MORE
Most Recent Entries
- GTA@NWB Redux
- Couch Potatoes Reader Get-Together Tonight
- You Like It, You REALLY Like It
- Worst Xbox Achievements, Vol. 1
- Game Companies Who Treat Customers Like Crooks
- Breaking News: 'GTA IV' Not Perfect
- Conan Makes With The Funny
- Spudcast v34.0
- Video Game Ratings Guide
- 'Grand Theft Auto' Giveaway
- GTA IV: Early Impressions
- There Be Digital Pirates In Liberty City
- Spudcast v33.0
- Super Pii Pii Bros.
- The Electric GameStop Acid Test
Monthly Archives
|
“Hold me!” Our pal and favorite bartender Scott didn’t win the copy of “GTA IV,” but we let him touch it anyway.
Couch Potatoes dropped in on the New World Brewery last night, and the only thing flowing more freely than the beer taps was the geek talk. As it turns out, even a discussion of how ridiculously high gas prices can help the video game industry is tolerable when you’re washing it down with a sweet Lagunitas Copper Ale.
But the real reason we were in Ybor on a Thursday night—other than to sip a smooth Black Bavarian and listen to the New World’s killer jukebox—was to name the winner of our “Grand Theft Auto” giveaway.
We tossed the names in a hat, mixed ‘em around and blindly plucked out one lucky reader: Melisa Taylor of Tampa!
Congrats to Melisa, and thanks to everyone who commented and/or came out.
Oh, and keep an eye out for our next contest. We’re thinking about giving away a copy of “Metal Gear Solid 4” to anyone who can sneak into our office and take it without being seen. Rumors that we’re going to require participants to have a Liquid Snake-style arm transplant are entirely exaggerated.
Come join us tonight out at New World Brewery at 9 p.m. (1313 E. Eighth Ave. in Ybor) for a Couch Potatoes reader get-together. There’ll be plenty of beer, music and geeked-out video game discussion.
We’ll give away a copy of “Grand Theft Auto IV” for the game system of your choice (PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360).
To win, simply leave a comment in any Couch Potatoes blog no later than 5:30 p.m. today and you’ll be registered for the drawing. It’s that easy. (Winners must be at least 18 years old.)
We’ll draw the winner and give away the game tonight at New World.
Here are the directions to New World.
No doubt about it: “Grand Theft Auto IV” is a really fun game. Over the past week, we’ve spent nearly every waking hour (except the ones when we’re chained to our desks) guiding Niko Bellic around Liberty City, from the slums of Firefly Island to the uber-posh urban lofts of Algonquin. And thanks to the game’s sprawling ripe-for-exploration cityscape and fun multiplayer modes, there’s a good chance we’ll be playing it for a long time to come.
But that won’t keep us from nitpicking. The game has its share of flaws, and your friendly neighborhood Couch Potatoes—having trained their whole lives to find the cloud in every silver lining—feel it’s necessary to mention a couple of them in the interest of being “fair and balanced.”
Game Design: One of the most frustrating aspects of “GTA IV” emerges the first time you fail a mission. The game’s early missions are easy enough that it doesn’t happen for a while. But once it does, prepare to be annoyed.
Here’s an example: In the mission “Hostile Negotiation,” Niko’s cousin Roman is kidnapped by Russian mobsters. You get a frantic call from Roman’s girlfriend, at which point you have to drive across town to the warehouse where Roman’s being held. (Alternately, you can take a cab and sit through the ride or endure the load time if you skip it.) Of course it’s a trap—they’re expecting you—so once you get inside the warehouse there are dozens of armed thugs waiting to kill you. As Niko, you have to slowly and methodically work your way up to the fourth floor, staying in cover and picking off enemy after enemy until you finally reach the room where Roman’s being held. After a brief cut scene, you have to take out a guy who’s holding Roman at gunpoint while using him as a human shield. So you aim and fire and—voila!—Roman is saved. But guess what? The mission isn’t over. You have to take Roman back home.
So you follow Roman back downstairs and, hey, there’s a truck right outside in the yard behind the warehouse. Sweet! You hop in the truck and start driving. And then ... BOOM!
It turns out there are mines or something combustible hidden in the overgrown yard behind the warehouse. The truck explodes, killing you and rendering the mission a failure. You have to start over at the beginning—on the other side of town—and work your way through the whole thing again ... just so you can perform the seemingly simple task of driving Roman home.
This scenario happened to both Stephen and me. And I’ve had at least two or three other similar mission “failures” that were equally frustrating.
I’m sorry, but there are only two possible explanations here: Either (1) the explosion was a fluke that Rockstar didn’t anticipate, or (2) Rockstar planned that little booby trap. In the former case, that’s bad game design—the mission should’ve been successful as soon as Roman’s captor was shot. In the latter, that’s just evil.
Thankfully, we’re not alone on this.
But we also have to acknowledge this: “GTA IV” is also not alone. Off the top of my head I can think of countless games that made we want to shatter the TV screen with my controller for the very same reason. Most recently, it was the interminable three-stage final boss battle in “Dark Sector,” which required no small amount of sheer dumb luck to defeat. I had to fight him no fewer than eight times before I won by doing the exact same thing I’d been doing since my first try.
So it’s not just “GTA IV.” That’s how video games work. And that’s ... kind of sad, actually.
Many hardcore gamers will argue that this kind of gameplay is simply “challenging” and that it gives the player a great sense of accomplishment when they finally succeed. I not-so-humbly disagree. That’s not a sense of accomplishment you’re feeling. It’s a sense of relief.
Maybe it’s just me, but when I complete a game, I don’t want my last thoughts about it to be, “Thank god I never have to do that again.”
Main Character: In my review of “GTA IV,” I said Niko Bellic “may be the most finely nuanced character the game industry has ever produced.” In ensuing conversations, Stephen disagreed, and I have to admit he made some pretty solid points. He argued that Niko only has two modes (detatched, aloof smart-ass and cold-blooded killer) and noted that “the motives the developers give Niko are as shallow as [any other video game protagonist]. ‘He’s got a past and he wants revenge. Oh, and money.’”
True. True.
But I still think Niko is a big step up from the Marcus Fenixes of the gaming world—those one-dimensional, testosterone-fueled cartoon characters who owe more to Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Predator” than to Ray Liotta in “Goodfellas.” Hell, when you think about most game characters, it’s tough to even remember their names, let alone the details of their personal lives. What can you tell me about “Soap" MacTavish? Or Logan Keller? I mean, just because there’s a picture of a baby in Gordon Freeman‘s locker, does that make him more human?
By those admittedly pitiful standards, Niko Bellic is a richly drawn character.
But if you compare him to, say, Humbert Humbert or Hannibal Lecter, he’s barely a sketch.
Again, that’s not necessarily “GTA’s” fault. It points to a weakness in the industry.
Part of the problem is that game developers often intentionally create the most generic character possible. Theoretically, that way anyone who happens to play the game can project their own personalities onto an everyman avatar instead of being force-fed one they may not like or relate to.
OK, great. But does it have to be that way? Probably not. Hollywood gives us countless protagonists with strong personalities, and even when we can’t necessarily see ourselves hanging out and having a beer with the character, we can almost always relate to their fundamental humanity—assuming there’s a decent actor in the role.
So, as Stephen asked, why can’t game characters’ personalities be as customizable as their faces or wardrobes? Sure, it would require a whole new technology, probably. And, yeah, it would change the game and probably make the story different for each and every player. But that’s a good thing, right?
Video games have come a long way in the last 10 years—and one look at the top-down 2-D graphics of the original 1998 “Grand Theft Auto” is all the proof you need—but there’s still a long way to go. If Rockstar isn’t prepared to put its $500 million toward taking the next giant leap, let’s hope another game developer is.
In the meantime, “GTA IV” will suffice. Quite nicely, in fact.
News like this should come packaged with an audible, barley perceptible groan.
Bioware, maker of “Mass Effect,” has announced it plans to use SecuROM on the PC version of the game, which hits store shelves May 28.
The DRM software requires the user to “check in” with the Bioware servers every ten days and prove the copy of the game is authorized and not pirated. Basically, the user must activate the game upon start up and re-activate it repeatedly, which of course, requires an Internet connection.
Now, if you’re reading this you’re probably a loyal Couch Potato, replete with good fashion sense, healthy skin and nails and a higher-than-average intelligence, which means we’re probably preaching to the choir when we say this tactic is stupid.
Why would a company make a paying customer clear annoying hurdles which a pirate would easily avoid anyway?
Can someone who buys this game opt for the “pirated” version, absent the repeating authorization code demands? Maybe Bioware can charge extra for it—package it as a collector’s edition.
Apparently, the PC version of “Assassin’s Creed” performs similar checks. There’s talk that the expected PC-hit “Spore” will feature the DRM, too.
PC game makers are clearly concerned about piracy, and like the music labels before them, they are trying DRM as a tactic. One can only hope the eventual consumer backlash will, as it did with music, force the game makers to think of solutions that don’t burden the paying customer.
Speaking of backlash, there’s been plenty of it over at the Bioware forums. You can practically see the virtual pitchforks. Some are claiming Bioware would never have implemented the DRM scheme if it were still an independent game developer. (Electronic Arts purchased Bioware in January.)
UPDATE: The Admins over at the Bioware forums are locking any posts regarding the DRM issue and routing all who wish to voice concerns to a single “sticky” post. So much for the concept of a forum.
In the meantime, it’s only a matter of time before hackers breach the high gates of the next-gen consoles, at which point, far more gamers can expect the sting from the DRM whip.
Yeah, we’re still called the Couch Potatoes, not the Grand-Theft-Auto Potatoes, but can you really blame us for the non-stop “GTA” coverage when numbers like this roll in?
”Grand Theft Auto IV” made $500 million in its first week. That’s Five ... Hundred ... Million. In its first week. That’s about 6 million copies sold worldwide.
Take-Two honchos begged and pleaded with their shareholders to sandbag a takeover offer from Electronic Arts until after the game hit the market. It looks like they were right to do so.
Take-Two’s stock closed Tuesday at $26.35 and should climb higher amid the sales news. EA’s last offer? $26 per share.
By the way, “GTA IV” also smashed the first-day sales records set by “Halo 3” last September. It moved 3.6 million units to haul in about $310 million in its first 24 hours on the market.
So, when we pour $500 million into a single product in the space of seven days, can the economy really be in the toilet? Maybe those economic stimulus checks weren’t necessary, after all.
For those who haven’t purchased “GTA IV” and are wondering whether it’s worth the hard-earned cash, check out Rommie’s the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but-the-truth review here. And look for a more comprehensive story on “GTA’s” record-breaking launch in Friday’s Tribune.
Last night, I noticed there’s an Xbox achievement in “Grand Theft Auto IV” called “Liberty City Minute.” It awards the player 30 points for completing all 80-or-so of the game’s main-story missions in 30 hours or less.
That sucks. Why?
The signature feature of “Grand Theft Auto” is its free-roaming, open-ended gameplay. The series revolutionized the industry by introducing the concept of “sandbox"-style gameplay, giving players a sprawling urban environment to explore and interact with however they see fit. Gamers can go shopping, watch TV, listen to the radio, go on dates, shoot pool, play darts, go bowling or just drive around—and the sense of liberation from the usual confines of video game “levels” can be exhilarating.
The “Liberty City Minute” achievement throws all that out the window and encourages gamers to play “GTA IV” as if it were a linear shooter, tackling one mission immediately after the next, with nothing in between. In other words, it robs the game—and the player—of everything that makes “GTA” such a unique and engrossing experience.
Through my first 30 hours with the game, I’d only completed about half the game’s missions. Friends who unlocked the “Liberty City Minute” achievement say it took them between 27 and 30 hours without doing anything else between missions. No dates with Michelle, Kiki or Kate; no stealing exotic imports for Brucie; no delivering contraband for Little Jacob. Nothing. They tell me they rarely even drove anywhere—they always hailed a cab and skipped the ride.
Personally, that doesn’t really sound all that fun to me. But more to the point, it doesn’t sound a thing like “GTA.”
Late Night with Conan O’Brien gives us this pretty funny “GTA IV” bit from last night:
Yours truly is about 20% of the way through the campaign without setting foot in Manhattan, uh, I mean, Algonquin.
Maybe you heard. This week saw the release of “Grand Theft Auto IV,” which is not the fourth game in the series, but rather the sixth, unless you count editions released for handheld systems, in which case it’s the ninth. Confused? Don’t be. All you need to know is this: It’s huge. Analysts expect the game to sell about 6 million copies and generate about $400 million in its first week alone.
Meanwhile, angry parents, outraged politicians and self-appointed moral arbiters are calling for the game to be banned, burned or at least locked away in a safe place where young, impressionable minds can’t fall prey to the come-hither depravity they’re pretty sure it contains, even though they haven’t actually played it themselves.
Why all the fuss? Put simply, “GTA” is the most provocative video game franchise ever created. And, judging from the reviews, this latest version may be the best in the series.
Libe Goad, who’s Editor-in-Chief over at GameDaily, is one of a number of respected national game critics who awarded “GTA IV” a perfect score. She was also nice enough to take time out of her busy schedule to join us for this week’s Spudcast to discuss the game, the hype, the controversy and everything else “GTA"-related.
You can check it out here:
Couch Potatoes, Episode 34 [link]
As always, you can download the MP3 directly from the page linked above, or from the archived list on the left side of this page, or you can subscribe via iTunes by clicking on the logo to the left.
Here’s your chance to win a copy of “Grand Theft Auto IV” for the game system of your choice (Playstation 3 or Xbox 360).
To win, simply leave a comment in any Couch Potatoes blog post over the next week and you’ll be registered for the drawing. It’s that easy. (Winners must be at least 18 years old.)
We’ll draw the winner at a readers’ get-together Thursday, May 8 at New World Brewery (1313 E. Eighth Avenue in Ybor). Join us at 9 p.m. for some beer, music and geeked-out video game discussion.
If you win, you walk home with the game that night.
Don’t say we never do anything for you.
Now go comment.
If you have older children, chances are they’ve already asked you to get them a copy of “Grand Theft Auto IV.” So what do you do? On the one hand, the title doesn’t sound very kid-friendly. On the other, it’s just a video game—how bad can it be?
Well, as the parent, that’s your call. But help is available. The Entertainment Software Rating Board exists to assist consumers who want to make informed decisions about what kinds of entertainment they bring into their homes. (Perhaps you’ve heard of these folks; they’re sometimes referred to as “responsible citizens.")
Of course, the ESRB’s rating system is no less nebulous than what you get from its cinematic equivalent, the MPAA. (E10+ is the game world’s ridiculously finer-point version of PG-13—I mean, what part of “parental guidance” did we not understand?) And because each parent has their own individual standards of what is or isn’t appropriate, the ratings are ultimately open to your personal interpretation and final judgment.
In other words, they’re there to help you, not to make decisions for you. As we’ve said before, “parent” is a verb, too. So be an active participant in your kids’ gaming choices by looking for the following symbols, which can be found in the lower left corner of every game box. (Please also note that a more detailed content warning can be found on the back of the box.)
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Titles rated EC (Early Childhood) have content that may be suitable for ages 3 and older. Contains no material that parents would find inappropriate.
EVERYONE
Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.
EVERYONE 10+
Titles rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) have content that may be suitable for ages 10 and older. Titles in this category may contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes.
TEEN
Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language.
MATURE
Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.
ADULTS ONLY
Titles rated AO (Adults Only) have content that should only be played by persons 18 years and older. Titles in this category may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity.
For the record, “GTA IV” is rated M for Mature, due to blood, intense violence, partial nudity, strong language, strong sexual content and use of drugs and alcohol.
This is not a review.
We only had about two hours with the game before sleep beckoned, but at first blush, we can report “Grand Theft Auto IV” is a must-have item.
First impressions: Driving and walking are much different from previous games, in a good way. The NaturalMotion “Euphoria” engine does a nice job of giving objects perceived weight and inertia.
The humor is biting and it’s everywhere. We particularly enjoyed watching TV in Nico’s cousin’s apartment.
Surprisingly, we’ve yet to kill a cop or solicit the services of a prostitute.
Here we are (Stephen, Rommie and Kelvin Ma) standing in line outside a GameStop on North Dale Mabry in anticipation of the midnight release. Yes, we are losers.
Smell that? That’s unbridled testosterone.
We’re not jaded though. Stay tuned for the full review ...
Well that didn’t take long.
Asian pirates have successfully cracked and leaked “Grand Theft Auto IV” onto the internet in a PAL version.
Don’t you just love the world of video games—what other real-life scenario could’ve produced the above sentence?
Late last night, the Xbox 360 version of the game showed up on various torrent sites, clocking in at 6.36 GB.
The PAL means a burned disc won’t play on a North American Xbox 360, but fear not. An NTSC version should pop up on torrent sites shortly.
Spoiler-ridden clips of the game have been showing up on YouTube all day, only to disappear as quickly. Surf at your own risk.
Competition is a pillar of capitalism. It stimulates innovation and drives down prices, giving consumers like you and me better products at a lower cost.
That’s why we all freak out when we hear about giant coroporations gobbling up the little guys who, if left unchecked, could threaten their profit margins down the road. Industry leaders don’t typically care for competition—and why would they? They have nothing to gain and everything to lose.
In the video game industry, there are a handful of clear-cut leaders. In terms of hardware, Nintendo is killing the other guys with their through-the-roof Wii and DS sales. This trend will continue until someone else puts out a better product, or at least until consumers realize how few good games are available for the Wii.
As for software publishing, the giants are Electronic Arts and Activision. They’re both huge and getting bigger. Activision merged with Vivendi in December, and EA is currently looking