Grand Theft Awesome

Perhaps you were able to predict the content of this post from the title. If not, dear readers, I would like to discuss Grand Theft Auto IV. I was able to attend the midnight release of this long awaited and much anticipated title with approximately 200 other people. Indeed, it was glorious in spite of the uncomfortable cold and the repeated ID checks. I got in line at about 10:30 and waited alongside two delightful gents who were more than happy to discuss the latest happenings in the video game industry and other nerdy discussion topics. I was roughly the 10th person in line, so I was able to obtain a copy and make it home by approximately 12:15. I rifled through the packaging like young chap on Christmas morning and put the disc into my Xbox.

The opening cinematic sequence was nothing short of amazing, resembling several well known films. I was only moderately irresponsible, staying awake until about 3:30 before succumbing to crushing fatigue. In that brief time, I have formed several important impressions of the game. The story and cinematic sequences are easily on par with even the finest Hollywood films. The themes of capitalism, the perennial struggle between good and evil, what it means to be human, friendship, and love are all portrayed through compelling and well-written characters. The mission structure is excellent, and when one of your friends calls you just to hang out, the conversation is just interesting enough for you to oblige. I am quite enraptured with the story and am really enjoying myself.

Although at least half of the reviews I've read hand out a 10 to this game, I do not think I'm able to do so. I've indeed played games that were more enjoyable and better made than this, especially from a technical standpoint. The dialog has cut out on me a few times, trees/lamps popping in have caused me to lose races, the multiplayer has some very egregious technical issues as far as lag or being able to even enter a match, and a very small minority of the missions are really not very good. Overall, I would have to give this game a 9.5/10 because the glaring technical shortcomings are far outweighed by the sheer quality of the experience as a whole. Cheers to RockStar for making an outstanding title that will be played for many years to come.

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The Prodigal Blogger

Greetings and salutations dear readers. My life has been one crazy ride in the last 3 weeks as the end of the semester draws near. Since we last spoke much has happened.

Arsenal's season sadly came to an end as they were eliminated from the Champions League in humiliating fashion in a 4-0 loss to Liverpool. In the same week, they melted down in the Premeirship and came up short for yet another year, losing to Manchester United to seal the deal just a few days ago. Although this season ended in bitter disappointment, Eduardo will be back next year and I will never stop believing that the Gunners are the finest football club on earth.

I've been rather remiss in checking out movies to comment on, and since The Band's Visit, there have been precious few films to catch my fancy. I am quite interested in Blindsight, and may visit the cinema this weekend for a viewing.

Madison has suddenly come alive with the nice weather, and I've done my best to get outside and catch some sun. My profile photo more or less does my skin justice... I usually blend in with white walls with my translucent, Conan O'Brien-style skin.

Summer lets the world know that I in fact have two skin colors, pasty and lobster. Amazing, I know.














I haven't been totally useless though when it comes to popular media. I've been on a reading kick recently, which has sadly become a dying pastime. I'd like to give you a pair of recommendations for classic books that you may have never read. First up is Ender's Game, the classic story of a Messiah archetype penned by the legendary Orson Scott Card. Ender's Game tells the story of Ender Wiggin, a brilliant child who has been commissioned with the perfectly reasonable task of saving the world from imminent annihilation. Card weaves an intricate tale with plain and understandable language, and the story itself has influenced nearly every Sci-Fi film, TV show, or book to come after it. Indeed, video games as a whole have taken significant inspiration from the work of Card in creating protagonists for hundreds of games over the past two decades. This book is a classic, and if you missed it for any reason, I highly recommend you take 6 hours or so to give this one a read. The other book I have for you is Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Stephenson is a one-of-a-kind fiction writer, whose style you can appreciate after just a few pages. His novel Snow Crash is a landmark book that provides most of the inspiration for The Matrix as well as many other films from the futuristic thriller genre. The book is full of delightful irony, with Stephenson going so far as to name his lead character Hiro Protagonist. This book is a fair amount longer and will take about 20 hours to finish, but the wild ride for your imagination is more than worth it.

I've got a few bits of humor to leave you with in parting.

Please don't do this on my blog... hahaha. [Comic from XKCD]

Also, check out this video (SFW) for how to ruin your surprise birthday party.

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