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Grand Theft Fatigue-o
Posted by Luke Plunkett at 11:40 PM on April 29, 2008
To: Crecente
From: Luke
Re: Interviews, Interviews, Interviews
Say, did you know GTA IV is now on sale? You may have noticed. And I don't know about you, but I'm suffering from a nasty case of GTA fatigue. Both literally and figuratively. Seems all I've done over the past two days is either write about GTA IV or play GTA IV. Don't get me wrong. The game is amazing. It's the ice cream of this season's gaming menu. But a man cannot survive on ice cream alone...
Here's what you missed:
Wait, GTA IV Is Locking Up?
360 GTA IV Is Region-Locked
GTA IV PS3/Xbox 360 Comparison Video
Halo, So Pretty
Immigrant Welfare Group Criticises GTA IV
Konami Adds Stuff To Metal Gear Online
Down on the Wii version of Ghostbusters, are you? Think it's too casual, too cartoony for your tastes? That's because you're not in possession of all the facts. Red Fly - the dev team behind the Wii/PS2 version of the game - have said that in the Wii version, you'll be able to wirelessly connect your DS to the Wii and...use it as a PKE Meter. For real! As real as a full-torso apparition! And just as amazing.
Web clearance joint OverStock Dealz are, *ahem*, overstocked with 360 HD-DVD drives. You're no doubt 
What's that you say? GTA IV's only been out for a few hours, and already the internet's decided that both the PS3 and 360 versions are broken? That's what many forums - as well as many of our readers - would have you believe, with reports of the game locking up during/following the game's first cutscene, an error so severe you apparently have to unplug your console at the wall. Shades of 
Mario & Sonic, Brain Training, Wii Play, yes, yes, this all looks in order. Business as usual. Oh, except for that top-selling game. Wii Fit it's called, you say? Hrm. That's new. Though glancing at the other Nintendo games on these charts, and then at the British chats over the past 18 months, one surely can't be too surprised to see it debut at the top, hrm, eh, what?
This won't be terribly useful to Americans or PS3 owners, but anyone in Europe looking to score a cheap imported copy of GTA IV (or anyone in Australia looking to score the uncensored American version) should know that the 360 version of the game's been region-locked by the publisher. I only point this out because, over the past twelve months, nearly every single major 360 release has been region-free, meaning Take-Two joins MTV (ie Rock Band) as two of the last publishers to still make the decision to restrict the international sale of their games.
It's not "legit" in that its licensed by Nintendo or anything, but since most of Nintendo's patents relating to the NES lapsed between 2003-2005, it is guaranteed to be lawsuit-free. This is the FC Mobile, a handheld gaming system selling for $US40 which plays real NES carts. Like, the ones you have in that dusty box under your old bed at your parent's house. No modding, no dodgy imports (console excepted), no hassle. Oh, except it runs on AA batteries. Guess that's a slight hassle.
What makes a great game launch? Some would say simply getting a highly coveted game like Grand Theft Auto IV into the hands of hungry gamers is enough, but to some of us a launch night means more than that. To some, big-name game launches are like mini gaming conventions, where we can swap stories, bitch about the way the store is handling things, and speculate on how much sleep we'll be losing over the next couple of days. Or, it can just be a line of people waiting. I attended two different midnight launches at GameStop tonight and got a healthy dose of both sorts of events, just 10 miles apart.
In my haste to get started on GTA IV this morning, I didn't even look at the manual, let alone take it out and see what was hiding underneath. If I had, I'd have been able to tell you this a lot sooner: the 360 version of GTA IV comes with a free one month subscription to Xbox Live. Most likely useless to the majority of you, but if for whatever reason you abhor the concept of a paid online service and have been gaming unconnected, know you can buy this game and at least squeeze four weeks of free online gaming from the man. Whoever you deem "the man" to be.
Look, EA are sorry, OK? Sorry they ever 
Purdy! These heavily PhotoShopped Halo pictures are the handiwork of flickr user 
The Dreamcast is dead? Don't tell the production crew of new martial arts flick Forbidden Kingdom. Siliconera's Spencer just finished up a viewing of the Jackie Chan/Jet Li epic, and says that while the film's littered with gaming references, one stands above all others:
Stereotypes, stereotypes, stereotypes. That's what the UK's Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants thinks! Even worse, the 
Comic fans might be interested to know that Madman is running a competition to send two people to Comic Con 2008 in San Diego.
Enjoying the Metal Gear Online beta? Course you are. Now go enjoy it some more. Konami have today made two additions to the beta, throwing in not only a new map, but a new gameplay mode as well. The map's called Midtown Maelstrom, and looks a lot like the demo level we got to play at TGS last year. The new gameplay mode's called Sneaking Mission. One guy plays as Solid Snake, everyone else is a guard, with the guards then split into two competing teams. Sounds complicated! Which is probably just the way you like it.
Just because Matt Damon has been in some violent Bourne movies, doesn't mean he's gonna be in some violent Bourne game. No way! Originally Damon was in negotiations to lend his voice and likeness to the Sierra published game, but pulled out. Apparently he had issues with the game's violence. Since Matt Damon's publicist refused to comment, time to see what Matt Damon's mother thinks. Matt Damon's mother, the floor is yours:
If you're still looking to pick up Grand Theft Auto IV and don't mind the Australian version, Big W is selling the game for $78. Not convinced, here's 
Best part of the new Ghostbusters game has got to be the fact the title will feature the voices of the movie cast. But...are they actually going to record new dialogue? Or is the game just going to use canned soundbytes from the two movies? Good news, kids: it's the former. Bill Murray's due to hit the studio next week to record all-new lines for the game. It's a mystery as to how the game's producer, Joel Mechner, managed to first find then get the reclusive Murray to sit down to work on a videogame, but who cares. He did, we all win. Let's now hope Ernie Hudson's an easier man to track down.
Pssst. Hey, buddy. Grand Theft Auto IV is out tomorrow. It's actually already out for gamers who live in The Future, but don't tell anyone. Because, apparently, Rockstar Games is trying to keep things quiet on the GTA IV front. That's according to an AP report, the one with a photograph of the 10-story tall promo posters plastered on a hotel in downtown Los Angeles. All those billboards and posters you're seeing around town and tacked on to buses and such? On the down low.
PlayStation Gamer Advisory Panel members ought to check (and re-check) their spam filters, as they may be on the receiving end of an unsolicited Metal Gear Online beta invite. Our helpful tipsters—who moonlight as lucky bastards—have already been notified that they'll be able to participate without having to pre-order Metal Gear Solid 4. Good thing Sony and Konami waited until (most of) the bugs were shaken out before distributing to GAPers. Oh, that's a horrid name for it...
Over the weekend, Famitsu held its Famitsu Award 2007 ceremony, giving industry illuminaries awards — because hey, Famitsu does more than give 10s and crunch press releases! Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto got the MVP award with "MVP" standing for "Most Valuable Person." Clever! Said Miyamoto:
Remember the guy in the 
As we're about to crest on the Grand Theft Auto IV hype wave, Ars Technica passes on a somewhat amusing, definitely puzzling anecdote, writing that UPS may be experiencing an upswing in employee theft, with GTA IV to blame. Hearsay? Oh, totally, but Ars passes on that "In one 24-hour period, three workers were fired, and more interviews were scheduled for today that would likely end in termination."
Richard Bartle, co-author of the original MUD, as 
[Bijou Phillips, Nicky Hilton and Paris Hilton at the T-Mobile Sidekick Tone-Def After Party at a private airport hanger in Coachella Valley ]
3D Realms is still plugging away at Duke Nukem Forever, with a playable version being shown off to the crew from Shacknews that serves as a helpful reminder that Duke Nukem Forever exists. After witnessing "a good half hour" of gameplay and environments from the perennially late first-person shooter, the response was measure and largely free from overhype.
