RANDOM VIDEO GAME NEWS

[Drowsy Emperor]

I can't help it that the best games were made when I was 13.*

 

 

 

*Acute case of typical gamer nostalgitis.

[Orogun01]

Guess it'll have to hold me until survarium comes online.

[Azdeus]

Looks like I know what I'm doing July 31st:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA6VjqnJLGE

 

As if I needed another excuse to fire up Call of Pripyat again.

 

Sweet! That's going to keep me entertained until Wasteland 2. Played alot of Misery, and it was a great mod.

The only thing I miss from the Stalker games are other maps, or bigger overall. I've been everywhere on those maps by now.

[Malcador]

 

Switching to and from protagonists does sound nifty.

[BruceVC]

 

Switching to and from protagonists does sound nifty.

 

 

That does look good but that game is dead to me until they confirm a PC release date !!!   

[Drowsy Emperor]

I have no doubt that the game will be amazing from a design perspective, but there really is only one question it needs to answer and that is: why bother doing all those things in game in the first place?

 

GTA games have become progressively less fun over the years, and although I really liked GTA IV's story the fun I had with the series peaked in Vice City.

 

This is just... boring. GTA III was mindblowing fun in its time but there is a limit on how many times you can repackage it and sell it again. All they've done is stress realism and its not helping.

 

Plus Rockstar is no longer the sole purveyor of the whole sandbox crime thing, which I feel has become  a dead end. Much like Bethesda's role playing games.

 

But then, there are always the new kids. I guess GTA was the teenager game, but not something that can (or maybe even should) be entertaining to a grown up.

Edited July 9, 2013 by Drowsy Emperor

[Tale]

I got bored with GTA IV before completing it. I'm kind of with Drowsy on the repackaging. I played III, played some of Vice City, and felt it was too much of the same thing. Got IV on sale and more of the same.

 

In Rockstar's defense, the heist thing they're doing here looks drastically different. But we'll have to see if those make up the core of the story missions or if that's just something you do occasionally, with 90% being the same things we did since III.

[BruceVC]

I have no doubt that the game will be amazing from a design perspective, but there really is only one question it needs to answer and that is: why bother doing all those things in game in the first place?

 

GTA games have become progressively less fun over the years, and although I really liked GTA IV's story the fun I had with the series peaked in Vice City.

 

This is just... boring. GTA III was mindblowing fun in its time but there is a limit on how many times you can repackage it and sell it again. All they've done is stress realism and its not helping.

 

Plus Rockstar is no longer the sole purveyor of the whole sandbox crime thing, which I feel has become  a dead end. Much like Bethesda's role playing games.

 

But then, there are always the new kids. I guess GTA was the teenager game, but not something that can (or maybe even should) be entertaining to a grown up.

 

I have to say that GTA5 does look amazing and has some new features that look very entertaining like all the sports, hunting wildlife and bounty hunting. I sincerely hope they release on the PC because I'll be missing out if they don't

[Morgoth]

 

 

 

That does look good but that game is dead to me until they confirm a PC release date !!!   

 

 

*ahem*

 

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/07/09/rockstar-leeds-hiring-to-bring-latest-titles-to-the-pc.aspx

 

Not a confirmation but it looks good.

[Hurlshort]

I'll be playing Saint's Row instead.  They keep it fun.

[BruceVC]

 

 

 

 

That does look good but that game is dead to me until they confirm a PC release date !!!   

 

 

*ahem*

 

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/07/09/rockstar-leeds-hiring-to-bring-latest-titles-to-the-pc.aspx

 

Not a confirmation but it looks good.

 

 

This seems like really good news and you are right it bodes well for the possibility that GTA5 will get a PC version, excellent find

[Keyrock]

To me GTA peaked with San Andreas.

 

If I had never played any of the games before and played them all right now for the first time, and removed graphics from the equation, GTA III would likely be the weakest entry.  The main character had zero personality, on account of him never saying anything.  The main antagonist is mostly faceless and honestly has a lot more character progression in her cameo appearance in San Andreas.  The city is mostly dull and repetitive.  However, at the time it was released the game was just so groundbreaking, offering a level of freedom to do crazy **** that had not been seen before.  It pioneered its own genre.

 

Vice City tapped into a cool 80s vibe, plus it featured a much better cast of characters and a far more interesting setting.  While Tommy was an unlikable prick, he delivered enough quality wisecracks to be entertaining to play.  The setting of Vice City was so superior to Liberty City that it made "more of the same" feel fresh.

 

San Andreas tapped into street gang culture and had, in my opinion, the strongest setting and cast of characters in the series to date.  Los Santos was dull and boring (oddly enough this is the city they're bringing back for V), but San Fierro was great, and while the outskirts of Las Venturas were dull, the strip was just plain awesome.  Plus the area of the game was just so big, and you switched the central setting often enough to keep from getting really bored with the area you were mostly in.  The game featured, in my opinion, both the best protagonist and antagonist in the series.  While CJ winds up doing some terrible ****, he was the most truly likable protagonist the series has ever had.  And Tenpenny, to me, was EASILY the strongest antagonist in the series history.  He was fantastic at pushing the protagonist's buttons.

 

IV really brought nothing new to the table.  While the Liberty City in IV is better than the Liberty City in III, it's still a rehash.  Niko is a completely unlikable a-hole without Tommy's quality wisecracks to keep things entertaining.  Dmitri is a pretty weak antagonist.  Roman is annoying as ****, as is Playboy, Dwayne is even worse.  There are a few interesting characters, like Brucie and Jacob, but I could never really get into the game like previous entries.

Edited July 9, 2013 by Keyrock

[Malcador]

Hm, I rather liked Niko, didn't find him to be an **** to people that didn't warrant it.

[Morgoth]

Also notice plural "titles". Are they gonna port RDR too?

[Bester]

News I've read today.

 

Obsidian said they're gonna work on Kotor 3.

World of Warcraft will introduce in-game shops.

[BruceVC]

Also notice plural "titles". Are they gonna port RDR too?

 

Yet another excellent observation, we can only hope.

[Keyrock]

Also notice plural "titles". Are they gonna port RDR too?

Now that's something I would get excited about.

[Drowsy Emperor]

Hm, I rather liked Niko, didn't find him to be an **** to people that didn't warrant it.

 

Me too. The protagonists from previous games were cardboard cutouts. There's literally nothing to like (or even dislike) about them.

CJ had a bit of character but ultimately he was just another yo from da hood, completely interchangeable with the other members of the cast.

 

 

Niko* has a story and motivation, although the other characters in the game were as shallow as the rest of the supporting cast from the previous ones.

 

 

*Btw the name means "nobody" in Serbian. And no, its not a name anyone actually has.

[BruceVC]

 

Hm, I rather liked Niko, didn't find him to be an **** to people that didn't warrant it.

 

Me too. The protagonists from previous games were cardboard cutouts. There's literally nothing to like (or even dislike) about them.

CJ had a bit of character but ultimately he was just another yo from da hood, completely interchangeable with the other members of the cast.

 

 

Niko* has a story and motivation, although the other characters in the game were as shallow as the rest of the supporting cast from the previous ones.

 

 

*Btw the name means "nobody" in Serbian. And no, its not a name anyone actually has.

 

 

I must say I am surprised you didn't  like GTA4 due to its strong ties to Serbia and the Bosnian War, its not often games incorporate that devastating  war into there lore and characters?

Edited July 9, 2013 by BruceVC

[Drowsy Emperor]

 

 

Hm, I rather liked Niko, didn't find him to be an **** to people that didn't warrant it.

 

Me too. The protagonists from previous games were cardboard cutouts. There's literally nothing to like (or even dislike) about them.

CJ had a bit of character but ultimately he was just another yo from da hood, completely interchangeable with the other members of the cast.

 

 

Niko* has a story and motivation, although the other characters in the game were as shallow as the rest of the supporting cast from the previous ones.

 

 

*Btw the name means "nobody" in Serbian. And no, its not a name anyone actually has.

 

 

I must say I am surprised you didn't  like GTA4 due to its strong ties to Serbia and the Bosnian War, its not often games incorporate that devastating  war into there lore and characters?

 

 

I liked the story. Or actually, I liked Niko. He is a far more human character than any GTA protagonist, an in fact he's one of the best videogame characters ever written. I also appreciated that they did a good job of keeping things general and vague enough not to offend anyone. There really isn't anything about the war there, just vague snippets from time to time. 

 

Some of the other choices are unclear. Niko is obviously Serbian but Roman on the other hand is not a Serbian name. I guess its because Roman is a popular hollywood name for people from eastern europe. Other names are chosen seemingly at random.

 

Its also unclear why they chose an american to do voice acting for Niko, if they wanted him to speak Serbian on occasion and have an accent - obviously it would have been much better to find a Serbian voice actor. It was a bad choice. His Serbian is horrible and distorted. 

 

The city was well crafted, the animations were fluid and the gameplay was pretty good. However the missions were somewhat boring and the story delivery was haphazard.

 

So it was a mixed experience. On one hand I greatly enjoyed playing Niko and I think he's a great creation. But the GTA part just didn't hold me. After 3 games I think I was just too burned out to get excited by it all over again.

[mkreku]

I think that GTA5 trailer looks.. like my dream game come true, basically. And I hated GTA4!

 

High hopes for this.

[BruceVC]

I think that GTA5 trailer looks.. like my dream game come true, basically. And I hated GTA4!

 

High hopes for this.

 

I have to be honest this was the type of response I was expecting. I am still surprised by the general desultory and lacklustre comments from  most people. I think Rockstar have an absolute winner with this game. I can't ask for anything more from the series. There seem to be so many new things to do apart from the exciting main storyline

[HoonDing]

I'd rather have a Sleeping Hogs sequel.

[Labadal]

I liked GTAIV but I still consider Vice City to be the most fun game in the series. I actually beat it twice. I never finished San Andreas. I think I had completed 80% of the game but then I just didn't feel like playing anymore. In GTAIV, I completed many of the main story missions and then quit playing it for almost a year. Went back to it and beat the remaining missions. There were only like 3 or 4 left at that point. I've played every game in the series, including all the portable games. I'll be picking this up day one.

[melkathi]

I only enjoyed Vice City. I felt it had the most coherent theme. Everythin simply fit that Miami Vice 80s thing they had going on, allowing for a great immersive atmosphere.