I have to say this – Robert Ludlum’s Bourne Trilogy is way up there on the list of my favorite reads. (Yeah, I like reading.) When they came out with the movie, I was quite skeptical. You know how those movies based on books usually end up butchering the original work. I was not far from wrong but then they didn’t turn out too bad either. I still prefer the books.
Then came the video game based on the movies. Apprehension made itself felt once again. We all know how disappointing a lot of video games based on movies are. I don’t even want to get started on this. Still, I downloaded the demo from the PlayStation Store.
Lo and behold, was I in for a surprise! The game was actually fun and challenging – at least the demo. It took me several tries before I was able to complete the first mission. The game play is seen from a third person perspective and the graphics are impressive. What I particularly like about the game are the moves that you can do as Jason Bourne.
The downside? Well, it is not really a downside but I do not think that this game is for kids at all. My little cousins – aged 8 and 12 – tried playing the demo but got tired real quickly because they found it too difficult. It is just perfect for older teens and adults, though.
It’s been out for a week now and what are people saying about the latest installment in the GTA series? I seriously have not heard anything bad. Well, there is the fact that the game freezes for some PS3 units and for the Xbox but Rockstar was able to release a patch within days of the first reports. It hasn’t happened to me yet – and I am crossing my fingers that it never will, but in case it does, I am glad that the patch is available.
As for the game play – I have nothing to complain about really, at least for now. It is everything that I have been expecting. I think I am about at 20 something per cent of the game and I have been having all sorts of fun. No doubt that it is quite harder than the old GTA installments. Driving a car or a bike is not that easy – controlling that helicopter with the movements of the controller is worse – but it is all part of the challenge!
No more to say about that for now – GTA IV rocks!
Something on the lighter side – have you read Jeremy’s post on how his wife ruined GTA? It is quite hilarious, really. He writes about his wife tried her hand at it and obeyed ALL the laws! You should read it for yourself.
We’ve always known that GTA IV would create a lot of noise and the nearer the release date is, the louder the noise will get. I know I shouldn’t have been surprised when I read several blogs announcing a pirated version GTA IV being released. Kotaku excitedly announces:
At around 11:50am Greenwich Mean Time, the PAL version of Grand Theft Auto IV for the Xbox 360 was ripped and leaked to various torrent sites by a ground called iCON. This would of course enable burning a copy for the home console. Meanwhile, the NTSC version is expected within the next 48 hours. YouTube clips have been popping up online of the game’s opening and early missions — but as of posting, many of the clips have been taken down. The retail release is a mere six days away. This isn’t the first GTA game leaked as San Andreas was as well. And it was leaked a week before, too.
We haven’t verified whether the 6.32 GB file really is the full game, but there are plenty of listings on torrent sites now and we contacted Rockstar for comment.
Can’t wait to see what Rockstar will say – not that I can make any use of the version as I don’t have an Xbox 360.
Another piece of news to make waves comes from Amazon, which just released the revealed the soundtrack for the game. News For Gamers lists the tunes down:
Soviet Connection (Theme from GTA IV) by Michael Hunter
Dirty New Yorker by Mobb Deep (feat. Havoc & Prodigy)
No Sex for Ben by The Rapture
No Fraid A by Munga
Where’s My Money by Busta Rhymes
I Want You by C.J.
Rocky Mountain Way by Joe Walsh
Stand Up Jamrock by Bob Marley & The Wailers and Damian Marley
Liberty City: The Invasion by Seryoga
Vagabond by Greenskeepers
On a Journey by Electrik Funk
Nickname by Qadir
Holy Thursday by David Axelrod
War is Necessary by Nas
Zombie by Fela Kuti
5:23 (Maiden Voyage) by Global Communication
Only a few more weeks and GTA IV will finally be out! I am sure that countless gamers all over the world are impatiently waiting for the day that they can get their hands on the first copies of the latest in one of the greatest game franchises in the history of video gaming.
Well, here is something more to whet GTA enthusiasts’ appetites – the GTA Social Club. What is this all about? It is basically an online home to anyone who plays GTA. Here’s more information from Gaming Bits:
Grand Theft Auto IV has gone gold for the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 . Take-Two CEO’s Ben Feder said GTA IV is “in production and in trucks en route to retailers” during Take-Two’s shareholders’ meeting. We’ll see how tightly retailers can keep the game under wraps. I wouldn’t be surprised that random leaks and early eBay auctions surface.
In addition to GTA IV going gold, the Rockstar Games Social Club has launched and is now taking early registrations. There’s a nice giveaway sweepstakes contest if you register before GTA IV’s release.
From the Social Club: “The Rockstar Games Social Club is now open for pre-registration. This is a members-only destination for leaderboards, statistics, tournaments, ongoing special competitions, virtual events and more for Rockstar titles beginning with the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV on April 29th. Register your membership now to set up your profile and ensure that you will be able to check your stats and participate on day one of game release.”
Register on the Social Club website before the release of GTA IV (4/29/08) and you’ll be entered for a chance to have your portrait illustrated by Rockstar Games in “Grand Theft Auto style.” One Grand Prize Winner will be selected.
I scrambled to pre-register in the hopes that I would be one of the first to do so. Unfortunately, I was way up in the 20 something thousand…still, I have the chance to get my portrait drawn!
I never thought I would see this day – I was wrong. It seems that video games are becoming that prevalent that real life rock bands are seeing them as a good venue for releasing their singles. Well, at least one specific video game – Rock Band. I remember way back in the day when radio was the main means of releasing songs. Not anymore!
In an unprecedented move, rock icon Motley Crue is set to release their newest single “Saints of Los Angeles” through the video game Rock Band. This single is available for download through Xbox Live or the PlayStation Store. Of course, it isn’t for free, but the price is quite reasonable at 99 cents.
Motley Crue is not the only band that is going down this path. Def Leppard, another 80s favorite, is set to release their new single entitled “Nine Lives.” The band, however, chose another video game for their venue. Guitar Hero III enthusiasts will be able to download this latest single from Xbox Live on April 24 and from the PlayStation Store on May 8.
But wait – there’s more! There are rumors going around that Metallica has something in the works for Rock Band as well. Though nothing has been substantiated as of yet, it seems that the band just might release their new single through Rock Band as well.
I don’t know about you, but I think that this is quite revolutionary and presents a lot of exciting possibilities for musicians and their fans.
These words always make me perk up in anticipation – undocumented, PS3, and unveiled. Put together, they simply mean that there is something new and exciting that I can do with my PS3, right? Well, let’s say almost always. In this case, I was a bit disappointed when I read the post in PS3 Vault – the title held so much potential!
So what is it all about?
Apparently, someone has discovered a way to blow out the dust that tends to accumulate inside the PS3 casing and the fan. If you do this, you just might extend your PS3’s life – if only because you have removed all the accumulated dust inside. Another perk – well, it depends on your perspective, really – is that you can make your PS3 sound like an Xbox360. (Really now, though, who would want that?;))
Anyhow, here is the video that is being circulated on YouTube. Oh, by the way, this only works for the 40GB version and not on anything else.
Gamers who are into sci-fi have been looking forward to the release of Turok – and why not? This game promises to present the best of both worlds. If you have not bought your copy yet, here is the dish – according to various sources all over the Web – to help you decide whether or not you should go ahead and shell out some dough for this game.
Turok has versions for both the Xbox360 and the PS3, so if you have either of these two gaming consoles, the option of purchasing Turok for your system is open. However, what I have been reading up on Turok does not seem to be so good. Ever reliable Gamespot gave it a rating of 7 over 10 – that does not bode good news at all.
They do highlight some good points such as battling with dinosaurs (fun, fun, fun!), a great voice cast, and getting to kill a T-rex with a knife (yeah, we all have had that fantasy). However, the bad points are a bit weighty:
• Set-piece battles go on for far too long
• Few checkpoint saves add to frustration
• Human opponents aren’t dinosaurs.
It seems that Gamespot is not the only one who is showing disappointment in the game. Take Tom Orry’s review in Videogamer, for example. He gave the game a sad 5 out of 10. He even called Turok an “aging franchise”!
I am sorry to say that Turok may not be the game that you want to buy next. Then again, you may want to find out for yourself – and why not, if you have the extra cash to spare?
A lot of fans have been waiting for Devil May Cry 4 and early this month, their long wait ended. So what’s the buzz about the new game? A lot of PS3 enthusiasts have been complaining about the hard drive feature which, unfortunately, turns out NOT to be optional. Here’s what The Sixth Axis has to say about this:
1. The hard drive feature is not optional. Most of us knew this already, but I’ll just restate it just in case you already heard.
2. Upon booting the game, it takes 20 minutes to install 5gb of data to your PS3’s hard drive. Don’t fret though! There’ll be a history of Devil May Cry playing whilst it’s installing, and if you don’t want to watch this, just go and do something else (though not on the PS3, it’s out of action until it’s done). Grab a coke, get a sandwich, complain on forums via PC, whatever. It’s only 20 minutes, it’s not a problem (unless you’re really impatient).
3. There are mixed stories on the decrease in loading times the install is supposed to do. Capcom say that it’ll result in ‘near Super Nintendo’ loading times. All the accounts I’ve seen say that there is only a second or so difference between the hard drive-using PS3 and the DVD streaming Xbox 360 versions.
So which one is better – the PS3 version or the Xbox360 version? Though there are a lot of reactions on the Internet, I guess it is too early to tell as of yet.
To be honest, I have not tried the game hands on, but if the buzzing around the Internet is anything to believed, it is one heck of a game. It seems that it has all the essential elements of a good video game - a deep storyline, great graphics, open environment (which allows you to interact with the surroundings), first person action, and more. Here is what Gamespot has to say about this 360 exclusive:
The Good:
• Absolutely amazing atmosphere and visual design with the technical prowess to back it all up
• Lots of character customization options to play around with
• Great voice cast really sells the storyline.
The Bad:
• Annoying hitches cause the game to freeze for a few seconds at a time, but it only seems to start happening after playing the game for several hours
• Lack of death penalty keeps things fun, but also keeps things a little too easy.
The score? A whopping 9! Read the whole review here.
By the way, did I say that this was a 360 exclusive? Well, according to a rumor going around, 2k Boston is looking for PS3 developers. For those who do not know, 2k Boston is the team behind Bioshock. So they’re looking for PS3 developers, huh? Does this mean that we can expect a PS3 version of the game? Or maybe the sequel is going to be for the PS3 as well. We can only speculate for now.
December 3, 2007 | Posted by sharker in News, Xbox 360
Just a couple more days and owners of the Xbox 360 will be able to download the latest dashboard update from Microsoft. Rumors about this latest update have been circulating in the past month and it seems that, finally, there is something solid to wait for.
The latest dashboard update is set to be released on the 4th of December and is supposed to allow Xbox 360 owners to download original Xbox titles – among other things. Xbox 360 owners know that dashboard updates are only released twice a year and that makes them really excited about all the changes that come with each update.
So what else can you expect from this update? According to CNET, here are a few:
• Xbox LIVE Arcade hits: Best-selling Xbox LIVE Arcade games like Marble Blast Ultra and Lumines LIVE will be available at permanently discounted prices.
• New video features: Support for full-screen video previews and, more importantly, support for the DivX video codec (version 5.0 and higher).
• Inside Xbox: A direct newsfeed from Microsoft outlining up-to-the-minute information regarding Xbox LIVE and the Marketplace.
• Enhanced parental controls: New features include a timer that can limit the amount of time a child can play per day or week.
• Enhanced online profile: Allows members to add more information about themselves and limit who can see it on Xbox LIVE.
• Enchanced friends list access: Gamers can now see the friends list of other members of Xbox LIVE.
• Improved navigation: Game Store and Video Store buttons will be added to the interface, further simplifying navigation.
