Category — Australia
Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA 4) - a players eye view
Anyone with an XBox 360 or PS3 not played this yet? If not why not? OK, so maybe I’m being a little pushy in pushing my opinions on people, but I’ve loved the GTA games ever since playing the original ones on an old mac running Virtual PC (Yes, I’m a mac head).
But what is it about these games that keeps me coming back? I’ll be honest with you here. GTA 3, in my opinion, was the best of the GTA 3 series. There was something about it that was so good, and something that Vice City and San Andreas never managed to capture. There was something about this living, breathing city that is Liberty City. You could drive any car, do pretty much anything and the city was laid out in a fun way. The ones since have been bigger, with more to do, but somehow, they never captured that magazine.
And with GTA IV, I think Rockstar Games may have re-captured that original magic! Why? Liberty City is once again resurrected, but this time it’s got a lot more depth, a life of it own and feels like it might actually be based on something real! Cruising the streets, there’s people wandering the streets, and cars driving by, But now the people mingle and react to one another and you. Car drivers go about their business and crash into each other occasionally and apologise. There’s a real feeling of purpose and history to this place!
Liberty City feels like it’s been around for a long time and grown to what it is now. Some neighbourhoods are run down with graffiti and burnt out cars, with only a few cops to guard the streets. Other areas are very affluent, with nice modern cars, cobbled streets and lots of protection. There’s industry that might actually support the residents of the city. And the story covers a range of topics, letting you into bits of the city, and give you a hint at what’s happened to them over the years.
Weather is prominent too. On a sunny day, the streets are dry and cars handle well. Then the heavens open and cars start slipping and sliding, and - this is a simple but impressive touch - the people get their umbrellas out and put raincoats on. It’s such a little touch, but it really makes a difference. And one thing that impressed me no more was a thunderstorm! A thunderstorm that feels real! A crack of lighting illuminates the screen casting some amazing shadows, then the thunder comes making the controller rattle as if you were in the game with the character. I’m struggling to do how impressive this looks and feels but trust me, you’ll know it when you see it!
Then you move onto the vehicles. Lots of vehicles! And every one of them feels unique! That’s no mean feat. Jump in an American Hot Rod and your good for high speed in a straight line, but try to corner and you’ll struggle as the suspension wallows. Drive a big 4 x 4 and nothing gets in your way, but it’s a little slow but you can real feel the power. Jump in a sports car and it’ll weave through traffic. Fancy driving a lorry? Their slow, but somehow so much fun! And bikes… Well, they’re a struggle I find, but I’m sure some people love them.
Performing on foot has been improved immensely! I used to struggle with the old controls, but now it feels almost as good as Halo (nothing’s beaten that yet though). And the targeting system is improved through the simple act of letting you lock on fully (trigger depressed fully) or part-depress it, and you get free aim. It’s a simple thing but works so well! And combine that with the new duck and cover button, and you can’t go wrong.
What else can they do to improve the experience? Well… There’s the new physics engine that brings everything to life - knock the garbage bins over and they roll along and down hills. The graphics are a lot more comic book like - gone are the old simple textures of the old one. And the character animation is amazing! Some of the details you almost don’t notice, but crash your car and anyone in the car lurches. Corner too fast and their head rolls to the side. Jump out of a moving vehicle and your character - Nico - rolls along the street just like the movies.
Any faults? Well, sadly yes. Cover gets a little confused at times, but that I think is something very hard to get right. Even Gears of War got it wrong occasionally, and that’s an amazing game for the duck and cover idea! And being in Australia - and this is really upsetting - the game is censored. Come on Australia, WAKE UP!!! There’s no rating above 15 here, so the language has to be toned down. One example being how Nico thinks that Michelle is a “really good listener”, after he’s “Talk to me! Talk to me” in a rather enthusiastic way. It’s a little sad really.
But, that’s it. That game is simply amazing and damn near perfect in my eyes! The one thing that I’m concerned about is what happens when I’ve completed it… Just have to try and complete the myriad of micro-tasks within the game.
If you don’t have it, get it now!!! Why are you still reading… Get down the shops and buy it now!
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May 6, 2008 No Comments
Playing Two up for Anzac Day in Sydney
So, this is the 2nd year I’ve been in Australia for Anzac day, and this year, I decided to do it properly. For those that don’t know about ANZAC day, I suggest you read the article on Wikipedia. In summary, it was the first major military action in the first world war by the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps, and this day celebrates the pride of these countries in this corp. It’s celebrated all over the country, and the services start as early as 4am.
One of the games that was invented by them was 2-up and the only day you can legally play it in Australia is on Anzac day. The principal behind it is to flip 3 coins off a wooden paddle, and whichever 2 sides match is the winner, hence “two-up“. There are some rules though: You have to get a good flip on the coins - if they don’t spin enough when you through them up, it’s a no-throw. Likewise, they have to get a good height - but not too high or hit the ceiling. And on hitting the ground, they have to all stay with the defined boundaries.
Now that sounds pretty dull in essence, but it’s a actually a blast! The reason being that you bet other people in the audience, and everyone - I mean everyone - gets involved. You can shout out a bet of say $10 on heads, and someone will say I’ll call you tails. The person who calls heads looks after the bet until the result is known. Then if they win, they keep it, and if they lose - tails - they give the money to the other person. You’d think people would try to cheat the system, but they don’t. The spirit is absolutely amazing! Everybody has great fun and chats and laughs and you just can’t imagine how much fun it is. It’s just a shame that it only happens once a year.
We spent an impressive 5 hours in the Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel that afternoon, but not playing that all day. All in all it was a great day, and next year I’ll make sure I’m up for the dawn service.
April 27, 2008 No Comments
Learning to sail in Sydney
I’ve finally started doing something that really makes me feel like I’m no longer living in London. I’ve started learning to Sail! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and to my delight I found that there’s a sailing school round the corner from me in Rushcutters Bay. The Pacific Sailing School has been around for 30 years, and I also discovered that a couple of my friend’s have learnt there and spoke highly of it.
The first sailing lesson was a good test of my sea legs - I occasionally struggle. After a tour of the boat by our instructor, Brian, and running through a couple of drills like tacking - changing direction when sailing into the Wind - we set sail. I have to confess to being slightly nervous at first. Sydney Harbour is a busy place to be, being novices, and not knowing all the rules of the road, felt like it might be intimidating.
Within no time, we were sailing into the wind - clever trick that one. Tacking away, starting to work well. We were sailing on the International J/24 class boat. It’s a small easy to handle boat, that’s used for racing. But it’s characteristics make it a great training boat.
Unfortunately, just as we were getting into our flow, a storm appeared on the horizon. Being out on the open water, and seeing it rolling in was really intimidating. But it was also an amazing sight. It was really quite beautiful in that weird ‘oh my god’ kind of way. It was like seeing a wall of doom rolling in.
So, we returned to port, had the boat secured and were safely in the sailing club before the front hit. I never realised quite how social sailing is! Really. Everyone goes out after for a few beers and food. It’s really good! And Terry, the sailing school owner is always so happy to see his students in the bar, that he’s buys a few jugs to get everyone started.
I’m loving what I’ve done so far. I think I’ll be hooked on this one!
January 27, 2008 No Comments
John Williams played at the Sydney Opera House
I had the pleasure of spending Saturday night at the Sydney Opera House watching a performance of the amazing John Williams movie music with Heather.
The music was led in by the host, Guy Noble. He introduced every piece, making them slightly more magical. He also added a light note to everything, highlighting the elements of humour in the films, and by enacting a day through pieces from Psycho and Jaws. He also came onto the stage in a Superman Outfit - of sorts, although I don’t remember Clark Kent wearing black shoes and socks with the ‘S’ on - and a Darth Vader costume - guess which music they were for…
Arnie Roth flew in from Los Angeles to conduct the piece. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him for the Play, A Video Game Symphony.
The evening was led in with the music from the Olympic Fanfare, followed by other timeless classics such as Superman, ET and one of my favourites, Indiana Jones.
At half time, as we wandered out, we were greeted by Storm Troopers and Tie Fighter pilots.
This led perfectly into the second half. The Star Wars pieces! I wasn’t expecting so much music from the trilogy, but I’m glad they did. The force and power that music envelops is simple staggering. It was truly amazing hearing the Main Star Wars Theme and Imperial March. But, as enjoyable as they were, the Duel of the Fates and Across the Stars from episodes 1 & 2 stole the show! I’ve always thought they were good, but being there with the Orchestra really bought the pieces to life.
When we thought it couldn’t get any better, a small band was put together to play the famous Cantina music from Episode 1. It was a delight and made such a change to the rest of the scores. The night ended with a piece from Harry Potter.
If you ever get the chance to see John William’s music performed by an Orchestra - especially one as good as the Sydney Symphony - do it. You won’t regret, even if you think it’s a little geeky or strange. Trust me!