JUST OVER TEN years ago now, some of my more financially endowed acquaintance’s started telling me about a new game called GTA. Enthralled, it seemed, by the gratuitous violence I was inundated by phone calls and conversations that consisted pretty much of “lolz, I brok da lawz”. Within minutes I equal parts bored and confounded that something so banal could keep grown men entertained for hours on end. I finally had the chance to play one of them in late 98 and was less than enthused. Then again a year later when a friend picked up Grand Theft Auto II on the Playstation and lent it to me for a while. Yeah, it was fun randomly blowing things up and killing everyone in sight for the sheer hell of it.

For about ten minutes.

Fast forward to 2003 and I decided to give Grand Theft Auto : Vice City a try because I’ve always been something of a Ray Liotta. And this time my attention was held for much longer than ten minutes. Yes, all of the childish propensity for random acts of violence and gratuitous law breaking was still in place. And, yes, our good chap Tommy is an homicidal, sociopathic maniac hell bent on earning as much money, and screwing over as many people as possible as he can. But this time there was also a strong plot to propel us forwards. And though many have accused Grand Theft Auto, and Vice City in particular, of glorifying this kind of behaviour, it simply isn’t true.

Yes, the Grand Theft Auto series does focus on the criminal underworld. Dredging up the very worst possible examples of Human behaviour. But glorifying? Nee I tell you. A simple representation. Like it or not, accept it or not, these kinds of people really do exist in the world around us. And there are strong arguments in favour of exploring this darker side of our nature via the medium of film and video games. Surely, ’tis better that than doing so in the real world. But I digress. This article is to discuss my impressions of the latest chapter of the Grand Theft Auto series and is not intended to be a sociological thesis (though I’ve been known to do those as well from time to time).

Once again, before the game was even released there was a furor of controversy surrounding it. Mostly by people who have been condemning Rockstar right from the beginning without ever actually stopping to fully explore the games themselves. Of course, the argument there being that the games are so intrinsically warped and criminal in their nature that these good, upstanding people would never sully themselves by stooping to such practice. But then, how can you truly know the games are so bad if you haven’t taken the time to see for yourself and are judging only from second hand information?

Which brings us to the meat of the matter. How does Grand Theft Auto IV compare to it’s predecessors?

Well, the technological advances that have been made since the previous generation of video games consoles show immediately in both the appearance, and the scale of the game. The environments are impressively large and extremely well realistic. Though the people themselves are still obviously animated, at times you could almost believe that the vehicles at least have been photo-captured rather than graphically rendered. But still, this is only the window dressing. Is the game any good?

Well, in short, yes it is. Though it’s never that simple. As with anything, some people will like the game, and some people won’t. The story is typically convoluted and follows pretty much the same pattern as each of the prior titles in the series. Our boy Nico Bellic arrives on a boat from the Motherland and is met by his cousin Roman who, it turns out, is well versed in the ways of hyperbole. Far from being a wealthy entrepreneur with a girl on each arm as his letters back home have attested, the lad lives in a grotty, cockroach infested dive of a place. And so our erstwhile anti-heroes quest for fortune begins.

As with each of the games before it this is the motivating factor throughout the entire game. Even after your fortunes have turned greatly for the better. There’s a bank job about half of the way in which earns you a nice, tidy, quarter of a million dollars so the whole “I need the money” argument doesn’t really work so well. But this is typical of Rockstar, and has lead to phenomenal sales of each installment so far. So, basically, if you liked the previous games then this will be more of the same. If not, well, it will still be more of the same.

However, just because the meta-plot is, to put it mildly, a little flakey, it doesn’t mean the game itself suffers from poor scripting. The dialog is strong and the voice acting is, as ever, top notch. And where, in previous games, we were used to a half minute to sixty seconds of cinematic before heading out on our latest mission, some of them now go on for four to five minutes at a time. A definite plus.

Add to this the introduction of some new gameplay features such as being able to pop out and fire from cover and “micro aim” (using the right analogue stick to shift your reticule from the default chest target after lock-on so as to pop out for head shots, or shoot someone in the legs as they flee), as well as the option of controlling the speed of your vehicles via R2 (no more tapping the X button to keep from driving too fast for those of us who like to cruise rather than speed our way through the cities) mean that the game flows a lot better.

Another, on the surface minor, but in actuality huge new feature of the game is that Niko can actually smash open the window of any vehicle he comes to and reach in to unlock the door. No more of this running around madly trying to find an unlocked car in the middle of a gun fight. Extremely useful I’m sure we all agree. Also, now that we’ve moved firmly into the present day, we have the opportunity to visit internet cafés and download new themes and ring tones for your mobile. All of which add to the immersion of the experience as a whole.

The greatest feature in my opinion, is that at certain points in the game you have to make key decisions (mostly of the kill or don’t kill variety) that will have some minor, and some not so minor effects on the flow of the story. Culminating in two possible endings. Neither of which is particularly happy, and this has lead to some degree of animosity from many people who have played the game. Some going so far as to accuse Rockstar of preaching about the dangers of leading a criminal lifestyle no matter how moral you choose to be throughout the flow of the game. But when all is said and done, those moral opportunities are very few and far between, and though Niko is as much a victim as anyone, and is actually quite a likable individual, the fact remains that he is still a criminal. And some of his actions show a truly callous undertone to the primarily quite approachable man on the surface.

Unfortunately, this seems to be, once again, an effort by Rockstar to argue back against it’s detractors which will go unnoticed by all except the wrong people. And whilst I doubt it will have any significant overall impact on their future releases, it has gone some way to alienating people. Personally, I liked both endings. They’re very sad and dark, but that fits with the entire feel of the game. Liberty City has always been a harsh, forbidding place in previous titles, and even more so now that it has been realised in such intense visual detail. It only makes sense that the events that take place there should be equally depressing.

One final feature I would like to discuss before summing up is the new “random encounter” system which has been introduced. At times you will notice a small green cross on the radar. Approaching these areas will lead to short sub-missions both with unknown, and previously encountered residents of the city. They have no significant impact on the flow of the game as a whole, but, again, they heighten the experience as a whole and add a sense of life to the city in so far as that there are people leading lives that have nothing to do with the primary events of the plot.

Overall, I rather enjoyed the game. Though it was on the short side (only around eighty missions) it still took a long time to get through it all because the missions themselves were notably longer than we have had before. Though some, still, were of the couple of minutes to finish variety, others would keep you going for significantly longer. Though it has to be said, this is a controversial game because it does break away somewhat from previous chapters as I have said above. Still, on the whole, this gets a recommendation from me. Just be aware that the game is both very similar, and radically different from previous experience.

Graphics 8.5/10
Gameplay 8.5/10
Audio/music 9/10
Plot/Scripting 9/10
Overall 9/10

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ON THE NIGHT of his twenty-first birthday, something happened to Jackie Estacado. In just a few short hours he went from being a small time Mafia enforcer to being…something else. Bearer of a dark legacy passed from Father to son at the moment of conception. A fate which leads to the Father dying within only a few minutes of the act itself, as the Darkness passes down to the next male in the line.

But what is the Darkness?

Well, according to the comics, it’s one of three ancient powers that have existed since before time itself. Carrying on a never ending cold war for reasons that none of the three (the Darkness, the Witchblade and the Angelus) seem to neither remember, nor care about. According to the game…well, it’s never really explained. Likely because Starbreeze (the same team which brought us Escape from Butcher Bay) are planning to into more detail with their planned, but as yet, unconfirmed, sequel.

The game itself is a pretty straightforward first person shooter. Or, at least it seems so at first glance. However, as events progress, and the Darkness itself is added as a weapon in you Jackie’s not insignificant arsenal, the game starts to show a number of interesting, and inspired, personal touches. For example, if you move close enough to an opponent (or even a civilian if you so choose) a tap of either fire button (one for left weapon and one for the right) will instigate a random execution move. Something which, unlike in many games, can be performed whether the enemy is aware of your presence or not.

Also, the Darkness itself offers a few nice little innovations. Such as the Demon Arm which you can use to skewer opponents, break lights (your power is the Darkness after all) and even lift and throw objects such as dustbins and cars. The Creeping Dark, which can scout ahead for you and pick up otherwise unreachable items, open doors, and dispatch enemies without you even needing to come physically within sight of them. And a shield which replenishes when in dark areas (hence the Demon Arm being so useful for breaking lights) that will protect you from harm. This is not an exhaustive list of what the Darkness can do, but should at least give you an idea of just how useful it is.

To begin with, all you have is Creeping Dark and the shield. The rest of your abilities being earned over the rest of the game. Including four types of Darklings (little demon chappies) which can help you out both directly by fighting along side you, and indirectly by clearing debris (Kamikaze Darkling) and opening locked doors (Berserker), as well as offering some light relief by their idle chatter as they go about their demony business. Considering that the game as a whole is extremely dark and oppressive in tone, they can really help lighten the mood when it gets it bit too overpowering.

As well as offering in engrossing single player experience, the Darkness also has the usual array of multi-player modes like Capture the Flag and Deathmatch which seem to have borrowed somewhat from the AvP series in that you can choose to play as a Human, or Darkling, with the option of automatically changing back and forth between the two at each death. Unfortunately, I can’t comment on how well the game works online as no-one ever seems to make use of it. Which, I suppose, speaks volumes in itself.

However, don’t let this put you off. The strength of the plot (putting aside the extreme differences between the game and the original comics) will keep you hooked from the opening cinematic of a real time car chase, to the climactic showdown with Uncle Paulie Franchetti. Like the Half-Life series, and to an extent Butcher Bay, the Darkness is entirely devoid of fully rendered cinematics. The entire game rather taking place in real time, and allowing the option of looking, and often moving around whilst key events are playing out.

This could lead to some people missing certain things, but if you are the type to be too impatient to sit still for a couple of minutes then you would probably be mashing the X button to skip through the cinematics anyway. And I would strongly advise you not to do so in this case. The voice acting is top notch, and the scripting is excellent. The scene in the Church, when Jackie is at the mercy of Captain Shrote (NYPD) is chilling, and not something to be missed.

Given that this is now a relatively old game, being one of the earliest additions to the Playstation 3 and X-Box 360 library, the quality of the visuals are a testament to the skill of the staff at Starbreeze (before this pretty much a PC exclusive company) though it does show some degree of being overly polished and shiney because of the current, idiotic craze for High Definition in favour of photo realism. But the quality of the actual animation, in so far as the way things move when you interact with them, more than compensate for the irritating glare.

To but it simply. The Darkness has elevated itself from a bog standard first person action adventure to a masterpiece of the current gaming generation. The various environments are dark and melancholy, and in the case of the demon world trenches of World War One just plain disturbing. You will find yourself beginning to wonder how Jackie manages to remain such a relatively nice guy surrounded by all the crap he has to deal with in his daily life. Then you will think back to Jenny and it all seems to make sense.

Graphics 8.5/10
Gameplay 9/10
Audio/music 9/10
Plot/Scripting 9.5/10
Overall 9.5/10

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When a buddy showed up with this game, I wasn’t really interested. Cooking is not my thing - and virtual food isn’t even edible. But I thought I’d give it a try anyway, and the results were surprisingly not bad. It’s not game of the year by any means, but does provide for some entertaining game-play in the faux restauranteer world.

The scenario: you’re an unproven new chef in the small town of “Port Abello” (yuk, yuk), with high hopes of rising up the culinary ranks to become a real somebody. You purchase a local diner, and ready to unleash your blossoming talent onto the palettes of the local town-folk.

As you may have gathered, the main game-play component of Order Up! involves food preparation - you’ll need to slice, dice, fry, grill, and more all with accuracy to receive a good score. It’s not overly difficult, but does take some getting used to, and is satisfying to conquer. You’ll also need to keep your patrons happy, and can use the points earned doing so to upgrade your restaurant, hire new help, buy additional recipes and purchase spices.

As you do this successfully, you’ll earn a higher rating and have the opportunity to purchase a more advanced eatery. Rising all the way from a little greasy spoon to a fine dining establishment.

I found myself getting into a comfortable and enjoyable rhythm. And in true form you’ll notice, as with most Nintendo Wii Games, that their amusing characters and fun cartoonish visuals make the game-play all the more appealing. However, take note that Order Up! is a rather short offering, as we sat down in the late afternoon and had it finished before midnight. Besides that point, even if you’re not the cook in the family, you might be as surprised by this one as I was.

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WAR HAS COME to Midghard. The ancient, petty rivalries of the Nordic Pantheon have spilled over from the land of Asgard into the world of mortal men. Hoards of Trolls and Goblinkind have flooded the world with fire and death at the bequeath of Hel, she who rules over the underworld. And with each death her army swells ever more, rapidly recouping its losses and moving on to the next village. Only to repeat the process again.

Unfortunately, whilst that all sounds like a very Viking way to go, death in glorious battle is the quickest, most surefire way of earning a place in Valhalla. So all those lost souls would actually go against Hel’s designs and bolster the forces of her opposition, the chief of the Swan Maidens (or Valkyrie if you prefer) and Goddess of love, Frejya (spelled Freya in the game). It’s actually a shame that they left such a blatant hole in the mythology, because otherwise it could have been a cast iron premise. Perhaps Hel could have found some way to prevent the souls from reaching Valhalla through the use of powerful magik or something.

This is the first of the rather odd reinterpretations of the mythology of my ancestors. And sadly, is not the last. Like Frejya being Odin’s daughter for example. If that were true then it would certainly add a very Freudian element to their marriage, and the familial ties of their son Thorn (Thor if you really must). Then again, it would be no surprise he’s such a beast in battle if he knew he was the child of his own sister. But enough of that because it’s just plain creepy.

Aside from these screaming errors in the Norse mythology, the game is actually a very solid and well constructed piece of digital death and dismemberment. The lead chappy, Skarin child of the wolf, is a shining example of Norse endurance. The strong silent type. Inspiring his troops to glorious battle by the simplest, and most effective method known to man. Charging forward with his axe and sword and slicing his opponents to pieces by the dozen. Though why they made him blonde I don’t know. Vikings were red headed people, not blonde.

The game itself is easy to play, with a simple control system that leaves you more time to focus on surviving those before mentioned dozens of Tolls and Goblins that are sure to mob you at every opportunity. But there are also a number of more advanced combat techniques that become available as the game progresses in the shape of magikal runes (which are again somewhat inaccurate) and powerful combo attacks that you learn by coughing up some gold (Viking preferred silver because it was shiny) to the souls of previous dead warriors who had already made their way to Valhalla.

The basic flow of the game consists of liberating a series of settlements and other institutions such as farms and quarry mines to bolster your forces until they are large and well armed enough to assault the main Legion encampments and ultimately free the world of Midghard as a whole via the final showdown with Hel herself. Not many mortals that can beat the snot out of a Goddess, so that should give you some idea how nails our boy Skarin really is.

The pitched battles themselves are a bewildering thing to see. I don’t know exactly how many, but I would guess that there were times when you could see as many as three to five hundred sprites on screen at one time, all fighting and killing each other in a mass of death. So many, in fact, that at times my Playstation 3 couldn’t keep up and the frame rate dropped significantly. Which was more than a little irritating considering how powerful we’ve been told the system is supposed to be. Thankfully it was easy to rectify simply by moving the camera to a less busy area.

Even the flow of the battles was impressive and immersive. You have a series of objectives such as killing all the enemy Summoners or commanders. This can either be done by a direct, physical assault on their position, or by the use of Dragon Runes from such assaults to send your dragon allies to take them out for you. Of course, the first has to be done via the direct approach as you can only gain Dragon Runes by defeating the main opponents like Giants and Summoners and they cannot be carried over from one assault to the next. Still, the satisfaction of taking out one enemy and then launching your pet dragoon (or later dragons) to fire bomb the next is quite something. And very pretty to behold. In a violent, flaming death kind of way.

Aside from all of this, there are a couple of things that did cause some disappointment for me. The raging inconsistencies between the in game mythology and the actual mythology aside, because most of that is easy to left slide simply because of how good the game is. However, for a supposedly “next gen” title to not even attempt to have lip synchronisation is tantamount to treason where I come from. Also the lack of extras (something which really should be an industry standard by now) hinders the replay value. Even if it were only in game music and artwork it would be something.

However, overall, the game is a lot of fun to play. And once you have built your Army up and make the move to assault the Legion strongholds, the pitched battles themselves are truly epic even from the very first, and smallest skirmish. And the voice of Frejya whispering in your ear each time you come across a new location adds a real sense of grandeur to it all. It really serves to heighten the feeling of desperation that the land of Midghard is currently afflicted by. As well as offering some insights into the true nature of the conflict. Though I think the particulars of that would be better left for you to discover for yourself.

Besides, how can any game with the voice of BRIAN BLESSED be bad?

Graphics 8.5/10
Gameplay 9/10
Audio/music 9/10
Plot/Scripting 8.5/10
Overall 8.5/10

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