With bated breath doesn’t begin to describe how some fans have been waiting for the Roman numeral four to follow Grand Theft Auto. As of this Tuesday Xbox 360 owners and PS3 owners alike will be able to take on the role of illegal immigrant Niko Bellic as he pursues the American dream. It’s been seven long years since folks got the chance to step foot within Liberty City (I’m considering Liberty City Stories as a day-trip).
Why are people so into Grand Theft Auto and all of its respective imitators? Is it the draw of action without fear of consequences? Is it the critical success of the series? Is it a third thing?
One thing that is assured is that the open-world, sandbox-type game is here to stay. Although many games decide to run with the criminal overlay (i.e. GTA, Saint’s Row, The Godfather, Mafia, Infamous) there are those that go a different route (i.e. Spider-man, Crackdown, The Incredible Hulk, Mercenaries).
On a completely different note, there are some folks who don’t appreciate the grimy, gritty, criminal spin a lot of games have taken. The greatest offense though: no more blue skies. Welcome to the Blue Sky in Games campaign. To quote their opening statement, “Games need BLUE SKIES! Games need BRIGHT YELLOW SUNS! Games need RED AND BLUE THINGS in them!”
The whole idea of throwing games back to how they “used to be” might not appeal to the big game makers, but indie developers might have just the cure for the lack of blue skies and red things. Maybe next time, but for now go play your GTAIV and I’ll go play mine.
Each week I make a point to listen to a bunch podcasts about video games, and other assorted things of personal interest.
The other week on the 1UP Network podcast “1UP Yours” former regular guest cum recurring guest John Davison mentioned a free gaming site. Now, free gaming sites aren’t anything new or special, usually, but this one is called Kongregate (www.kongregate.com) and it’s pretty darn fun. It’s been described by other media outlets as the “YouTube of video games”.
Folks can play, upload, and rate game submissions made in Flash. The current stock of games run a wide range of types from traditional platformers like The Fancy Pants Adventure to the title Protector which falls under the recently created genre of defense.
Well, they had a 2D version of game media darling Portal on there so I thought I’d check it out. So far it’s been a blast. The site has their own version of achievements sprinkled about the majority of games. Some achievements even grant you a trading card to be used with their very own collectable card game called Kongai. (Just don’t be fooled into thinking they’re going to release a card game any sooner than before it’s ready.) If you’re interested in the site feel free to share that I was the one to refer you (User name: chfuji).
Speaking of cards, the next batch of Magic cards are coming out this May. The set is called Shadowmoor and I love the entire theme. To get an idea without clicking the link, just think of the Nightmare Before Christmas and all the “original” Grimm Fairy Tales.
Lastly, I decided to download the Metal Gear Solid cellphone game, exclusive to Verizon subscribers. The graphics are impressive and the frame rate is very fast. If not for my phone having the crappiest battery crafted by human hands, I’d be able to play a bit further than the first two rooms. Everything series fans are used to is in this game which takes place sometime between the first and second Metal Gear Solid games. Here’s the press release from Verizon. For screen shots and video clips check out the 1UP.com review.
Who is the voice?
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