Grand Theft Auto IV

Video game plots must evolve

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The importance of video games to human development cannot be overstated. I believe there have been three major inventions that have radically shifted the creative horizons of the human species and the reality we continue to shape for ourselves. The first would be movable type and the advent of the printed word, the second would be motion pictures, and the latest revolutionary intellectual force would be interactivity. Video games and the internet that many of them run on have irreversibly transformed the human race and set our consciousness on an exciting new course of development.

I marvel at the advancements this medium has made in my lifetime. From photo realistic graphics to complex game mechanics to real world physics we are seeing video games mature and match sophistication with the other, older mediums in a relatively short period of time. →  Read the rest

Review – Grand Theft Auto IV **

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Grand Theft Auto IV is the greatest game in the history of electronics. No game since GTAIII has revolutionized digital entertainment this awesomely (ok — maybe since Halo 3). I bought my copy the night it launched and have already put in over forty hours of play, merely enough to scratch the surface of this diamond in the rough.

For those of you who don’t know, GTAIV was made by Rockstar Games, a company made exclusively of the “who’s who” of game developers. Everything they touch turns to solid gold and the innovation they bring to the table is easily enough to drive dozens of smaller developing studios. I think their true brilliance lies in the fact that they’ve managed to keep all of that innovation from leaking out and diluting their unique IPs. →  Read the rest

Hey, did you hear!? GTA IV got delayed!

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Take-Two is not having a good 2007, let me tell you. First, Manhunt 2 is officially banned from Planet Earth, and now Grand Theft Auto IV, the remaining jewel in TT’s crown, has been delayed until Q2 2008 (which means some unknown date between February and April of next year).

Wait, did you hear that? Shhhhh. Omigod, my wallet just breathed! He’s alive! Oh thank goodness! I thought he was a goner, what with Assassin’s Creed, Halo 3, and Haze all coming out at the same time this holiday season. There there, little buddy, everything’s gonna be alright…

Asked on why GTA IV was delayed, thereby destroying what little stock Take-Two has left in its shattered and curly-tailed piggy bank, Take-Two’s Chairman Strauss Zelnick stated “certain elements of development proved to be more time-intensive than expected.” →  Read the rest

Quick GTA IV Impressions

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For those of you that were living under a rock this week, Rockstar and TakeTwo released the very first trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV, the next installment of their so-called prostitute-slapping, murder simulator (or so I’ve heard from those nutty politicians). I’m sure you’ve seen it by now, as the Intranets nearly exploded when the trailer was first released. You can check it out again at GameTrailers.com.

But there was one thing that got me thinking. A comment on one of the Digg articles brought up the issue of flying planes into buildings. You can see all throughout the trailer that Rockstar has faithfully recreated New York City, with glimpses of the Statue of Liberty, Times Square and the Empire State building. It maybe called Liberty City, but it’s basically NYC with a new name. →  Read the rest