Everything you wanted to know about gaming, and less.

by Jamison DeLorenzo

What is going to be one of the biggest games for this year, assuming the launch date is accurate, is going to be Grand Theft Auto IV. No, I do not expect this game to blow me out of the water like Vice City did, but I expect big things. I am sure a lot of other people are too. Considering GTA III has remained in the limelight long after each of its incarnations have been released the impending release of this game is going to be larger than the gaming community (bank on the media playing a controversy angle). In fact, the odds are close to 100% that the lines for the game will be a lot longer just because people outside the gaming community continue to talk about it.

History keeps repeating itself this way. The best advertising is always free, so when people keep mentioning the game Rockstar can just sit back and count the cash coming in. Sure, they have to watch it go out to as their CEO and PR department have not exactly been the best thing for Rockstar. More accurately their PR department plays like a good blooper reel. In my head I see a department run by Krusty the Clown- because not only would it still be funny but it would be expected. Perhaps that is not a practical solution. Regardless, as long as they keep their games right it makes no difference.

Talking about a game this long before its release is dangerous, and so I write this with what is probably too much enthusiasm. I find it impossible to care if I am setting myself up for a big fall on this or not- in my lifetime Vice City is probably my defining game, so it is only natural that the next big leap in the franchise (San Andreas was a minor leap- but still a great one) is something I pay very close attention to. Will this be a good leap or a Pitfall leap?

Yeah, video game humor- you really have to love it.

Details on this game are obviously very sketchy right now. The only interesting rumor that is floating around is the backdrop for the game. Rockstar has been looking to do a GTA game that is outside the U.S. for a good amount of time and this definitely presents an opportunity. The setting has had a dramatic effect on how the game feels and plays with both Vice City and San Andreas. Any good game has this immersive quality about it. As such, the GTA IV setting may not be that pivotal for you it is quite so for me. If I feel like I am moving around in an actual city versus some artificial world it makes a big difference. If you don’t believe immersion is important consider this- could you really live in a world without the Degenatron?

(WARNING: previous joke aimed at GTA fans: if confused consult Wikipedia or, better still, play Vice City)

Looking back at all of the best parts of the GTA III series there are some noteworthy changes in the franchise. Before The Sims 2 came out I made a list of some changes I wanted in the game that would make the game a lot better without making it too complicated. Having a solid background in simulations (both for computer science experimentation and gaming) I came up with mostly everything that the game designers did- and this scared me. No, I am not an expert and I have no insider information. Still, it is always fun to guess. While I do not consider this guesswork I put together a small list of ideas that I want to see in the series. This was tough to put together mostly because the standard upgrades that games get I wanted to avoid just because they are not innovative anymore (the most obvious being more guns and vehicles).

1) We need better ways avoiding wanted level capture. I have never been a big fan of driving over the bribe icons, but if you are going to have rampages, health, armor, guns, and hidden packages then those are not a bad idea. It would paint a very interesting picture if bribing was different based on your wanted level. For instance, the bribe icons only work with local and state police. Once the FBI and army come in then you should have to do some very impressive tricks to get out of your predicament. Having a secret meeting with corrupt agents and paying a lot of money comes to mind. Oooh, maybe besides money you could even have access to special missions for assassinations when your meter is high enough. That’s just off the top of my head. This is definitely worth exploring.

2) Owning houses and businesses was just about where I would like it in Vice City. The balance was nice. Watching the criminals trying to steal over $20 million from my vault during the final mission was also quite hysterical. Okay, let me explain this one. Given that much money you would have about 6 hours at least to complete a mission that takes 5 minutes if you are tooling around. Overall there was enough variation in big purchases where the overall mass of what you could own was far from obscene (ignoring the adult film studio, mind you). I want to know why there’s no system in place yet for being a real pimp. If you can own a printing press and cab company then what’s stopping this? Building a city-wide ring that really rakes in the cash is far too appealing. You could even to do that in a multiplayer environment. Hmm, this leads me to…

3) Cooperative play. Yeah, everyone’s clamoring for it which makes this cherry-picking. I want more than just multiplayer- I want it to blow people away (at this point you have to know that pun was intended). There was a very small amount of it in San Andreas and it felt like a last-minute add. The multiplayer deathmatch and cannonball experience has been missing from the console games completely. This needs to be remedied now. Online play is far beyond established and we know that the 360 and PS3 can handle it. It is time to tap into some untapped potential.

For cooperative play I don’t want some lame situation where only certain missions are possible to have multiplayer. I want you to be able to “hire help” whenever possible. If San Andreas could handle a car doing a 4x drive-by then IV candle hiring a gang buddy for a fee. Hey, the more money you pay the more loaded the friend can be.

For competitive play there can be some great things. Deathmatch is a must, but there also need to be variations. I want a competition on who can do the most damage, who can blow up more civilian or law enforcement vehicles, who can run the most people over, who can do the most drive-bys, and so on. In the cannonball races I want a preset wanted rating, an option where my car blows up if I’m driving too slowly, or even a race between pizza delivery scooters (the equivalent of a slap only deathmatch).

4) I must admit I was against flying when it was brought in even though it led to interacting with James Woods. I was vehemently against swimming not causing death, but you cannot be resistant to change all of the time. It is now time to add something to those who love running around to avoid cops- climbing. The days of only stairs and jumping must pass. Even games like Tony Hawk have a mildly passable system now. If you can jump between planes, skydive, and scuba then we are far beyond ready for the ability to climb buildings. More ways to explore, more places to hide stuff, more ways to annoy cops- these are all good things.

Yes, the upgrade in graphics is going to be quite intense (if you care about such things) and may largely determine whether this game is accepted by the previous fan club. I don’t want the changes in the game to be disingenuous. I want solid innovations in this franchise to continue for a long time. We have a good litmus test coming for whether Rockstar is as good at innovation as I think they are. They proved it with III, Vice, Andreas, and Bully. I believe they can do it again.

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