GTA 4

This is a video of a heavily modded PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV that has a functional time traveling DeLorean added. Like, you can actually use the car to time travel in-game. Plus there’s a Marty McFly skin. I’m actually playing through GTA4 on the PS3 right now while waiting for Borderlands 2 to drop, and my God is this game repetitive. Now I remember why I bailed out halfway through the first time I tried to finish it. If they don’t spice up the game mechanics in the new one I don’t know if I’m gonna be playing. Still, there will always be a special place in my heart for running over pedestrians and driving on the sidewalk. Sometimes I even text and play for added realism!

Hit the jump for the worthwhile video (Note: says ‘shit’ at the very beginning because Doc Brown is a badass).

Thanks to Omega, christopher and Rubbin, who agree everybody deserves a crazy scientist friend like Doc Brown in their lives.

Complete with helicopter chasing, garbage trucks, and an old-school propeller plane. This batch of screenshots is called “Business.”

Still no word on a release date or platforms for Grand Theft Auto V. This is the third set of screenshots developer Rockstar Games has released this week in what has been an excruciating (yet gorgeous) drip feed.

Rockstar says they’ll be back to tease us more in a few weeks.

Grand Theft Auto V

Simpsons Hit and RunPublisher: VU Games
Developer: Radical Entertainment
Genre: Adventure
ESRB: Teens (13 +)
Platform: PlayStation 2Overall Rating:17/1003/25
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The Simpsons: Hit and Run is the best Simpsons game I’ve ever played (and yes, that’s included the ever-loved arcade side-scrolling beat-em-up from the early 90s.) While the execution of the GTA-with-the Simpsons idea isn’t flawless, it’s far better than I expected it to be, and is actually a much more fun game than the 3D GTA games.

One of the things that makes it so fun lies in the characters, who actually have depth to them, unlike the GTA games, where the characters tend to be little more than cliches and stereotypes. This depth transcends into the voice acting, which adds quite a bit of in-game personality to them, and injects some laughter into the mix as well. The in-jokes and references to episodes give a quick laugh as well, like the hidden garden on top of the Kwik-E-Mart, and the trailer park from Colonel Homer (complete with the “__ days since a tornado” sign.)

The game begins with you running a few quick errands right after seeing a loading screen with “Study shows that 90% of video games begin with easy tutorial missions” or something to that effect, self-referential humor at it’s finest. Anyways, after these missions are through, you’ll get down to business and have to do some serious work, which entails meeting people, destroying things, and grabbing goodies. After this is over, you’ll head home, watch TV, and see a Kent Brockman news break that gets the story rolling. Kent goes live to the Mayor’s office where he’s dealing with a mob complaining about the black surveillance vans and cameras that are all over the place. The Mayor is outraged that these hidden cameras and surveillance vans have yet to show any sexy footage, and swears to get to the bottom of it.

As you progress through the game, the plot will thicken and take some nice, unexpected turns. Hit and Run utilizes nearly everyone in the Simpsons universe, which is a nice touch, while using the Simpson family and Apu as the playable characters. Each character has their own pros and cons, which you will have to be aware of while traversing the town on foot. Each character also has their own wardrobe with outfits from past episodes (such as Homer’s mumu, Lisa’s “cool” clothing, and other such memorable outfits. The various vehicles driven by the characters are also taken from classic Simpsons episodes, and have their own unique traits which you will have to become used to on-the-fly, as you might not have time to drive around with them before a mission. Also, if you don’t like any of the Simpsons-character-specific vehicles, feel free to steal one from a citizen.

You progress through the game by completing each full level for a character. The levels are comprised of varying numbers of missions, some missions are easy and quick, some are long and arduous. Thankfully, most of them are fun. If you commit a hit and run on a pedestrian, the cops will come after you, unlike in the GTA games, stealing a car isn’t enough to warrant them chasing after you, given Springfield’s lazy cops, this shouldn’t come as a shock. Also, to my delight, getting caught by the cops will only yield a $50 fine, unlike the GTA games, where you will most likely be hunted down and killed on sight. This lighter, more friendly version of GTA is certainly refreshing. The game never takes itself too seriously, which is nice to see. Most of the GTA-esque elements in the game are executed quite well, with hand-to-hand combat being done a little better thanks to smoother controls. The diverse gameplay styles really work well in this game, as they have some structure to them, as opposed to the GTA games, which just sort of throw a ton of styles out there without any real focus on any of them.

Sadly, the game does have its’ fair share of faults. The most glaring one is having to buy clothing and vehicles to complete a mission, now this would be fine if coins were copious in all areas, and it was never hard to find them, but sometimes, you will be stuck without coins, say if you’ve gotten a few hit and run tickets, and you’ll have to build your coins up one-by-one by destroying things, or, if you’re lucky, you’ll find some Buzz Cola boxes or cameras to destroy, which can net you about 20 coins apiece, sadly, those tend to be few and far between when you actually need them. This adds quite a bit of monotony to the game, and really kills the usually fast pace of things. After dealing with this just one time, I decided to always stock up on coins, even if it meant blowing a chance to finish a mission, as I could always retry the mission. So always keep a nice surplus of coins handy, because you never know when you’ll need them.

The polygonal graphics are fantastic, and the characters look spot-on barring some odd coloring choices. Picture everyone in the Homer in 3D part of one of the Treehouse of Horror episodes, and you’ve got a pretty good idea as to what you can expect from this game visually. The game’s look was seemingly modeled after that segment, and I’m glad it was, as it is replicated perfectly here. The animation when running around on foot is a bit on the light side though, which is disappointing. Thankfully, the little touches in the graphics help make up for that. Being able to see all the damage a vehicle takes is a nice touch, and adds some realism to a surreal game. Also, the various Simpsons landmarks look fantastic, both inside and out. For example, the Kwik-E-Mart’s interior is laced with arcade games and a bargain bin, just like on the show, while the exterior, as I mentioned earlier, has the secret garden on it. These kinds of touches are all over the game, and really help envelop you in the Simpsons’ world.

One of the key highlights of the show is the audio, and that holds true for the game as well. The show’s main voice cast was used very well, with Homer and Bart getting in some of the game’s best lines thanks to Dan Castellaneta and Nancy Cartwright’s brilliant portrayals of their characters. Hearing the “I am Evil Homer, I am Evil Homer” bit in the show had me in stitches every time it was said. Likewise, Bart’s many one-liners were great as well, with some real gems being used. Most of the other characters in the game have some nice quips as well, but they don’t translate well to a game where most of their speech is limited to one line, so their lines tend to not be as memorable. The music in the game is great as well, with lots of jazz music for Lisa’s missions, some nice, relaxing music for Homer, and the Simpsons theme playing constantly. The only real downside to the music for me was the horrible heavy metal music used for most of Bart’s missions, even the banjo tune that plays when you face off with Cletus is better than the generic stuff used for Bart.

If you’re a die-hard Simpsons fan, you’ll got a lot of replay value from this game. There are tons of collector cards to unlock, which, unlike the packages in the GTA games, actually have a tangible reward for them in the form of a nice, fun bonus racing game. Plus, barring the monotonous stuff, which can be avoided with a little trial and error, it’s a fun game through-and-through. Having the option to save after every mission helps to make the time just fly by, and it makes the game more pick-up-and-play friendly, plus, there is also a mission skip feature is in the game, but it is only made available after your sixth restart for a mission, which gives you a nice reward for replaying a mission that you just can’t get done for whatever reason.

In the end, Hit and Run is a great GTA-esque game that does some GTA stuff better than the originals. The gameplay is fantastic, sure it has its’ faults, but they can be overcome with some practice. The controls are fantastic, and the graphics do a great job at capturing the characters. The voice over work is done well, with some characters being doing more justice than others.

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