Grand Theft Auto 4 Review

"With more sights, shows, restaurants, bars, museums, shopping and borderline psychopaths than you can shake a shotgun at, there is no place quite like Liberty City. Where else can you get sworn at by a senior citizen, accosted by a crack head, propositioned by a prostitute, and strip-searched by a police officer, all before breakfast? Discover the history, culture and diversity that make a booming metropolis the capital of the world, at least according to the over-caffeinated locals. We encourage you to explore Liberty City's four boroughs and it's islands, each with it's own distinct atmosphere and personality. There is always something for everyone.” (Rockstar Games) Our review after the jump.

The storytelling in the GTA franchise hasn’t always been the greatest in the industry, although it has improved this time around. In Grand Theft Auto 4 you play the role of Niko Bellic, an immigrant from Eastern Europe and a veteran of the Bosnian wars. He has been lured to Liberty City by his cousin’s tales of wealth and prosperity along with the chance of a fresh start. Things once again get off to the usual GTA start as you start working for gangs and criminals to earn a little extra cash. You go through the paces eventually making your way up the ladder as is tradition in the series. The story itself is about thirty hours long, but the bulk of your time will be spent going postal. Along with the main story there are also side missions, and hidden secrets throughout the city. This is a game that you could play for hours and hours once the story is completed. Some plot twists you can see coming, while other you may not. In the end though it’s a great story and you can really get involved in the characters and their trials.

The gameplay is why many gamers love this series and it hasn’t changed much at all. This can also be said for the missions. Taking down rival gangs, performing hits, or taking part in car chases have all stayed the same since GTA 3 and still remain fresh. That said Liberty City is barely recognizable from the GTA 3 rendition. This is also true with some of the gangs you will be working for. Besides a few missions here and there with the mafia many of the families from GTA 3 aren’t even mentioned. Sindakos, Columbian Cartel and the Triads don’t even play a role in this game. Instead the game centers around the Russian mafia, the Irish and to a smaller extent the Italian mafia. One of the disappointing things is there are no country environments. The playable area itself is actually smaller than that of San Andreas but there is no wasted space. Still the game could have been better off with a healthy balance of rural and urban environments. Niko can do things that some of the previous protagonists could not. He can scale walls and other obstacles, along with a much improved gunplay system. The cover system has greatly improved the combat in the game and it will actually feel like your in a real shootout. Throughout the game you will also be presented with morality decisions. You can either kill or let a criminal go effecting your respect and sometimes the plot itself. There are once again a great variety of vehicles. Driving down Star Junction at break neck speeds or trying to outrun the cops are still very fun. Another new feature added to the game is the internet. Although not that important it play a big role in a lot of the side missions and internet dating. The police system is also slightly changed as they may seem a bit easier to avoid. Your GPS system will show you locations of the LCPD and you can easily avoid them and loose your wanted level. That said loosing them can still be tough, especially when you hit the three star range. The online in the game can host up to sixteen players in a variety of match types. This is a first for the series and its surprising that online can work so well with a series like this. You can chose from death matches, to team battles to even races. Overall the gameplay in GTA 4 is essentially the same as in previous installments. Not to say this is a bad thing because we all know why we play Grand Theft Auto.

Liberty City is very recognizable to the modern day New York City. You’ll be taken through four main areas. Broker representing Brooklyn, Queens is Dukes, Algonquin representing Manhattan and Alderney representing New Jersey. Many New York landmarks are also present in the game with different names. Central Park, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and the Brooklyn bridge to name a few. The city itself is more real than ever. This can be attributed to the great graphics and detail that went into the city along with the people themselves. There are many more character models and you won’t see two of the same people walking together like in previous installments. The visuals in Grand Theft Auto 4 are not the best to grave the PS3 or the 360 but they are still great. To render such a huge area without any load times between areas is a daunting task and the city looks great. The city has many little details scattered throughout it that make the overall city feel more real. Again the visuals in the GTA series haven’t been at the top of the pack but no other game has come so close to rendering a living breathing city like they have.

The radio is as good as ever once again produced by Lazlow and Dan Houser. There are a total of 18 radio stations spanning from talk shows, to rock and pop stations and to reggae. The music in this game is not as mainstream as in previous games. Although there are over 200 licensed songs, the most ever in a video game, most of them are obscure. That’s not per say a bad thing because they fit well within the game and the culture of New York City. The same can be said with the voice acting. In the past actors such as James Woods and Samuel L. Jackson played roles but in this installment there are no big names. This helps you better understand the characters as you won’t be associating them with the voice actor themselves.

Grand Theft Auto, in my opinion, has become the most important franchise in the video game industry. Although the series has been mired with controversy the games have always stood out as some of the best of their time. This is no exception with Grand Theft Auto 4 and if you’ve ever loved the series before you best return to Liberty City.

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Metal Gear Solid: The PS3 Seller

Anaylysts were surprised when Grand Theft Auto 4 failed to translate into hardware sales for both Sony and Microsoft. However, with the help of myself, this was not the case with Metal Gear Solid 4. A game that received the Forest's first first perfect score has sold three million units worldwide in its first two weeks. Hardware sales for the PS3 had increased significantly leading up to the release and will continue to sell for quite some time.

The Face of the PS3

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Metal Gear Solid 4 Review

From Metal Gear Solid on the Playstation to Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater on the PS2 the MGS franchise has always been one of the most highly regarded in the video game industry. With this franchise came unique gameplay, amazing storytelling and top of the line visuals. But how do you end a series that is beloved by so many? You do it in style and Hideo Kojima with his amazing development team have proved once again how great this series is. You will be absolutely overwhelmed with emotions as you take Solid Snake through his final mission. Our review after the jump.

The storytelling from the Metal Gear Solid franchise is one of the most complicated in the industry and so much emphasis has been placed on it throughout its twenty one year history. The experiences within the games could be compared with some of the best films out there. This may set some people off as minutes of gameplay can be sandwiched into hours of cut scenes, but that’s what the franchise is all about. Obviously if you weren’t a fan of that in the past than your opinion won‘t be changed this time around. Not to spoil anything but besides the ending cinematics there were several that advanced the one hour mark one even closing in on eighty minutes. The thing is though if you don’t know the storyline of this franchise or if you decide to boycott it in this game than you’ll only be having half of the experience. Of course Kojima along with his writers put a lot of effort into closing up the many plot lines in this series all of which should be satisfying to fans. Not to be bias but this is definitely the greatest story in any video game I have played thus far and I couldn’t be happier with the final result. Of course to tell this great story the cinematics must be amazing, and they are. To tell the truth the transitions from cinematic to gameplay are unnoticeable and the gameplay and story just compliment each other so well. All of your favourite, or not so favourite, characters return…cough…Mei Ling. Playing the game has a real purpose to it as you dwell deeper into their storylines and you really start to feel for the characters. Thankfully closure is brought to each of them. Overall the plot from the Metal Gear franchise has always been so deep and riveting and enough can’t be said about it in Guns of the Patriots.

As I mentioned before the gameplay within the Metal Gear franchise is one to its own. The emphasis throughout the series has been placed on stealth action rather than straight combat action. Besides a few occasions here and there you could essentially go the entire game without killing anyone. On the other hand though the game can be played essentially like any other FPS. This time around the latter experience has improved with more weapons and customizability being added to the gameplay. There are a huge variety of weapons that you can gain around the battlefield or from a man called Drebin. You can sell, buy and upgrade your armory straight from the start menu. This takes some difficulty out of the game as you won’t be hunting for or conserving your ammo. The storyline will essentially take you through five acts each with their own unique setting. These settings and environments vary greatly as you traverse through the ruins of an Middle Eastern town, to the jungles of South America or even to a nostalgic island covered in snow. The boss battles in this game are also terrific each of them being unique from the other and each of them a load of fun to play. From fighting a mutating creature in a laboratory to a mechanical wolf in a howling blizzard each of them is stunning. The stealth movements in this game also feel as real as ever. The addition of the OctoCamo suit is really great as you can blend into the environments around you. So overall its nice that you can take either route, advancing through the game in a stealth or combat oriented fashion. There are so many new gameplay moments that are added into this game that wouldn‘t be associated with the franchise. Whether it be the superb car chase through a European town or the fight between Metal Gear Rex and Ray, these moments are abundant and superb. With the success of online in Subsistence it was no question that it would be included in MGS4. A variety of modes with up to 16 players can be utilized. It seems like every game these days has to have online and its good to know that Metal Gear is pretty good and has set itself apart from other online games. When it boils down to it the Metal Gear franchise is the best stealth action series out there and you won’t be disappointed this one last time.

Guns of the Patriots is probably the greatest technical achievement in video game history. The Playstation 3 is pushed to its limits and every character, scenery, and explosion is perfect. The motion capture and combat is all so realistic and it is an amazing experience. Its hard to explain the graphics in this game but to put it simply Guns of the Patriots sets the bar and will probably go untouched for quite some time. The music in this game is quite good containing pieces from all previous Metal Gears to some new works as well. The music really sets the tone in the game whether it be a high adrenaline situation or some important dialogue. The voice acting is this game as usual is amazing. David Hayter provides some of his best work yet as he is also supported by an array of familiar characters. Metal…Gear!?

The fact of the matter is if you’ve never enjoyed the Metal Gear Solid franchise than your crazy. No just kidding but you won’t like this game as if follows the same road. That said though you’ll only be having half of the experience if you haven’t played any previous titles in the franchise. Questions that have gone on throughout the entire franchise have been answered. Solid Snake is one of the most legendary heroes out there and MGS is one of the most legendary series as well. To bring this series to a close and do it in such an amazing fashion speaks leagues about Hideo Kojima and his development team.

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No Midnight Release

So we didn't get our advanced copy of Metal Gear, instead we have 22 copies of Conan. Our local EB Games isn't having a midnight release......

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Play Beyond

So today the Forest of Illusions acquired a PS3 for the office. Okay we don't have an office, but I, RevolutionLink, just bought a brand new 40GB Playstation 3. My reason is simple; Metal Gear Solid 4. MGS is one of my most beloved series and I couldn't miss the final mission of Solid Snake, if it really is to be his final mission. For now though I have no games so she will sit until Thursday when Guns of the Patriots is inserted.

In other site news I have changed the look of the site, adding a few images here and there and also setting up a podcast and review archive so the site can be navigated more efficiently. This site will now have coverage for all three platforms; Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3.

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