Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Launch
The first of this year's AAA titles has launched, and the first reviews are in. Gamespot, IGN, and OPM all have looks at the game, and it sounds great. If you want to keep track of the pool-shooting race track driving everything-under-one-roof extravaganza, the GameRankings page is available as well. When you play the game this week make sure and tune in to WCTR News to catch Anchorman Richard Burns, TV's Wil Wheaton. More seriously, reviews aren't the only thing the developers are looking for. Commentary regarding Take Two Interactive's slipping stock is available on CNN Money's Game Over.
I'm planning to run out to the store and steal it as soon as soon as I can, even if I don't own a Playstation 2.
And TV's Wil Wheaton? Excuse me! I think you mean Slashdot's Wil Wheaton! Is he the first Slashdotter to do voicework for GTA?
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It's the end of October, and you think that 'GTA 3.2' is the first of the year's AAA titles?
Meh.
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
catch Anchorman Richard Burns
So we can finally drive world rally championship cars in GTA?
Rock that crushes, Paper & Scissors that don't matter.
GTA: San Andreas, Halo 2, and Half-Life 2 all coming out within a short span?
Man my GPA is screwed.
Shades of Grayden
Is it legal to release Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas with its crime and violence apotheosis in Australia? I hope so, but does anyone know any formal decisions and rationale?
Sincerely,
Pan Tarhei Hosé, PhD.
"Homo sum et cogito ergo odi profanum vulgus et libido."
Supposedly the ESRB stuff is supposed to stop retailers from selling the game to people under 18, but I know that many parents don't have the time or the willpower to look into what media their children consume. And I know this series gets pretty bad, with things like picking up prostitutes, car theft, and massacre being rewarded in what some have termed a "pornography of violence".
As fun as the game is, maybe this is something that should be hidden behind the counter or maybe only sold in adult venues/online. We all know where to find it, and we're old enough not to be profoundly affected by murder simulations, but apparently there are still a bunch of chuckleheads out there that are completely unable to determine what's appropriate for their kids. And society pays the price.
I sure can't wait to play it, though.
Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
-- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.
This is shaping up to be the best holiday season in gaming history, from a breadth of titles standpoint. Tons of great games for all kinds of systems (some which have been in development forever).
Halo 2
Metroid Prime 2
GTA: San Andreas
Half-Life 2
World of Warcraft
I've been playing for years, and this is the first holiday season I can truely say "Where am I going to find the time/money for all the good games?" Other years we've had one or two blockbusters, but this years there's a ton.
A few titles immediately come to mind are Doom 3, Unreal Tournament 2004 and even Sims 2.
If you are meaning fist AAA title to come out for the console, you might be right. I don't follow console releases very closely. But I think that Fable probably fits into that area.
Please keep in mind that there are games that are released on the PC & Mac as well. Consoles are not the only gaming market out there.
Vice City, while enjoyable, is just a variation on the theme. GTA is the rilla.
Speak truth to power.
I got tired boning and killing the same old hookers.
free online diet tracking.
Fortunately, it isn't - I found the main game much more interesting than the previous two, so it'll probably have a longer play-life for me.
I have to admit being surprised that they've managed to keep it mostly fresh - it seems like people can't make a sequel without fucking up the mojo these days.
Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
On Amazon, it almost certainly got numerous rave 'reviews' months before the code was actually completed.
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I love the GTA series, and I keep thinking that it could be the next 'doom' if rockstar would open up the .exe source code for modders. Even if it was something older like GTA3, there is no end to what could be done with a game like this by the mod community.
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
My local Game Stop started handing out pre-ordered copies last night. Well, I haven't had much sleep but I can lucidly say this game rocks! Huge environment, many many sub-games, really too much to take in overnight...maybe even over a week. Now if Bungie could just hurry up with Halo 2 and Valve with Half-Life 2...my year would be complete. Job...what job?
Stop pummeling me, it's really painful...
ZZZzzzz...
Wait time for line losers= 5 hours
Wait time for me=5 minutes
God, did I really just bother pointing that out?
"'Yrch!' said Legolas, falling into his own tongue."
In the previous two games you could stand still, do a 360 turn and pedestrians / cars who were visible a moment ago have been replaced with other pedestrians / cars. Such behaviour might be unavoidable in the PS2 version, but it's seriously annoying in the PC version.
There were some very dumb pathing issues too. A common thing in previous games was to stand under a bridge and watch as police etc., jumped straight off it to their deaths to get you. Or they would drive straight into the water etc.
It's amusing but it screws up some missions too. One mission had you rescuing your buddy from a scrap yard. I did that part and he followed me out. I ran across a bridge and turned around to see him fall straight into the water and drown. The pathing had him make a beeline straight for my character without checking whether he would drown in the process.
Still, GTA games are excellent, but that AI needs work.
...I won't get to play until she passes out from exhaustion.
:D
Well that all depends on what you want to play, doesn't it
Oh well, at least I can still beat up and rob hookers, right?
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
VC is somewhat more of the same. It's an update built on the same game engine. But aside from the new city and new missions, the big new thing in VC was all the new drivable/flyable vehicles, the helicopter, seaplane, motorcycles. It's no simulation, but all the vehicles have unique handling, and the basic controls on the plane and helicopter are correct.
So everyone you knew thought of Wheaton as a loser? Has anyone you know ever met Wil Wheaton? Read his books? Have you ever read his weblog?
I can tell you why I like Wil, but if you really want to know why people like Wil, you should just go read his writing.
Now seriously, why is "I don't get it." modded up? Since when was ignorance insightfull?
Don't moderate flamebait as Troll. Know the difference or you will be Meta-moderated.
GTA:SA does not fall into the thoughtless exploitation of "the hood," which many people may have expected from a series that sports almost comical violence and detachment from reality. This lack of exploitation is in stark relief when played against the lyrics sung by Snoop about killing cops. Rather than experiencing a bunch of empty-headed black charicatures in a consequence-free environment spurting "ebonix," drinking 40s and shooting each other, there's a definite desperation in this game that you sympathize with immediately, to the point that you almost feel you know how Laurence Fishburne's character felt when he proclaimed that rich white men are infecting the hood with drugs in order to destroy its inhabitants. And the characters are complex, wallowing in the self-destruction that they're so desperate to destroy. And it's obvious the effects that their environment has on them. While GTA had you initially sickened with, and eventually lavishing violence, this game bound my emotions to every kill, every chase, and just about every action. When my mission was to kill a crack dealer in broad daylight, I really felt it; I really wanted him dead.
I'm a little fuzzy on this. If I commit copyright infringment on the high seas, with a comission from a sovern nation, am I cool or what?
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
I've been playing around with it for a few hours. You can swim now, which makes for an intersting addition. If you try to leave the SA (Yeah, we all know it's really Los Angeles: Check out the Vinewood sign) area, you encounter road construction. So I decided to try to swim under the closed-off bridges. Bad Idea. When you arrive on the opposite shore, you are instantly a super-wanted criminal, four stars.
Another intersting change is the geography-relevant vehicles. You're not likely to encounter a fancy import car in CJ's home neighborhood, nor will you find any two-tone beaters in the glitzy parts of town. If you drive out into the countryside, you'll encounter 10mph tractors, and on the highways, you might even see some 18-wheelers (although I have yet to see any carrying a trailor: If they are present, it might be another optional mission type, like the vigilante, rescue, and fire missions in other GTAs).
Also, car surfing is alive and well. You can ride on someone's hood clear around town, and this is a good way to quickly explore the city. It is a bit confusing, however, to see the particular pathways some drivers take. Also, it's interesting to note that since the clock goes at 1 game-minute per real second, several traffic lights take 15-20 minutes. Man, that's awful.
Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.
"And TV's Wil Wheaton? Excuse me! I think you mean Slashdot's Wil Wheaton!"
Captain's log, stardate 3.14159265
Ensign Crusher has been missing for nearly 6 months, which has been confirmed by the lack of entries in his personal log.
Tomorrow, I will instruct Commander Data to assemble an away team to look for our wayward ensign. He's probably hanging out with that Traveller nut again.
Still not Admiral. Riker may be sexier than me.
End log.
_________
Seriously though, he's probably staying away from Slashdot because of all the lame Star Trek references.
"Mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent present in every electron." -Freeman Dyson