Unexclusive: Next-Gen Vice City

Rumours going around this week claim that Rockstar North are currently at work on a new GTA for release this Christmas. So here's me taking that very rumour and running with it.

Rather than the Tokyo setting currently rumoured, I reckon that following the Liberty City - Vice City - San Andreas sequence that has been around since the very beginning of the series, the next game will instead be set in a reimagined Vice City (just as happened with the new Liberty City in GTAIV). I also predict that the game will not be GTAV, but instead a spinoff of IV, as Rockstar only tend to release newly-numbered games with a whole new engine.

And while I'm at it, I think a more sensible release date of Spring 2010 is likely, unless Vice City PS3 is really a reskining of GTAIV, and also to avoid clashes with the Xbox exclusive downloadable content coming for Numero Four.

Yatta!

I got a PS3.

So there.

Blog posts ready to go, but no: just got get myself past this bit in Resistance...then this other bit...oh look, a Stalker! (etc etc)

So, excuses aside, things have been a little eventful for the gaming division of my brain cells over the last few weeks. I got my brand new sexy amazing fantastical sexy console just over a week ago, but prior to that, I rented out Need for Speed: Carbon for PS2 and pretty much completed that before it had to go back (92% ftw). Also, after I found out the arrival of my very own big black monolith, I raced through a couple of PS2 games that I had to complete, before trading them ALL in, along with my PS2, for next-gen game monies.

And then, of course, it all changed. The recently-vacated spot next to my TV got filled by a new friend, one that greets me with the glorious noise of an orchestra every time I say hello. Obviously, I immediately called the Wanderer and we ventured down into my town to buy things: an extra SIXAXIS, Motorstorm and Resistance: Fall of Man (I already had GTAIV and I Am Legend on Blu-Ray in the bundle I got).

Wanderer and I returned to my abode where we promptly spent time examining every single option of the PS3, updating the firmware, downloading (and installing) demos, and finally: sticking in Motorstorm.

My. Fricking. God.

You know how I like to grade games on the fun factor? Well the first game of Motorstorm we played probably got somewhere about 283 out of 10. Needless to say, that was roughly equivalent to our placement in the results of that race too. But it was incredible.

I should probably point out one thing right now: I have a crappy 15-inch standard-def TV. But did that make it any less awesome? Hell no!(no panic, I plan to invest in a 26" Bravia in the very near future).  We played through a bunch of demos, Aquatic became completely addicted to Super Rub-a-Dub, browsed the Store, bought PAIN!, and downloaded whatever we could find for free. After a brief, yet hilarious stint with PAIN!, we loaded up Resistance and attempted to play some co-op. So blooming hard. We gave up.

And then, a little later, came the time to play Grand Theft Auto Quattro. Which is totally awesome btw, but I shall go into that more in-depth in the near future on this here blog.

After that, we watched the cool alternate ending for IAL that came on the Blu-Ray, and then went our separate ways (although not before 'playing' the Haze demo. I think it's best we don't talk about it).

Over the past week (public examinations be damned), I have spent a lot of time playing games, being beaten online on Motorstorm by mates, moving music over to my PS3 from iTunes on my laptop, and yes: still dabbling in a little Starcraft from time to time (also another thing to talk about next time: we are now completely addicted).

Over the last few days, I've also begun the single-player Resistance campaign, and am actually doing pretty well, I'm about three-quarters of the way through now, so expect a review at some point. Also, of course, expect a mega-review of the PS3 itself in the future.

Gotta go, Nathan Hale's busy dying, FO.

Octopii Don't Have Opposable Thumbs

Hullo again, Octopus here with another bowlful of cranial excretion!

Now, I mentioned that I'm a Sony fanboiii in my previous post, but I should probably go back a little. I played my first game evar (The Lion King sidescrolling platformer, on a floppy disk) on my Acorn PC running Windows 3.1 for Workgroups (hell yes!) when I was about 6 or 7. I thought it was awesome, and my time was torn between this amazing new phenomenon and my new-found love of the bicycle. I later got some Scooby Doo DOS game, which wasn't nearly as interesting, but alas, I was not deterred. I recieved a PlayStation from my dad in the late 90s and played the collection of EA Sports games, Rugrats Studio Tour and craploads of demo disks (they used to give them out at MacDonalds) until my eyes bled, or I was sent to bed, whichever came first.

The love slowly faded as I paid more attention to girls, and to a lesser extent, school, and my PlayStation began to collect dust from its house under the television. Then, towards the end of my stint at junior school, there was a particularly stormy day. I was petrified of being by myself in the storm in my empty new house waiting for my mum and sisters to get home, so on a whim, I went round to the house of one of my friends at the time. There, I discovered the PlayStation 2, and simultaneously, Grand Theft Auto 3. From then on, I pestered my parents, and I got my very own PS2 (complete with the GTA Double Pack) the following Christmas.

Now, 6 years later, now with a slimline PS2 and slim PSP, I like to think that I can be officially classified as a gamer. But just to make sure, I'm currently working my way through a big list of all the best PS2 games I've missed. Amazingly, I've never played a Resident Evil, Guitar Hero, God of War, or, until last month, Silent Hill game. Oh, but I have played every GTA game. I now sit impatiently waiting for someone to buy me a PS3 (all my money goes on bacon sandwiches from school or miscellaneous games whenever I venture into town), and possibly even more impatiently for Patapon, the new PSP game.

Just because I'm a Sony man doesn't mean I haven't played other consoles though. I love the GameCube; seriously, I love that thing. Super Mario Sunshine and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect for GC are two of my favourite games of all time. The Wii's great (even though I don't own one), and Zack & Wiki and Twilight Princess are both awesome games. There's even an original Xbox laying around somewhere, but the only games my sister has for it are racing games, so I don't play much.

Anyways, that's my gaming life so far in a nutshell! I should think the Wanderer will be around soon with his own gaming history, so until the next time, au revoir!