on hold

Real life calling, can't get into any big time commitment game now. But I still want something with the substance of a sim or strategy game. I was thinking of revisiting the entire Age of Empires series, so I checked out some vids on YouTube. I got some good nostalgia out of the sound effects, but the visuals were kind of too small.

The small visuals reminded me just how far the Age series has come; those old games might be too crude to play now, other than for brief nostalgia. But there's some good stuff in there, and it might be enough to draw me in for a few weeks. So I won't go there just yet. Maybe I'll play a little Age of Empires 3. Its not an especially deep game, and its somewhat boring, so I think I can pick it up and drop it with little risk of accidentally losing a week or a month.

Grand Theft Auto 4: final review

GTA 4 and its add-ons are worth playing if you like the GTA series (especially if you get them on sale), but they're mostly unmemorable.

{spoilers}

I can hardly even remember the core game, about Niko. He seems like a mostly sad character, with occasional bouts of rage. There were a lot of dopey missions, mostly involving extended shooting sequences. There were surprisingly few car and racing missions (for a GTA game), for which I am grateful.

If Niko is a sad character, the guy from the first expansion, Johnny, is downright depressing. His story started by wallowing in an empty existence weighted down by nostalgia for days gone by, and ended with even that being taken away. His missions were a little more interesting than the core game, and it was an interesting experiment to slip you, the player, into a far more defined persona. Characters like Niko, and like Claude from GTA 3, are little more than puppets, and you can make them your own. With Johnny, I'm often wondering, well, how would I play this out if I was in his shoes. It was an interesting way to play.

I think they got the balance right with Luis in the second expansion, as far as character, and range of activities. Despite the diversity it was still mostly shooting, but with some surprises. The story seems a little too good for the environment it is in. It actually has a little depth, what with Luis being between worlds and trying to define himself, and almost everyone around him wanting to influence him in some way for their own purposes. But that's almost too big a concept to fit into the GTA sandbox.

GTA games are like a carnival where you wander around, enjoying the sights and sounds, albeit on a prescribed track between attractions. And yet GTA 4 was starting to offer hints of you controlling the story line, like when Niko chooses to execute someone or let them go. You'd think they would push that thread further, but it was dropped. It could have made the add-ons great, instead of just good.

I've been somewhat spoiled by games like Fallout 3, with its mix of RPG and FPS elements, and a seemingly endless world of interactions. But unlike those RPGs, GTA games are action first, not story first, and its a whole different kind of vibe. I accept that. But the GTA games can't be ignored, as they are out there pushing the boundaries of gaming all the time. You can't be any kind of gamer if you're not keeping up with the Grand Theft Auto series. So I enjoyed this carnival, and I may revisit, but I won't linger.

Grand Theft Auto 4: into darkness

Things have taken a turn for the darker, story-wise. What used to be a happy-go-lucky tale has now become a temptation story. I guess things had to come to a point eventually. There's the joke offer from Mori, to become his apprentice, that is easily dismissed. The offer from Bulgarin is not so easily shaken off. What I don't understand is why Luis even listens to this creep. He's instantly identifiable as a creep, and a dangerous one. The first time he insist that you kill someone or else, why not just kill him?

I'm carrying 25 sticky bombs at all times. I could just ring his whole house with them, and blow the fucker up. But no. I have to listen to this piece of crap, until the story says I don't. This game was doing so well, until this. I understand the game needs an antagonist. But this is like finger-painting with oven mitts on.

It's about time.

Shoot Em Win indeed.

(lots of shooting, and several reloads later)

This feels right. I finished the mission, and I'm in a long epic float to the endgame.

Wait, that's it? That's all? Rolling credits already?

At least there's the closing credits clips to watch, where various scenes are re-enacted.

And then, just like that, I'm back in the game, but its all different now that there's no more missions.

It feels so empty when a GTA game ends. I can revisit many places, but I can't really hang out with a lot of characters any more. Its just over.

I know. Games end, stories end, movies end, books end, life ends, everything ends.

It's time to end my time with GTA 4. I'll review later, when I've digested it a bit. I already feel like I'm done, and I'm gone. I don't think I'm going back to finish seagulls, or base jumps, or anything. I'm just done.

Grand Theft Auto 4: shift work

I'm in a nice little routine here: rob drug dealers by day, manage nightclubs by night. Who needs the story missions?

Didn't this used to be out of 25, not out of 50?

OK, so now I got Sticky Bombs. I hope I am retroactively awarded the 3 other weapons I'm due.

I really liked nightclub management. I'm sad that there's only 8 missions in it. It was different.









(next day)

"Walk Free" achievement? For losing 4 stars? Just another day at the office.

OK, 50 out of 50, and no weapon unlock. I'm starting to get a little tired of this. Besides, that's really more like 100 out of 50. At least every other mission ends in some disaster that isn't exactly my fault, but is still my problem. Like jumping into the water and dying instantly. Or having the target vehicle get flipped over, and I can't right it because I'm surrounded by cops, and can't leave the scene or I'll lose the car. Or a teammate steps in front of my field of fire. Its a high failure rate. And I'm not even currently enjoying the benefit of the weapon unlocks.

Back to missions.

What a view from up here.

And now I have a shotgun with explosive shells. Life is good.

Wait - now I have to jump off this thing?

Cool.

Yet another reminder that I am, in fact, playing Grand Theft Auto.

Oh great. I already thought my map was needlessly cluttered with drug war icons (when all you really need is one). Now its absolutely rotten with base jumping icons. I hope these go away if I do them, but I doubt it. Why can't I turn things on and off in mini-map?

I've been wondering now, for a long time, who was it that fucked up this diamond deal. Now I know, it was me.

This incident practically begs for a third chapter to Grand Theft Auto 4. There's still one party at this transaction that is not represented.

Grand Theft Auto 4: drug wars

Now that the helicopter business is done, its time for some fun. I will try to get to at least 25 of these before stopping. I might even do some other side missions, like the seagulls. I didn't think it was worth it before, but I'm really liking this chapter so far.

OK, I don't know if this is lame or not, but I botched my first night of nightclub management. I failed to get the VIP out before the paparazzi got a picture of him. I tried not to kill the guy on the motorcycle, and so the guy got his picture. I spent a fair bit of time just standing around in the club, too. I don't know how this activity is even rewarded, or if I can break it up into more bite size pieces.

Hey, I completed 10 rounds of drug war, where's my reward? I'm supposed to get a new weapon spawn at my hideout for every 10 of these. Reading... oh, there are certain missions that need to be completed first. Lame.

(a few days later)

Playing on and off, got up to 20 drug wars done. It's slow going. Something stupid happens all the time, like a teammate dying. Its fun but tedious, need to take a break. Dessie keeps calling, and I'm interested in seeing more nightclub management.

The music started promptly at 9 pm, but the outside security and patrons didn't appear until I stepped through the door.

I found another use for the joystick. When you are in the nightclub, the controls are different. You mostly walk or fast-shuffle, and move your head back and forth - that's it. This is cumbersome with a mouse, but easier with joystick. What else can joystick do?

Were all the good achievement names taken? They couldn't come up with anything better than "Snow Queen"?

Grand Theft Auto 4: wear this yoke

I couldn't get past a helicopter mission with the keyboard. I've always been able to muddle through before, but I can't handle the helicopter for flying and fighting at the same time. I've been putting this moment off for as long as possible, but its time to break out the console controller.

I have an old "Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver for Windows" with a controller. Download drivers, install. Restart the computer!? While I'm rebooting, might as well change the batteries; its been years since I touched this thing (why did I even buy this thing?) OK, I'm back.

Is this thing on? I press the big Xbox logo ball, and get some lights. I'd like to test this thing before I start. Maybe there's some simple utility or game I could try. I read around. Try running "joy.cpl", the built-in calibration tool either doesn't work or doesn't make sense. Maybe I should just try the game and see what happens.

OK, with the controller I can run around and do a lot of basic actions. It's actually a pleasant way to just walk about. Driving is a whole 'nother thing. Especially if I want to do anything other than drive, like shooting. But who cares, I'm still going to stick with the keyboard for everything but flying. Time to go try this out on a helicopter. Maybe I should just go jack a sight-seeing helicopter first, before even trying the mission.

Important safety tip: don't press that yellow Y button, you'll bail out in mid-air, no matter how high are you up. It startled me a little when I hit the ground and my hand vibrated - I forgot this controller has a little bit of force feedback.

Now this makes flying actually fun. I feel like a jerk for ever even trying to use a keyboard to fly. As easy as this now is, I still need practice. I switch to first person view - and holy shit I'm flying. It really feels like I'm flying. This is like a whole new game now! This is all I'm going to do from now on is fly!

OK, yeah, I need some more practice.

I tried the mission again, stealing the small military helicopter for that blowhard, and it went much better this time. Well, I strafed the target for a while without ever hitting it, and I eventually fell into the sea, but it was a lot more fun. It makes me want to go back to the GTA 3 games and try those helicopters again with the controller.

I realize something as I went to reload. My previous mission was to drop my boss off at Gracie's house (nice tie-in to Niko's story), and go to the internet cafe and write a post to a nasty blogger. That's it - drop someone off and then post something. Mission accomplished. My very next mission is to steal a helicopter from arms dealers, then use it to kill them. Is there something a little bit off about the pacing here?

Grand Theft Auto 4: The Ballad of Gay Tony

Nice intro - starts by showing Niko's story, with plenty of guest appearances from Johnny's story. It's sad to think that this is the last chapter, but it has to end or all these guest appearances in each other's stories could get exponential.

I like the style of this game so far. Everything's kind of bright and neon, yet fake and empty. Its a melancholy mix that reminds me of Vice City in some pleasantly updated way. I wonder if the addition of the 80s radio station was from this add-on, not the previous, and it was just made retroactively available. One of the downsides of retro gaming - your timelines tend to get compacted, if not outright squished.

This game has the P90! I haven't carried one of these (in-game, that is - I'm not likely to ever even see one in real life) since Fallout 2. I'm liking this add-on more and more.

I steer Luis to his Mom's house, and receive a sharp reminder that the Grand Theft Auto universe is a cruel one. Nobody loves anybody for long before it is inevitably ruined by jealousy, fear, and/or betrayal. I just met Luis' mom and I already want to take her on a helicopter trip over the city and bail out in mid-air.

Watching some TV and it occurs to me that GTA games used to be a sometimes subtle satire of our culture; now GTA 4 is almost as blatant as the movie Idiocracy. Yet another reason why GTA 4 feels like a sequel made by different people than the GTA 3 games. Usually sequels tend to lose original key players, subtlety, depth, and quality as they go forwards. Like Fallout 2, and Deus Ex 2. And yet strangely, there was a Fallout 3 and Deus Ex 3 that were better than their immediate predecessors, but still not as good as their originators. Maybe there is something to this, or maybe just coincidence.

Grand Theft Auto 4: idiot ball, end

I haven't raged this hard against this game since the frustrating end of the main GTA 4 game. It's another one of those situations where you have the boss at your mercy, and he's clearly a threat if you let him go, but you let him go so you can do an even harder mission against him later. If the main GTA 4 was written by the "B" team, then these add-ons were written by the "C" team.

Well, at least the game knows how to finish. Nothing like an extended gun battle, and then an execution. I especially like the funeral at the end, it seems fitting.


I really enjoyed the end credits, watching the adventures of Niko and Johnny from a great height. It was especially interesting when their paths almost intersected. I was wondering if they would show anything from the second add-on, and then there it was, on the roof of the museum. I wonder what awaits for the end credits of that add-on.

Not sure how I feel about this episode, TLAD, but I think it was a good length for an add-on. The overall quality was a bit spotty, but worth a playthrough. Not going to stop and think about it much more, as there isn't anything left worth doing but some races and gang wars, which really serve no purpose now. I called everyone in my contact list, listened to the goodbyes. I think I actually feel a little bad for Johnny, he's lost basically everything he knew.

As usual after finishing a game, I hit the net to see what I missed, and usually end up on gamefaqs site. Looks like I missed all the Stubbs extra jobs; wasn't aware of them. Not much else left to do. Time to move on to the next add-on.

Grand Theft Auto 4: back to story

Got bored of the gang wars, went back to the main story.

That's kind of boring too. The endless betrayals, the bosses escaping so you just have to fight them again, etc.

I've decided to just try and keep Terry and Clay alive, as they seem to be part of the story. The rest of the gang are just too stupid and charge right into the action, and it takes way too many retries to keep them alive.

Missions can be tough, but usually get easier with every try. I like how Johnny bites it right under an LCPD ad. Time to reload.

Now this is what I've been missing - fun. All of a sudden I remember why I'm even playing GTA, because suddenly you realize you are enjoying the heck out of some crazy shit, like being on the back of a motorcycle on a high speed chase, while armed with an infinite ammo street-sweeper.

Grand Theft Auto 4: team stats

I like seeing my team mates stats go up, but I'm having to restart missions a lot. Either the cops show up, or someone walks in front of my field of fire, or one of the two major named gang members gets killed, and its time to reload. And yet this is still more fun than most of the original GTA 4 tasks, which felt even more repetitive.

Grand Theft Auto 4: more at home in the city

As Niko, I took a cab everywhere, and it was a great convenience over having to drive. Now as Johnny, it seems right to go everywhere the old fashioned away, driving there myself on my motorcycle. I feel more in touch with the place, and the geography. It even makes a little sense story-wise.

I'm not very fond of having to manage a team; I like to work alone. Usually I end up having to babysit teammates, worrying about accomplishing my mission and trying to keep them alive. Its not much fun and adds a layer of complexity. I don't mind when it adds challenge, I do mind when it adds pointless frustration.

Grand Theft Auto 4: The Greasy Chopper

I feel like I've already been here, exploring biker culture in GTA Vice City. But as it moves along, I see the story getting a little deeper, maybe even a little more interesting. Once again we return to the theme that it sucks to be the sane and sensible Number Two in service of a crazy master. It's a good theme, and a good source of conflict to drive the story.

It's hard to have much sympathy for these people, but they're growing on me. I've just starting doing the gang wars, and its a pleasant reminder of GTA San Andreas. It appeals to my nature to collect the whole set, especially when it consists of brief but satisfying battles. I kind of missed conquering territories and buying businesses, but GTA 4 was just not that kind of story.

I like the new radio station, Vice City FM, for a whole bunch of reasons, but why did they have to remove The Source? That was all I was listening to for most of GTA 4. I understand they may have had to remove a channel to make room for another (not really), but why not remove Radio Vladivostok, which was clearly the Bellic's channel? Its not like they did it for story reasons.

Motorcycles seem different now. In the previous game they were hard to control, and not much fun. Now it feels like I've taken a few levels in motorcycle, kind of like in San Andreas where you have measurable in-game skills that you can increase. Which makes sense, since Niko probably shouldn't have much experience with bikes, and Johnny should have a lot. Not sure why it subjectively feels so noticeably better now.

Grand Theft Auto 4: review

Sometimes DLCs, expansion packs, add-ons, etc. are just an attempt by game makers to milk a few more dollars out of the fortune they sunk into making a game. Usually these add-ons are dispensable  and add little value to the original. I can't think of many occasions were the add-on is a must have. So I'm not holding much hope for GTA 4's two expansions, but I'll give it a try.

Before I go much further into the expansions, I might as well write down my review for the main game. I can already feel it receding behind me. Grand Theft Auto 4 didn't leave me with any much lasting impression, good or bad. It was a good product but it wasn't much of an experience either.

Like all the GTA games I know (the past 3), they each seem to push in a somewhat different direction, and they take some risks. GTA 3 brought the franchise into the world of 3D graphics, and gave us a more first personal experience. GTA Vice City gave us interesting new vehicles, and more interesting places to explore. GTA San Andreas gave us more of an RPG flavor, developing personal skills and managing relationships with other characters. GTA 4 gave us an intricate simulation of New York City, but cut back on advances from the previous two games.

GTA 4 did give us a more plot driven game, and in a way this is a bit of a risk taken. Previous games had more and more narrative to them, but were more muted, and I felt I could still be "me" in the game. Here, I'm watching Niko Bellic's story, maybe helping guide him around a few bumps in the the road, but other than that I'm not really part of it.

GTA 4 was a good gaming experience, and I have no regrets playing it or recommending it to others, especially now that its in the bargain bin. If, like GTA 3, all it did was push the tech forward, so we could follow up with some awesome sequels like Vice City and San Andreas, that would justify its existence, but I already have serious doubt that GTA 4's two add-ons will live up to that kind of legacy. So, if you want to play this game, you're really just doing it to enjoy the current state of the GTA art.

For all the beauty of sim-Manhattan, the characters and story are weaker than the previous GTAs. Maybe it was the average writing, but it just felt empty. It didn't help that the enemies were endless identical caricatures, so I didn't even know who I was warring with day to day, nor did I care. The radio stations seem rich in content, as does the TV, but after some listening I realize the writing is poor here too. It seems like the graphical department was more than pulling its weight, but the writing isn't up to previous GTA standard. GTA culture is built on satire both subtle and gross, but there's very little subtlety here.

I don't hate GTA 4, I don't even dislike it, but it leaves me empty. I would rather replay the previous two GTAs than this. But GTA 5 is coming out next year, and from the looks of it, I won't be coming back this way ever again.

Grand Theft Auto 4: bumba clot

Let's try this again... and again... and again.

*ending spoilers*

I'm at the place where I couldn't climb up into the helicopter. I switch out to Task Manager, set affinity to CPU 7 only. Go back to game. After some furious pounding on space bar, I'm in, and the conversation continues. Set affinity back to all processors.

But I didn't realize that just because I climbed up into a helicopter, I'm suddenly piloting it. How does that make any sense at all? I just climbed up into a helicopter. And my target gets away in seconds.

I can't believe I have to do this again. The pointless car chase. The boring fight outside. The retarded chase to the helicopter. The pointless boat chase. I have a rocket launcher. He shouldn't be able to get away, but I'm trapped in cut scenes. I'm almost at the point of just watching a video to see the ending.

I would never usually use the replay function in the game, but I'm just so frustrated and I want out of here already. Thankfully it puts me back to the point of the fight outside; I don't have to do the car chase again.

Why do I need to know how to pilot a military helicopter in the endgame? That might make sense in something like Vice City, where helicopters are a big part of the game, but here its as senseless as an impromptu plate juggling contest.

Another pointless thing: while you are on the boat chase part, the enemy helicopter shoots rockets at you. I thought I was a doing a good job evading them, and then one comes right at me, and goes right through me. Not much point to the light show when you know it can't hurt you.

OK, so I got past the getting on the helicopter part, and now we're engaged in a running air battle. Because I'm using keyboard and mouse, I can't fly and operate the gun at the same time. Before I can even wonder how to solve this problem, I thank my partner's shooting, and the target's helicopter starts to burn. Why am I even here? And then we ALL CRASH LAND SAFELY ON LIBERTY ISLAND.

Now another running gunfight with the cops. Well, I guess they should show up to the party when there's an aerial fight over Manhattan that crashes at the Statue of Liberty. Now is a good time to cash in my get out of trouble favor with girlfriend Kiki. Before I can even dial the target RUNS AWAY AND ESCAPES. What? On an island? I've had enough. There's no more sense to this game. There's definitely no more fun. I'm not playing this game anymore.

Off to YouTube to watch the 'revenge' ending. All that effort, and Niko doesn't even make sure he's really dead? I know he's lying there dying, but in the GTA world paramedics can practically resuscitate the dead. What happened to giving him a bullet for every wrong against humanity? How about just one?

I watch the other ending, where Kate dies instead of Roman. It's OK, but Roman's death makes for the better story. The Kate ending is so cliche its saccharine.

I look for after story content, and there's a few phone calls, but that seems to be. Time to check the FAQs and guides, see what I missed.

OK, not much. The package collection, which is usually fun in the other GTAs, seems sad and pointless here (killing pigeons - really?). The career missions (police, etc.) also seem pointless.

I would like to move on to the review, and then on to the next game, but I guess there's the DLCs to try. I hope they're good but short.

Grand Theft Auto 4: where's my car

One of my cars disappeared. I've been waiting for this to happen for some time. I use a lot of taxis, and often when they pull up they nudge one of my parked vehicles, sometimes even pushing it slightly out of the lines. That's not what happened here, though, as this is my Alderney apartment and the cabs always pull over on the far side of my place.

Disappearing cars was common enough in previous GTA games, especially if you were packing the garage. I thought this game was different somehow, more stable. Guess not.

Looks like I'm closing in on the end of the game; here come the

*spoilers*

I like that your life quest comes down to a binary choice. Its not really a choice, though, is it. Your character has had this character kidnapped and brought to his feet. Your prisoner has confessed to stabbing his friends in the back for a little money to fuel his drug habit. This is not a fish you can just throw back in the sea.

I see no reason to go back to a previous save, and try it the other way, just to see what happens. In the context of this game, this is the "right" ending. Even if the other way has the moral high ground, you've got to keep in mind the rules of the sandbox you are playing in.

This is an even tougher choice than mercy or revenge. Mercy has little place in GTA, but money and revenge both do. The obvious choice here is money, then revenge.

Now that's what I call story telling. I didn't see this twist coming, and yet in retrospective it makes sense.

I'm almost at the end... then showstopper bug. There's a lengthy shootout, then a boat chase, then a scene where you climb up into a helicopter (tap spacebar repeatedly). Except you can't, because Rockstar calibrated this for a 30 FPS console, not a 60+ FPS computer. After some careful anti-spoiler searching, it seems the trick is to shut off all your CPU cores but one, climb up, then you can turn them back on.

But tomorrow. I've had enough of this for today.

Grand Theft Auto 4: workin' in north jersey

*spoilers*

Always spoilers.

The Alderney assassin missions are fun and easy, then ramp up like crazy. I think this must be the last assassin mission, because its so tough. I didn't save anything for the return trip, and died quickly, trying to fight my way back down the building.

It looks like you could jump off this thing; I wish I had access to a parachute, like in San Andreas. I wonder if I went back down and grabbed a motorcycle (before the mission ends, and I get swarmed), rode it up here (I think the stairs could accommodate it), and drove off the side, I would survive the fall. It's been the case with all the GTA games I've played so far (since 3), that when you're in a vehicle, you are almost invulnerable until the car itself dies. But I've been surprised to find here in GTA 4 that cars offer little protection; I've offed a number of targets with a shot through the windshield (and vice versa).

OK, second time around, the cops on the return trip aren't a factor at all. So, was the first time around a glitch, or this time around?

Not only are there no dogs and cats in this game, there are no cart horses. Or children.

Grand Theft Auto 4: Three Leaf Clover mission

Finally, a classic GTA mission to sink one's teeth into. Its got everything: long boring setup, run and gun action, wacky teammate AI, occasional glitches, and then a car escape. Now I know I'm playing GTA.

Really though, nothing says you're playing GTA like a lengthy mission that can be ended randomly by something stupid, that makes you want to rage. Sometimes its my fault; if you don't take cover early and often, you will get your armor and health stripped away by the countless (and endless?) enemies. Sometimes its the games fault; my teammates will sometimes pause in an area while I rush ahead of them and get ripped to shreds.

It doesn't help that the mission is dumb from end to end. Strangers who never worked together before, a plan hatched on the drive over, non-professionals with loose lips, no escape plan but to shoot your way out. Obviously, somebody saw the long bank shootout escape scene in the movie Heat and decided to throw that into the game 'because its cool', except in the movie it was a plan gone bad, and here the stupid escape seems to be the plan. Niko seems like a sensible dude - why would he even get in the car with these drug-addled losers to even go to lunch, let alone rob a bank together?

I read a little online about the mission, to see if I'm missing something obvious. Not really, this is pretty much how the missions is supposed to go down. It looks like you can play get-out-of-jail-free card (from your girlfriend Kiki) at some point; I'd like to see if I can do this without. And unfortunately I read a spoiler that this is the hardest mission in the game. Not sure what to make of that.

Another try, this time my two surviving teammates each break in a different direction. By the time I catch up with them, I get the dreaded 'you have abandoned your team' message.

I tried again, focusing on using cover and not letting them chip away my armor. It worked rather well. I also used the tip to get rid of your stars in the subway system. When you get down to the tracks and defeat all enemies, go up the stairs you're supposed to until your 5 stars turn into 3 stars, then go back down and run down tracks until your 3 stars become 0. Then backtrack and go up the stairs you were supposed to. Always be careful not to get separated from teammates for any length of time. Now its a fun mission.

So now I can purchase the best rifle, and travel to NJ, or Alderney, or whatever they call it. I'm sure there's no relation between these two things. So I drive around Alderney, to get the lay of the land, and see what I can recognize from real life. I try to jack a quiet car, so I can listen to the radio. Motorcycles are fun, and fast cars can be sometimes fun, but they are both too loud to adequately hear the radio. There are a lot of good stations, and I want to listen to them all, but right now I'm focusing on The Journey. It's mostly soothing ambient music, but I love that it is DJ'd by what sounds like the crazy sociopathic AI from Portal. If real life had radio stations like these, I might actually listen to them.

It would be cool if this game had convertibles, and you could put the top up and down. As long as the GTA game series keep on going, its inevitable.

Grand Theft Auto 4: crappy parking

GTA 4 has some crappy parking system. Look at this, I can only fit two motorcycles in a space that could hold a bus. Previous GTA games let you get creative with cramming stuff into small spaces, usually only penalizing you when you got crazy and started trying to stack up cars. No reason why I shouldn't be able to park half a dozen bikes here.

So, now I have a hot tub. I continue to marvel at the many new cool things in this game, but I'm not really that invested. I'm not trying to hurry it, I want to enjoy whatever fun stuff it has to offer. But I'm already thinking of my next game.

Since when do I know how to fly a helicopter? Sure, Niko was in a war, but he was regular army. I miss the nods to training that were present in GTA 3 San Andreas.

Grand Theft Auto 4: AK-47

Haven't played in a few days, load up, and my graphics look like some default crap. Oh yeah, NVIDIA update recently. But why would that reset my graphics profile. Hmm, never noticed this benchmark tool before, let's try it. It plays through what looks like a cut scene. My average FPS is 49.02, and test results are saved to Documents\Rockstar... etc; I'll check that later. I increase various attributes, and try it out. I don't like it. Everything seems a little more sharp, but there's so much choppiness and blur that its not worth it. Back to auto config.

Next day...

*spoilers*

That was a fun run and gun mission. The thing with Michelle was telegraphed well in advance (all your things still have tags on them). The extended mission complete music was weird and unnecessary. Its obvious this is a large plot point, duh, you don't need the verbal equivalent of a blinking tag. At least now I have my first AK-47. Time to see if I can buy ammo for it.

I found the AK because it was glowing - pigeons also glow. Are these the packages of this GTA? Time to risk some spoilage and see; my curiosity has gotten the better of me. It looks like you get access to a helicopter, and that's it. And a lot of people complaining about it, and the lack of other achievements. Oh well, I'll just focus on the story.

Game crashed after a taxi ride to Little Jacob, trying to keep up my social. Reloading.

I've been using the taxi so much, I got an achievement for it (oops - actually this just means I didn't skip viewing the ride).

Some missions later... I finally get to enjoy some classic GTA action. I complete a long shooting mission, get my target, and drive off into the sunset. Even though I hadn't freshened up at the gun store lately, I still made it through. And on the way out, while enjoying the denouement conversation, I lightly tapped a gas can on the way out. BOOM, we're dead. If this had been a race, I'd be really pissed, but I don't mind this again, especially now that I know to go stock up first.

Everything about this game is so awkward and cumbersome. Not just walking, driving, and shooting, but the communication as well. I'm constantly getting phone calls and texts, and if anything interrupts it at all, it gets cut off, and I lost whatever was supposed to be communicated. I've taken to focusing on messages, and then saving afterwards.

Grand Theft Auto 4: taxi ride

I RARed up my save files and deleted all but the latest before doing anything else, so now when I click Start it can only load up the one save. No more ambiguity when I start a new session.

I now regret not taking some cab missions, when I had the chance. In previous GTA games that was always a great way to make some fast money and learn the map. Right now, with cousin Roman on the bread line, I'll have to find another way. I can still steal cabs, of course, but I don't think I can activate a taxi mission, if there even is one in this GTA.

Well, it looks like I can save a police car at my current safehouse. They might actually be useful now that the NPC cars actually move out of the way of sirens in a reasonable way.

Next mission, following a drug dealer. Sure was nice of someone to leave this MP5 on the roof. And it even uses the same ammo as mini-Uzi.

Back to the store to replenish armor and ammo. Interesting, that in this GTA there's a limit on how much ammo you can carry. This is a touch of realism I appreciate in games, like reloading your ammo. What seems like just a dumb limit actually increases realism. Checking the gun shop display models, I can't buy any new weapons yet. Even though I have an MP5 now, instead of a mini-Uzi, I still can't buy ammo for it.

Cop cars are still squawking at me as I pass them at red lights. I'm guessing Rockstar actually implemented traffic rules and appropriate police response in the game, and then took it out when it proved to be too boring and slow to obey traffic laws, or constantly risk police attention. You can't just simulate everything, or its not fun any more.

That last mission left me really banged up, and without a car, in an area frequented by police. Let's try this hailing a cab thing. Nice, well implemented, I really like it. I can spend my time enjoying the scenery, instead of dodging pedestrians and looking at the GPS. Or you can skip the trip entirely. And its cheap, even on my low budget. I think I'm going to use this a lot.

Grand Theft Auto 4: cable management

Save game list getting full. Time to exit and see if I can archive them. Yep, just fine. Delete all the saves but the most recent, rename it so that it ends in 400, and you're good to go.

You can start a mission when you walk up to a floating yellow arrow, or drive under it it. In previous GTA games, if you didn't place your car carefully, it could be gone (forever) when you came back out of whatever cut scene. Now, your car is preserved, but it might be parked somewhere nearby. An improvement, surely, but why not just leave the car where it was?

This Internet cafe has some good cable management. Earlier today I saw a garbage truck, nothing new to GTA (except they like to call it dust bin or ash cart or something), but it had two guys hanging off the back. I'm still getting surprised by the detail in this game. OK, so now I'm in a simulated internet browser, in a simulated internet cafe, in a simulated New York City. It was inevitable.

It makes sense, to push the detail of the simulation just a little further. Kind of like how your money, in previous GTA games, used to be shown in a corner of the HUD at all times, as if you kept hundreds of thousands of dollars on you at all times. Now you have to step up to an ATM machine to get a balance. It actually makes sense. There are probably any number of game mechanics which were cumbersome before that can now be swept into the simulation of using the Internet. Perhaps one of these ads will allow the purchase of my next safehouse.

Finally, a bike. I already have 2 sports cars in my spot outside, and this bike barely fits - I wonder if the game will let me keep all 3, or delete some? I reload my save and head outside. Nope, the bike is gone. Too bad, and something to note for later.

My armor is trashed, time to go pick up some more. Awesome - I can finally buy ammo, instead of having to buy a whole new gun every time.

And, off to a new safehouse. GTA games have forced you to vacate a safehouse sometimes, but this is the first time I can remember it actually being destroyed. Poor cousin Roman, lamenting his fate - he doesn't know that he's in a GTA game. We may be poor now, but by the end of the game there will be all manor of real estate, business, helicopters, guns, girlfriends, clothes - everything the GTA world has to offer. I just need to go on a few more missions, that's all.