Ben-DutkaA couple really good games came out this week; if you're all caught up, I'd recommend snagging either F.E.A.R. 3 or Shadows of the Damned …or both.
"Finishing touches" on Grand Theft Auto V…?
Maybe I'm the only one who noticed it, and the statement certainly only involves particular aspects of the game and not the entire production, but what's this about "finishing touches" in GTAV? Even if they are only polishing up some mini-games, you don't get anywhere near that stage of development unless the project is a good ways along. The strange part is that one would assume Rockstar would assault the media with everything GTAV. I mean, the instant anything of even the remotest importance becomes available, I would bet we'd know all about it. But it wasn't revealed at E3 and everything remains in the dark, and yet, the latest update sort of indicates that development is moving right along. Might it even come out early next year?
GTAIV released back in 2008 so even if GTAV comes out in the first quarter of 2012, that's almost four years. That's about the right amount of time for a GTA; there was a four-year gap between San Andreas and GTAIV, and that gap had to cross a generation! I just want to know more about the fifth one…like, now.
Call of Duty "action/adventure" isn't dead…maybe it should be
So it seems that non-FPS CoD is still in development at Sledgehammer Games, and Activision will probably pursue it after Modern Warfare 3 is out the door. But why ? I just can't imagine who's going to buy it. I assume they're counting on the CoD fanatics to pick it up simply because "Call of Duty" is on the box, but all of them want a shooter. They want an FPS. Third-person? No. It just isn't going to happen. Maybe Activision thinks the game will appeal to an entirely different crowd; i.e., those who don't play the current CoD titles now. I suppose that's possible but it would have to be something pretty damn special, wouldn't it?
And by the way, why is Eric Hirshberg all upset ? Is it really such a terrible thing to admit that two franchises put you at the top of the world? I mean, so what? Just embrace it. You don't have to try to crow about your diversity and variety; even if it does exist, that didn't make you the #1 video game publisher on earth. And you know it.
Personal gaming update
I wasn't able to play more of inFamous 2 this week because of F.E.A.R. 3 and Shadows of the Damned . Both of them really damn good and well worth playing. They're also very different in terms of style and tone; not to mention the fact that one is a FPS and the other is a TPS. I really think most gamers should try one or the other. I might want to finish Shadows before getting back to inFamous 2 ; we'll see. There certainly isn't anything on the immediate horizon I want.
Catherine comes out on July 26 and I'll be getting that from Atlus; we may also be getting some questions answered from the localization team. Beyond that, it looks like a pretty quiet summer, as usual. But we'll keep spicing it up with more episodes of our PSXE Show. The second episode should be in the Home Community Theater on Thursday and we'll have our little get-together again- 8 p.m. EST. And who knows? Might just be in your best interest to show up…
Oh, and in the third episode, I debate taking a samurai sword to a copy of Black Ops . Watch for that. 🙂
