Benjamin “Yahtzee” Croshaw thinks Metal Gear Solid 4 is a “stiff and inefficient” third person shooter,” mainly because of the controls. The game’s storyline was lambasted as well, but that was to be expected. Surprisingly, Yahtzee seems to hate MGS4 even more than Haze, which was universally reviled.

Let’s face it: the previous Grand Theft Auto games were absolutely pathetic in the shooting department. Press a button to automatically aim, and then press another to shoot. Was it fun? Nope. The only reason past GTAs sell well is the sandbox-style gameplay that lets you do anything (i.e. run over pedestrians, shoot people, steal cars, etc.) you want, anytime.
When Rockstar introduced the concept of shooting individual body parts in GTA IV, it completely changed gameplay. Not only does it add new mechanics for players to toy with—the gunfights are also shortened to a great degree. If you can make …read more

Clearly, Niko Bellic is not the star of Grand Theft Auto IV. He may be the lead character in Rockstar’s latest murder simulator epic crime drama, but the pièce de résistance is sprawling Liberty City, which is modeled after The Big Apple, New York City.
According to Wikipedia, Rockstar sent full-time researchers to NYC twice during the game’s development. They studied traffic patterns and makeup of every neighborhood, among other details. However, Liberty City is not an exact recreation of NYC. Rather, it feels more like a caricature. Liberty City attempts to depict the real-life city’s sights and sounds, and twists …read more

I do know Grand Theft Auto IV is fantastic, despite the fact that I’ve never played it, and that the only time I’ve seen it in action is when I watch gameplay videos. I never expected it to be THAT fantastic. Even GameSpot, who’s been awfully stingy with its reviews post-Gerstmanngate, has given the game a 10.

Can you name another game that lets you play a heart-devouring comic book antihero? I bet you can’t because there’s nothing quite like The Darkness, an FPS developed by Starbreeze Studios.
Sure, games that let you shoot people in the face may be a bit too common these days, but the concept of generating power from the dark and walking around with a couple of nasty tentacles is pretty new. I haven’t even mentioned what kind of guy the protagonist is.
I’ve heard of space marines, Special Forces members, intergalactic fugitives, special-armor-wearing characters, SWAT teams, World War II soldiers and the like, …read more

\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\nI\\\\\\\’ve have ranted about Gears of War\\\\\\\’s PC port for quite a bit, but that\\\\\\\’s only because I had high expectations. The Xbox 360 version was the next best thing since sliced bread. However, I wanted to experience the same thing without the risk of a certain console’s insufficient cooling.\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\nGears of War’s technical problems may have pushed me to the brink of an aneurysm, but that didn\\\\\\\’t stop me from enjoying the game. When a crucial update finally took away my agony, I knew my time to enjoy the game was due.\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\nAnd you know what? I was right. I\\\\\\\’ve been …read more

Erin over at Play-Girlz asked me “what makes Riddick so atypical”? Like I’ve said, it’s not quite an FPS and it’s not your usual movie-to-game garbage. Cough *Spider-Man* cough.
You see, calling Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay an FPS wouldn’t be fair. As we know, first-person shooters are quite an unsophisticated bunch. You point your cursor at bad guys and press the mouse button to shoot.
Riddick, however, is much more than that.

Nobody wants to be stuck in the slammer, but when your name is Richard B. Riddick, it’s not really a problem. You won’t be packing with big guns here, not during the early parts at least. Everyone’s favorite intergalactic fugitive has to make do with fists, shivs, and screwdrivers to get the job done.As the genre’s name suggests, “first-person shooters” let players shoot in the first-person view, and you can only do this with a gun. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay is not your average FPS however. It’s not your “average” movie-to-game adaptation either.

From what I’ve played so far, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is more satisfying than the PC version of Gears of War. They may seem like apples and oranges to you, but these two games are more similar than you think.
Of course, there are the obvious differences: Aside from not crashing every so often, Uncharted provides some light puzzle solving, copious platforming, and an Indiana Jones-like treasure hunt.