Retro Review: Grand Theft Auto III

With the Release of Grand Theft Auto IV this week, it's a good time to sit back and take another look at the game that made DMA design - Rockstar North. GTA 1 and GTA 2 were top down open world games that were fun, but never really had any sense of story. You were just causing some top down destruction. GTA III reinvented the series and made it was it is today. GTA III took the open-world, sandbox concept of its 2D predecessors and moved it into 3D. GTA III introduced a violent and mature world and story that captivated people. The freedom was unprecedented. GTA III created a new video game genre and copycats came out of the woodwork. For its time (Oct 2001), GTA III had good graphics (though not PS2's best), fantastic sound/audio, an amazing presentation, and brought something to the table no one had ever experienced before.

Verdict Back then: 95%

Is Grand Theft Auto III any good today? I say not really. The graphics look horrendous and boxy, the draw distance is terrible, the missions are repetitive, the controls are really bad outside of driving, and the storytelling has been surpassed by every subsequent sequel (c'mon the main character doesn't even talk). Grand Theft Auto III deserves a ton of credit for created the genre, but it was stale even back when Vice City came out. Maybe Vice City was just that good of a sequel that it immediately brought out all the flaws of GTA III. At the very least, Vice City and San Andreas showed us what could've been expanded upon and fixed with GTA III. Maybe that is exactly what Grand Theft Auto IV is for...it's a return to Liberty City to show us all what has blossomed from Grand Theft Auto III's legacy. GTA III will always be remembered as revolutionary, but what were once viewed as minor flaws at the time have become major ugly tumors on this game. It's a relic of the early PS2 era, but it will always be remembered.

Verdict Now: 78%

Grand Theft Auto IV is Out and Breaking Records

We'll have to wait and see if GTAIV breaks Halo 3's record for the biggest entertainment release ever, but for the time being Grand Theft Auto is setting Review records. It's scoring quite high with nearly every magazine. The Xbox 360 Version sits at an average of 99/100 (based on 25 reviews) whereas the Playstation 3 version is at an average of 100/100 (based on 15)! Is GTA IV gaming perfection? I doubt it, but it does at least to appear to live up to the hype. I am actually shocked it is scoring so well because Grand Theft Auto was always fun, but never that gripping gameplay wise. The Stories were good, but the gameplay was always just ok for me. It appears that GTA IV is the best yet and the best game to hit the next gen consoles so far. I haven't played it yet, but it's definitely on my list now. Look for a review in the coming weeks.

Metal Gear Online Premiere Beta Impressions

The Metal Gear Online Beta finally launched Friday after a delay and numerous and complex login issues. Luckily, I had already acquired my Konami Id & game id, so I just had to login, create a character and hit start. Despite the clunkiness and ridiculous amount of login ids/names, the metal gear beta is a great taste of what is to come June 12th. Let me start off by saying that Metal Gear Online is not all that different from the online mode that shipped with Metal Gear 3: Subsistence. Many of the modes and ideas from that first attempt have made it into Metal Gear Online. The two biggest changes from the PS2 metal gear online are the controls, and SOP. The controls in Metal Gear Online are a vast improvement. The over the shoulder camera/aiming system is leaps and bounds better (think RE4/GRAW/Gears of War)than the old lock on and hold square. Luckily square isn't even attack/fire anymore....R1 and R2 serve as primary and secondary fire giving Metal Gear Online a much more FPS feel. It's also easier to switch to First Person now and only requires the tap of Triangle while you are aiming. Don't get me wrong, MGO plays absolutely nothing like Call of Duty 4 or Halo 3. It took me a good hour to get back into the Metal Gear mindset and controls. Luckily the beta has a fantastic tutorial and solo training mode which allows you to shoot at practice targets and teaches you the basic controls. The other big change is the Sons of the Patriots or SOP system. This system allows you to link up with comrades and see where they are (even through walls), where they are aiming, and in many cases, where enemies are located. The SOP system is very slick along with being technically and graphically impressive. Metal Gear Online is about Teamwork and communication and SOP ties into all of that. If you liked the online mode with Metal Gear Solid 3, you should definitely preorder Metal Gear 4 and check out the online beta. It's a vastly improved version of the ps2 online mode and shows off the graphical prowess of the playstation 3. Metal Gear Solid 4 looks to truly showcase the Playstation 3 and has a great array of online features (clans, friends list, ranking, automatching, skill levels, skill upgrades, exp, etc.). That's all for now. Let's get back to some Metal Gear Online Headshots.

Best Games You've Never Played: Dragon Force Sega Saturn

Dragon Force was one of the best games for the Sega Saturn. It was released in Japan as a Sega Ages Collection for Playstation 2, but unfortunately we are not that lucky here in the U.S. Dragon Force was translated and released by the now defunct Working Designs (great studio) and released for the Saturn in 1996. Dragon Force's claim to fame were the epic battles with up to 200 troops onscreen with 7 different troop types (soldier, samurai, archer, mage, harpy, dragon, or zombie) but it was a tremendous strategy game with a ton of replay value (8 different Rulers to Choose from). The graphics were great for their time and there will full anime cutscenes that were very stylish. The orchestral music worked well with the theme and the epic battles with some (though little) real time interaction by the way of special moves and troop formations kept me interested through all the strategy elements. Nothing beat overwhelming an army with a swarm of 100 dragons. The game mixed RPG elements, Story, Battles, and Strategy elements perfectly for a very engaging 40-50 hour quest. The game won a ton of awards including best game of the year, but was not widely released in America. I was lucky enough to be a die-hard Sega fan at the time and pretty much got every new game that came out. Back then this was one of the best games in my collection.

Back then: 98%

Dragon Force holds up pretty darn well to this day. The biggest downer is the complete lack of voiceovers and a ton of text to read...but that was the name of the game back then... still it's a burden now and makes the story less compelling than I remember. The anime sequences are still awesome and sprites and look of the game definitely hold up, though the animation doesn't have as many frames as I would like. The most important thing is gameplay though...and the gameplay is still unique today and refreshing when compared to all of the Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics style of strategy RPG warfare. I wish you could take more direct control of the General...but perhaps this was present in the Japan only Dragon Force 2. I'm sure us here in the US will never know, especially since it is one of the best games that was never played over here.

Verdict Now: 93%