Wow, it’s been pretty much forever since I last blogged. I better not make a habit out of this. So ya, anyways… Where to start.

I may as well say it now, I’ve completed only one thing on my list. LAME! I played DDR with my friend after we went to watch 2012 (And totally owned at it 8D) I even had the opportunity to hit someone with a rubber chicken (#60)! Hmm. Well, I’ve got someone’s address to write to them AND I’ve got the opportunity to buy a bobblehead for someone for Xmas. And I might even learn a little guitar…

Bah, 2012 wasn’t as good as people made out it was. Some parts were wayyyyy too Hollywood. What I mean by this is that some bits were a little frickin’ predictable. I mean seriously, what are the odds that driving away from an erupting.. Well.. Ground, that the flying pieces of lava and rock and allsorts don’t hit you? I mean COME ON. For an action-filled disaster movie, I guess it was okay. For the movie of the century, chyeah I doubt it.

Hmm… Social life! I have one now New-ish friend inviting me to play pool every Tuesday (Call him D).. Isn’t that awesome? Uh, no. I suck at pool. Learnt that out the hard way last Tuesday and there’s noooo way I’m going to get better. But, being the gentleman he is, he’s offered that next Tuesday I could have a separate table with him so he can ’show me the ropes’… Suspicious <_< He apparently talks about me every now and then when he’s around his friend’s (We’ll call him T) and T appears to really want me and D together. I met that very friend at pool, he’s nothing like I thought he’d be. Though, he did drop a hint as we were leaving the pool place that went like this:
T : So am I dropping you off at yours, Vix?
Me : Um yah, in *insert my town name here*, is that okay?
T : Yah I guess, I just thought you’d be over D’s house for the night *sly grin*
Silly T. But yah, he’s awesome. Even bought me a drink n_n   Also, in other news, the guy from the Skindred gig (mentionned in post um.. 2) is a little pushy. The age difference is like 4 years so yah.. I don’t know. He keeps wanting me to go over and he likes seeing me in cosplay which is a little weird but I don’t know.. These new friends are real awesome though :3

Universityyyyyy! AGH! My teacher has only JUST finished my damn reference for my UCAS application! Sucks. Suckssuckssucks. I’m not going to get ANY offers from Universities, am I? I mean, my personal statement is pretty much finished and the person in charge of sending them off says it’s good but damn my teacher.

Still need a dangly phone charm. I’m bored of Bidoof now and the Pokémon sticker from it came off. Now I get people asking me why the hell I’ve got a beaver in a neckerchief attatched to my phone. It makes no sense. I think I’ma buy a Hello Kitty charm from the mall next time I’m out.

AAAAAAAHHH! LADY GAGA! She’s so awesome, ne? I watched her video for Bad Romance the day it aired which was rad. I heard her video for VideoPhone got leaked onto the internet for like a half hour or something? Eh, I wish I’d seen it. I totally have tickets to go see her in Nottingham in March. How awesome is that? VERY. Final Fantasy XIII is out in March too, isn’t it? Wow, March will be a good month ^_^

Speaking of games.. My dad just got me Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition,  Grand Theft Auto VI, Prototype and Assassin’s Creed 2. And d’you know what sucks the most…? I never have any damn time to play on my Xbox! D’: Maybe during the holidays… I’m still trying to complete RockBand and GuitarHero too though so.. Meh.

I’ve decided to end these from now on with a DTWLED thing. Me and my friends text this to each other when we’re bored to get a conversation started. Each letter stands for: Doing, Thinking, Wearing, Listening, Eating, Drinking. So um.. Yah.

Doing : Attempting my Psychology assignment and Biology reading task. Waiting for my driving instructor to arrive in a half hour.
Thinking : Oh gosh, it’s freakin’ cold… My fingers are freezing while typing this.
Wearing : Light blue jeans, a Powerpuff Girl Bubbles necklace, a white jacket and a random white tee with orange, purple and green clouds and stars and rainbows and castles and puzzle pieces and lightning bolts… I’m pretty sure this is what the inside of my head is like ^w^
Listening : Mindless Self Indulgence – Due
Eating : Smoked salmon and pepper sushi
Drinking : Coffee, of course :3

Until next time… See ya!

Moravurile, umorul şarjat, crimele şi lumea deschisă de tip sandbox a celei mai noi creaţii din faimoasa franciză Grand Theft Auto au ajuns şi pe PC. Pentru deţinătorii de console, asta nu înseamnă mare lucru – mulţi dintre aceştia au etichetat deja GTA IV ca fiind cel mai bun joc next-gen, l-au întors pe toate părţile şi au trecut mai departe.

În schimb, cei care deţin doar un „amărât” de calculator au fost nevoiţi să caute filmuleţe pe YouTube, admirând peisajele noului Liberty City de pe scaunul pasagerului şi aşteptând cu markerul roşu deasupra calendarului ziua în care vor face un drive-by în High Definition. Ei bine, ziua aceea a venit şi s-a dus. Iar acum putem să purcedem printre scursurile societăţii, criminali de toate tipurile şi naţionalităţile şi glume acre, caustice pe tema multor grupări ridicole din America.

În Serbia Sovietică, banul te cheltuieşte pe tine.

Protagonistul lui GTA IV este un veteran înăsprit al războiului din Bosnia care, îndulcit de poveştile fantasmagorice ale vărului său din America, se urcă într-un vapor şi purcede către Ţara Tuturor Posibilităţilor mai ceva ca românii din autocarele umplute până la refuz cu destinaţia Spania. Totul bine şi frumos până când ajunge la casa verişorului durduliu, Roman, doar ca să descopere că anecdotele despre stripteuze cu sutiene cât janta unui Aro, vila cu piscină şi cascadele cu bani ca-n portretele lui Guţă n-au fost altceva decât baloane de săpun.

Cu o expresie similară celor mai naivi dintre noi, care au fost traşi în piept de reclama la Ace cu mătuşa din Canada şi descrierile utopice ale învăţătoarelor postdecembriste, Niko Bellic găseşte garsoniera dezordonată a rudei sale şi pe acesta nu doar ducându-şi viaţa în chinuri din câştigurile mizere ale taximetriei, dar şi datornic la oameni cu care nu-ţi vine să ieşi nici măcar la o bere.

De aici, tiparul Grand Theft Auto: eşti un nimeni care vrea să devină cineva, şi nu prin mijloace ortodoxe. Poţi explora metropola din GTA III, acum într-o formă mult mai vie, mai arătoasă şi plină de personalitate, iar povestea centrală decurge în ritmul tău, în funcţie de cât de des consideri că ai chef să explorezi conţinutul narativ. Ca mărime brută, noul oraş nu este nici pe departe la fel de vast precum, să zicem, San Andreas, dar arată cu siguranţă mai bine şi asta nu neapărat datorită graficii.

Structura cartierelor şi modul în care sunt diferenţiate, atât prin arhitectură, cât şi populaţie sau texturi este atât de bine făcută încât s-ar putea face un film de lung-metraj cu aceste decoruri, cu o scenografie net superioară multor producţii contemporane. Într-un fel, mi-e dor de deşertul şi drumul de ţară prezente în San Andreas, dar trebuie să recunosc că o urbe compactă are şi ea farmecul ei.

Dialogurile se supun satirei specifice seriei, parodiind numeroase elemente din cultura americană. Evident, elementul central este mafia est-europeană, majoritatea şefilor şi pungaşilor cu care interacţionezi fiind imigranţi de sub fosta Cortină de Fier. Din păcate, nu apare niciunul din personajele jocurilor precedente, deşi ar fi fost interesant să vedem ce întorsături au mai apărut în vieţile celor care n-au dat ortul popii în GTA III sau vreuna din continuările acestuia.

Singura excepţie este Lazlow Jones, cunoscutul DJ din Grand Theft Auto 3, care revine mult mai furios şi agitat decât în trecut, fiind chiar urmărit de poliţie. Pe de altă parte, având în vedere listele de actori care au contribuit la ultimele câteva titluri, este surprinzător că nu mai avem vedete de top care să-şi împrumute feţele şi vocile unor personaje. Ca să fiu cinstit însă, vocea uneia dintre gazdele emisiunilor de radio este chiar Juliette Lewis, duduia din Natural Born Killers, iar în cluburile de stand-up comedy îl putem întâlni pe Ricky Gervais.

Sex, droguri şi shopping

Ceea ce s-a schimbat în termeni de mecanică e accentuarea puternică a laturii de simulare a unei vieţi reale în Liberty City. Sunt atât de multe, încât mersul la sală din San Andreas sau achiziţia proprietăţilor din Vice City pălesc timid în faţa activităţilor disponibile în GTA IV – de la sporturi, întâlniri on-line şi uitat la televizor până la cumpărat şi asortat haine, bowling, biliard, chiar şi sex (într-o variantă cenzurată). Pentru mulţi, panoplia de minigame-uri, ca de fapt întregul joc, vor reprezenta o formă de evadare din cotidian, dar mi se pare că se formează un paradox destul de stupid atunci când încerci să scapi de monotonia activităţilor de zi cu zi ca să le reproduci într-un mediu artificial.

Cu toate astea, aş fi ipocrit dacă aş spune că n-am pierdut destul timp ducându-mă la stripteuze, în timp ce s-a format un nucleu destul de concentrat de prieteni care veneau la mine ca să joace bowling… în GTA IV. Apropo de această latură, ea nu este lipsită de probleme. Sportul preferat al lui Fred Flintstone e destul de greoi – pentru un minigame care ar trebui să relaxeze, s-a dovedit relativ frustrant de stăpânit. Dar având în vedere că aspectele definitorii nu sunt legate de hobby-urile personajului, micile neajunsuri din minigame-uri nu distrug experienţa per total. Şi oricum, sunt opţionale. Cei care vor să treacă direct la măcel şi urmăriri pot să o facă relativ repede, fără să piardă vremea cu gagici sau mall-uri.

În legătură cu măcelul, tactica pe care trebuie să o abordezi e uşor mai elaborată decât în predecesoare. Ai un sistem de duck and cover, asemănător celui din Gears of War, un accident mai grav te face să zbori prin parbriz şi ţinteşti părţi ale corpului atunci când fluturi Glock-ul ca pe o biblie cu ţeava de 9 milimetri.

De fapt, cam toate animaţiile sunt mai detaliate – când furi o maşină parcată, îi spargi geamul şi îi încrucişezi firele de contact. Când ţi se pune un pistol în faţă, ridici mâinile în aer. Până şi pietonii sau şoferii au un comportament mai credibil – unii blochează traficul ca să dea o tură pe la alimentară, alţii poartă conversaţii, uneori se şi ceartă. AI-ul pare să fi făcut un pas mare în faţă, dar se întâmplă în continuare ca un poliţist să-ţi treacă pe sub nas încercând să se ascundă… de tine, sau alte situaţii destul de ridicole.

Un contrapunct al gafelor comportamentale comise de oamenii legii este sistemul prin care scapi de curcani. Când comiţi o infracţiune şi eşti sesizat, se creează o zonă de urmărire în jurul tău, mai mică sau mai mare în funcţie de cât de mult efort depun vajnicii miliţieni să te ducă de ceafă la zdup. Dacă ieşi din zona respectivă şi te comporţi ca un cetăţean model, renunţi temporar la deprinderile de cleptoman auto sau bătăuş de periferie, eşti din nou liber să le faci cu mâna agenţilor de ordine fără ca aceştia să pornească în urmărire, în detrimentul delicioaselor gogoşi la care aspiră.

Iluzia unei societăţi este totuşi mai vie ca oricând – de la interacţiunile tale cu personajele, fie ele pietoni, şoferi, prietene, poliţişti şi până la micile lor activităţi care nu te includ: citesc ziarul, vorbesc la celulare, îşi deschid umbrelele când plouă – totul strigă atenţie la detalii.

Cireaşa de pe tort este că în anumite momente poţi lua decizii – deşi limitate la doar două variante, şi cu repercursiuni destul de evidente şi de termen scurt; momente în care te simţi bine ştiind că nu parcurgi un singur fir narativ linear aşternut în faţa ta precum firimiturile lui Hansel şi Gretel.

Există totuşi şi un mic handicap în aspectul acesta transparent de role-playing: au dispărut stats-urile din San Andreas. Nu te mai poţi îngrăşa, nu mai poţi umfla bicepşii la sală, nu devii un alergător mai bun dând ture de alee ca Rocky pe Eye of the Tiger. Gândindu-mă retroactiv la cât au fost de apreciate aceste părticele minuscule din ultimul GTA, nu-mi dau seama de ce s-a renunţat la ele.

Faţă de Claude, protagonistul lui GTA III, care nu scotea niciun icnet, niciodată, Niko Bellic e un Hamlet. Şi încă nu unul interpretat de fanfaronii ăştia de pe scenele autohtone, care confundă hiperbola cu sensibilitatea. Bellic e un personaj care-şi pune probleme morale, cu intenţii şi aspiraţii bine conturate, un personaj care, într-o manieră destul de disfuncţională şi întortocheată, ar putea fi real. Prin dialogurile, deciziile şi concluziile pe care le trage în urma acţiunilor sale, micul sârb este adeseori justificat în privinţa violenţei neiertătoare pe care o împarte şi în ciuda acestui fapt are adeseori mustrări de conştiinţă.

În trecut, accentul se punea pe personajele secundare şi antagonişti, tu fiind mereu doar un pion în serviciul unor indivizi fără scrupule. Acum, se formează relaţii, plouă cu picanterii, glume, side-quest-uri şi referinţe de fundal (cum ar fi baza de date a poliţiei) care adaugă un plus de personalitate NPC-urilor cu care ai de-a face.

Grand Shakespearean Bard

Posturile de radio sunt, ca şi în Vice City, de elită. Melodiile sunt mult mai multe la număr (şi ai posibilitatea de a adăuga muzică de pe HDD, cu comentarii acide la adresa gusturilor tale şi reclame amuzante aruncate între ele) iar posturile de radio intră mai adânc în subgenuri – jazz, fusion, funk, hip-hop contemporan, hip-hop clasic, rock clasic, trash metal, indie, ska şi multe, multe altele încântă urechile oricui porneşte Casio-ul unui vehicul „împrumutat”.

Personal, mi s-a părut absolut sublimă staţia Vladivostok FM, care difuzează piese de toate genurile de origine est-europeană. Mi s-a părut de câteva ori şi că îi aud şlagărele lui Rick James prin cluburi de striptease, dar n-am găsit melodia pe niciun post de radio.

Muzichia se extinde şi asupra telefonului mobil, pentru care poţi descărca ringtone-uri, multe dintre care fac referire la melodiile vechi ale seriei – cum ar fi “Joyride”, tema centrală din Grand Theft Auto.

Revin chiar şi talk-show-urile, cu teme variind de la probleme medicale (Pacemaker) şi până la doctrine socialiste (Intelligent Agenda). Şi nu mică mi-a fost surpriza să-i aud vocea lui Iggy Pop drept gazdă a unui post de radio, evident cu influenţe rock.

Montajul sonor şi actorii şarjează parcă mai puţin decât specificul stilului care a consacrat Rockstar. Tot nu se încearcă sensibilităţile romantice din Mafia sau vreo atmosferă hiperrealistă, dar GTA IV este o parodie mai profundă şi mai subtilă decât GTA III, care pentru ăia mai critici şi elitişti din clubul Strâmbădinnas (ca mine) nu poate fi decât prilej de bucurie.

Cum să NU optimizezi, ghid pentru experţii din domeniu

Pentru a înţelege tonul rândurilor de mai jos, trebuie să ştiţi trei lucruri. În primul rând, mărturisesc că fac parte din clubul celor care au considerat varianta de PlayStation 3 extrem de funcţională. Şi având în vedere dimensiunile lumii randate, cele câteva blocaje izolate de imagine nu m-au deranjat câtuşi de puţin. În al doilea rând, în ciuda criticilor aduse vizavi de rezoluţie – 720p trasă de margini ca o gumă de mestecat prin spaţiul cosmic până la 1080p pe varianta de Xbox 360 – consider că jocul arată bine.

În al treilea rând, Rockstar Toronto m-a mai făcut să-mi dau palme crunte după ce am trăit o ispravă de-a lor. Este vorba de Bully, varianta portată pe PC. În timp ce PS2-ul mi-a oferit o experienţă aproape de top 10 şi stors o lacrimă, acelaşi joc m-a determinat să-mi smulg smocuri de zulufi din cap când i-am văzut fratele geamăn, dar handicapat, pe PC. Căderi de framerate inexplicabile, crash-uri, fel de fel de bug-uri de toate mărimile şi culorile. Şi din câte am înţeles, oamenii cu Vista şi-au mutilat chiar mai grav podoaba capilară.

N-am crezut că se poate mai rău. Apoi am descărcat GTA IV de pe Steam, în ziua lansării.

La început, nici n-a funcţionat. După nişte căutări prin beciurile Internetului, am găsit soluţia pe un forum obscur şi am purces de-am rezolvat-o. Apoi am dat de DRM, una din cele mai dezgustătoare metode de a lovi în clienţii legitimi pentru a combate pirateria. Apoi am pornit jocul, cu aproximativ 15 FPS-uri, deşi deţin un sistem care, pe detalii medii, ar fi trebuit să se conformeze fără probleme. În cele din urmă, după câteva sesiuni de tweaking, am obţinut un produs jucabil. Dar nervii şi stresul unei asemenea experienţe mă determină să declar că e inadmisibil ca un producător să-şi enerveze clientela până în punctul în care aceştia din urmă să cocheteze cu ideea de a-şi cere banii înapoi.

Iar problema e mult mai dureroasă decât o gafă accidentală. E una fundamentală de atitudine – precum declaraţia LucasArts cum că ai nevoie de un PC de 4000$ ca să rulezi Force Unleashed, nenumăratele portări cu control şi cameră haotice care se scuză prin argumentul „gamepad > mouse + tastatură” sau lipsa suportului pentru PlayStation Home şi Store în România. Când un om e leneş inventează scuze. Ştiu asta, şi eu o fac, şi voi o faceţi.

Dar una e să te scuzi că n-ai timp să scoţi câinele la plimbare fiindcă n-ai absolut niciun chef să pui un film pe pauză şi e cu totul alta să minţi în faţă milioane de oameni care, în fond, nu vor decât să te plătească. Şi ca să nu credeţi că bat câmpii cu graţie, sunt numeroase portări de pe consolă care se bucură de laudă când vine vorba de optimizare şi control, cel mai recent exemplu care îmi vine în minte fiind Mirror’s Edge. Iar asta nu fiindcă are un design axat pe doar câteva culori.

Nu cred că greşesc când spun că se pot face portări fără cusur – că necesită un volum foarte mare de muncă e alta – dar în ciuda argumentelor aruncate în zeflemea de diverse studiouri, pirateria e o problemă de mentalitate, nu una care poate fi combătută punând piedici la tot pasul şi ferindu-te de portări de frica apariţiei lor pe trackere de torrents.

Acestea fiind spuse, între timp a apărut un patch care creşte considerabil framerate-ul, dovadă că se poate. Dacă înjuri suficient de mult producătorii.

Nu te supăra, frate!

Mi-a surâs ideea de a fura maşini cu care să-mi transform prietenii în petice de şosea acum multă vreme, când am descoperit cât de interesant poate fi un masacru lipsit de minte în GTA II. Din păcate, a treia versiune a jocului şi episoadele care au venit ulterior în completarea ei nu deţineau această opţiune, decât sub forma unui mod destul de problematic, Multi Theft Auto.

În GTA IV, multiplayer-ul susţine până la 32 de jucători în unul din 15 moduri disponibile. Ele variază de la clasicul Team Deathmatch sau diverse variaţii ale acestuia, a la „Hoţii şi Vardiştii”, până la moduri cooperative, escortă şi altele. Pentru a te conecta la lobby-ul online trebuie să îţi creezi un cont în serviciul Rockstar Social Club, iar latenţele sunt mai mult decât decente. În plus, există şi suport LAN.

În ton cu formula des întâlnită de ranking în jocurile online, mai ales în shootere, personajul tău strânge resursa monetară a jocului şi deblochează haine şi noi moduri de personalizare. Mă declar pe deplin mulţumit de latura multiplayer, ea adăugând un volum consistent de rejucabilitate titlului, chiar şi după completarea lui 100% (o experienţă teribil de anevoioasă).

Ceea ce e complet nou e implementarea unui sistem de înregistrare şi montare de clipuri video, care pot fi încărcate în Social Club şi văzute de restul comunităţii. Deşi sistemul de montare e minimalist, această caracteristică îl face deosebit de uşor de folosit, iar rezultatele pot fi spectaculoase – cele mai populare clipuri, care apar pe pagina principală a jocului, sunt mai reuşite decât m-am aşteptat.

Grand Terra Nova

Grand Theft Auto IV este un joc excelent. Din anumite puncte de vedere perfecţionează şi extinde un concept vechi mult peste ceea ce mă aşteptam când am revăzut artwork-urile tipice care ilustrează diverse personaje. Conţinutul e vast, gameplay-ul e antrenant, bug-urile pot fi în mare parte ignorate fără rabat de la principii, iar multiplayer-ul e suprinzător de bine realizat. Violenţa abundă, dar parcă e acoperită şi amortizată de personajele mai bine conturate, aspecte ale poveştii care tratează consecinţele morale ale deciziilor tale şi panoplia de activităţi care nu o implică.

Pe scurt, cel mai bun Grand Theft Auto de până acum şi o platformă interesantă pentru crearea unei continuări în spiritul Vice City sau San Andreas. Păcat că lansarea lui a fost umbrită de atâtea probleme tehnice.

Console gamers rejoice! Assassin’s Creed II is available for your sneaky, backstabbing pleasure. I have heard a lot of good things about this game and I’m looking forward to playing it.

When it launches for PC next year of course.

Is it acceptable for game companies to hold off releasing a game for a certain platform? Sometimes development can take longer for it to be optimized for PC. The controls need to be reworked, menus redesigned for mouse and keyboard use, and sometimes if we’re lucky the graphics will get a boost (GTA4 and Mass Effect). The last thing we want is a game on the PC that feels like it was made for consoles. Lost Planet is a hopeless example of this. I own the game and wanted to like it, but every time it asks me to hit the x button my insides cringe. It may take longer to get a version of the game ready, but release should be held back until all versions are ready.

The console version of Assassin’s Creed II was probably launched to get some holiday sales. Ubisoft was having some financial problems last I heard and a boost in sales will help the end of year reports look better.

Wait until next year to game people!

In nearly every respect, Assassin’s Creed was a success story. An industry darling from its debut, the new IP earned a groundswell of hype and praise and attracted the likes of Steven Spielberg, gathered talk of movie options, won industry awards, and more. After its release, the game raked in remarkable, record-breaking sales numbers for a new IP. There was only one thing that publicly troubled Ubisoft: Reviews ranged from high nines to low sevens and sixes. Critics either loved or hated it.

Beneath its gorgeous exterior and sweeping vistas, Assassin’s Creed didn’t deliver the high-octane experience everyone, including Ubisoft, hoped it would be. Two years later, the French publisher’s vast, sweeping sequel answers its critics in every way. Where the first game was rigid, repetitive, and uncompromising in design and gameplay, the sequel is open, diverse, and full of options. The first game’s title, Assassin’s Creed, messaged “stealth,” but in reality it failed most stealth tests. The sequel, however, delivers innovative and exciting stealth components. The list of improvements goes on. The combat is deeper and more robust, the interactions with civilians are more interesting, and the exploration options are in many ways more manageable than before. To cut myself short, Assassin’s Creed II (AC2) actually over-delivers in the same way that Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto IV did, improving in every way over the original and creates a distinct, forceful, and full game that truly delivers on the original’s promise.

The Story So Far

With a complicated storyline full of twists and turns, time travel, and a mixture of religious and science fiction themes, Assassin’s Creed II’s narrative is a handful. You play modern day bartender Desmond Miles, an apparently normal guy who happens to have been reared by a family of assassins, and whose DNA contains secrets of his family’s past. Captured by Abstergo Industries, Miles is forced into a lab to undergo sessions in which a software tool called the Animus mines his DNA for memories. The first game traced Miles back to the role of Altaïr Ibn La-Ahad, in 1191. AC2 sends Miles back to Renaissance Italy, 1476, and puts him in the role of young Ezio Auditore de Firenze. Yes, that is his real name. And yes, the game is full of Italian names just like that.

Like the first game, the second one takes place in the present and the past. Thankfully, you’ll experience a majority of it in the past, while a sprinkling of events in the future explain your predicament, adding new twists to the dual narrative. In an effort to avoid spoilers, I’ll remain a little vague on the story details. The original game took itself a little too seriously. Instead of the characters’ intensity gripping players’ interest, the modern day scenes with Lucy and doctor felt like interruptions and resulted in annoyance rather than intrigue. In AC2, players quickly discover that Miles’ new science/medical team is quirkier, funnier, even a little nastier, but even when nasty, they’re always more comical. A little light comedy might seem like a minor addition, but considering how heavy the subject matter is, the comical asides and more colorful characters add much needed balance to the dialogue and narrative flow.

Within the first few minutes of the game, you dive deep into Miles’ DNA history and you become Ezio, the second oldest child in the prominent Auditore family. Ezio’s father is a prominent banker and primary supporter of the ruling class Medici family of Florence. The Medicis, it turns out, are facing political challenges from another prominent family and, after a series of shocking events, these challenges turn into a confrontation that forces Ezio’s hand. He takes his family into hiding and then takes on the role of an assassin, seeking sweeping vengeance for those involved in his family’s tragedy.

In truth, AC2’s story feels like a forerunner to Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, with warring families killing each other in the dark and sophisticated factions strategizing to one-up another for power and prominence. It’s all quite dramatic and serious in nature, though just like the modern day characters in AC2, Ubisoft has injected the Italian narrative with light humor and some GTA-style one-liners for good measure.

The story is vast, involves a lot of characters, both fictional and real, and Ubisoft does an excellent job of blending their known history into the fiction. Each time you meet a new character or see a new piece of historic architecture, you can read about their roles in history. You can easily skip the optional text. But Ubisoft’s inclusion of historical better explains why this period in Italy was important in history and gives an underlying depth to the game. AC2 actually makes a good case for a bit of historic education while gaming.

Bigger in Every Way

The first Assassin’s Creed was not a small game. You could walk, run, jump across building tops, and ride horse back in ancient locations such as Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus. AC2 is not only bigger in literal surface-level geography, it’s also taller and digs deeper underground. In AC2, Ezio will travel on foot, on horseback, in carriages, and in a flying machine across a vast region of Italian spots including various portions both inside and outside of Florence and Venice, Rome, the mountains, and various outlying countryside locations as well. The game’s size is impressive on its own, but more importantly, Ubisoft has made good use of the new space.

Just like the first, Ezio will uncover regions in each city by climbing to Eagle’s nests, but these buildings are more like 40 stories high instead of 20 stories high. The cities themselves are vast labyrinths of asymmetric streets, alleyways, and marketplaces, making for fun/challenging escape routes, with erudite re-creations of Italy’s famous religious structures peppering every region. Additionally, Ubisoft has introduced assassin’s tombs hidden deep underground. These tombs are physical puzzles in the vein of Prince of Persia/Tomb Raider, and while optional, they add mode depth and variation to the central game. They’re also good for gathering more information and money.

Assassin’s Creed is as much about historical conspiracy betrayal as any good drama or noir movie. Folding in more layers to the game’s depth, Ubisoft has introduced collectible glyphs. These hidden glyphs are located in hard-to-reach locations, and each one can only be opened after solving a trio of puzzles, each of which incorporates classic art (more education!). Once solved, the riddles reveal a small video clip. The object is to collect them all and piece them together to help you solve a bigger puzzle. The bigger puzzle? Yes, these glyphs appear to be from the future, and are a message sent by a previous Animus subject who was overexposed to the Animus and got lost in it. These are his means of communicating what he has found.

Adding even more depth to the game, Ezio is re-introduced to long lost family members, including one rowdy mercenary uncle who grants him his villa. Like Grand Theft Auto Vice City’s real estate mechanic, you’re able to invest and improve the villa, which in turn produces revenue. You don’t have to invest in the villa to beat the game, but the upside is tangible. You’re able to own a place of your own, generate extra cash, and visit your family once in a while.

Although I haven’t measured them side-by-side, the enormous geographical landscape of AC2 is reminiscent, once again, of Rockstar’s landmark action-adventure series. Translation: it’s really, really, really big. The result of such enormity is a double edged sword. On the one hand, you will experience a minimum of 25-30 hours of gameplay–that’s without collecting everything–providing little doubt you will get your money’s worth. On the other hand, despite the addition of a horse carriage function designed to quickly transport you between most major cities, getting around is a slow, arduous process.

The upshot of all this space and additional depth is that AC2 isn’t just bigger for the sake of being bigger. Everything works into the main story and is incorporated into the game design in a fundamental way. This is important, and with the exception of one huge fetch-quest near the end (which is one of the few down-sides to the game), you’ll feel like every big new city you visit has a meaning and purpose of its own.

System Shocker

The original Assassin’s Creed had some interesting ideas in it that didn’t necessarily work out. For instance, why did it have a Halo-style health system? Why did it have these neat eaves-dropping missions, but lack basic mission variety? Why did it seem like a stealth game but play like an action game? And why were you always displaying poor public conduct?

AC2 discards a number of systems from the first and replaces them with better ones in the second. In the original game, Altaïr regenerated his health automatically, just like in Halo. In AC2, a full monetary system requires Ezio to not only buy health, but buy clothes, weapons, weapon upgrades, and armor. Of course, you earn money too. And this is where the monetary system gets interesting. You can steal money from local citizens by simply brushing up against them; not much, like 2-4 lire per person. But if you brush up against 100 people, all of a sudden you’re in the money. Citizens take about two seconds to realize they’ve been robbed, and you have to do is keep moving on down the road. As I mentioned earlier, upgrading your villa earns you money, but it requires you to constantly revisit it, which is slow, slow, slow. Tumbling down into tombs earns serious cash, as does completing primary, secondary, or tertiary missions. But no matter what, you will need to earn money to keep up your health, and even to repair your armor. This could sound like a red flag to some, but because you can buy five viles of health potion at a time, and doctors are plentiful in each city, a little planning usually goes a long way.

The AI has improved for the better. In Assassin’s Creed 1, if you were found out, you basically had to head for the hills. The original game’s AI was binary. As is the sequel’s theme, everything in AC2 is loosened and broadened. If you attract unwanted attention, you can still jump to rooftops or find hay bales or find wells to hide in. Or you can be pro-active, pulling down posters with your mug on them, or silencing witnesses through a bribe or with a stiletto. It’s your choice, and it’s now fun to be a stealthy bastard.

You can also use the crowds in a far more intuitive and useful way than before. Unlike the unforgiving priest crowds in the first, Ezio can blend into ANY crowd of two or more people, indicated by a gray circle of computer data icons on the ground. This simple evolution of the original game’s crowd mechanic makes the blending work 200% better. You can now sift through the crowds like ghost. Conversely, you can hide among prostitutes or hire them to distract enemies. Or you can bulk up against an oncoming squadron of enemies by hiring thieves or mercenaries to fight by your side. I often found myself just hiring thieves and just killing as many guards as possible.

Think about this for a moment. When was the last time you were rewarded for beating up a philanderer? In AC2, the explosion of mission types makes sure you won’t feel the dread of repetition again. You’ll beat up disloyal husbands, escort important citizens across town, enter into races across town, explore distinct parts of the city, explore tombs, collect special items, rob important people, get to hard-to-reach spots under a timer, and so on. There are countless primary missions to push the story forward, but there are an equal amount of side missions providing money and information too.

The New Killing Instinct

The combat in Assassin’s Creed was decent at best, and like many other aspects of the first game, it was repetitive and underwhelming. AC2 brings serious chops to the fighting table. First, with the money you’ll earn, you can upgrade to more powerful swords, spears, poles, and axes. Or you can just pick up the weapons dead enemies leave behind. Second, your hands are powerful tools. You can throw solo jabs at enemies or pummel them with impressive combos. Later in the game you’ll earn knives, so you can throw knives from a distance at enemies, and much later in the game you’ll earn the ability to use a primitive handgun, which isn’t as fun as it sounds.

Like the first game, you’ll re-learn how to deflect enemy attacks and counter. You’ll also be able to strafe, jump back, and disarm. The disarm move is especially cool. As the game progresses, you’ll face different classes of enemies. You’ll start facing basic thugs with swords, arrow-shooting guardsmen, then spear and hammer wielding enemies; and later on, you’ll face axe- and long-pole wielding brutes wearing armor. You can eventually wear these last types down, but the best way to confront them is to retract any weapon you’re holding, strip down to your bare hands, and disarm them. Once you strip them of their axes and long-poles, you’ll see some of the best death animations the game has to offer. Now, instead of being an annoyance, the combat is easily one of the best parts of the game!

But Ezio is limited in what he can carry. He can wield one sword, one dagger, one gun, and at a certain point in the game, he’ll upgrade to double wrist blades. Any enemy weapons he picks up are dropped when he switches to his personal weapons, or when he climbs or swims (yes, you thankfully can swim this time).

Still, if you thought a single-jump stealth kill was wildly exciting in AC1, brace yourself. Easily one of the coolest, most exciting new moves in the game is the double wrist blade kills. I yelled several times at the top of my lungs to an empty room when I performed these stealth kills. Making them especially fun is the newly added stealth kill moves. You can pull enemies down while hanging from a balcony, stealth kill them while hiding in a well or in hay, or jump down from a balcony to assassinate them. Doubling the stealthy death is indescribably satisfying. While in Venice, you swim up to the shore, a boat, or a gondola, and silently drop kill enemies too.

Overall

Assassin’s Creed 2 delivers a game that’s bigger, better, and deeper than the first. And it’s actually fun as a fully functional stealth-action game. It not only answers criticisms aimed at the first, it fixes almost every problem, and adds more variety, combat depth, exploration, and personality to the mix. Nearly everything has a purpose for being in the game, and everything ties back into the main theme. In amongst the great expanse of gameplay, a few minor issues stuck out: collecting 100 feathers is a ridiculous, arduous task; the required fetch quest near the game’s end is forced and annoying, and because of the game’s size, some gamers won’t ever return to the game’s early cities. Still, these are small complaints laid upon a game that fulfills the original’s promise.

Score: 9.5 (out of 10)

I downloaded the balled of gay tony off xbox live the day after it came out hoping it would re-kindle the amount of time I played GTA 4, and it did just that.

The storyline was well done. It inter twined with the other expansion pack and the first GTA 4 which was cool. The new characters are also cool especialy Yusuf Amir.

There were some new cars, a lot of new weapons, and some new helicopters. One thing this expansion pack included was a parachute. The parachute will give endless hours of fun, there are even side missions for it.

Over all this was a good expansion pack and well worth the 1600 Microsoft points.

Looking back through some old articles I came across this list of the best single player games on PS3: Linkage.

This list was only written in April and yet the time since has probably been the best 6 months of my gaming ‘career.’

Not only have some fantastic solo player campaigns been released but I have also caught up on some single player epics I missed when they came out.

I knew the list needed to be extended and improved, as too many great single player games were missing.

So here you go – the top 10 is now a top 20 and any game from the initial list has it’s original chart position in brackets. You can also check out my full reviews (where possible) by clicking the title of each game:

20. PROTOTYPE

In Prototype you take on the role of Alex Mercer as he awakens during his autopsy ,wondering what the hell is going on. He quickly escapes, realising he now has various superpowers.

Mercer needs to find out what the hell has happened to him and why New York is infected with a virus that has turned half the population into zombies.

Prototype is definitely a game worth playing despite it’s various faults – it was a blast to play through if a little frustrating at times.

19. RESISTANCE 2

After saving England in the previous installment Hale is back in business to rescue the U S of A – since his incapacitation the Chimera have launched a full attack on America and Hale, as part of the Sentinal squad (made up of soldiers injected with the Chimera virus but kept under control), have to step in and stop them in their tracks.

A hard hitting but fun first person shooter.

18. MIRROR’S EDGE (10)

Mirror’s Edge wowed everyone with it’s crisp, clean graphics and it’s unique first person perspective.

The view takes a while to get used to and it had a few really annoying parts where it was difficult to time jumps etc because of the view but Mirror’s Edge is certainly worth playing through as it offers a style of gameplay that is totally unique in the current games market.

17. RAINBOW SIX VEGAS (9)

If you like your first person shooters with a bit of brain behind the brawn then Rainbow Six Vegas may be the game for you.

With a good old fashioned SAS vs Terrorists style plot and lots of fun set pieces Rainbow Six Vegas is definitely worth a shot.

16. RESIDENT EVIL 5

For all it’s faults Resident Evil 5, taken as a whole, is a brilliant game and one that I would recommend. Graphically it’s stunning and while it isn’t a hugely difficult game you’ll enjoy playing through and unravelling the story.

It survives the huge expectation of following Resident Evil 4… just. This is a game that everyone should play as Resi comes to the new generation of consoles.

15. KANE AND LYNCH (8) 

You take control of Adam ‘Kane’ Marcus, a criminal on his way to death row for crimes committed in Venezeula. Kane is busted out of his prison van by a mysterious group called The7 who he worked with previously. They think Kane stole the money from their last job and stashed it somewhere.

If he doesn’t get them the money back in three weeks his wife and daughter will be killed. Kane claims he doesn’t know where it is but he does know who took the cash and will hunt them down. And so begins a thoroughly enjoyable ride into the desperate life of Kane…

14. BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY

Chock full of explosions and with some really impressive destruction of buildings etc, Battlefield: Bad Company is like a huge big budget Hollywood blockbuster.

It’s a great, mindless blast of a game. Add some memorable characters into the mix and you’ve got yourself a very enjoyable, and playable, package.

13. HEAVENLY SWORD (7)

Another game that didn’t garner the respect it deserves, primarily because it didn’t live up to the pre-release hype.

If you like God Of War you will like this game as it’s similar in style but it looks gorgeous in HD and I believe did a few bits (combos/blocking etc) better than the first two God Of War games.

12. ASSASSIN’S CREED (6)

In Assassin’s Creed you play through Desmond Mile’s repressed ancestrial memories as Altair in the Medieval Holy Land (with brief interludes as Desmond struggling to find out what is going on in the present day).

You will need to research targets and carry out assassinations using a variety of options – sword, hidden blade, knife etc.

This game is great fun and I’m looking forward to the sequel which is on it’s way shortly.

11. GHOSTBUSTERS: THE VIDEO GAME

Ghostbusters: The Video Game’s plot is essentially the third movie – set in 1991 you’re a rookie who’s been drafted in to help with the ever increasing ghost workload. A huge paranormal blast sets off a chain of events that only one group of guys can deal with…

For me Ghostbusters was a short (5 hour) game that had me chuckling and geeking out despite it’s flaws – it won’t be to everyone’s tastes but it has a good single player storyline.

10. KILLZONE 2 (5)

Killzone 2’s biggest achievement is, possibly because of the brilliant graphics, sound and AI, that you feel involved and become embedded in the Killzone universal whenever you pick up the pad.

It’s not perfect by any means but it’s easily the best first person shooter I’ve played and I recommend anyone with a remote interest in this genre to check this out immediately!

9. BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM

With some wonderful voice acting from the cast of the animated series, Batman: Arkham Asylum’s story moves at a good pace and familiar enemies are used to good effect throughout.

With such a vivid setting and a memorable selection of bad guys from Batman’s career it’s no surprise that Arkham Asylum is such a great game.

Despite the odds being stacked against it, Batman: Arkham Asylum is a quality title that has had a lot of care put into making it. I’d recommend this to anyone.

8. INFAMOUS

So good it’s the only game this generation I’ve played through twice (seeing it’s rating bumped from 8/10 to 9/10), Infamous is a great game.

You control Cole McGrath, a courier who just happens to be carrying a package containing an electronic bomb when it goes off, devasting the city. Somehow Cole survives and, after coming out of a coma, realises the explosion has given him electrical superpowers.

From there on out the city is your oyster and there is plenty to do as you try to track down the people behind the explosion.

7. BIOSHOCK

Bioshock has a great story to tell and it does it well with some interesting objectives and brilliantly designed levels.

There are several twists and turns in the plot, most of which are not obvious and it’s no surprise to me that a film version is in the works (although I believe currently suspended due to budget concerns).

Dark worlds like Rapture aren’t to everyone’s tastes but you really would be missing out on an awesome story if you decided not to book a trip to the underwater city.

6. GRAND THEFT AUTO IV  (4)

One the biggest selling games of this generation GTA IV features the fortunes (and lack therof) of Niko Bellic – an immigrant arriving in the US at Liberty City to find empty promises and broken dreams from his cousin Roman.

As you work your way up the criminal ladder you’ll encounter all sort of dodgy characters and befriend even more.

Liberty City is a wonderful, if run down, place and Niko Bellic’s story is one you will enjoy playing through so make sure you pick this game up as soon as possible.

5. FALLOUT 3

After a tough few hours at the start you will find yourself rewarded greatly for sticking with this awesome FPS / RPG.

The story line sprawls across the world depending on your actions and you’ll find yourself taking a break from main missions to explore the wasteland or help out other characters.

I could go on and on about various things that happened and how cool it was, how great the story was or whatever.

But Fallout 3 is a game that needs to be experienced first hand and your story will no doubt play out differently to mine.

4. METAL GEAR SOLID 4  (3)

Hideo Kojima’s tale of Solid Snake’s final mission is a brilliant showcase of the Playstation 3’s power.

This is a game that often gives you three or four different ways of approaching things – whether you realise it or not.

Metal Gear Solid 4 rewards those patient enough to stick with it by giving them a great gaming experience, with some memorable boss battles, that they won’t forget.

3. DEAD SPACE (2)

Coming on somewhere between Event Horizon and Aliens, Dead Space is a third person survival horror game.

You take on the role of Isaac Clarke, a ship engineer who finds himself trapped onboard a stricken spaceship infested with an alien outbreak which is threatening to take over the ship.

This was one of the best games I played last year, it’s use of sound is immense and the fear of the unexpected they create is awesome.

I am not a big fan of horror movies or being made to jump all the time but Dead Space kept on the right side of all that by being unpredictable enough to be enjoyable as a ‘horror’ experience.

2. UNCHARTED: DRAKE’S FORTUNE (1)

Uncharted maps the  journey of Nathan Drake as he tries to find the lost treasure of El Dorado encountering, among other things, rival treasure hunters and mercenaries.

The graphics are unbelievable and the gameplay is well paced and well thought out. The characters and story and really well conceived and Nolan North, who voices Drake, is absolutely spot on with his irreverent humour and wisecracks.

At its heart Uncharted is an action adventure game much in the vein of Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider but, and I say this as a fan of both of these, it is better than either of them.

1. UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES

Uncharted 2 is a complete gaming package. There is plenty of taking out bad guys, lots of puzzles and some wonderful dialogue.

Naughty Dog really have done a great job on the voice acting and the expressiveness of the character models. It is easily the best I’ve come across (though Heavenly Sword was a close second).

I won’t spoil the story but for those who don’t know, Nathan Drake gets pulled back into that murky world of treasure hunting for hire. I loved the story of this game – with a few twists I saw coming and a few I didn’t.

If you own a PS3 there is no reason not to own this game – if you only have an XBox 360 or Wii then get yourself a PS3 Slim and enjoy one of the most finely crafted games I’ve ever experienced.

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So it’s a double for Nathan Drake as he takes the top two spots with his exploration adventures.

With 5 new games in the top ten it’s great to see the wide variety of game styles on offer to PS3 owners these days.

Hopefully people out there will find this list helpful – feel free to drop me some comments below on the games or if you’d have put anything else in the list?

So I’m downloading The Ballad of Gay Tony right now and it made me realise something, I bloody love Downloadable Content.

Grand Theft Auto IV and Fallout 3 were two of my favourite games of last year as both titles absolutely blew me away with their attention to detail and overwhelming sense of immersion while the extra content released for both provided a welcome opportunity to dive back into both of those worlds and discover new things.

The astounding scope and level of quality of both these games’ DLC truly sets new standards, with enough content and value for money to form stand alone releases.

What really interests me however is how natural a feeling it is becoming to download my entertainment.  I very rarely buy music on physical media now, with my first thought being to buy through iTunes.  Through my iPhone it is quick, easy, relatively cheap and I instantly have my choons.

I still buy my movies on a mixture of Blu-Ray and DVD but I can’t help but think that it is because there is not an idiot proof option for that at the moment ala iTunes.

Perhaps it is easier for me not to bemoan the lack of physical media with music and to be open to the same with film because they are cheaper than videogames.

If I was paying £30-£40 a pop for a download only piece of entertainment would I be so eager?  I never thought so, but I’m starting to come around.

Purchasing the aforementioned full game sized expansions already feels like second nature, as does buying smaller games through Xbox Live and PSN, with what’s on offer on those services increasing in quality and scope all the time (Shadow Complex anyone?).

Microsoft are already running a games on demand service where you can download full retail games and although the idea of abandoning physical media is hugely controversial, once a reliable system is in place that makes it second nature and pricing is set fairly and follows a traditional physical retail curve (ie. goes down after a while) then to be honest, I’m all for it.

One of gaming’s most endearing relationships?

It’s simply a platonic friendship between two men, one of whom happens to be gay. There’s no innuendo; clearly neither is likely to swing the other way. They talk openly about each other’s love life (and sex life) as if they were two guys talking about their girlfriends. Sure, Luis is a little hard-boiled, and Gay Tony can be flamboyant, but character design is all about making characters identifiable from the off, and then breaking them down. Sure, he’s called Gay Tony, but he’s not as defined by his sexuality as his name suggests. He could easily just be Tony, who is gay, rather than Gay Tony. But, in Liberty City it’s all about standing out from the crowd, and one suspects Gay Tony knew that when he first put the name out there.

More of my thoughts on The Ballad of Gay Tony, and its timing in relation to recent controversy in the UK surrounding homosexuality, in my TheGameReviews editorial that went up today.

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GTA IV: Episodes From Liberty City es una recopilación que incluye los episodios adicionales completos del  videojuego GTA IV para la consola Xbox 360.

Aquí van algunos trucos para GTA IV: Episodes From Liberty City

Introduce cualquiera de los siguientes códigos en el teléfono móvil de John Klebitz, para obtener el efecto deseado.

Códigos vehículos:

• 245-555-0100: Aparecerá un Innovation

• 826-555-0100: Aparecerá un Slamvan

• 826-555-0150: Aparecerá un Burrito

• 245-555-0125: Aparecerá un Double T

• 245-555-0199: Aparecerá un Hakuchou

• 245-555-0150: Aparecerá un Hexer

• 227-555-0100: Aparecerá un FIB Buffalo.

• 359-555-0100: Aparecerá un Helicóptero Annihilator.

Códigos generales:

• 486-555-0100: Pack de armas 1.

• 486-555-0150: Pack de armas 2.

• 267-555-0150: Aumentar el nivel de búsqueda.

• 267-555-0100: Eliminar el nivel de búsqueda.

• 362-555-0100: Obtienes armadura.

• 482-555-0100: Obtienes salud, armadura y munición.

• 468-555-0100: Cambiar el clima

Nota: Los trucos afectarán a las misiones en curso.

Armas desbloqueables de las guerras de bandas:

• Recortada en el piso franco: Completa 10 guerras de bandas.

• Pistola automática en el piso franco: Completa 20 guerras de bandas.

• Carabina en el piso franco: Completa 30 guerras de bandas.

• Rifle de asalto en el piso franco: Completa 40 guerras de bandas.

• Lanzagranadas en el piso franco: Completa 50 guerras de bandas.

• Las armas de Terrry gratis: Completa todas la guerras de bandas.

Armas de entrega de Jim: Puedes llamar a Jim para que te entregue armas en el club. Se desbloquearán algunas armas especiales, después de completar determinadas misiones.

• Pistola automática: Completa la misión “Bad Cop Drop”.

• Bomba casera: Completa la misión “Hit The Pipe”.

• Micro SMG: Completa la misión “Clean And Serene”.

• Recortada: Completa la misión “Clean And Serene”.

Vehículos desbloqueables:

• Hokachu: Vence en 12 carreras en modo un jugador.

• Innovation: Mata a las 50 gaviotas.

• Bati 800: Completa todas las misiones de robo de motos de Angus.

Suprimir el limite de munición: Completa el 100% del juego.

FICHA DE LOGROS: LOGROS:

5G: • Desembarco: Completa la primera misión.

• Peces alimentados: Completa la misión “Uncle Vlad”.

• Punto más bajo: Completa la misión “Roman’s Sorrow”.

• Le va a costar una pasta: Completa un trayecto de taxi sin saltar de una isla a otra.

• Turista: Vuela en todos los tours de helicóptero de Liberty City.

• Café caliente: Cuando salgas con una chica, consigue que te invite a su casa.

• ¡Basta de extraños!: Encuentra todos los personajes secundarios.

• Ganando experiencia: [Online] Gana una promoción de rango personal en multijugador.

• TLAD: Uno por ciento: [Extra] Ayuda a Billy a recuperar su moto (The Lost and Damned).

10G:

• Paseando al Sr. Bellic: Desbloquea la habilidad especial del taxi.

• Ciento ochenta: En el juego de dardos, puntúa 180 lanzando sólo 3 dardos.

• As del billar: Gana a un amigo al billar. • Ñam ñam: Anota 3 strikes seguidos a los bolos..

• Servicio de mensajería: Completa los 10 encargos de reparto de paquetes.

• Order Fulfilled: Completa los 10 encargos de “Exotic Exports”.

• Terapia al por menor: Desbloquea la habilidad especial de comprarle armas a un amigo.

• ¡Así es como furulamos!: Desbloquea la habilidad especial del helicóptero.

• Pulsa la B de bomba: Desbloquea la habilidad especial de telefonear para detonar bombas.

• Trinidad imposible: Completa la misión de “Museum Piece”.

• Cogida con elegancia: Completa la misión “I’ll Take Her”.

• Esa persona especial: Completa la misión “That Special Someone”.

• Jugador de equipo: [Online] Mata a 5 miembros del otro equipo en cualquier partida igualada por equipos multijugador.

• Únete al Midnight Club: [Online] Gana una carrera igualada multijugador sin dañar demasiado el vehículo y con el daño activado.

• Todo por el equipo: [Online] Gana en todas las partidas igualadas multijugador por equipos.

• En la cima del mundo: [Online] Mata a 20 jugadores con una pistola en una partida a muerte igualada.

• No revuelvas a los Rocktars: [Online] Mata a un desarrollador de Rockstar en una partida igualada de multijugador o a alguien que lo haya hecho.

15G:

• Rey del QUB3D: Supera el récord en “QUB3D”.

• Acaba con él: Completa 10 desafíos de combate cuerpo a cuerpo en menos de 4 minutos.

• Manhunt: Completa las misiones secundarias “Más buscados” del ordenador de la policía.

• Piloto cooperativo: [Online] Bate el tiempo Rockstars en “Rompetratos”, “Cerco de Seguridad Nac.” y “Bombardear la Base II” igualados. 20G:

• Reacción en cadena: Haz explotar 10 vehículos en 10 segundos.

• Calles peligrosas despejadas: Captura a 20 criminales a través del ordenador de la policía.

• Codicia de asesino: Completa las 9 misiones de asesino.

• Liberty City (5): Tras conocer a todos los posibles amigos, a los supervivientes les gustas por encima del 90%.

• Has recibido el mensaje: Entrega los 30 coches encargados a través de los mensajes de texto.

• Exploración completa: Desbloquea todas las islas.

• La cima del Midnight Club: [Online] Llega el primero en 20 carreras estándar igualadas multijugador distintas.

• Se busca: [Online] Obtén la clasificación más alta en multijugador.

25G:

• Genéticamente superior: Alcanza el primer puesto en 20 carreras callejeras para un jugador.

• TLAD: El chico perdido: [Extra] Conviértete en el jefe de los Lost (The Lost and Damned).

30G:

• Vueltas de campana: Haz 5 vueltas de campana con el coche después de un choque.

• Piloto a caballito: Haz un caballito que recorra al menos 152 metros con una moto.

• Temerario: Completa el 100% de los saltos acrobáticos únicos.

• Liberty City al minuto: Completa todas las misiones del modo Historia en menos de 30 horas.

• Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic: [Online] Gana toda variación igualada de multijugador, carreras y “Policías y ladrones” con ambos bandos.

40G:

• Ejército de un hombre: Sobrevive 5 minutos en un nivel de búsqueda de 6 estrellas.

• Bajo el radar: Vuela por debajo de los puentes principales que aparecen en el juego en helicóptero.

50G:

• Camina en libertad: Pierde un nivel de búsqueda de 4 estrellas esquivando a la policía.

• Especie en peligro de extinción: Consigue todos los paquetes ocultos.

• TLAD: Repartiendo leña: [Extra] En las carreras de motos, golpea a 69 moteros con un bate (The Lost and Damned).

55G:

• Medio millón: Consigue un saldo de 500,000 dólares.

60G:

• ¡Has ganado!: Completa la misión final.

70G:

• TLAD: Charla a tope: [Extra] Aumenta la veteranía de Terry y Clay a 100% (The Lost and Damned).

100G:

• Llave de la ciudad: Logra un 100 % en la estadística de “Progreso del juego”.

• TLAD: Easy Rider: [Extra] Acaba la historia (The Lost and Damned).

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony Durante el juego introduce cualquiera de estos códigos en tu teléfono móvil para activar los trucos.

Códigos Nuevos:

• 938-555-0150: bote (lancha)

• 625-555-0200: Akuma (Moto)

• 625-555-3273: Vader (Moto)

• 272-555-8265: APC (Tanque)

• 359-555-2899: Buzzard (Helicóptero)

• 227-555-9666: Bullet GT (coche)

• 359-555-7272: Paracaídas

• 276-555-2666: Golpes explosivos

• 486-555-2526: Rifle Francotirador explosivo

Códigos Standard:

• 482-555-0100: Salud y Munición

• 362-555-0100: Salud y Armadura

• 486-555-0100: Pack de armas 1 (incluye nuevas armas)

• 486-555-0150: Pack de armas 2

• 267-555-0100: Eliminar el nivel de búsqueda.

• 267-555-0150: Aumentar el nivel de búsqueda.

• 468-555-0100: Cambiar el clima

• 359-555-0100: Annihilator (Helicóptero)

• 938-555-0100: Jetmax (Lancha)

• 625-555-0100: NRG-900 (Moto)

• 625-555-0150: Sanchez (Moto)

• 227-555-0100: FIB Buffalo (Coche)

• 227-555-0175: Comet (Coche)

• 227-555-0147: Turismo (Coche)

• 227-555-0142: Cognoscenti (Coche)

• 227-555-0168: Super GT (Coche)

© Post original creado por Juegos.tv

UK charts: το FM 2010 σκοράρει – Gameover.gr

Η γνωστή υπηρεσία Chart-Track ανακοίνωσε τη λίστα με τους 10 δημοφιλέστερους τίτλους για την αγορά του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου της προηγούμενης εβδομάδας και, αναμφίβολα, για ακόμα μία φορά οι Άγγλοι αποδεικνύουν έμπρακτα την αγάπη τους για το ποδόσφαιρο. Έτσι, το Football Manager 2010 κάνει ντεμπούτο στην πρώτη θέση, ενώ στη δεκάδα παραμένουν τόσο το FIFA 10 όσο και το Pro Evolution Soccer 2010, με τον τίτλο της Konami να υποχωρεί κατά 4 θέσεις. Το Forza 3, από την άλλη, συνεχίζει την πολύ καλή εμπορική του πορεία, ενώ και το Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes from Liberty City κινήθηκε πολύ καλά[next]

 

To celebrate the release of The Ballad of Gay Tony, Rockstar’s second DLC for GTAIV, here we have a video blog following the episode’s smooth talking, nightclub running, pushing-man-off-a-building-er protagonsit Luis Lopez. Is this the kind of guy you want to be? If so then The Ballad of Gay Tony is out now for Xbox 360.