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• Watcha Listening To: Rebel FM's Bully Game Club

  One of the best parts of the short-lived 1UPFM was the Backlog segment, where the crew played through and talked about games from the not-too-distant past over multiple episodes. For a press that normally centers so much on the here-and-now, it was refreshing to hear discussions of fantastic games that were only a few years old, like Shadow of the Colossus and Psychonauts--titles like these may have dropped off of our gaming radars, but that doesn't mean they still weren't worth talking about. Thankfully, this favorite segment of mine has been reborn with RebelFM's (essentially, the non-1UP affiliated sequel to 1UPFM) Game Club; and while the last featured game, the 2005 Xbox Call of Cthulhu, wasn't really up my alley, their current Game Club game certainly is. Read More... Posted Mar 27 2009, 04:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments Filed under: rockstar, Grand theft auto 4, bob mackey, watcha listening to, rebelfm, bully

• The Lost and the Damned Bares All

  To the consumer of mainstream, American media, there's nothing more abominable or disgusting than the human wang--just think about all of those modern gross-out movies where the depiction of a penis is a joke in and of itself. But before you start wondering how heterosexual women operate knowing that the male sex organ is a source of both disgust and hilarity, you'd best fire up the morality sirens because there's about to be a penis in a video game. Thanks to a tip (no pun intended) from 1UP's Kat Bailey, who probably would not like to be given credit for this, the world is now aware that Rockstar is the first developer brave enough to show its audience an entire penis with the new GTAIV DLC, The Lost and the Damned--even after going so overboard on the strippers' pasties. Before I get too wound up about this clear double-standard, we should probably just get to the clip--which I have hidden behind a cut. Why? Because I care about your job. Read More... Posted Feb 17 2009, 02:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 7 comment(s) Filed under: rockstar, gta iv, bob mackey, controversy, the lost and the damned, nudity

• Go West! Red Dead Redemption and How to Get Cowboys and Indians Right

  By the time videogames had evolved beyond batting a ball back and forth across a digital net, the Western had already lost much of its cultural currency. The Lone Ranger’s audience had ridden off into the sunset, replaced by minds and eyes hungry for space instead of the frontier. That’s why we have Spacewar! in 1961 and not Stagecoach!. The last quarter of the 20th century’s appetite for science fiction is most certainly why Bald Space Marine is the icon he is in 2009’s gaming landscape, but I don’t think it fully explains why games have yet to produce a spectacular Western. Why is it that after decades of creation, there isn’t a game about cowboys sitting on Top One Hundred Games of All Time lists? Why is Oregon Trail the entire canon of frontier gaming? Rockstar’s Red Dead Revolver seemed like a contender before it released in 2004. The game certainly sold well, one and a half million copies according to publisher Take-Two, but its critical reception was lukewarm. Despite Red Dead’s grand narrative ambitions — bounty hunting protagonist Red Harlow and his quest for revenge are Louis L’Amour vintage — and seemingly fitting open world play, it wasn’t the defining videogame Western it could have been. Now, it could have been the game’s troubled development that kept it from greatness. It started as a Capcom game in 2000, stalled out, and was sold to Rockstar, where it apparently became a Frankenstein’s monster of legacy code and newer features. I think the real problem is that the Grand Theft Auto-styled open world is not the foundation for a great Western. Read More... Posted Feb 04 2009, 04:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, capcom, rockstar, shadow of the colossus, team ico, grand theft auto, spacewar!, take two, Red dead revolver, trico, Oregon trail, red dead redemption

• My Top 10 of 2008 in No Particular Order: Grand Theft Auto IV

  It's the end of another year, and that can only mean one thing: it's list season. Inevitably, you're going to see top ten lists by the thousands; and, as an official member of the enthusiast press, I'm afraid I can't violate my directive. But, to make things a little more interesting, I've decided to assemble my 10 favorite games of this year in non-hierarchical form because--let's face facts--it's hard to pick a favorite. And unlike other top 10 lists, this one will be doled out to you in piecemeal over the next several excruciating days! Please enjoy. While reading the latest GameSpite update, I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement at Spite King Jeremy Parish's trenchant comments on the modern gaming blockbuster.  Especially this: It makes me angry that reviewers actually called GTAIV's narrative "Oscar worthy," because (1) no, it really wasn't and you guys seriously need to go and watch a good movie, OK?; and (2) that kind of empty praise is just going to encourage Rockstar to keep focusing on the sloppy, poorly-written pulp noir aspects of their creations to the detriment of the part that actually makes GTA unique and fun: the gameplay. And yet, GTAIV still made it onto my favorite games of 2008 list.  Have I lost all credibility?  Did I ever have any?  Don't fret, dear reader; GTAIV is one of my favorite games of the year by virtue of that fact that it occupied so much of my carefree summer (god how I miss it).  When you make twenty attempts to beat a game's final mission, there's gotta be some love there, right? Read More... Posted Dec 10 2008, 09:30 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: rockstar, bob mackey, gamespite, top 10, gtaiv, top 10 of 2008

• 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, dma design

• 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