The Cynical Critic

For the past week and a half or so my entire life has been consumed by a single force. I have been staying up late, and getting up early (ok, not really) all for the sake of this thing. Even when I’m not playing it, I am at least thinking about it, or playing it in my head. In case you don’t know what I am meaning, I am talking about the highly controversial game that just came out, Grand Theft Auto IV. GTA IV is a landmark in video gaming. It is a game that truly feels more like a cinematic experience at times. With a plot that rivals a big budget film, an environment that resembles an actual city, and controls that would make a Mario game jealous, GTA IV really delivers. But let’s take a more in-depth look on what this game has to offer, and see if it’s really worth the sixty bucks you’ll have to thrown down in order to enjoy it.

As you can see, graphically the game is a monster. I am still really amazed as to the incredible detail that is put into literally every inch of this game. I find myself occasionally zooming in on a car, or building in the middle of being chased by the police just to admire the particulars of everything around me. Things like dents in car bumpers, to cracks in the sidewalk, to numerous billboards stretched across Liberty City, everything really does look gorgeous. And it’s not even until you get to the game’s own version of New York City’s Time Square, does the game truly begin to overwhelm you with it’s graphical power.

Graphics aside, GTA IV is much more than just a pretty picture to look at it. Like all great art, GTA IV has depth (and boy, what an understatement that is). As far as the actual story mode goes, it is seriously huge. With over 90 playable missions, a cast of over a dozen voice acted (and let me say, very well acted) characters, more than a good hour of cinematics, the bare bones story mode will take players at the absolute least 30 hours to complete. Now throw in the countless side missions, openess and overall size of the city, and you have a game that will easily keep you occupied for many months to come. In GTA IV, Liberty City is absolutely huge. It spans three different islands, that are not only exceptionally large, but they are seriously crammed full with different buildings, sites and sceneries. I think it’s safe to say that Liberty City in GTA IV is easily the largest city in the GTA series.

As I mentioned early, the story in this game is top notch, Hollywood quality. Unlike a lot of the GTA games in the past where the stories were pretty simple (I.E. character gets out of jail, character gets betrayed, character goes after person that betrayed him), GTA IV offers a very compelling story, and some of the most interesting and in-depth characters I have ever seen before in a video game. The game tells the tale of Niko Bellic, a Middle European fresh off the boat, lured over to America by his cousin, Roman. Roman promises Niko wealth, fame, and pleasure, but when he arrives, he finds out that just the opposite is true. The game then focuses on Niko’s endeavors, along with his successes and failures. Never before have I really seen a character with such flaws fleshed out in a video game, such as GTA IV does. Along with this, GTA IV has a number of great supporting actors that are all superbly voice acted. Altogether it makes an awesome cinematic experience, that really draws the player in.

Aside from the single player experience, for the first time ever in a GTA game, IV offers full online multiplayer support for up to 16 people. The game types included range from simple “Deathmatch”
game types, to games where it’s cops against criminals, to “Free Mode”, a game mode that simply allows you and up to 15 of your friends to navigate the city freely. Multiplayer itself is truly a lot of fun. Just getting a bunch of friends over to terrorize Liberty City is a blast, but along with that it also makes a huge game even bigger.

The controls in GTA IV have been improved. One of the most noticeable things in IV is the driving. All of the cars in GTA IV handle a lot more realistically, which can be seen as a bad thing at first, but after awhile players will easily adjust to it. Probably the best improvement is the new aiming and cover system. The aiming system has been completely redone, and finally gives players a targeting system that is comparable to actual First and Third Person shooters. The cover system works much like Gears of War, in the respect that players can get behind pretty much every object in game to provide a wall between them and enemy fire. Both these aspects really add to the gameplay in GTA IV, and they are a much needed addition to the GTA franchise.

Needless to say however, I do have a few problems with GTA IV. One of them being the exclusion of the weapons that has made the series so popular. It seems in order to make the game more realistic, Rockstar decided to throw out some of the more “fun” weapons. Gone is the flamethrower, chainsaw, katana, and many others. Also, the military, as well as tanks have also been done away with.

Of course these are things that I can live without, and happily give up for an excellent game in return. Overally, GTA IV is a game that is seriously worth the sixty dollars I spent on it. I have put easily fifteen hours into the game, and I am not even close to being half way done with it. On top of that, multiplayer is an awesome addition, and will keep me distracted for months to come. It’s quite simple really. If you have played any of the past GTA games and even sort of liked them, buy GTA IV right now. If you haven’t played any of the past GTAs and you are looking for an all around great game, go ahead and get GTA IV. Seriously. It’s that good.

9.5/ 10

In case you aren’t aware, a new Street Fighter has been in development for quite some time now. Just recently some new information has been released, along with a short gameplay video as well. Anyway, I decided to just post a quick preview of some of the stuff I have found out. First things first, an actual in game shot showing the new “2.5D” look.

As you can probably tell, the game itself looks to be in full 3D. However, the actual gameplay is still 2D, exactly like how the old Street Fighter played. The camera switches to a more dynamic, or full 3D view whenever characters use there super or ultra special moves. The character models are also insanely more detailed this time around, and actually show varying levels of reaction facially when they get hit. Thus, the game has become dubbed “2.5D”.

The majority of the gameplay has been changed around since Street Fighter 3rd Strike in order to give the game a more “realistic” feel. A lot of the gameplay has also been changed, or reverted rather to give it more of a feel like the original Street Fighter. A new fighting system currently being called the “Saving” system enables players to charge up a gauge whenever they are damaged. This gauge, known as the revenge gauge, lets players use unblockable attacks, or add extra damage to EX and Ultra specials (both brought back from past Street Fighter games). Finally, the development team has scrapped the four button gameplay (I.e. just weak and strong attacks), for the oldschool six button play (weak, medium, strong).

Online play has been confirmed for Street Fighter IV, and it can be assumed that the game will be released for 360 and PS3 indefinitely. Of course, it will most likely come out to the arcade first. Along with this, the addition of at least three new characters has also been confirmed. Those three include, Abel, a French Martial Artist with “no past”, Crimson Viper, an American female fighter, and finally El Fuerte, a Mexican luchador.

I have read a number of hands on reviews and for the most part, most everyone is saying that SF IV plays a lot like the old Street Fighters, which is definitely a good thing. More importantly however, is that SF IV has been said to make a return to the original Street Fighter, something that should prove to make this game quite awesome if all continues to go to plan.

Here’s the gameplay trailer I promised…