Network Connections: A Game of the Year

To: Arby

From: W - D & W Reviews

RE: GTA IV

Well first of all, my deepest condolences go out to your PC, and I hope it gets fixed without much trouble. I’ve been in that boat many times and the memories aren’t good ones. But anyways, GTA IV: Excellent game. It will be without doubt in the running for Game of the Year for 2008 (Although it will have some stiff competition from recently released Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots on the PlayStation 3 side and upcoming Gears of War 2 on the Xbox 360 side). But that’s beside the point. GTA IV is easily the best game to come out of the GTA series. Yes it has its problems, but so does every great game and in most instances those minor flaws present in great games are quickly overshadowed by great gameplay, great graphics and a good (doesn’t have to be great) storyline. And that’s the case with GTA IV.

GTA IV does what it does best; provides a sensational open-ended world where you can do literally whatever you want. Such has been the case with the whole GTA series. But GTA IV raises the bar so insurmountably, that you literally can’t sizably improve it in any way. But that’s also the joy of the Video Game industry, you think you’ve seen everything in a game and Developers come out with something that brings a new element to the sequel; tweaking it to make it amazing, average or mediocre depending on what that element is and if it changes the gameplay for the better or for the worse. And on top of the single player, you’ve got a multiplayer that seems to provide an endless amount of fun, with more multiplayer modes than you can shake a stick at.

Graphics play a big part in GTA IV. Not only do the levels look graphically stunning, but all of Liberty City was created around New York City, which is just crazy trying to wrap your mind around. Compared to the other GTA games in the series, Take 2 Games hit a home run with GTA IV’s Graphic capabilities. It shows a glimpse of what the games will look like 5-10 years down the road. They will be visually indescribable. And GTA IV is the Trailblazer of that graphic ideology.

That’s all on my GTA discussion. It’s a game that everyone should pick up and play. It destroyed the bar previously set by GTA: San Andreas and gave everyone what they wanted out of a next-gen GTA experience and a lot more. So stop sitting in front of the T.V. watching Niko Bellic roam around Liberty City on the latest GTA IV ad, go out and get the game.

On to the games I’ve been playing lately:

- Super Mario 64 DS on the DS: It’s a pretty good game. I’ve been playing it off and on, its uses the DS in some initiative ways, but it’s still not as good as the original. Still worth checking out though.

- Fable: The Lost Chapters on the Xbox: One of my favorite RPG’s. I like the fact that your actions decide whether you become good or evil. This game more fun that watching Enter the Dragon 12 times in a row, and that’s saying a lot.

Network Connections: GTA IV

Hi. How’ve you been? Myself? Not too bad I guess. Just had a lot going on. You know, the fact that my computer’s been out of commission for weeks hasn’t helped keep you updated. I’m sorry. Hugs?

On another note, here’s a new feature we’re doing. I hope you enjoy.

To: W  - D&W Reviews

From: Arby

——————-

Hey,

So I figured I’d write you a little e-mail expressing my opinion about something and then you shoot me one back relating to it or about something different and hopefully the whole thing will be intelligent enough to post on the blog. I ask you because you’re obviously cooler than me in so many ways.

Guess what happened to me this week? My computer crapped out on me. It’s like God decided to bend me over, tie my hands behind my back, and shove a long pole up my ass. I’ve been working with DSCUBED of Lithcast and The Hylia to get the thing working again. What we’ve come to is four options:

1) Reformat
2) Put the broken drive into a different PC and run a program he sent me through the mail called SpinRite
3) Flash the BIOS, which will effectively cripple my computer if it goes wrong
4) Buy a new computer

Sadly, I’m going with the Reformatting option.

Have you played GTA IV yet? I’ve just about beaten the main game (at 70% with one mission to go) and, to be completely honest, it’s been one of the greatest rides I’ve had on my 360 so far this year.  It has one of the best storylines I’ve seen from a GTA title, and has completely sucked me in. For the past few days, I’ve been unable to play anything else. It’s kind of kept me sane while my main computer is busted.

The game is not perfect by any means. When I first started, I could not see what exactly all the hullaballo (is that how it’s spelled?) was about. The characters were easy to fall in love with, but the opening missions were painfully slow and repetitive. Really, there wasn’t anything to do besides the first few missions. I understand that the missions explained the basic necessities of the game, but they couldn’t have spaced them out a little? Or shouldn’t there be just a mode where you can skip all that, and just free-roam all around the city by yourself from the start, without it being saved or missions? It’s a little frustrating at first. I’ve had to tell people “Just stick to it, it gets better.” In a way, it reminds me of the amazing DS game Lunar Knights. First hour? Terrible. Everything past that? Simply astonishing.

But back to GTA. I’m not the biggest fan of the combat system. It’s a little screwy, relying more on Lock-on targeting than Free-Aim. The Lock-on is nice, but frustrating when there’s no way to cycle through enemies, or when it completely freaks out on you. I’ve had it ignore the guy in front of me with an SMG for some guy in the distance. And more than once has it locked on to a random pedestrian rather than the actual enemy that’s shooting at me.

But overall, I like. It’s sucked me in completely. Not exactly a 10/10, but close. How about you? What have you been playing or been up to?

Question of the Week

So, on this week’s show, we’re talking about GTA IV. So we want you to e-mail us with your answer to this question:

What is your favorite thing to do in GTA IV?

Also, please read the post below!

Running to the finish line

Be honest: At some point, you wanted to be the first in your group to beat something, be it the first to finish Twilight Princess, the first to get all 120 stars in Super Mario 64, or the first to beat Halo on Legendary. And that meant forgetting about hidden sidequests, leaving behind bonuses, and throwing away your desire to explore.

I know I’ve done it before. At the beginning, you feel the urge to beat it, and then after, you’re left with an unsatisfying experience and a vague memory of the game. The same thing happens with skipping chapters in books or fast-forwarding movies just to see how it ends.

On the next show, we’re going to be talking a little about this and what compels us to beat something as fast as we can. But for this, we want your input. So, email us at triplententeradio@gmail.com with your speed-run stories, opinion, and anything else you”ve got to say. We’ll pick some and read them on-air.

-Arb

Feeds, feeds, feeds

Feeds? Useful buggers. Great for updating, great for getting the word out…but when you have multiple feeds, your lines get all tangled. Next thing you know, you’re untangling feed after feed, trying to sort everything out.

Oh! Look! We’ve straightened out the feeds for you! Isn’t that just marvelous? Just click the link, and you’ll subscribe to all of our feeds automatically! All of them, blended into one easily manageable feed.

Triple Entente Radio Feed

But if you’re the type that likes to keep their things separated, you can do that too with each individual feed below.

TER News Posts Feed (AKA Featured Posts)

TER Twitter Feed (AKA the little updates you see to the right of this post)

TER Podcast Feed (AKA Actual episodes)

Triple Entente Radio Music (6/4/08)

Yes, it was delayed due to editing and uploading difficulties. But now it is out! Download at triplententeradio.podomatic.com!

Below are links to all the songs in the episode (in order). All of the songs are from the Newgrounds Audio Portal, and are protected under Creative Commons licenses.

Ocarina of Time - Lon Lon Ranch (Khuskan)
BanjoKazooie - Clankers Cavern (LightOtaku)
Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door - SMORG (Gorekiller)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Oil Ocean (HouseMasta)
BanjoKazooie - Grunty’s Lair (punk7890)
Ocarina of Time - Lost Woods (superjoe30)
Tay Zonday’s Chocolate Rain - Game Mix (ToyRobotMusic)
Wind Waker - Outset Island (smartpoetic)
Wild Arms - Opening (I3chig0)
Chrono Cross - She Was Dreaming in the Rain (TenchuX)
Halo - Theme (XementoXek)
Donkey Kong Country - Theme (DJ-Nightmare)
Super Mario 64 - Credits (Reone663)

TERadio (5/26/08)

In case you guys haven’t listened yet, the latest episode of TERadio is available now.

[UPDATE] Let’s hate Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero: On Tour Demo Video

No.

EDIT: Sadly, the embeddable video will not display. I have linked instead. Sorry!

TEReview: Burnout Paradise (X360)

Take me down to the Paradise City
Where the grass is green
and the girls are pretty.
Oh won’t you please, take me home
-Guns ‘N Roses

Criterion’s Burnout series has always had a very special place in my heart. From the original to the God-like Burnout 3, to now, I’ve never criticized the series too much, and I’ve always welcomed a new release. Granted, I haven’t been able to take the time to play through each one, but I’ve never held a grudge against the series (which, when you know me, says a lot about the game). But recently…
“Ew” I said, looking at the description of Burnout Paradise. “They took my Burnout and tacked on a sandbox environment.” Really, who could blame me for thinking that? Sandbox games are either very good or very bad, with the occasional exception finding some sort of middle-ground, and when a sandbox structure is added to a series, it usually lands in the “very bad” category. So, criticizing Burnout Paradise was very easy for me.
And then I played it. And it all began to click.

Burnout Paradise gets everything right from the moment you press start to play. The opening cinematic tells you about the city, shows you the starting car, and then lets you go in less than a minute. Paradise will never, at any point in time, hold you back or force you to do a mission or drive somewhere. Of course, doing events is the main way to get new cars. If you’d like to stick with your starting Cavalier though, Burnout doesn’t have a problem with it. What you do in the game is completely up to you from the moment you start the car.
Paradise has a heavy focus on exploration. Aside from the first Junkyard (Car selection) and AutoRepair (drive through it to repair your car), the in-game map is a blank slate. At each stoplight, there is a different event for you to try out. That event will be marked on your map for future reference, and the same applies to any “Drive Thrus” that you’ll find when cruising around Paradise City.

Events in the game can vary from Races to a specific point, making other drivers crash in Takedowns during a Road Rage, or trying to rack up enough points during a Stunt Run. And choice of car is important to winning an event: you might break time records with a Speed car, but you won’t last long in a Road Rage without an Aggression car. By winning events, you’ll unlock new cars, and with enough events won, you’ll upgrade your license. With each license upgrade, the events become playable again, so you can replay them for another win. How you upgrade your license is up to you, as Burnout doesn’t care if all your wins are from Stunt Runs or Races or whatnot.

There’s no set course to the finish line either, so it’s up to you to determine the best route to the end. And in order to find the best off-road and on-road routes, you’ll need to drive around and get familiar with the city.

But really, you won’t mind cruising around the graphical beauty that is Paradise City. Each sunny road of Paradise is well detailed and gorgeous, and the gleam of sunlight of the roof of your car is eye-catching. And with hidden roads, jumps, and areas around every turn, you’ll be amazed with how much there is to do in Burnout.

Online is a blast too. With the Freeburn Online mode, you can roam around the city with a group of friends or strangers. And if you want, you can compete in a race, try and beat each other’s Time or Showtime records (Paradise’s Crash mode), or work together to complete various Team Challenges. It all blends together in a mode that works wonders.

But even with all the bells and whistles Burnout has, that’s not to say that life in Burnout Paradise is…well, paradise.

Sure, the game might advise you blaze your own trail to reach the finish line, but as you’ll soon find, that’s not the best advice. The game’s AI tends to stick to the main roads, and with no huge arrow or closed roads to show you where to go, you’re often left lost and confused if you don’t follow the computer-controlled cars to the finish line and boost ahead last minute. And while you might have found a great hidden road that goes above traffic, watch out that it doesn’t lead you away from the finish line instead of towards it.

Also, after touring Paradise City for a few hours, you’ll soon grow to hate traffic. Traffic gets more annoying than a cave full of Zubat in Pokemon. Constantly, you’ll find yourself zooming along, having the time of your life, when some idiot soccer mom in her damn SUV decides to drive slow and get rear-ended by your Nakamura Ikusa GT. And then, everything goes into slow motion, as your forced to watch every second of your car becoming a heap of scrap metal. While watching your crash might be cool the first ten times, after a while, you’ll be screaming for an option to turn it off or skip it. And here’s a quick question: why is it that when I ram into the back of an opponent in a race, I brush it off, but yet collapse when I hit a station wagon. I’m driving a huge, fat VAN and I can’t handle a station wagon?! WTF?!

After a while, everything can grow to be repetitive. Yes, going off an insane jump is always fun, but doing another Race might not be your cup of tee. And with no real map to guide you along to these hidden spots, you’ll often just find yourself driving aimlessly with no end in sight. Luckily, online Team Challenges add a little excitement to Burnout, but if you’re a Silver account, you’ll be Googling for jump maps of Paradise City quickly.
All in all, Paradise City can either be a repetitive hell, or it can live up to it’s name. It all depends on how you want to play and what you do in the game. While it’s not as epic as Burnout 3, it can be the driving sim of your dreams. Whether it’s all online, beating every event, or just cruising around to relieve some stress, Burnout Paradise leaves it all up to you. And if that isn’t a great sandbox game, I don’t know what is.

9/10

Good: Great graphics, controls, online
Bad: Repetitive, annoying wrecks
WTF?: Why so many limited options, Criterion?

Blog changes, BK3, and the Nintendo Channel

First off, don’t panic. Yes the site looks different. Funny even. I’m not too happy with how it’s looking right now, and there are going to be frequent changes over the next few days. Expect this to be the staying theme, but the header to change and the sidebar to go. Not that the sidebar and me aren’t BFFs, I just want it to look a bit…cleaner. I’m all about “efficient” programs and sites. You know, clean, everything tucked away, get the job done quickly kind of thing, which is why I’m in love with Live Writer and cursing out WordPress.

I have been experimenting with different themes and headers and the like with WordPress and it has not been easy at all. Sure it gets the job done, but it takes quite a long time to load, everything moves slowly on the page once it has loaded, and saving changes sucks. I just wish it hid some of the more advanced options under a button or something. It’s a dynamic editor, but for the love of God, it annoys the crap out of me.

Also, I got ourselves a Twitter (even after bashing it slightly in yesterday’s post). I don’t expect to use it much, maybe recreationally or for updating you about how the show is coming along, and I have no idea how I’ll incorporate it in the site.

So, I tried out the Nintendo Channel the other day. I’ve looked at all the options, seen some of the pages, and played all of the available demo downloads, and my overall feeling towards it is good. The demo system is great, quick, and easier than going and downloading at the store (and that takes forever). The videos are quick to load, as are the game info pages that go along with it, and the recommendations are neat. I can’t really complain about a free service. One question, though: why does it need to take some of my playing data to allow me to download demos? Yes the information is “anonymous” and mainly focuses on playing and Internet usage, but it seems odd that I can’t access any demos unless I agree to submit the info. I don’t want “ads better suited to my preferences”, I just want my demos damnit! Also, if we could work on making our demos a little longer, that’d be great.

I am very excited for Banjo-Kazooie 3. Extremely. You see, I have very fond memories of Banjo and Kazooie. The N64 games were absolutely amazing (GBA…not so much), what with the level designs going beyond the normal Fire, Water, Ice, etc. themes, the moves intricate, and an overall great feel. It was also the king of collect-a-thons, what with maps literally covered in items to collect. And now, with the rumors that BK3 will be designed around the “Newton”, I can’t help but be excited.