Grand Theft Auto 3... Throwback Game of the Week

Welcome To Liberty City

Shoreside Vale, Staunton Island and Portland Island. Liberty City has come a long way since 2001.. This game defined the sandbox style of gaming. You can do what you want when you want to do it. This is the one that put Grand Theft Auto on the map.

You play as a hero with no name. While everybody else seems to talk too much, your character doesn't say a word. So many new things were introduced in this game.. Voice Acting, Cool Radio Stations, Unique Stunt Jumps, Hidden Packages, etc. The list goes on. The series has evolved so much since the release of GTA 3, but this one took the gaming world by storm. Nobody could have seen this one coming, especially since the previous GTA's had very minor success.

GTA 5 In London anybody??

Nintendo WiiCube

Capcom recently announced that a "new" game titled Resident Evil Archives is hitting stores in June for the Nintendo Wii. I was excited for about 5 seconds until I realized that RE: Archives is nothing but a wii-make* of the remake of the first Resident Evil... While I know Resident Evil Archives is probably going to be fun,

WHY CAN'T WE GET ANY ORIGINAL Wii TITLES???

I think Nintendo can't get over the fact that the Gamecube placed last in the past generations console war. They want to make up for it by reselling all of the top sellers from that generation. Just look at Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Yes it's a Wii game, but I could still use my gamecube control to play it. Yea there's a few new characters and online play, but that's about it. They Wii-made Resident Evil 4, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, and Zelda's Twilight Princess. The least they could do is change the cover art.

What's next a Wii-make of Eternal Darkness?? I actually wouldn't mind that.
*A wii-make is an original Nintendo Gamecube title that gets remade (wii-made) for the Nintendo Wii, making it a wii-cube game.

Good News for Sony

Sales Up 274% in Japan

While other systems were celebrating milestones in Japan last week, the PlayStation 3 was selling units. 62,527 units to be exact. That's up 274% from the week before. This cause for this increase lies in the Blu-Ray edition of the movie Final Fantasy: Advent Children. The movie included a demo of the upcoming blockbuster Final Fantasy XIII.


I bet Sony really wishes they didn't sleep on the exclusive rights for this Blockbuster.

Letters to E.G.M.

I wrote a letter to the Electronic Gaming Monthly (E.G.M.) back in Decemeber in response to their review of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. Turns out the issue I was writing about was E.G.M.'s last issue as the magazine is now just a website (Shout out to 1Up.) Since the possibility of this being published is now gone, guess I'll post it here....

Not only did I have to wait an extra 15 days for my EGM to show up, but I sit on the toilet and begin to read Ryan's review of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. It smelled worse than what I was doing. Sorry Ryan, but the Xbox 360 is marketed as a high definition gaming experience. Basing your whole review off of the fact that it looked horrible on your standard def television is entirely your fault. If you don't want to be apart of the "minority" of gamers who own HDTV's, then you should only be reviewing games made for the system owned by the "majority" of gamers today which is the Nintendo Wii. This makes me question this magazines credibility when I read reviews about a games graphics. Allowing wannabe hardcore gamers to review video games is not your style EGM. What's going on?

... Funny part is thanks to the review I played Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. Lets just say I'm glad I rented it.

LCPD Then & Now

One of the most important aspects of the Grand Theft Auto series is the police. The game wouldn't be the same without them. Who else could you get involved in a high speed chase with after causing a bunch of mayhem? As we approach the one year mark on Grand Theft Auto IV, lets take a look at the evolution of the Liberty City Police Department over the past year.

GTA IV & Lost & Damned
In Grand Theft Auto IV the cops are more user friendly if you ask me. They have this vibe about them that says they really don't want to get out of the car unless you give them a reason.The radar makes it fairly easy to escape, and getting busted is considered taboo in the eyes of some players. It's never too hard to get your wanted level up since cops are usually close by.


GTA: Chinatown Wars
In 2009 the LCPD went handheld again, but this time on the Nintendo DS. In Chinatown Wars the cops are way more of a hassle. Tap a cop car as you drive and you've got a star. There's no zone on the radar that you must escape from to lose your wanted level. Instead you have to find clever ways of causing the cops to crash. The amount of cop cars you have to destroy depends on your wanted level. If you have 2 stars, 2 cop cars must be destroyed before going down to one star. It's a lot easier for a cop to pull you out of a car which has resulted in me being busted multiple times.

Some things still hold true for the LCPD though. If you steal a cop car, you still get a shotgun with five shells, the Pay N Spray's still won't respray cop cars, the helicopter still comes out after 3 stars.

To the Casual Gamers

Thanks to the popularity of the Nintendo Wii, the number of casual gamers has been rising sharply ever since its release in November 2006. This has been met with resistance from some hardcore gamers who claim that games such as Wii Play are destroying the art of video games...

I think we're at a transition point in gaming. As the number of casual gamers increases, so does the amount of games directed towards them. I think over time these games will become more interactive and could one day appeal to both hardcore and casual gamers. Who knows maybe some of the casual gamers will evolve into hardcore gamers. You have to start somewhere.

Bottom line is Casual Gamers are Gamers too... They get respect from this hardcore gamer.

Welcome to Santa Destroy...

Santa Destroy is definitely a character in No More Heroes. To me, it represents an outside perspective on the future of the West Coast of the United States. It's flag reminds me of the flag for the Dominican Republic, which I think says something about the increasing Spanish influence in the United States. Every car including Travis motorcycle are huge which I guess is to show the fact that they guzzle gas.

Santa Destroy also shows an acceptance of homosexual culture. Travis' trainer Thunder Ryu was far from subtle whenever you go to his gym for training. Whenever you visit one of your friends, the song Genki Rockets - Heavenly Star is playing. It's a great song, but play that at your next party and you might get some unwanted attention. Now Travis comes off as a straight character, but he has an incredible sense of style. A lot of the fun I had during the game was shopping at Area 51. His outfits would get brighter and tighter every time I went. It's cool because the message behind that is one could be who they are without having to compromise it for anybody. The message I've noticed a lot this year is to be yourself.

The pulse of Santa Destroy can be found in the characters that inhabit it. The characters serve different roles, but they all share the same lack of interest in the main character Travis Touchdown. One character, Randall Lovikov, won't even deal with you unless you bring him an eight ball.


He would teach Travis new moves if you bring him 8 balls scattered throughout the city. He wouldn't do it unless he had for anything less than 8 ball. Maybe I'm over thinking it, but could the 8 ball represent something illegal? He always did get extremely happy when you brought him an 8 ball.

Chris Redfield... Ladies Man

Has Chris Redfield ever carried his own weight in a Resident Evil game?

In the original Resident Evil he was clearly the inferior character. He could only carry six items, he couldn't pick locks, and the idea of making the V-Jolt to destroy Plant 42 doesn't even occur to Chris until Rebecca is forced to bail him out of a sticky situation.

In Code Veronica dude not only appears 2/3's of the way into the game, but he also has the nerve to show up on the wrong island only to be told by Leon S. Kennedy where to go to find Claire.

I wont lie, I had hope for Chris in Resident Evil 5. I really did. I thought the improved graphics and the faster loading times would go great with whatever new ideas would be brought to the table. In the end all I got was improved graphics and faster loading times.

Resident Evil 5 feels like Resident Evil 4, just with Chris Redfield and his new partner Sheva. Nothing against having a partner, but is Chris ever going to have a solo mission?

I don't think it'd be fun though...

If the game meant bringing back lockpicks and Plant 42 Chris would be royally screwed.

Sheva to the Rescue!!!

Back in the building... Again

Obama or Bust

2008 was a great year for gaming. So many great games were released that it's been hard to declare a drought for gamers so far in 2009. I can't escape Liberty City myself... its kind of scary actually.

None of that really matters though. 2008 was the year for a man by the name of Barrack Hussein Obama. It would take weeks for me to describe the impact President Obama has made on history, but that's not what this post is about.

I hope one day to meet President Obama just so I could shake his hand and say thank you. If that one happens I can check it off of my bucket list. Shout out to Morgan Freeman...

Zombies Ate My Neighbors... Throwback Game of the Week

BANG BANG!!!

Actually it's more like SQUIRT SQUIRT!!! in this game. It's one of the best games 1993 had to offer. I had it on the SNES (It's also on the SEGA Genesis.)
You join either Zeke or his friend Julie on their adventure to squirt away the zombies in their suburban town. (SQUIRT SQUIRT!!!)

It sounds crazy, but look at the picture on the left.

Zeke's rocking the 3d glasses I think to get a better view of Julie's chest. Julie looks like one of those girls you can't wait to turn 18. The way she's holding the gun shows she has experience with squirt guns. I feel safer already...

1993

A Co-Op experience that involves killing zombies...
Sounds like Resident Evil 5 to me.

In 3 days.. Over 100 games will be on sale for $9.99 at Best Buy

Mark your calendars people. April 26th is a huge day for gamers at your local Best Buy store. Over 100 games are going on sale for $9.99. I don't know about you, but I could use a deal. Here's the titles I would recommend out of the list I saw.
PS3
Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions
MLB 08: The Show
Rock Band
Guitar Hero 3
Soul Caliber IV
Pure

Xbox 360
Pure
Soul Caliber IV
Silent Hill: Homecoming
Devil May Cry 4

Nintendo DS
Ninja Gaiden DS

... Enjoy people and I hope you can take advantage of this sweet deal. Fuck this recession.... Fuck it

Is the Wii 8 times Better than the XBOX 360?

8,000,000 Sold in Japan

N4G is Slacking

My story title "Need A Tissue" on the pending blogs page has 8 approvals. Thats 3 extra approvals needed to get it posted on the Approved Blogs page.

Why the F*ck is my blog post still Pending???

Back in the building

One Down, 7 Million More to go

1,000,000 sold in Japan.

Nintendo = Sell Outs

Give the people what they want...

Guess the World Wasn't so Mad Afterall..,

Isn't it funny how blood is Nintendo's way of "appealing" to the hardcore gamer? Guess the hardcore gamers were too busy playing better games on other systems. That's too bad Nintendo. That's too bad...

66,000 Sold in March.

Welcome to the Machine

I was reading the April 2009 issue of Game Informer the other day and I saw an article written by a gentleman known as Yuji Naka. Mr. Naka is a former employee of SEGA who spent his time there trying to kill Sonic the Hedgehog. In his article he insists that Sonic the Hedgehog must die.
Damn Buddy.

Was it that bad working for SEGA? Everybody knows that Sonic is and always has been the pulse of SEGA. If he dies, who does SEGA have to carry the flag?


Jack From Madworld?


I dont think so...

Sonic is the junkie of the videogame industry. He's already proven that he will suck the dick of his former enemy to stay relevant. Do you really think Sonic was the main reason that the Olympic Game was a huge success, or was it the fact that Mario & Sonic attended the Olympic Games together?

Either way success like that is a drug to Sonic, and he will do anything to get it. That last taste he had with Mario only proves that more horrible games starring Sonic the Hedgehog will be coming in the near future... SEGA!

Do You Remember When Sonic Had His Own System?