The Lair of the Monkey

Well, perhaps the best selling game of the year is finally being released - this Friday (2nd May). Here’s what the Microsoft team has to say about it:

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV (BBFC 18)

For Niko Bellic, fresh off the boat from Europe, it is the hope he can escape his past. For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, gateway to the land of opportunity.

As they slip into debt and are dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them and a living nightmare for those who don’t.

The highly anticipated fourth trailer is now available on Xbox.com and Xbox LIVE. Watch each trailer online now and get ready to experience Grand Theft Auto IV.

As per usual, the game will feature a mix of freeform gameplay mixed with missions and free-roaming exploration. The real difference this time around is the level of detail. The city really does feel alive and I’m sure you’ll have a great time exploring it. Just make sure to preorder your copy to not miss out.

That’s right, you are going to see Sub Zero versus Superman in the (reasonably near) future.  How that will work when Superman is basically invincible is apparently explained in the ’storyline’ - something I’m not quite sure has any business being in a fighting game but there we are.  Here’s some of what Mr Boon said:

‘Ed Boon: I’ve always been a big fan of other fighting games. I play all of the big fighting games in the genre - Tekken, Virtua Fighter, Street Fighter and so on. I’ve always wanted to cross over with another series.

So, we actually pursued some crossing with some of these other fighting games but it never really panned out. So when this was presented to us by one of our marketing people, it was something we had seen done before with Capcom and Marvel, and we thought that it would be cool to do a really dark, sinister version of that. So not like a cartoony vibrant approach, our approach was like a dark Batman Begins-style flavour.’

Does that sound good to you?  It sure sounds good to me.  Read the rest after the click at Computer & Video Games.

Ninja Gaiden 2 is due out for the Xbox 360 (it’s an exclusive) on 30/05/08 - so not too far away really.  I have to say that I’m extremely looking forward to the game and it should prove to be one hell of an adventure.  Here’s what Play.com has to say about it:

I’d like to talk about the original if I may.  On the Xbox, Ninja Gaiden was incredibly quick and difficult.  It punished you if you were particularly bad but rewarded you if you played well.  However, even within that, you could play it well two ways.  The first was to learn your timings, your combos and so forth, and the second was to judiciously use healing potions etc at your whim.  I was the latter, a cousin of mine was the former and used elite ninja skills to complete the game.

From what I’ve read over at CVG, it does sound somewhat like they’ve dulled it down a little, as it features:

‘ The addition of a ‘Quick Menu’ gives you access to items, projectiles and weapons via a few taps of the d-pad. This was brought into the mix via Ninja Gaiden: Sigma, so you didn’t have to keep pressing the Start button. Press up or down and the action pauses, allowing you to change weapons and heal yourself, then press A to return to the action. It’s almost as if Tecmo has worked hard at taking some of the random chaos out of the formula.’

I mean it sounds like they have thought about the game and the concept, but does it really need to provide you with after-battle auto healing and more save points?  It sounds a bit like what Subaru have done with the Impreza in the motoring world - tried to open it up to appeal to many more people than it did previously.  Either way, from all I’ve seen and read, I really can’t wait to get my hands on Ninja Gaiden II.

Weefz has highlighted that X-Blades (the animated third person actioner) has just taken a turn for the more explicit.  Apparently, the heroine is wearing a few less items of clothing than before - and she wasn’t wearing much in the first place.  See what she (and I in the comments) have to say about this trend, and whether it’s something that will ever change.  Interestingly, The Average Gamer also has a topic on stereotypes.  Are you one of them?  Do they exist?  Is the legend of the ‘geek’ playing games in his room by himself still applicable?  All this and more is considered there.

Well, there’s a new game on the horizon that caught my eye.  Kotaku has a bit of a feature on it.  Apparently, the player controls War, one of the four horsemen.  You use him to rampage around, wreaking destruction and havok.

“Sprinkled throughout the open areas are dungeons that can be explored and pillaged for power ups and new abilities. Puzzle solving plays a hand in the dungeon explorations, as well as the ubiquitous epic boss battles. Joining you in your quest is your horse, Ruin, who has his own set of abilities that can be upgraded throughout the game. The art style was just beautiful and was done by graphic novel artist Joe Madureira’s (X-Men, Battle Chasers, The Ultimates).

It was kind of hard to get a real handle on the game since it wasn’t really a hands on type of experience, but from what I could see, the gameplay elements (to me anyway) seemed like a combination of Crackdown and God of War. Not a terrible combination to be sure, but I will be looking forward to the time when I can actually try it out myself.”

Go and check it out now.

Here’s yet another tennis game - this time from Sega so featuring their usually silly characters such as Sonic and Tails.  NiGHTS and even Ai Ai makes an appearance actually, so not as bad as you might think - or at least not as limiting. 

There are over 15 SEGA characters to choose from, each one engaging their unique skills to trounce their rivals. These superstar abilities include dropping slippery patches on the turf, or dropping bombs, but these aren’t the only obstacles out there. Each location has a cool theme with its own pitfalls, ranging from Sonic the Hedgehog’s Green Hill Zone through to Ulala’s groovy space station and a zombie-infested Curien Mansion.

Xbox LIVE tournaments in SEGA Superstars Tennis allow spectators to view from the stands. Although it’s more fun to take part in two- or four-player games yourself, seeing friends sweat it out is often hilarious. Up to six of your friends can be watching while you play.

Ummm.  I think it’s a hoax.  Then again, people mod their Xboxes in rather fantastical ways.  No, wait, it’s an April Fools!  Surprise!!!  Go and see what Kotaku have to say about the whole issue.