The Grand Theft Auto series has always been graced with brilliant box art and the latest addition is no exception.
Guessing from the cover I’m sure GTA IV has something to do with epic car chases, epic helicopter action scenes, epic bike missions, epic sniper levels, epic black gangsters, epic Italian mobsters with cellphones and, of course, epic hookers with lollipops. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, GTA IV will be epic.
Did I use that world too much? How can hookers be epic, anyways?
By the way, the third GTA IV trailer, called “Move up, ladies”, debuts on Dec 6th at 3pm EST. So in other words, the internet is going to crash on Dec 6th at 3pm. Don’t all to the same website at once! IGN, Gamevideos (1UP.com), Gametrailers, Gamespot…spread it out people!
I’m usually not a fan of the color gold but this DS Lite is something special, and not just because it was the Triforce on it (although that’s a huge plus). I’m feeling the choice to go with a matte sheen, which makes the Lite look a lot less cheesy than it could have been.
The verdict: Sexy. Très sexy if you’re French. Just the look itself makes me forget about my Polar White DS (which will be making a trip to eBay soon). The Gold DS Lite is a limited edition for a reason so I doubt it will be easy to find this holiday season. But my guess is that sometime next year you might be able to buy it without Phantom Hourglass. That’s if it follows the same footsteps of the Crimson DS Lite that previously bundled with Brain Age 2. Either way it’s a great gift, especially for that special someone who’s a Zelda fanboy at heart. Don’t miss out on it.
Just got back from New York City (probably the un-friendliest city in the world). While I was there, I made my way through armies of Black Friday shoppers in Rockefeller Plaza to take a routine stop at Nintendo World. Some know this place as heaven, others know it as a waterhole for fanboys. I don’t blame them for judging us either; as I stood outside the store one shopper decided to have an on-going (and very loud) dialog between the two Pokemon hand puppets he just purchased. Yes. And he did this for a good five minutes by himself. Way to make us look bad, bro.
The Wii Zapper took center stage for the most part, with Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Medal of Honor 2: Heroes, and Link’s Crossbow Training on display. I’m not completely sold on the Zapper; the feel of it was okay, but the accuracy felt a bit off. Plus, using it to perform physical gestures for dodging in Umbrella Chronicles was awkward. I doubt I would use the Zapper over the standard Wii Remote & Nunchuk combo in any of the mentioned games.
Meanwhile, Super Mario Galaxy had the other side of the second floor staring in amazement.
I’m sure these will be hard to find but check EB Games, Circuit City or Best Buy to see if you’re lucky. I’m so willing to sell my Polar White DS right now. I would have had a nerdgasm if it had this emblem on it instead:
With Black Friday looming dangerously I can’t let my friends and readers go about buying the wrong software and hardware. With the PS3 dropping down to $399, it’s obviously going to be a hot item come this holiday season. But did you know that there are 4 separate versions (or “SKU’s”) of the PS3 available? Let me explain using this handy-dandy venn diagram made by Wired’s Chris Kohler.
Let’s start in ascending order. The 20GB SKU offers 20 gigs of hard disk space (duh), full hardware backwards compatibility (to play your old PS1 & PS2 games), and 4 USB ports yet lacks wireless and media card reading capabilities. The 60GB SKU is the most effective and fully featured choice; full hardware backwards compatibility, built-in wireless, 4 USB ports and media card compatibility. Unfortunately, both SKU’s have been discontinued so you’ll have to hit up eBay or any other unconventional retailer to snag one. Fortunately, these two are sold at much lower price points than they were a year ago.
In an attempt to cater to the casual and hardcore gamer simultaneously, Sony decided to switch to 40GB and 80GB versions of the PS3. The 80 gigger offers the same features as the 60GB model but has limited backwards compatibility since it uses software rather than hardware to play last-gen games (roughly 85% of the PS2 library will work on the PS3). It does however offer improved hard drive space for the same $499 price tag. That’s forgivable. What’s unforgivable is that the new 40GB SKU lacks backwards compatibility whatsoever and houses only 2 USB ports (wireless is available though) for the “low” price of $399.
Just announced! 800 MS Points ($10) will get you the ‘Heroic Map Pack’ which includes ‘Standoff’, ‘Rat’s Nest’, and ‘Foundry’.
‘Standoff’ is being described by Microsoft as a “symmetrical valley…with its entrenched bases and fields of boulders is ideal for mid-sized objective and Slayer game types.” ‘Rat’s Nest’ is an “indoor vehicle paradise” while ‘Foundry’ is pretty much a canvas for all you Forge artists who will soon rid the map with large murals of genitalia made out of rocket launchers.
Worth the money? Not too sure. If you look back at the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack on the original Xbox, we got 9 maps for $20. Here we get 2 new maps and one large stone ready to be sculpted by Forge for $10. I guess the extra buck or two might have to deal with development cost, which are no doubt higher come this console generation. Either way, if you’re getting sick of Shotty Snipers on The Pit (like this guy) then this map pack is freaking priceless.
After recovering from the Week of Doom (aka finals week) and a terrible cold I’m back and here to stay. I’ll try my best to keep this a regular weekly article, I promise. Now forgive me and ignore the fact that this is being written on a Monday.
- Sometimes dreams do come true. As a kid I was obsessed with Ghostbusters; they were just so cool at the time. Like, everything about them was cool: their theme song, their proton packs, their car, their Rick Moranis. Cool, cool, cool,cool. Well, a Ghostbusters game was officially announced for the PC, PS3, 360 and the Wii coming next fall. The original cast members are involved in the game’s development and will be lending their voice talents. Please let this game not suck. If there is one game that won’t suck next year PUH-LEASE let it be this one. Check out some screens here. Stay Puft Marshmallow Man boss battle? YES PLEASE!
- COD4’s taking over my life, man. It’s crazy. I haven’t touched any other game in weeks, either. Amazingly, a majority of people on my Live friends list seem to be answering The Call over some quality time with Master Chief. I’m glad COD4’s getting the attention it deserves; its online activity has cruised past Gears of War in the recent week. It’s been reeling in critical acclaim with a Metacritic score of 95 (slightly topping Hal0 3’s 94), which is only surpassed by the likes of The Orange Box, Bioshock, and Super Mario Galaxy. My personal review will be going up as soon as I complete the single player campaign plus Part II of my ongoing piece “COD4>Halo 3?” will be up hopefully by the end of the week.
- NPD sales numbers for October were recently released. In September the Xbox 360 sneaked ahead of the Wii but it all went back to normal this month. The 360 is still doing quite well, as is the PSP and PS2, yet the PS3 is still moving slow. The numbers don’t take the PS3 price drop into consideration so next month should be a much different story for Sony.
Wii – 519,000
Nintendo DS – 458,000
Xbox 360 – 366,000
PSP – 286,000
PlayStation 2 – 184,000
PlayStation 3 – 121,000
On the software side of things Halo and Guitar Hero are rocking the house (literally, in Guitar Hero’s case). It’s good the see Wii version of GH3 do that well. FIFA surprisingly comes in at #9, proving Americans do care about soccer to some extent. And, of course, Wii Play simply refuses to die.
1. Halo 3 (Xbox 360) – 433,800
2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock w/ guitar (Xbox 360) – 383,200
3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock w/ guitar (Wii) – 286,300
4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock w/ guitar (PS2) – 271,100
5. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) – 262,800
6. Wii Play (Wii) – 239,700
7. The Orange Box (Xbox 360) – 238,400
8. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) -231,700
9. FIFA Soccer 08 (PS2) – 129,700
10. Brain Age 2: More Training In Minutes A Day (DS) – 116,900
- December is nearly upon us, which means it’s time choose your Game of the Year. Last year, Elite Beat Agents stole the show for me. This year? It’s looking like Call of Duty 4. But I won’t set anything in stone until I’ve gotten some game time with Mass Effect, Uncharted, Galaxy and Rock Band.
- Brawl has a (somewhat limited) Spectator Mode that includes gambling (to score a quick coin or two). Keep the good stuff coming. And by “good stuff” I mean voice chat in online multiplayer.
- For those who need their FPS fix for the Wii, look no further than Medal of Honor: Heroes 2. It’s no COD, but it just might hit the spot for you starved Wii owners (which are all of you). The controls “beat the pants off” Metroid Prime 3 according to IGN’s Matt Cassamassina, the online play looks solid (although lacking voice support) and it doesn’t use the friend code system (it uses EA Nation instead). The graphics are a bit on the shoddy side (it is the Wii after all) but hopefully the intuitive controls will make you forget all of that. Definitely worth some of your time I think.
- How about that Assassin’s Creed, huh? I knew something was up with it. Worth the hype? I dunno. I buddy was psyched for it but then later told me he’s gonna trade it in for Mass Effect.
- People say I don’t show the PS3 any love. But trust me, Ratchet & Clank Future and Uncharted have me pumped. Hey! Current PS3 owners! How about buying a copy of those games and get them on the Top 10 list?
Just like last time, I’ll leave you with a video. How about an outrageous commercial from New Zealand for the guitar simulator Jam Sessions for the DS?
Capcom just unveiled their fanboy edition of Devil May Cry 4. For guys like yours truly.
So what does $80 get you? Devil May Cry 4 (duh), a steel case (like every other collector’s edition), Making of DMC4 video, musical soundtrack, Volume 1 of the Devil May Cry anime series ($30 value), digital artbook, PC screensavers, icons, and wallpapers. Phew! Mighty list. Worth it if you’re a big DMC fan, obivously. I think I’ll get it. Like Kotaku’s Mike Fahey, I would’ve killed for a replica or two, preferably of Rebellion or Ifrit from DMC1.
Feb 5th, 2008 people. Which means I have 5 days to beat it before Brawl comes out.
I love Sundays. They’re so laid back and you get to wake up late. Plus, I get to have my favorite meal: brunch. There’s just something so soothing about eating breakfast around midday. Brunch makes you feel like such a rouge for being unconventional and eating waffles during lunch hour. Sunday is also a time to sit down and think of the week that’s past and the week that lays ahead of you.
- Sorry I haven’t updated the site in a while. As I near the end of my academic quarter schoolwork becomes inversely proportional to my free time; the more homework I get, the less time I have to write. Finals are in a week so things aren’t looking any brighter.
- I spent an hour or two fixing up a new banner to celebrate the much-anticipated release of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. This Tuesday will be the day I set Halo 3 aside to make way for a more intense FPS experience. I like my Team Deathmatch battles heated and COD4 serves them like they just came out satan’s ass. I advise people who own a 360 and love shooters (90% of the X360 fanbase pretty much) to pick up the game; it’s worth every penny. Just don’t whine when you see CHUBOI 7 show up on your Killcam.
- Speaking of COD, Circuit City’s got a sweet deal going on. When you purchase Modern Warfare you get a poster and a free copy of Call of Duty 3. Yeah I know COD3 wasn’t great but hey, its free. Nobody hates free stuff.
- In the past couple weeks chuboi.com might have been mistaken for a Smash Bros. fansite. Well, it’s not. It’s just that recently they’ve been a host of great new announcements for Brawl. Last week we were told that Brawl now features a stage creator, which gives the game unparalleled replayability. You can send your stages to friends online and even send them to Nintendo who will then pick their daily favorite and publish for all smash brothers to have for one day only. I like where this game is going.
- I’m having a music game dilemma. Guitar Hero III was released last week and is impressing reviewers. Rock Band is coming on the horizon. I don’t know which one to get. Unlike Rock Band, GH3 is said to give a great single-player experience. To have fun with Rock Band you need friends (there’s a mic, drums, lead guitar and bass guitar). It’s not that I don’t have friends (I have lots…I think), I just don’t have friends that are into music games. Screw friends though, Rock Band’s drums are so effin’ sweet! But then I’d look like a dork playing with drums by himself . I’m leaning more towards RB mainly because of the promised downloadable music albums which will have me playing all my favorite Red Hot Chili Peppers tracks in the near future. I guess I’ll have to muster up 3 friends to split the $170 RB bundle with me. Somehow.
- Am I the only one not excited for Assassin’s Creed? The interwebs are going nuts over it, as are my friends, but it’s just not getting me all giddy even if I know it should. It kinda seems like Prince of Persia 4 to me. I guess I’ll find out once I get my mitts on it.
And I leave you with the greatest Walker Texas Ranger clip EVAR! Have a great Monday, because you really won’t.
. I’m leaning more towards RB mainly because of the promised downloadable music albums which will have me playing all my favorite Red Hot Chili Peppers tracks in the near future. I guess I’ll have to muster up 3 friends to split the 
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