may think twice about picking up that toilet-seat lid...

For anyone who played the first game and enjoyed it or anyone in the mood for something different, I would heartily reccomend Condemned 2: Bloodshot. There really isn't anything else out there quite like the gameplay experience offered in this title and the game's ending promises more exciting possibilities for the series' inevitable 3rd chapter.

****/*****

The Present Course....

It has been a long time since my last post on the blog. The main reason I've been lax on updating is the dread that fills my thoughts at the prospect of having to spend hours making graphics to pretty up each post. I was thinking tonight that it would be better to have more regular updates than to have pretty graphics in updates that appear once ever month or so. What do you guys think? Should I continue to slave over pictures for posts or just keep churning out fresh posts? In the meantime my plan is to begin posting some meatier content on here to liven things up. Now that I've obtained a membership to Gamefly I should be afforded the opportunity to play a more diverse line-up of games than I had been previously. The end result of my membership is that I hope to gain a lot of material for said "meatier content." Thanks for those of you who continue to stop in and see what's new on my little corner of the interwebz.