Ever since E3 08 Microsoft has pushed xbox live as being an experience. Firstly we saw the introduction of NXE (New xbox experience) with the revised XBL interface making navigation far more interesting and easier.We heard plenty of rumblings regarding "Primetime" with it's promises of interactive live quiz shows like 1 v 100.However Xbox has just announced an incredible coup just a week before E3 '09
I've always been sceptical when it comes to press conferences from big entertainment companies but when I heard Microsoft and BSkyB (Britain's main satellite TV company) where calling a joint press conference this week my big news radar went into overdrive...and I'm not disappointed.
The 2 have announced the development of a partnership that will bring premium TV to the 360 for the first time ever via the existing online service Sky Player.Details on what channels will be available and how the costings will be implimented are yet to be released however come Autumn UK gamers can probably expect to be able to navigate their 360 dashboard and tap into live streamed films as well as Premiership football and other Sports.
Exciting stuff I think you'll agree and you can be sure I'll be posting more info both here and on Youtube as soon as I get it
Friday, 29 May 2009
Monday, 18 May 2009
oooooh almost time
The original plan is finally becoming a reality!!!
Way back when I first started these blogs and the gaming videos on youtube I'd always had in the back of my mind thoughts of doing a weekly "show." Well after months of planning on how exactly it should be done recording is due to start in just over 12 hours time.
With E3 right around the corner and gaming companies starting to kick into release mode timing couldn't be more perfect.
I'm not doing this alone either as you will see when it is done and uploaded I'll keep my co host unnamed for the moment....basically because I have no idea what he wants to be reffered to as (I had settled on Salad Dodger but he has a bizarre notion that he'll be the eye candy of the show....yea keep dreaming mate lol)
As I want to keep E3 to it's own show expect frank chat about games that have hit the shelves over the last couple of weeks,games that are due to be released over the next few weeks as well as gaming news,DLC content and general gaming goodness.
Anyway time to hit the hay and hope I don't get rudely awoken by bloody workmen for the 3rd day running.
Goodbye,God Bless and thanks for reading!
Way back when I first started these blogs and the gaming videos on youtube I'd always had in the back of my mind thoughts of doing a weekly "show." Well after months of planning on how exactly it should be done recording is due to start in just over 12 hours time.
With E3 right around the corner and gaming companies starting to kick into release mode timing couldn't be more perfect.
I'm not doing this alone either as you will see when it is done and uploaded I'll keep my co host unnamed for the moment....basically because I have no idea what he wants to be reffered to as (I had settled on Salad Dodger but he has a bizarre notion that he'll be the eye candy of the show....yea keep dreaming mate lol)
As I want to keep E3 to it's own show expect frank chat about games that have hit the shelves over the last couple of weeks,games that are due to be released over the next few weeks as well as gaming news,DLC content and general gaming goodness.
Anyway time to hit the hay and hope I don't get rudely awoken by bloody workmen for the 3rd day running.
Goodbye,God Bless and thanks for reading!
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Fallout 3 : The Pitt
Having played Operation Anchorage to completion and being left somewhat underwhelmed by the whole combat heavy concept I was
pleased to see that The Pitt would be taking steps back into a true sense of the Fallout world.
The pitt itself is set in Post apocolyptic Pittsburgh where what is left of the City has now become a slaver run Steel works.
Upon entering the wasteland you pick up a radio distress signal from Werner asking for assistance towards the far north of the
map.When reaching him you are filled in on Werner's tale of Slavers and Slaves and talk of a "Cure" After some brief preparation
you arrive at a small slaver camp with a train tunnel leading to "The Pitt"
Taking the trip then leads you to the outskirts of The Pitt and to the true start of the DLC. One thing that is instantly recognisable
is how the backdrop has that same Wastelands feel.The draw distance is as immense as The Wastes and whilst in ruin The Pitt
has that active feel with it's flames shooting from smoke stacks and ambient noises as opposed to just the whistling nuclear winds
Getting to the Pitt proper is no simple task as the only route into the City is across a bridge covered in burned out traffic and booby
trapped with enough frag mines to send you into orbit but a slow and steady pace or of course the tread lightly perk sees you safely
into the City where the story truly starts to unfold.Having worked hard to actually make it into the Pitt you are quickly beaten down and left
with nothing but a crappy Slave outfit.As you come to you are introduced to Midea the main NPC of the extra content who explains
more of the plot and tells you that the only way to get out of the situation is to blend in.The plot itself focuses around 2 main goals most
important is the capture of the cure for the local disease from Ashur the head of the slavers.While the second involves the typical
good/evil choice of whether you free the slaves or not.
By blending in it leads to you being "nominated" to go into the Steel yard in search of Steel ingots.The area is considered a death sentence by the
slavers as the area is full of Wildmen and Trogs.The Wildmen are effectively The Pitt's version of Raiders while the trogs similar to Feral
ghouls are diseased humans hell bent on making you their next meal.Thankfully desite being stripped of all your Wasteland items you don't
tackle these threats empty handed.While not flush with technology the slaves have modified some of their tools which double up as some
pretty melee weapons.Most notably the Auto-Axe.This large cutting tool is perfect for turning the tide on the Trogs while the steelyard itself has a
number of more familiar weapons dotted around to help deal with the Wildmen more effectively.However don't expect to end up with a
mountain of ammo here as Bethesda force you to manage your weaponry by only giving you small levels of ammo throughout the early stages
of the content.
Much like Operation Anchorage's intel cases most of the ingot collecting is optional but to ignore this search and collect section of The Pitt
would be a waste of what is an interesting and EXTREMELY helpful part of the DLC.While the Steelyard can be confusing with it's maze like
qualities taking time out to hunt ingots sees you rewarded frequently.Every 10 ingots you find can be turned in to Everett the Mill's foreman in exchange
for unique Pitt items. Most of these items are armour based however it's nothing to be sniffed at when you start out wearing just a loin cloth.Collecting
enough ingots can in fact see you rewarded with Power Armour that can be worn regardless of whether you have gained to ability to from the
Brotherhood of Steel in the main F3 quest. The other rewards are weapon based from stronger versions of knuckle dusters to unique versions
of the auto-axe and a rather tasty silenced assault rifle.
Whether you choose to collect the ingots or not you soon find yourself once again being nominated by Midea this time to fight for your freedom in
the Hole. Much like the Arena from Oblivion you compete in a series of increasingly difficult fights.Victory results in you going from Slave to Slaver
and the start of your usual Fallout morality choices.It's at this point that you find out more about the cure and make your final choice of good or bad DLC
ending.
The difficulty level of the Pitt gets across that feeling of a desperate situation extremely well and having to manage everything from stimpaks to ammo in the
earlier stages makes it far more of a challenge than Anchorage.The ability to come back after completing the Pitt's quests to take advantage of the ammo
press or to trade certain items much like the sugar bomb and pre war book collecting in Fallout 3 as well as hunting down those final ingots for unique items
and an achievement make this particular DLC feel like it belongs as part of the Fallout 3 experience.While the quest itself can be blasted through in a matter of
hours it feels far more staisfying than Operation anchorage ever could.All in all now the glitches and bugs have been ironed out it's well worth the 800 Microsoft
points and should keep even the most die hard Fallout 3 fans happy as the third DLC installment Broken Steel gets ever closer.
pleased to see that The Pitt would be taking steps back into a true sense of the Fallout world.
The pitt itself is set in Post apocolyptic Pittsburgh where what is left of the City has now become a slaver run Steel works.
Upon entering the wasteland you pick up a radio distress signal from Werner asking for assistance towards the far north of the
map.When reaching him you are filled in on Werner's tale of Slavers and Slaves and talk of a "Cure" After some brief preparation
you arrive at a small slaver camp with a train tunnel leading to "The Pitt"
Taking the trip then leads you to the outskirts of The Pitt and to the true start of the DLC. One thing that is instantly recognisable
is how the backdrop has that same Wastelands feel.The draw distance is as immense as The Wastes and whilst in ruin The Pitt
has that active feel with it's flames shooting from smoke stacks and ambient noises as opposed to just the whistling nuclear winds
Getting to the Pitt proper is no simple task as the only route into the City is across a bridge covered in burned out traffic and booby
trapped with enough frag mines to send you into orbit but a slow and steady pace or of course the tread lightly perk sees you safely
into the City where the story truly starts to unfold.Having worked hard to actually make it into the Pitt you are quickly beaten down and left
with nothing but a crappy Slave outfit.As you come to you are introduced to Midea the main NPC of the extra content who explains
more of the plot and tells you that the only way to get out of the situation is to blend in.The plot itself focuses around 2 main goals most
important is the capture of the cure for the local disease from Ashur the head of the slavers.While the second involves the typical
good/evil choice of whether you free the slaves or not.
By blending in it leads to you being "nominated" to go into the Steel yard in search of Steel ingots.The area is considered a death sentence by the
slavers as the area is full of Wildmen and Trogs.The Wildmen are effectively The Pitt's version of Raiders while the trogs similar to Feral
ghouls are diseased humans hell bent on making you their next meal.Thankfully desite being stripped of all your Wasteland items you don't
tackle these threats empty handed.While not flush with technology the slaves have modified some of their tools which double up as some
pretty melee weapons.Most notably the Auto-Axe.This large cutting tool is perfect for turning the tide on the Trogs while the steelyard itself has a
number of more familiar weapons dotted around to help deal with the Wildmen more effectively.However don't expect to end up with a
mountain of ammo here as Bethesda force you to manage your weaponry by only giving you small levels of ammo throughout the early stages
of the content.
Much like Operation Anchorage's intel cases most of the ingot collecting is optional but to ignore this search and collect section of The Pitt
would be a waste of what is an interesting and EXTREMELY helpful part of the DLC.While the Steelyard can be confusing with it's maze like
qualities taking time out to hunt ingots sees you rewarded frequently.Every 10 ingots you find can be turned in to Everett the Mill's foreman in exchange
for unique Pitt items. Most of these items are armour based however it's nothing to be sniffed at when you start out wearing just a loin cloth.Collecting
enough ingots can in fact see you rewarded with Power Armour that can be worn regardless of whether you have gained to ability to from the
Brotherhood of Steel in the main F3 quest. The other rewards are weapon based from stronger versions of knuckle dusters to unique versions
of the auto-axe and a rather tasty silenced assault rifle.
Whether you choose to collect the ingots or not you soon find yourself once again being nominated by Midea this time to fight for your freedom in
the Hole. Much like the Arena from Oblivion you compete in a series of increasingly difficult fights.Victory results in you going from Slave to Slaver
and the start of your usual Fallout morality choices.It's at this point that you find out more about the cure and make your final choice of good or bad DLC
ending.
The difficulty level of the Pitt gets across that feeling of a desperate situation extremely well and having to manage everything from stimpaks to ammo in the
earlier stages makes it far more of a challenge than Anchorage.The ability to come back after completing the Pitt's quests to take advantage of the ammo
press or to trade certain items much like the sugar bomb and pre war book collecting in Fallout 3 as well as hunting down those final ingots for unique items
and an achievement make this particular DLC feel like it belongs as part of the Fallout 3 experience.While the quest itself can be blasted through in a matter of
hours it feels far more staisfying than Operation anchorage ever could.All in all now the glitches and bugs have been ironed out it's well worth the 800 Microsoft
points and should keep even the most die hard Fallout 3 fans happy as the third DLC installment Broken Steel gets ever closer.
Monday, 16 March 2009
The Lost and Damned
Considering Rockstar hadn’t exactly delved into the world of DLC prior to The Lost and Damned you’d be forgiven for thinking that Microsoft’s $50 million deal for 2 exclusives was some what of a gamble. The big question is has it paid off ?
To be quite honest it’s hard to see how anyone could class it as a failure. With the 1600 MS points needed to purchase the extra content (equivalent of £13) you’ll be hard pressed to find a full retail game that delivers what TLAD does.
The extra content focuses around Johnny Klebitz and other members of Liberty City’s biker gang The Lost. The story starts as Chapter leader Billy is being released from rehab and you as Johnny along with the rest of the gang are riding out to pick him up. In Billy’s absence Johnny has tried to run the gang sensibly striking up truces and deals to keep The Lost financially secure. However Billy’s sociopathic tendencies soon send The Lost back down a road of running battles with rival gangs and send Johnny headlong into a power struggle with Billy. Do Johnny and the Lost sound familiar? So they should. Johnny appears twice in the original GTA 4 missions. The first time alongside Niko and Playboy X in the drug deal that was a police sting and again as Niko attempted to sell Ray’s stolen diamonds to the Jewish dealers in the old museum. TLAD doesn’t forget any of these crossovers in story and in fact embraces them fully with said missions being tackled from Johnny’s perspective while references to things you did as Niko are a constant undertone while you progress through the surprisingly lengthy story.
So what has changed? Well on the plus side being content focused solely around a biker gang the bike physics have had a dramatic tweak. Bikes are now far more responsive and running over a twig no longer sends you flying over the handlebars and rolling half a mile down the street. Rockstar have also added a whole stash of new bikes both Hogs and sporty and all of this combined actively encourages you to ride instead of drive. I’ve both heard and read a number of people both “experts” and gamers mention how you will still get into the habit of hailing cabs and quick travelling while this may be true of some players it totally defeats the object of the content. With missions now seemingly marked off at each cutscene as a checkpoint there is no reason to fast travel at all other than to hit a safe house to save at short notice, also with the decreased amount of crashes sending you flying off your ride (to the point that I had played through a good 75% of the story before taking my first tumble) why waste good in game money on a cab ride when you can spend it on some of the new weaponry and reign down lead death in a whole new way.
That’s right NEW weaponry. Not only do you now have a whole host of new bikes and a small handful of new cars a couple of handy and extremely satisfying new weapons are also available. Whilst all the old items are still available in the gun stores a quick call to Terry and up rolls a van with a few new options. (Same idea as the call for guns made to Little Jacob) In addition to the regular handgun an automatic version is now available, as well as pipe bombs and my personal favourite the assault shotgun. The later is a TOTAL beast, quick fire and able to annihilate any vehicle in no time at all you’ll find yourself using it over and above most other guns in the game. The range of uses has also been tweaked. While in 4 you where restricted to handguns and smgs while driving TLAD allows the use of sawn off shotguns while riding so we can all fulfil our Arnie Terminator 2 fantasies.
On top of new physical items the ambience has also received a tweak. Most radio stations now have a handful of new songs that are slotted in randomly so after a short time they feel as if they have always been there. A number of new adverts and DJ chatter have also been effortlessly blended in to keep the comic touches that are now part and parcel of a Grand Theft Auto title. Speaking of comic touches WKTT now has a completely new segment “The Martin Serious Show” which is a not so subtle spoof of the shock jock culture…or is it more of a blatant finger point at the self proclaimed “King of all Media.” Add to that more TV content and a special Split Sides appearance of one of my personal favourite comics in Frankie Boyle and it becomes clear that despite it being merely DLC Rockstar have still given it an incredible amount of detail.
There is however one minor down point. In seemingly an attempt to give TLAD a grittier feel than GTA 4 the visuals have a grainy film effect filter placed over both cutscenes standard play. While I can understand why it was done it does the game no favours at all and makes the Liberty City that wowed us a year ago a very bland feel. This effect can easily be removed though through navigating the pause menu and removing the “noise” filter.
As a solo play title in itself TLAD certainly stands up extremely well to criticism. For a relatively small download story wise you are treated to a solid 8-10 hours of extra gameplay. The missions consisting of the regular drive, chase, shoot that you come to expect from GTA. The story itself isn’t as full of comic touches that GTA 4 was but it is however still engaging. Also the way in which certain parts of Johnny’s story tie in nicely to Niko’s give the player a whole new perspective on GTA 4 which may or may not make Niko seem less likable. Side missions take the shape of bike races done in the style of Road Rash as you ride and whack rivals with a baseball bat and gang wars which involve you riding with The Lost and trying to take down other gangs. Completing these unlocks more bike varieties that can be delivered to you with a simple phone call. “Dates” are still available but are no longer an annoying must but rather riding out with other gang members will over time boost their stats and make them far more effective in combat.
Multiplayer modes have not gone untouched either while certain modes are just revamped versions of multiplayer modes we all know from other titles each mode is done well and feels a part of the title rather than a hastily thrown in mode to appease multiplayer fans. Three modes especially stand head and shoulders above the rest ;
Gang War -
Kind of like a tug of war. The city is split into zones guarded by NPC’s Taking out said NPC’s and any enemy gang members captures the territory. When a certain percentage of territory is captured or the timer runs out the gang with the most area captured wins. Simple principal but it translates brilliantly to GTA.
Chopper vs. Chopper
Easily the most insane mode available. A straight 1 on 1 battle one player on a bike trying to hit checkpoints while the second player controls an attack chopper and tries to stop him. A great test of skill but great fun with it.
Witness Protection
Carnage by the bucket load. Two teams one controlling N.O.O.S.E the other controlling The Lost. The N.O.O.S.E team protects a prison bus that is dropping off people at Police Stations around the map while The Lost throws everything at taking out the bus and it’s witnesses. Utter mayhem but again awesome fun.
So in closing TLAD is an awesome addition to the franchise and well worth the 1600 MS points for download regardless of whether you are a solo play or multiplayer fan. It’s unlikely to convert those of you out there that don’t like GTA games but for those that do it is certainly worth the purchase and has now set a benchmark for DLC that other companies must surely be cursing. (TAKE NOTE EA)
Due to TLAD effectively being an update it would be unfair to score it on individual categories but I would HIGHLY recommend picking this up if you haven’t already
To be quite honest it’s hard to see how anyone could class it as a failure. With the 1600 MS points needed to purchase the extra content (equivalent of £13) you’ll be hard pressed to find a full retail game that delivers what TLAD does.
The extra content focuses around Johnny Klebitz and other members of Liberty City’s biker gang The Lost. The story starts as Chapter leader Billy is being released from rehab and you as Johnny along with the rest of the gang are riding out to pick him up. In Billy’s absence Johnny has tried to run the gang sensibly striking up truces and deals to keep The Lost financially secure. However Billy’s sociopathic tendencies soon send The Lost back down a road of running battles with rival gangs and send Johnny headlong into a power struggle with Billy. Do Johnny and the Lost sound familiar? So they should. Johnny appears twice in the original GTA 4 missions. The first time alongside Niko and Playboy X in the drug deal that was a police sting and again as Niko attempted to sell Ray’s stolen diamonds to the Jewish dealers in the old museum. TLAD doesn’t forget any of these crossovers in story and in fact embraces them fully with said missions being tackled from Johnny’s perspective while references to things you did as Niko are a constant undertone while you progress through the surprisingly lengthy story.
So what has changed? Well on the plus side being content focused solely around a biker gang the bike physics have had a dramatic tweak. Bikes are now far more responsive and running over a twig no longer sends you flying over the handlebars and rolling half a mile down the street. Rockstar have also added a whole stash of new bikes both Hogs and sporty and all of this combined actively encourages you to ride instead of drive. I’ve both heard and read a number of people both “experts” and gamers mention how you will still get into the habit of hailing cabs and quick travelling while this may be true of some players it totally defeats the object of the content. With missions now seemingly marked off at each cutscene as a checkpoint there is no reason to fast travel at all other than to hit a safe house to save at short notice, also with the decreased amount of crashes sending you flying off your ride (to the point that I had played through a good 75% of the story before taking my first tumble) why waste good in game money on a cab ride when you can spend it on some of the new weaponry and reign down lead death in a whole new way.
That’s right NEW weaponry. Not only do you now have a whole host of new bikes and a small handful of new cars a couple of handy and extremely satisfying new weapons are also available. Whilst all the old items are still available in the gun stores a quick call to Terry and up rolls a van with a few new options. (Same idea as the call for guns made to Little Jacob) In addition to the regular handgun an automatic version is now available, as well as pipe bombs and my personal favourite the assault shotgun. The later is a TOTAL beast, quick fire and able to annihilate any vehicle in no time at all you’ll find yourself using it over and above most other guns in the game. The range of uses has also been tweaked. While in 4 you where restricted to handguns and smgs while driving TLAD allows the use of sawn off shotguns while riding so we can all fulfil our Arnie Terminator 2 fantasies.
On top of new physical items the ambience has also received a tweak. Most radio stations now have a handful of new songs that are slotted in randomly so after a short time they feel as if they have always been there. A number of new adverts and DJ chatter have also been effortlessly blended in to keep the comic touches that are now part and parcel of a Grand Theft Auto title. Speaking of comic touches WKTT now has a completely new segment “The Martin Serious Show” which is a not so subtle spoof of the shock jock culture…or is it more of a blatant finger point at the self proclaimed “King of all Media.” Add to that more TV content and a special Split Sides appearance of one of my personal favourite comics in Frankie Boyle and it becomes clear that despite it being merely DLC Rockstar have still given it an incredible amount of detail.
There is however one minor down point. In seemingly an attempt to give TLAD a grittier feel than GTA 4 the visuals have a grainy film effect filter placed over both cutscenes standard play. While I can understand why it was done it does the game no favours at all and makes the Liberty City that wowed us a year ago a very bland feel. This effect can easily be removed though through navigating the pause menu and removing the “noise” filter.
As a solo play title in itself TLAD certainly stands up extremely well to criticism. For a relatively small download story wise you are treated to a solid 8-10 hours of extra gameplay. The missions consisting of the regular drive, chase, shoot that you come to expect from GTA. The story itself isn’t as full of comic touches that GTA 4 was but it is however still engaging. Also the way in which certain parts of Johnny’s story tie in nicely to Niko’s give the player a whole new perspective on GTA 4 which may or may not make Niko seem less likable. Side missions take the shape of bike races done in the style of Road Rash as you ride and whack rivals with a baseball bat and gang wars which involve you riding with The Lost and trying to take down other gangs. Completing these unlocks more bike varieties that can be delivered to you with a simple phone call. “Dates” are still available but are no longer an annoying must but rather riding out with other gang members will over time boost their stats and make them far more effective in combat.
Multiplayer modes have not gone untouched either while certain modes are just revamped versions of multiplayer modes we all know from other titles each mode is done well and feels a part of the title rather than a hastily thrown in mode to appease multiplayer fans. Three modes especially stand head and shoulders above the rest ;
Gang War -
Kind of like a tug of war. The city is split into zones guarded by NPC’s Taking out said NPC’s and any enemy gang members captures the territory. When a certain percentage of territory is captured or the timer runs out the gang with the most area captured wins. Simple principal but it translates brilliantly to GTA.
Chopper vs. Chopper
Easily the most insane mode available. A straight 1 on 1 battle one player on a bike trying to hit checkpoints while the second player controls an attack chopper and tries to stop him. A great test of skill but great fun with it.
Witness Protection
Carnage by the bucket load. Two teams one controlling N.O.O.S.E the other controlling The Lost. The N.O.O.S.E team protects a prison bus that is dropping off people at Police Stations around the map while The Lost throws everything at taking out the bus and it’s witnesses. Utter mayhem but again awesome fun.
So in closing TLAD is an awesome addition to the franchise and well worth the 1600 MS points for download regardless of whether you are a solo play or multiplayer fan. It’s unlikely to convert those of you out there that don’t like GTA games but for those that do it is certainly worth the purchase and has now set a benchmark for DLC that other companies must surely be cursing. (TAKE NOTE EA)
Due to TLAD effectively being an update it would be unfair to score it on individual categories but I would HIGHLY recommend picking this up if you haven’t already
Thursday, 5 March 2009
My apologies
Ever had one of those weeks? lol
Well after fighting some bizarre crap going on with my PC since around the time of my last entry providing up to date info has become some what of a nightmare.I'm still not sure what is wrong with it but I will soldier on as best as I can until things are back at full speed.
Even if I have to save the reviews to disc and use a net cafe I will do my best to keep things running as smoothly as possible. So expect to see Lost and Damned,Fable 2 and other goodies popping up shortly.I'm also getting back into making guides so keep an eye on my youtube channel www.youtube.com/bensonrecon and with Fifa 09 Ultimate team mode incoming I'll be reopening a vid chat room in anticipation for the build up.
Catch you later folks
Well after fighting some bizarre crap going on with my PC since around the time of my last entry providing up to date info has become some what of a nightmare.I'm still not sure what is wrong with it but I will soldier on as best as I can until things are back at full speed.
Even if I have to save the reviews to disc and use a net cafe I will do my best to keep things running as smoothly as possible. So expect to see Lost and Damned,Fable 2 and other goodies popping up shortly.I'm also getting back into making guides so keep an eye on my youtube channel www.youtube.com/bensonrecon and with Fifa 09 Ultimate team mode incoming I'll be reopening a vid chat room in anticipation for the build up.
Catch you later folks
Thursday, 19 February 2009
GTA 4 The Lost and Damned First Impressions
As you can well imagine for the last couple of days I’ve been diving head first back into Liberty City to enjoy the debut of GTA 4’s first ever DLC The Lost and Damned. A full review will be forthcoming once I’ve fully tested the new multiplayer modes and of course you are all welcome to join me while I do it ( gamertag Bensonrecon) but what are my first impressions?
Firstly I have to mention I’ve noticed on a number of gaming forums people complaining about the grainy graphics effects used on TLAD as well as the text size on the mobile phone. Granted while it should have been made more obvious on how to do it both of these issues can be dealt with in a matter of seconds through the pause option menu and the mobile phone menu respectively. Personally I don’t mind either, you have to keep in mind that Rockstar are striving to make the player feel like it’s a grittier installment then Niko’s struggle so to me the scratchy look for the mini map as well as the grainy camera feel right at home when cruising round LC on a custom built hog. As for the phone, well I can’t help but feel that most of the complaints about the text size are only there down to the fact that The Lost phone wallpaper doesn’t lend itself brilliantly to a standardised mobile phone text colouring. However for me the complaints seem like little more than nitpicking.
The new bike physics are a TOTAL godsend. While some of the realism of bikes has been removed from GTA4 this is by no means a bad thing. When playing as Niko I would actively avoid bikes wherever possible. Not because I couldn’t ride them but solely down to the fact ,whether I be cursed with bad luck or not, when trying to make a quick exit or avoid the police I would always seem to find traffic coming across my route at every junction, resulting in Niko performing cartwheels down the tarmac. In TLAD the bikes just feel right. In the solid day I spent completing the story I can count the times I saw Johnny cart wheeling over the handlebars on 1 hand. Evading the cops while harder on a slower chopper doesn’t feel like the hairy skin of the teeth bike getaways that I would curse out on many occasions playing through GTA4. As a result apart from missions that demanded car use I spent a good 95% of my time cruising round on Johnny’s bike.
Also to close I have to tackle the biggest talking point so far on forums and message boards across the internet. While I’m sure everyone already knows what I am going to talk about, for those who wish to have NO knowledge of what happens in a certain cutscene relatively early on in the game then please take my advice. Stop reading this blog now and keep yourself away from Youtube and any forum till you have reached it yourself…you’ll know what I’m talking about when you get there…..
Right for those of you still reading, one word, Politics. For those of you who still aren’t sure what I‘m talking about, two words, male nudity. I really cannot understand the big fuss that has been kicked up, not by Jack Thompson and his anti GTA campaign, not by politicians (real life not steam room, massage loving politicians), not even by mother’s groups but by gamers themselves regarding this cutscene. Seriously folks it’s 2009 and it’s a Rockstar game! Rockstar love to shock and I for one applaud what they have done. Considering how many GTA players out there will just walk around and randomly murder Liberty City’s pedestrians without rhyme or reason and in all types of ways I’m amazed by the shock shown at a pixelated penis. For me that whole scene is SUPPOSED to be awkward. Rockstar tease the “will you or won’t you see it” throughout that whole scene with the old comedic use of camera cuts and scenery blocking to make each of us think “no way will they.” You watch as Johnny looks more and more uncomfortable and then WHAM! The teasing stops with Stubbs’ umm “stub.” With the game rated 18 here in the UK (same as you mature rating for any North Americans reading this) I find the complaints to be little more than people just wanting to talk about penises, if Stubbs was a woman character and was naked would there be half as much in the way of comments?
Oh well back to Liberty City keep an eye out for the review both here and You tube ,oh and for those who have asked me on Youtube I will indeed be working on a seagull guide at some point in the near future once I found them all myself.
Firstly I have to mention I’ve noticed on a number of gaming forums people complaining about the grainy graphics effects used on TLAD as well as the text size on the mobile phone. Granted while it should have been made more obvious on how to do it both of these issues can be dealt with in a matter of seconds through the pause option menu and the mobile phone menu respectively. Personally I don’t mind either, you have to keep in mind that Rockstar are striving to make the player feel like it’s a grittier installment then Niko’s struggle so to me the scratchy look for the mini map as well as the grainy camera feel right at home when cruising round LC on a custom built hog. As for the phone, well I can’t help but feel that most of the complaints about the text size are only there down to the fact that The Lost phone wallpaper doesn’t lend itself brilliantly to a standardised mobile phone text colouring. However for me the complaints seem like little more than nitpicking.
The new bike physics are a TOTAL godsend. While some of the realism of bikes has been removed from GTA4 this is by no means a bad thing. When playing as Niko I would actively avoid bikes wherever possible. Not because I couldn’t ride them but solely down to the fact ,whether I be cursed with bad luck or not, when trying to make a quick exit or avoid the police I would always seem to find traffic coming across my route at every junction, resulting in Niko performing cartwheels down the tarmac. In TLAD the bikes just feel right. In the solid day I spent completing the story I can count the times I saw Johnny cart wheeling over the handlebars on 1 hand. Evading the cops while harder on a slower chopper doesn’t feel like the hairy skin of the teeth bike getaways that I would curse out on many occasions playing through GTA4. As a result apart from missions that demanded car use I spent a good 95% of my time cruising round on Johnny’s bike.
Also to close I have to tackle the biggest talking point so far on forums and message boards across the internet. While I’m sure everyone already knows what I am going to talk about, for those who wish to have NO knowledge of what happens in a certain cutscene relatively early on in the game then please take my advice. Stop reading this blog now and keep yourself away from Youtube and any forum till you have reached it yourself…you’ll know what I’m talking about when you get there…..
Right for those of you still reading, one word, Politics. For those of you who still aren’t sure what I‘m talking about, two words, male nudity. I really cannot understand the big fuss that has been kicked up, not by Jack Thompson and his anti GTA campaign, not by politicians (real life not steam room, massage loving politicians), not even by mother’s groups but by gamers themselves regarding this cutscene. Seriously folks it’s 2009 and it’s a Rockstar game! Rockstar love to shock and I for one applaud what they have done. Considering how many GTA players out there will just walk around and randomly murder Liberty City’s pedestrians without rhyme or reason and in all types of ways I’m amazed by the shock shown at a pixelated penis. For me that whole scene is SUPPOSED to be awkward. Rockstar tease the “will you or won’t you see it” throughout that whole scene with the old comedic use of camera cuts and scenery blocking to make each of us think “no way will they.” You watch as Johnny looks more and more uncomfortable and then WHAM! The teasing stops with Stubbs’ umm “stub.” With the game rated 18 here in the UK (same as you mature rating for any North Americans reading this) I find the complaints to be little more than people just wanting to talk about penises, if Stubbs was a woman character and was naked would there be half as much in the way of comments?
Oh well back to Liberty City keep an eye out for the review both here and You tube ,oh and for those who have asked me on Youtube I will indeed be working on a seagull guide at some point in the near future once I found them all myself.
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Ok...so what's on the agenda?
So after the crazy weather in the UK over the weekend London and the rest of the UK is slowly getting back to normal....unless the snow predicted tomorrow is anything like the flurry we had and causes chaos once again.With most of the country debating whether to go to work or school if they are open or being forced to stay at home it's been a miserable week.Games from the Christmas period now starting to be a chore to play but don't worry folks the time for big new releases is almost upon us.
With titles like Street Fighter 4, FEAR 2, Halo Wars ,Silent Hill Homecoming and the very much anticipated first ever GTA Downloadable content all descending this month it's already looking like a good gaming year all round but before all that what does the next few weeks have in store for Bensonrecon and Franticthumbs?
Well having taken advantage of the credit crunch forcing game stores to sell cheap I've been a busy man.February will see reviews here for a whole host of titles including Guitar Hero World Tour and Left 4 Dead from the full price bracket but also reviews pending from some of the budget cheaper titles such as Mass Effect, Bioshock and Fable 2. You should also expect to see more of the man behind the videos and blogs...yes that's right guys after being on youtube for almost 3 years and hiding behind my game footage and edits this bearded gamer will finally be showing his face!!! My reviews will finally be taking video as well as typed form and naturally will be hosted both on "the Tubes" and here. Also I will be explaining more over the next few days about the Fifa video and the gaming video chat room.
On the subject of chatrooms,youtube and gaming please be sure to check out good friend Marcus Graham better known as DJ Wheat as Epileptic Gaming has now been revived and is well worth a look. Granted it's not an easy task staying up and watching their show in you, like me live in Europe but if you want to see a group of guys that pull no punches, entertain and know exactly what they are talking about then you should definately check in.Also a word of warning for you gamers out there that enjoy making your own gaming videos.The corporate heavyweights out there are being very hard on potential copyright issues so be sure to check what you put in (especially when it comes to music) or you may end up...like my OLD GTA 4 promo video...without sound and then without a point of remaining on the site.
Anyway folks be sure to keep an eye out for the reviews over the next couple of weeks, keep watching youtube for my first on screen appearance with information regarding the chatroom and remember if you have any requests or comments you know where to find me.
Enjoy your week whether it be fighting to stay on your feet in the ice,laying in bed with the flu or getting an unexpected break from work/school.
With titles like Street Fighter 4, FEAR 2, Halo Wars ,Silent Hill Homecoming and the very much anticipated first ever GTA Downloadable content all descending this month it's already looking like a good gaming year all round but before all that what does the next few weeks have in store for Bensonrecon and Franticthumbs?
Well having taken advantage of the credit crunch forcing game stores to sell cheap I've been a busy man.February will see reviews here for a whole host of titles including Guitar Hero World Tour and Left 4 Dead from the full price bracket but also reviews pending from some of the budget cheaper titles such as Mass Effect, Bioshock and Fable 2. You should also expect to see more of the man behind the videos and blogs...yes that's right guys after being on youtube for almost 3 years and hiding behind my game footage and edits this bearded gamer will finally be showing his face!!! My reviews will finally be taking video as well as typed form and naturally will be hosted both on "the Tubes" and here. Also I will be explaining more over the next few days about the Fifa video and the gaming video chat room.
On the subject of chatrooms,youtube and gaming please be sure to check out good friend Marcus Graham better known as DJ Wheat as Epileptic Gaming has now been revived and is well worth a look. Granted it's not an easy task staying up and watching their show in you, like me live in Europe but if you want to see a group of guys that pull no punches, entertain and know exactly what they are talking about then you should definately check in.Also a word of warning for you gamers out there that enjoy making your own gaming videos.The corporate heavyweights out there are being very hard on potential copyright issues so be sure to check what you put in (especially when it comes to music) or you may end up...like my OLD GTA 4 promo video...without sound and then without a point of remaining on the site.
Anyway folks be sure to keep an eye out for the reviews over the next couple of weeks, keep watching youtube for my first on screen appearance with information regarding the chatroom and remember if you have any requests or comments you know where to find me.
Enjoy your week whether it be fighting to stay on your feet in the ice,laying in bed with the flu or getting an unexpected break from work/school.
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