GTA IV Trailer mirrors

There's a mirror of the GTA IV trailer here. The Rockstar site bit the dust bang on 11pm.

I was prepared to be 'meh' but Rockstar hooked me once again. They have the knack of these cinematic trailers, which are every bit as natural and well done as the in-game cut-scenes always are.

Pretty sure this is going to be the quality of the in game graphics because, just like the Zelda trailer, Rockstar have never used pre-renders in trailers or in-game, it's always been done with the engine.

So excited, and I didn't want to be. =D

Mini Fi - Jetpac / Puzzle Quest / Burninout / PGR3

Well, I know it's going to be a slimline version of der Fi this week. Ruut is putting the last minute touches to his stand-up routine, Blitzoid is lounging in his pit coughing up his lungs, and Munchk... can't remember, but I'm sure it's important.

So, probably just the Cookie and the h i r 0 / s u d 0 in attendance. Don't let me down big fella!

My Wii is still in the clinic having minor internal surgery, and won't be back until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, so (unless you bring yours, and you're very welcome to) we're relying on the giant, noisy white box instead of the tiny shiny white box to entertain us, along with a handful of handhelds.

We shall definitely have a go at Jetpac reloaded - a shiny new version of Ultimate's Speccy classic, with upgradeable lasers, smart bombs and multiplayer. Don't worry - I won't practice too much Cookie.

I'm also a couple of hours into the totally addictive and time-swallowing Puzzle Quest on the PSP. There's a PSP and a DS version but I read that the PSP version has it slightly based on the graphics and screen size. It's an RPG where you do battle by playing (basically) Bejewelled against your opponent. Penny Arcade have been going on about it all week, and finally topped it off with a comic based on the game. Beyond the absurd premise of besting your foes by matching gems for mana (to cast spells), stars (for XP), money (for um, money) and skulls (for damage) the UI is just about perfect and natural, even without the DS' touchscreen. You can also skip cut-scenes and speed up speech bubbles which is always a game breaker for me in RPGs. For a 130Mb ISO this is one of the best entertainment-per-byte games on the PSP.

Third up will be Burninout Dominatrix on the PeeEssPee. Another hi-octane car mangling arcade racer. Just what you expect from a Burnout title. I'm sure it has some mad fun multiplayer action.

Then if we need anything else to play we can do some split screen PGR3 racing, or we can just take it in turns to bounce around in Crackdown, or anything really.

Bring the usual stuff... but obviously let's not go overboard.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Guitars?

Meet Guitar Heronoid, an android built by GarageGeeks members Rafael Mizrahi and Tal Chalozin that plays Guitar Hero.

A computer processes the video feed from the PlayStation2, detects where, when and how to play and moves the fingers accordingly.

It's not perfect by any means, but it's certainly an impressive achievement. Looks like it can read the multiplayer screen too.

Looking at the single player video recognition vid (second from bottom) the note spotting looks nearly bang on, so I wonder where the missed notes are coming from?

JOIN THE AGENCY!

This Friday, help the Agency to protect Pacific City and rid the streets of crime.

Recruitment will be held at The Pink Agency Tower from 8.30pm onwards.

Mama's Got A Squeezebox

From the makers of Accordian Hero, we bring you

ACCORDIAN HERO II

Accordion Hero II comes with the Strumpf Blue double-bellows accordion controller shown here. The Original Accordion Hero is still available -- more information on that title below.

"Yes, we've squeezed out another one"

Genius!

ATTENTION ! All those who don't Really like playing computer games!

For all of you out there who don't really enjoy playing computer games, I will hosting the next edition of Snack Club.
So come to the Cookie Parlour on FiDay 2nd March at the usual time.
Bring plenty of snacks but absolutely NO computer video games of any kind!
PHOO, YUCK! Nasty things.
I'll never let any of their kind in my Parlour!
And I don't wont anybody with a connection to computers, or who works with the Evil machines, in my Parlour either!
So, please, don't turn up with all your grotesque and demonic electronic devices.
Definitely not any PSP's or DS's and there will be no Wii or PS2 play of any kind!

See you for another gut-busting session of Snack Club.

Where's Kane?

Gaming's equivalent of Citizen Kane (and whether we actually want or need it, and whether we'll recognise it, or even play it if it ever appears) is an oft-discussed and argued concept.

Brendan Lee on insertcredit.com offers up some interesting points on why it'll never happen. Maybe it's just my mood at the moment, but I really enjoy reading this kind of vitriolic invective (cf. Joel Johnson's Gizmodo rant about gadgetry (OT))

...it's a constant itching of neural pathways that have no business being itched; a constant worthless massaging of the same old chemical release receptors. Autonomic fellatio. Masturbation. Nothing being accomplished, again and again, sequel after retread after empty nostalgic joke.

But we're not laughing, because we don't get it. Video games were one of the great cosmic pranks of our generation, but the chuckle went straight over our heads.

Fun Matters

I have always loved comics books and have been regularly reading them in various forms for over thirty years. My favourite kind of book is in the moebius freeflowing almost silent style. I like to let my mind drift along with the story as it lazily spins a tale through some beautifully fleshed out otherworld.

Lately, on the PSP I've been getting that kind of fix from Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters and it's been a joy to play so far. Set in a cartoony styled, colourful world, the game stars a kind of anthropomorphic cat thing and a tiny little robot trying to do the whole platform game rescue thing. It works though, there's loads to do, collect and upgrade, and the story buzzes along nicely without too much dialogue or cut scene nonsense.