18.7.08

Finishing: GTA IV



I haven't been rushing through GTA IV, preferring to enjoy the whole experience and spend just as much time completing missions as driving around the big beautiful city, trying out side missions, attempting big insane stunt jumps, watching a little cabaret or standup comedy (Ricky Gervais and Katt Williams) and developing friendships.

The need to get on with other things in my life though (and an interest in the twists and turns of the developing game story) finally led me to the last story mission last night. (Ok, several nights ago but it's a tricky bastard - particularly when you have no money left to buy weapons and ammo).

After a hectic car chase, epic abandonned casino battle, motor bike chase, spectacular jump to helicopter and helicopter/boat chase, I ended up beneath the Statue of Happiness for a final showdown. Got to love the escalated difficulty of those final GTA missions - though I'm not sure whether it's just me and my extensive GTA training but most of the leadup missions seemed easier than I would have hoped.

The story itself unfolds in its own time, the 30 - 50 hours of gameplay required allow a much more realistic approach to story telling than a 2 hour movie, where everything needs to be dealt with there and then. We touched on issues of love and loss, revenge, moving on and working out exactly where your principles sit. I had to make some interesting moral life and death decisions about people I had come to know, which I think shaped the rest of the events to a degree - these decisions have given the game some good replayability as I'm curious to see what else might have happened.

The overall feeling at the end was much more downbeat than triumphant - I'm not sure if there was any kind of character arc as such, Niko Bellic seemed the same guy at the end as at the beginning. Of course, this is a more complex thing to assess given that Niko is effectively me in many ways.Perhaps the question is - have I changed at all? Probably not hugely but I think the game has actually made me want to be more social, so perhaps it has. I have no more desire to run around shooting people or driving like a maniac than I did before although there are times when I see pigeons that I have a strange compulsion to see them explode in a big puff of feathers.

I still haven't played the multiplayer games yet - something in me wants to wrap up the single player elements first. Still need to finish the assorted races, car stealing missions, pigeon shooting and I'm not sure what else. I think this is partially about a concern that the other gamers out there have something of a head start on me in the multiplayer arena, with knowledge of the maps and strategies and whatnot.

Already my thoughts have been idly wandering to where and when the next GTA might be set. Poor developers, probably could do with a break I'm sure.

17.7.08

Watching: Life according to Google

This short film by the Benetton named Nuru Rimington Mkali takes a simple idea and executes it very nicely, with some very effective editing. It is a look at the images that come up when you Google "life"

16.7.08

LOLing: TV dinner

The latest Simon Tofied cat cartoon is up online now and it's a beauty

15.7.08

14.7.08

Wondering: about the person who writes the Fantales wrappers



Click on image for larger version

For those who came in late - Fantales are a reasonably popular chocolate covered caramel in Australia which have wrappers providing various movie trivia.

I picked up a bag a few weeks back and noticed a couple of things - they don't seem to have been updated since around 2002 and the writer of the trivia appears to have an interesting take on language. Even if it is about Adam Sandler, tossing words like "loony" and "retard" seems a little wrong.

If you find the picture a little hard to read, this is the part I found a little surprising:

He played a clown in Shakes the Clown (91), a dimwit in Billy Madison (95), a loony in Happy Gilmore (96), a dork in The Wedding Singer (97) and a retard in The Waterboy (98)... all big hits.


I can appreciate that you only have a small amount of space to cover the many accomplishments of the various shiny stars and so brevity is important but even back in 2002, what were they thinking?

Couchmedia - covering the big stories.

(I thought about contacting the manufacturers for a comment but was worried that they might just call me a poo-head and hang up).

13.7.08

Preparing: my radio show

It's been a little while since I've put together a new show for my Monday afternoon slot on 2XX - I've been dipping into repeats (actually, lets call that best-ofs) for a while now but this is a sampling of some of the tunes and artists that have impressed me over the last few months.

Something's Changed Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings 100 Days, 100 Nights 2:57
Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! 4:12
Night Of The Lotus Eaters Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! 4:53
O Freedom Billy Bragg Mr. Love & Justice 4:05
More Than On Point (House of Pain vs. Boston) DJ Topcat Best of Bootie 2007 4:09
Sing Sing Ultra Orange & Emmanuelle So Frenchy So Chic: 2008 3:26
Dans le tempo Constance Amiot So Frenchy So Chic: 2008 2:47
east of the river nile (remix) DJ Spooky Creation Rebel 5:06
The Pulse Holy Fuck LP 5:57
Backward Mum Smokes Melbourne Water 2 3:17
Foux Du Fafa Flight Of The Conchords Flight Of The Conchords 2:46
Robots Flight Of The Conchords Flight Of The Conchords 3:43
Carey Joni Mitchell Hits 3:03
From St Kilda To Kings Cross Paul Kelly A to Z - F 3:29
Consoler Of The Lonely The Raconteurs Consolers Of The Lonely 3:26
Words And Dreams Fred Smith Bagarap Empires 2:57
The Walrus The Fuelers Hot Dang 3:54
So Entertaining Gus & Frank Confession of a Roooftop Killer 3:46
So Nice So Smart Kimya Dawson Juno 2:48
Modern Guilt Beck Modern Guilt 3:15
15 Stepz (ft. Codany Holiday) AmpLive Rainydayz Remixes 3:04
Got No Money theredsunband Peapod 2:44