Grand Theft Auto (Xbox 360)

Splendid.

Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360)

My extended impressions follow. There are no story spoilers, but there are gameplay spoilers. You have been warned:

I've played around 10 hours so far. This has been divided roughly 70/30 into story/messing around. I've just (as in five minutes before I stopped for the night) unlocked Manhattan. The guns are slow to come. So far I have a pistol, a mini-SMG, a shotgun, a sniper rifle, an assault rifle and a molotov. No sign of a rocket launcher yet, and most of the guns in the shop are display models only.

The combat system is superb. Whilst I've noticed that blind-firing at certain angles (ie when an enemy is against a wall that your covering on the perpendicular wall he can't be shot blindly) doesn't work, the cover system and targetting is fantastic. If this was in VCS I'd have done that stupid swimming pool mission by now. Unlike Gears, you don't pop out when aiming, so you can hold the left trigger, pick your spot, and Nico doesn't emerge until you pull to shoot. It works very well.

I don't like the way the cars drive. In an attempt to make every chase an insane action-flick affair, cars simply will not turn at all if the brake is even slightly pressed, at any speed. This can be extremely frustrating, meaning to corner you have to either come to an almost complete stop, or rely on the handbrake to get around bends. But it's still fun trying to evade capture.

The mini-games aren't as good as they could (or should) be. The darts is simply a case of move-cursor-press-A, and is very easy (just about everyone on my friends list already has the 180 achievement). Something like the arcing hand on Shenmue would've been better. The pool is odd, the physics are weird and each ball appears to weigh several tons, and they don't roll naturally. I don't remember the bowling much, only did it the first compulsory time, but I seem to recall it feeling stiff and lifeless, like the pool.

The phone really is brilliant. Calling the womang whenever I want an easy shag works well, and arranging meet-ups for drinks is a nice touch. Though it would be nicer if they could make their own way to and from dates, as the lift-provider role can get tedious. Fortunately, this is all solved by the taxis, possibly the single most important new feature for me. Find a cab, call it over, hop in the back and it will take you anywhere, instantly. For people like me (I realise I'm in a minority) who find endless driving for hours between missions to be a grind, it's a godsend.

There are a few things I've read about that don't appear to be there to me. The web isn't as big as I've been led to believe, I could only get one level of service in the strip club, not three, and the intelligent bystander system where pedestrians will call the police from their mobiles when they see you jacking a car seems to be entirely fictitious.

And all this just sounds like a load of complaining. Which it is, but they're petty complaints (like my objection to the pronunciation of Bellic. Surely it should be pronounced 'Bellich'?). The story is great, the characters are superbly realised (although I had to turn the subtitles on to understand a word Little Jacob was saying), and the twists are mostly unseen and dramatic. All the little niggles can be overlooked, because GTA does just about everything so perfectly, with so much style, charisma and humour. The amount of stuff crammed into it is beyond belief. Up until yesterday I was firmly in the 'GTA doesn't work in 3D, the first two were the best' camp. I have been thoroughly converted. According to IGN, who I never, ever agree with, this is the first game since the Dreamcast worthy of a full 100/100 mark. For once, they got it absolutely right.

FIFA Street 3 (Xbox 360)

Not only completed, and not just 1kd, but 1.25kd! My first >1,000 gamerscore, and it felt nice, even if it was very easy and I shamefully had to buy some extra arenas for 300MSP to get the last 250 (I'm using my free 500MSP for pre-ordering GTA4 from Game to justify this). The whole thing took me around 7 hours, four-ish on single-player and three-ish online. I got the 25 ranked wins after 23 wins. Which almost (actually, nowhere near) counters the 128 wins I needed to get the 100 ranked wins achievement on FIFA 08.

It's sort of fun but ludicrously samey. The only tactic that works is get the ball, juggle until you're a yard from the opposition goal, score, repeat. If you try doing anything else you will lose. The drags are rubbish, passing doesn't work, and ultimately the game is pointless. Not recommended unless you're a whore, in which case highly recommended.

Bah

Once more I forgot to post for ages.

Since I last posted I have:

Finished Avatar
Finished The Club
Finished Sega Superstars Tennis
Finished Prey
Finished Halo 2
Finished FIFA 08
Finished Call Of Duty 4
Finished Bioshock
Finished God Of War: Chains Of Olympus
Finished UEFA Euro 2008

Hopefully I can finish FIFA Street 3 tonight in time for 'the big one'.

NHL 07 (Xbox 360)

I know no shame. This is the easiest 1,000 gamerpoints I've acquired since finishing the 2k6 games over a year ago. I probably spent about two hours actually playing the game, then another two hours on my computer pressing A on the controller at ten minute intervals to set it simulating the next season. It's not very good. The fighting is laughable. 2K is better. But it's good for whoring.

FIFA 08 (Xbox 360)

After a major loss of form it would appear things are looking up again. Last night's online play session saw 5 wins and one defeat on penalties from six games. However what I don't understand is why I'm yet to see the 50 Games Hosted achievement, when I've played 57 home games online. What is also infuriating is that the game has a 15-minute (in game time) grace period at the start of every online game, so you can assess the lag, and if necessary quit without penalty. A nice idea in theory, but on three occassions last night I found myself in front within ten minutes. Needless to say not one of these games made it past the 15 minute mark. But trying to pass around and maintain possession until the 90 seconds or so of realtime have elapsed has similar consequenses, as people assume you're trying to take the piss out of them. So the only thing one can do is to play normally and attack, whilst trying not to score. Not good.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (Xbox 360)

I am a gamerscore whore. I know it, and I have no shame. But I have thresholds. Even though F4 is apparently an easy 800 or so points, with a 6 hour run through time, I played through the first level, amassing 60 points in the process, turned it off and set it back. It is so diabolically awful that not even I, a man who finished Shrek the Third for a measly 400 points, could tolerate its awfulness. Avoid.

Meet The Robinsons (Xbox 360)

Completed! Took me around 9 hours to get the full 1k. A thoroughly enjoyable experience. I beat a giant hat with a varsity glove.

Twenty-two left

Ico PS2

I've finished the legendary Ico, the game claimed to be the best ever by many. It is good, but it's not the best game ever.

It's a beautiful game, vast landscapes and an awe-inspiring sense of scale. The sound is quite unreal, no music, just a strange, haunting wind casting over you. The puzzles are varied and fun, but elements of the gameplay leave a lot to be desired. The battles against the shadow creatures are repetitive and infuriating, the animation when running with Yorda is horribly jerky, the A.I. is non-existent (Yorda routinely climbs down a ladder when I call her, gets to the bottom rung and climbs back up again, and the shadows are painfully stupid, taking two steps towards me then jumping back, over and over again) and the last boss is a joke, three minutes, first time, without trying.

To be honest, a lot of the game is just a frustrating experience, and I was told I would feel emotional towards the second half of the game. I didn't. But then I defeated the boss and watched the ending sequence, and that changed. It's strangely beautiful, as though it wants to eat away at you, strangely and eerily. And then I ended up on a beach and took a stroll. And in a brief moment, I completely forgot it wasn't real...

23 To Go

Perfect Dark Zero Xbox 360

Just finished it. It was only on Agent difficulty, but still I don't believe I've ever finished two games in a day before. Did missions 9-13 in just short of two hours. It's a bit crap really, shocking AI, weak level design, poor sound, graphics weak in places but lovely in others. Well, it's probably not as bad as I make out, but as FPS games go it's very much average, and compared to the likes of COD2 and Halo it can't really compete. But it's another one off the list. I will now aim to complete Ico, Ridge Racer 6 and Max Payne 2, depending on my mood and which machine Mary is using at any given time.

Completing Games and my Marathon Task

This month I have mostly been skint. Not only that, but I now have so many games, DVDs and CDs that my 2,000+ units of storage capacity are overflowing and I have about 10 huge piles of stuff that won't fit lying around. As such, I'm doing a huge eBay selling binge, to raise money and space. Not only that, but I've made a pact with myself to not buy any more games until I've finished a rather substantial list of games that I have. I drew up the list yesterday, compromising 25 games and how far in I am:

Call Of Duty 2 (360) - About five missions in on easy.
F.E.A.R. (PC) - I played about an hour but lost my save so a restart.
God Of War (PS2) - About half-way through.
Half-Life 2 (PC) - I think I'm on chapter 7.
Ico (PS2) - About three hours in.
Jak & Daxter (PS2) - About five hours in.
Lego Star Wars (Xbox) - Unstarted.
Max Payne 2 (PC) - On about chapter 6.
Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes (GC) - Unstarted.
Metal Gear Solid 3 (PS2) - Played an hour a year ago, will start again for recap.
Metroid Fusion (GBA) - About two hours in.
Perfect Dark Zero (360) - On mission 9.
Psychonauts (Xbox) - Unstarted.
Rayman 3 (GC) - About 60% through.
Resident Evil Zero (GC) - Unstarted.
Resident Evil (GC) - Unstarted.
Resident Evil 2 (GC) - Unstarted.
Resident Evil 3 (GC) - Unstarted.
Resident Evil CV (GC) - Unstarted.
Resident Evil 4 (GC) - Unstarted.
Rez (PS2) - On level 3.
Ridge Racer 6 (360) - 66% through.
Ridge Racers (PSP) - 60% through.
Shadow Of The Colossus (PS2) - Unstarted.
We Love Katamari (PS2) - Unstarted.

I do have to buy one game though, since I don't own RE:CV, but I need the set and want to play through them in order.

However, I'm now one down, twenty-four to go:

God Of War

The first game to be finished. 4 hours last night and an hour this morning saw me conquer the Challenges Of Poseidon and Hades, find Pandora's Box, die, recover from the Underworld by walking the Path Of Hades, defeat Ares, save my family from an army of myself, kill Ares again, attempt suicide, fail, and take my new place on Mount Olympus as the God Of War. I would like to award God Of War the honour of the title Best Game Since Shenmue, a masterpiece in every way.

So if anyone has any suggestions as to what to play and why (but don't say RE4, the RE games are getting played in the order they are written in), then lets hear your thoughts.