Game Diary - July 14th 2008: A Cop's Funeral.

I've decided to start a game diary, as you've probably guessed by the title of this post. It's going to be similar to what Stephen Totilo does over at MTV Multiplayer. Basically I'll document the games I play daily (although it may not be every single day, a boy has got to rest!) and add a few thoughts about the games as I play them.

*Spoilers ahead*

Today I've played about three hours of GTA IV. I know I'm taking a long time to actually complete the game but I really want to enjoy every minute of this virtual recreation of NYC and not rush my play-through.

I've just got passed the mission where you have to decide whether to kill Derrick McReary or his cop brother Francis McReary. I find it hard to make choices in GTA IV and I put that done to how emotionally attached I can become to some of the characters. It's an excellent story and because I have to interact with characters (such as taking them out for a drink etc.) I feel like I get to know them like I would in a book. I like the McReary family - especially Packie even though he can be a bit of an idiot. Anyway, this time the choice was a no-brainer for me. Francis had threatened to reveal dirt on Niko if he didn't follow his orders to kill Derrick and I was taking any of that crap. Plus, I kind of felt sorry for Derrick as the drugs and snitches had pretty much ruined the guy. I pumped one in Francis' head and there was one less cop in the city.

Next was the funeral scene. This is the second time GTA has included a funeral in the story (the first was at the beginning of San Andreas where Carl attends his mother's funeral) and in both cases it ends in a shoot-out. I felt like I was part of the family when I was helping Packie gun down the guys so the rest of the family could make their escape.

It's good to see that your choices in a game will have different ramifications down the line. I don't know what happens if you kill Derrick instead but I felt that killing Francis, while obviously wrong in a moral sense, was the right thing to do.

I'm loving every second of the GTA IV experience. You may not be able to have as much fun in the city like you could in previous GTA games but I think the superb storyline more than makes up for that.

Next up: I'm going to see GTA IV through to the end but I'm also trying to complete Gears of War with my brother. I know it's been out for ages but I've only just got around to buying it.

Stupid News of The Day!

Or rather it's my attempt to actually post something this week and not actually spend a great deal amount of time writing. Yes, I've been a bad blogger but university work and...um...Team Fortress 2 (it works now) must come first sometimes!

Rockstar are supposedly pissed at the 'Grand Theft Scratchy' section in the upcoming The Simpsons game.

"I was always under the impression that when you do parody, it's a sign of respect... If we make fun of Grand Theft Auto, we're not going to hurt the sales of Grand Theft Auto... But yeah, we've definitely had some reactions - we've had to pull stuff from the game", The Simpsons lead designer Greg Rizzer revealed to us in an interview earlier this week. - CVG

Isn't Rockstar being a bit hypocritical here? The GTA series makes parodies of everything but when it comes to someone making a parody of their game it's not allowed? Also I was under the impression that parody is legal in the USA.

It's probably just some lawyer who doesn't know much about the content of either game but, still, it's the principle of it all. Won't somebody please think of the children?

EA upsets games companies with The Simpsons - CVG (Via Kotaku)

Grand Theft Mario

In this hilarious video from Robot Chicken Mario and Luigi take to the streets of Vice City and cause mayhem, GTA style!

Keep watching to the end and spot the Resident Evil reference.

(Via Joystiq)

GTA Style Coke Ad

The following video is a Coca-Cola ad that, while not affiliated with Rockstar, is done in the style of a GTA game.

Created by Nexus Productions in full HD the ad has been running in US cinema's since August 11th.

Coca-Cola are no strangers to using video games in their ad's after this ad was made through relationships with World of Warcraft in China.

If the next GTA looks anything like this then I think Rockstar are on to a winner.