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• Grand Theft Auto IV's Post-Game Purgatory

  Grand Theft Auto IV is a game completely dependent on--and some would say subservient to--its story and characters.  Sure, other games in the series have their share of colorful cast members and interesting twists,  but IV decided to scale back on the gameplay a bit in exchange for hours upon hours of babysitting Niko Bellic's friends.  It was novel at first, but soon became disappointing after the realization that the limited content of these artificial social interactions replaced the endless playground fun of GTAs past. So what happens when the oh-so important characters of GTAIV run out of recorded lines of dialogue? The answer is about as unsettling as anything else in the bleak life of Nico Bellic. Read More... Posted Sep 05 2008, 01:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: rockstar, Grand theft auto 4, endings, bob mackey

• Alternate Soundtrack: Uniracers vs. Think About Life

  Video and words by Derrick Sanskrit My fellow 61FPSers know that I'm a big fan of the quirky 1994 SNES racer, Uniracers. Aside from starring self-aware, unmanned unicycles and having appropriately psycho-geometric backgrounds, the game ran at Sonic the Hedgehog speeds. It pioneered the whole doing-tricks-earns-points-and-makes-you-go-faster mechanic later popularized by the Tony Hawk: Pro Skater series and borrowed by every racing game from SSX to Mario Kart Wii. A lot of Uniracers' charm is explained by looking at the other work by its developer, DMA Design Limited. They broke onto the scene with the wildly popular Lemmings in 1990. That, along with Uniracers, won them some favor with Nintendo, who helped DMA with Body Harvest, a 3D vehicular action game for the Nintendo 64. DMA took everything they'd learned from Body Harvest to build the extremely controversial, unexpected hit Grand Theft Auto. Soon enough, DMA was bought out and renamed Rockstar North, where they continue to make Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt games to this day. So yeah, Uniracers is the senseless SNES racer by the people who made Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto 4. Interested yet? Read More... Posted Jun 17 2008, 11:00 AM by John Constantine with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: alternate soundtrack, derrick sanskrit, rockstar, snes, grand theft auto, manhunt, uniracers, lemmings, think about life

• The 61FPS Review: Grand Theft Auto 4 Part 3

  I was hoping to open the final entry in my review of Grand Theft Auto with a definitive statement about its story, to find the game’s essence in the conclusion of its through-the-looking-glass tale of crime, brutality, and the American experience. I can’t. After one month, some thirty-five hours total, of playing Grand Theft Auto 4, I’ve quit. I’m not positive how close I even am to finishing the narrative portion of the game at this point because, not unlike the gameplay itself, there is no arc. After a certain point, the story merely plateaus with no discernible rise and fall. It ceases to be a compelling enough reward to keep playing the game. Grand Theft Auto 4 is a work at odds with itself. It places you in a gigantic world and allows you to do what you will, but you cannot change it. It allows you to build friendships with the characters surrounding you but keeps you always at their mercy, penalizing you if you can’t answer your phone in the middle of a firefight. The cars control with severe realism but the game demands you drive like Sandra Bullock in Speed. Even the slightest police provocation is an arrest-able offense but you can escape them by turning a corner. But most problematic is protagonist Niko Bellic. Read More... Posted May 29 2008, 01:00 PM by John Constantine with | with no comments Filed under: john constantine, rockstar, Grand theft auto 4, 61fps review, new york, niko bellic, sam houser

• Yahtzee Rolls With the Big Dogs, Takes the Piss Out of GTA4

  It’s Wednesday and that can only mean one thing: Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw is going to talk very fast and be very funny while doing it. The latest Zero Punctuation up over at The Escapist tackles the hottest gaming subject around this fine spring, Grand Theft Auto 4. Yahtzee does indeed enjoy the game quite a bit but takes issue with the one aspect of the game that I’ve taken the most joy out of so far. He calls the friendship/dating sim mechanics in the game “an irritating, mindless chore” but, as I’ve said a number of times, I’ve found it to be the most immersive and engaging aspect of Rockstar’s magnum opus. Than again, I’M VERY LONELY! Read More... Posted May 14 2008, 02:06 PM by John Constantine with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, grand theft auto iv, rockstar, escapist, yahtzee, zero punctuation

• The 61FPS Review: Grand Theft Auto IV, Part 1

  We’re going to do things a little differently here at 61FPS when it comes to reviewing games. For starters, all reviews are going to be brought to you in three digestible installments. Games are simply too long – not to mention that many can’t be completed at all – to offer you the most thorough critical examination we can offer in a single helping. The just released Grand Theft Auto IV is the perfect candidate for this formula because while there are a set number of tasks to perform in its world that will allow a player to see its narrative through to a traditional conclusion (in addition to a number of tracked statistics that will result in a 100% marker,) the game’s non-linear nature means that it can go on forever. Want to turn on the game and see just how many Hummers you can pile onto a Coney Island pier? Have at it. I’ve spent approximately fourteen hours in Liberty City at this point and while that’s no small amount of time, it’s clear that Rockstar’s world still has plenty to offer. Read More... Posted May 12 2008, 10:00 AM by John Constantine with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, grand theft auto iv, rockstar, Grand theft auto 4, liberty city, gta, 61fps review