Ok so before anyone forms any opinion right off of the bat, I have not played the game yet. I have rented it but literally not had the time in the last two days. I have been doing a lot of reading up on it and this is part of why I allowed myself to rent the game in the first place.

Most of what you hear (unless like me you listen to more game-centric media) is that GTA is riddled with sex, drugs, hookers, extreme gratuitous violence etc. While I am sure that is true those are not the reasons I am going to explore this game. I am more interested in the technology of this game. First there is a new type of physics engine that has me very intrigued. Watch the demo of it here if you are technically inclined.

Also there are the reviews. I have not played the other GTA games, primarily because they do not interest me and because of the immediate box in which you get placed if you say that you do ie an immoral, violence crazed youth with no sense of decency. However, after reading reviews like the one over at Wired, the sheer magnitude of what Rockstar has gone after appeals to me on different levels beyond just the gaming but actually on a social/cultural commentary level. Here is an excerpt from that review:

The Rockstar developers are utterly in love with the idea of the American city: the riot of decay and grandeur, the garish commercialism, the violence and beauty, the architectural delights hidden in every corner. With GTA IV, Rockstar has produced an ode to urban life. Which is to say, they’re not really giving you a game to play with — they’re giving you a city.

Now it certainly ups my level of enthusiam that the city is The City. New York City. Seriously, does it get any better than this. Satire, free roaming, insane levels of detail and New York City.

Finally, there is the level of enthusiam that a game community has for a major release. This happened with Halo 3 on many fronts but just the power of the internet combined with people’s willingness to put information out there can be a pretty powerful force. For an example of something really cool check out the Liberty City Google Map complete with the discovered points of interest. 

So am I going to go out and do every single simulated sin imaginable or allowed by the game simply because there are no consequences? Certainly not. Am I going to probably drive a motorcycle up onto a roof and jump it over to another building? Heck yeah. Jump out of helicopters? Yes. Play cops and robbers in online multi-player? I have been waiting for years to do that. Will this game warp me into something that I am not? I am assuming not. Will I be able to enjoy a brand new technological breakthrough and be able to relate better on some level with the youth culture that I am trying to influence? Yes. Game Over.

Ok by now if you read my blog regularly at all or you just know me you know that I have an Xbox 360 as my console of choice. I think that despite it being from the evil empire in Redmond it does offer the best mix of good games and cost but it is because no one else has anything like XBox Live.

Regardless, last year (actually late 2006) a game called Gears of War was made that truly rocked the socks off of a lot of people myself included and dominated may must play lists for a while and some people still obsess about it. Well if you follow gaming then you know that GoW 2 is slated to come out this year sometime and the gaming world is getting ready for it. There are a lot of gamers that will guaranteed never get to play it on their console of choice the Wii.

Below is a quote from the President of Epic Games (the company responsible for Gears and also for Unreal Tournament) which I think sums up to a T the reason I will not own a Wii and why I think that its dominance may last on the units sold column but will not hold steady in the long term against the technical superiority of the other two consoles.

It’s a virus where you buy it and you play it with your friends and they’re like, “Oh my God that’s so cool, I’m gonna go buy it.” So you stop playing it after two months, but they buy it and they stop playing it after two months but they’ve showed it to someone else who then go out and buy it and so on. Everyone I know bought one and nobody turns it on. Obviously there’s a class of people who really love it and enjoy it and are getting into the games but I’m still waiting for that one game that makes me play it.

This pretty much sums up the people that I know as well. Sure there are the “Nintendo fanboys” who have to own every game that has a major Nintendo franchise character plastered on the box which means that of course Smash Brothers has been a success and so has Mario Galaxy. But for those of us who do not care about a kid oriented Street Fighter using historical Nintendo characters, or who think that swimming with sting rays is lame then what do you have for me? The novelty of flailing your arms in the “real motion” wears thin after you figure out that a simple wrist flick is not only more effective but can be done sitting on the couch, bowling works the best in my opinion but then you realize that YOU ARE BOWLING on a $200 system which last time I checked is like 100 games of bowling…

So do I think that Nintendo is a sinking ship? Of course not you can’t sink when everybody and their mom buys your console. Do I plan on ever owning one? Also of course not. Do I think that the comment from Epic could be detremental to the sales curve that Nintendo has experienced? Yes I do. Epic is a big player and other developers will take notice so will real gamers who may have been on the fence about adding a Wii to their entertainment center.

Really sum it up this way. Does the cover of the first game look like it will give you more action and intensity or does the cover of the second game look more appealing to you? There is a place for everyone but I know where mine is.

So when all the shouting was over I finally was able to get the wireless rock band guitar. I believe (according to the Gamestop guy and their website) that I got the last one in the entire Phoenix metro area and I have to say that makes me feel special.

I played with it a little bit tonight and it is so liberating to not have a wire tying me to the TV. The downside is that the buttons and strum bar are a bit stiff. I think that your skills develop along with your guitar it becomes part of your skill and there is a learning curve to pick up any other one besides your main one. That may sound stupid to those of you who don’t play but I stick by it.

So seriously though, 11:15 time for bed.