GTA IV First Impressions

So I picked up GTA IV after work today and played it for about 7 hours. Overall, I am enjoying it and will waste a lot of time on it. Here are some of the problems I've had though...

Every once in a while it freezes. Usually on a loading screen. If the letters are still flashing, it's not actually locked. Sometimes it just takes a LONG time to load. However, if the letters aren't flashing, it's locked.

Sometimes Niko loses his hat. I believe it's when he gets into a car. Sometimes the hat returns. Other times you have to go home and put the hat back on. I paid $8 for that hat! I want to wear it!

Tried to play one game of deathmatch and the loading screen after the host started was up for so long I gave up.

I also spent a couple hours with Charlie in party play free roam. Now, hopefully this is not the "co-op" of the game. It's just running around with a bunch of free weapons and vehicles. While we enjoyed ourselves, it won't have lasting entertainment value.

I actually don't think the co-op is working right now. I couldn't find an option for it on my cell phone(how you access multiplayer). The manual says to consult Rockstar's website about multiplayer. And their website under co-op says "Coming Soon."

Spore Creator Coming

If you want to get a head start on Spore, you've got something to look forward to. EA and Maxis will be releasing their Spore Creature Creator June 17th for the PC.

The Creature Creator will retail for $10, but there will also be a free demo of the Creature Creator released at the same time. Spore is still scheduled to be released September 7th.

Psst...

GTA IV is coming out Tuesday. Keep it to yourself.

Games For Windows Magazine Goes Online

Games For Windows (GFW) announced that they will no longer be issuing paper form magazines. Ziff Davis and Microsoft announced the change yesterday and that GFW will now be an online entity.

The magazine has taken many changes over it's 27 year run, but this is a common problem among traditional newspapers and magazines. All the news people want can be found online sooner and from many different resources. I don't read GFW, but I do enjoy the weekly podcast that addresses some PC gaming news, but they mainly talk about the gaming environment and politics. I don't see that changing since it's a pretty popular podcast on the 1up site.

Kane & Lynch DLC Coming

Four new maps for Kane & Lynch: Dead Men will be available as downloadable content April 17th for both the Xbox 360 and the PS3. The map pack is called "The Dope Bag" and each map will show a different scenario for Fragile Alliance. The cost for this will be $0.

That's right! It's actually a free map pack! Now I don't know if this would still be free if Kane & Lynch hadn't gotten a tarnished reputation from that whole review debacle, but I always like free stuff.

Saints Row II Dated

Since we are talking release dates, THQ announced that Saints Row II will be releasing this year on both the Xbox 360 and PS3. The sandbox game will be available on August 26th.

I was a short lived fan of the game, but with all the bugs I experienced I wasn't able to finish every mission or really enjoy the online aspect of it. Let's hope THQ QAs the hell out this sequel otherwise I'll have to save my money for the other great looking sandbox games coming out this year, like APB and Prototype.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Dated

LucasArts has put out the official release date for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. It will be September 16th in the US, September 17th in Asia and September 19th in Europe.

In this game, you play Darth Vader's "secret apprentice." The game takes place between Episode III and IV(the new episodes and the classic episodes). You get to help Vader rid the universe of those pesky Jedi.

This game looks great because you get to use the Force for real and don't have to worry about those pesky rules for using the Force on the Light side. That means totally annihilating entire levels with your Force powers.

New Red vs. Blue on the Way!

It's been a while since Rooster Teeth finished their five seasons of Red vs. Blue machinima. Everyone knew they wouldn't just be finished. After all, they're one of the few groups that actually make a living at machinima. Well, Rooster Teeth has released a new trailer for their newest "Red vs. Blue" which will be coming soon.

The new series is called Reconstruction. From the trailer, it looks like it will be a serious machinima done in Halo 3. It takes place a year after "the war" and a new group "The Meta" are on the loose, killing soldiers.

I look forward to it!

April Game Releases

No new games this month…

April Fool’s! Oh, you already guessed that and think that gaming sites that do April Fool’s jokes are lame? Nevermind, then.

 

DS Titles

April 8
• Teenage Zombies
April 11
• Pokemon Mystery Dungron Explorers
• Plushees
• Fab 5 Soccer
April 14
• MLB 2K Fantasy All-Stars
April 15
• Cory in the House
• High School Musical 2: Work It Out
• Rondo of Swords
April 20
• Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness
• Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time
April 22
• World Ends With You
• USA Today Crosswords Challenge
• Dream Pinball 3D
April 29
• Toy Shop
• Brain Voyage

PC Titles

April 1
• Ford Racing Offroad
April 3
• Women’s Murder Club
• Australia Zoo Quest
April 7
• Nancy Drew: Double Dare 5
April 8
• Half-Life 2: Team Fortress 2
• Half-Life 2: Portal
• Half-Life 2: Episode Pack
• Assassin’s Creed
• Civil War Mysteries
April 10
• Escape From Paradise
April 14
• Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis
April 15
• Jack Keane
• Turok
• Rainbow Six: Vegas 2
• The Sims 2 Kitchen and Bath Design Stuff
• The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
• Final Fantasy Online Vana’Diel 08
April 21
• Europa Universalis: Rome
April 23
• Lineage II: The 4th Anniversary Edition
April 29
• Baseball Mogul 2009

PS2 Titles

April 8
• Baroque
• Arcana Heart
April 22
• Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES
April 29
• SNK Arcade Classics V.1

PS3 Titles

April 15
• Gran Turismo 5: Prologue
April 21
• NBA Ballers: Chosen One
April 22
• Monster Madness: Grave Danger
April 23
• Call of Duty 4: Game of the Year Edition
April 29
• GTA IV

PSP

April 8
• World Championship Cards

Wii

April 8
• Baroque
• MiniCopter: Adventure Flight
April 15
• Summer Sports: Paradise Island
• Emergency Mayhem
• Okami
April 21
• Battle of the Bands
April 22
• Target Terror
• Wild Earth: African Safari
April 27
• Mario Kart Wii
April 29
• Castle of Shikigami III

Xbox 360

April 1
• Call of Duty 4: Game of the Year Edition
April 21
• NBA Ballers: Chosen One
April 29
• GTA IV