So, I don't know whether you guys have heard that a game called Grand Theft Auto IV is out today. Know anything about this? There doesn't seem to be a lot of coverage out there on it....Riiight. I'm pretty excited about it, if for no other reason than it might end up being the biggest launch in our industry ever, possibly eclipsing TEH HALOEZ. I actually have a slim attention span for GTA IV; I don't like driving much, and I always found the shooting mechanics a little iffy. Of course it's all been buffed up this time around, but I tend to hand a controller over to a friend for the missions and spend the lion's share of my time soaking up all the little cultural parodies and creating fun cinema. I'm sure I'll do the same this time around, so I can't wait to see what the game lets me do.
Even though it's D-Day, for Decision Day, I haven't 100 percent decided which SKU I'm buying. You know how I feel about multiplayer, so I'm leaning toward the commonly-held-as-slightly-more-technically-stable PS3 version, but I will probably flip-flop the entirety of the day.
Expect plenty of articles on the cultural phenomenon, and I'll be soliciting you all for your comments on your adventures in Liberty City, your favorite bits and moments, and your funniest "guess what I did in GTA" stories.
Meantime I'm busy gazing curiously at Take-Two's stock price and writing about it. The quick update is that though Take-Two is currently trading a bit higher than EA's offer, it doesn't seem poised for a big climb (we'll see when sales numbers come out). However, the two companies could resume talking as soon as tomorrow, and EA still has until May 19th to seal the deal, provided regulators are speedy about clearing compliance issues.
If GTA is really as good as they're saying, don't be too mad at me if I go single-track mind. Who, me? I never do that.
I am quite skeptical, though, as are others, of "exclusive reviews." I emailed IGN asking them if they'd like to clarify exactly what one has to do to obtain an exclusive review, but no one has answered me. So, in the absence of any comment, explanation or information, I'll just contentedly assume that it's very, very smarmy, probably involving lots of dirty money and ominously-featured men with secret devil tails shaking hands while the flames of hell curl quietly behind them.
