Complete Euphoria

So the GTA IV addiction has set in already. After buying the game yesterday and rushing home to play it I have to agree with the other critics. This is a modern classic and raises the bar for where games will go here on in.

What I found most interesting is the new Euphoria engine. Early previews suggested players and NPC would react naturally to their environment, which we of the gaming press hear all the time. Yet in actual fact these system rarely make good on their promises.

However, this is the real deal, the shit, absolute miller time!!

I actually shouted "Oh My God!" when this happened:

I'm making Nico run towards the bustling waterfront area of Broker (the game's equivalent of Brooklyn) while exploring and getting to grips with the sheer scale of the city. As I start sprinting at full pelt I clip this unfortunate sod with my arm, he then stumbles back over his own feet and rolls down a flight of stairs, bouncing off each individual stair with realtime physics and the kitchen sink thrown in.

Absolutely magnificent.

Not to piss on Half-Life 2's parade (because I'm a huge fan), but if Valve's 'Source' engine was the first step towards accurate real-time physics in a game then this is the final word.

It works, it's fully-functional and makes the city seem more organic and believable, truly breathtaking.

Now, all I'm wondering is what the price tag was for developing this piece of software, I shudder to think. Money well spent mind you!

Much love,

Dave

How to kill someone and get away with it...

Holy christ, if this isn't proof that casual gaming has blown the market wide open then nothing is...

On my lunch break, I decided to buy Grand Theft Auto IV (you might have heard of it), because I'm getting fed up waiting for my promo copy. Okay so, I'm impatient, but when you go on Xbox Live and see your entire friends list playing it, you can't help but feel a little behind the times.

After buying the game I stood outside the store speaking to one of my friends and this old man walks up to us and asks:

"Is that the new Grand Theft Auto you've been buying"

"Yes"

"Be careful you don't go killing people!"

"I'll try not to"

Now - The result of media hype combined with that utter fuckwit Jack Thompson's rantings about how evil the game is or something else?

To be honest, as the cashier handed the game over the desk to me I could literally feel the murderous rage building up inside me. It's lucky this country doesn't condone guns or I would have killed several people by now.

Complete and utter morons...

To the rest of us who understand it's only a game (99.9% of the population) I'm going to go home after work, put my feet up and take my first steps in Liberty City.

Game on!

Much love,

Dave