GTA: IV and Silent Hill 5 Previews!

NOTE: ALL IMAGES FOUND VIA GOOGLE IMAGE

I love Summer, so I am happy to start posting, and reading books again. I usuall hibernate on my winters, and continue to go forth with just rest, work, and the occasional article online. So I have two previews for you, one is Grand Theft Auto IV and Silent Hill 5, because I personally like both of these games.
from www.grandtheftautoiv.com/screenshots/9.jpg. Shows a ship in what appears to be Liberty City's Portland Habor.
Well, the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV was shown about four months ago, and it was hyped up to what we had expected. Although it looks to take place in Liberty City, which is fine with me, since Liberty City was perhaps my favorite one in the game series. Although, I do wonder if GTA V will be a revamp of VIce City; my least favorite place of series. Now, this games looks amazing , just like the GTA III looked for PS2 (Looking at PS3 Version of game) What astounds me is the graphics, they are decent for what seems to be a giant game. I wonder if Shoreside Vale, along with Staunton Island will tie into Portland as well. Images point to yes, but I am confused as to how well this game will be done gameplay wise? Will the game use the triggers on the PS3 controller to the advantage? I hope so, since they seem to be a rip-off of the XBOX 360 controller's and the Wii's wireless, trigger controller as well. As I scroll throught he screenshots on gamespot.com, I find that event he water relfelection is astounding! I wonder if seagulls will even be able to shit on you at random times. The surreality of this game seems to be able to touch on that do-what-you-want style of gaming.

Random people around what seems to be Libery City's Business District: Staunton Island.

Now on GTA IV the most important aspect is, do the cars look nice? I must admit, the cars look as amazing as Grand Turismo 3 did when it astounded me the first time I played. The cars have relflection, life, and abosutley better thant the box-like cars found in the PS2 version of the game. If I got this, it would eat away hours of my day, just driving around! The cars are so detailed, they even have windshield wipers! I wonder if the cars that have windshield wipers in the game can be used during a rainfall? Do convertibles have tops that you can put up as well? Perhaps the R2 and L2 triggers will do something of that sort, but I am just making theories. We will have to wait until October '07 rolls around. So far, the licencense plates from the pictures seem to have no codes, but these pictures are probably old than water when they were released to Gamespot.com, not that I care, but I know Rockstar to be much more realistic than what is being portrayed. Of course, it might also be self-censorship, due to the backlash they would get from the ESRB. The landscape looks absolutely amazing, and I would say that gamers will actually do more with just searching around the city, before they even do any of the missions. The gorgeous scenery is astounding, as if they took even extra pride in the tiniest of details. If people argue that $60 is too expensive, they need to be slapped, this game looks like it should cost at most $100, but I am going to say that this game will probably go Platnium on Xbox 360, and a Greatest Hits on PS3.
One reason that Rockstar may have some issues getting this game on the market. The building here looks quite similar to the Empire State Building, a Landmark in New York City. Although this is obviously not the same buliding, it may cause some issues.
No doubt in my mind that this game is not going to be on every kids Christmas List. Parents will also go forth and buy this game for their kids, as it is something that the ESRB, and Video Game Companies don't get: most parents raise sensible kids that can be like 12 and play this stuff without taking it to heart. Especially the surreality of these games, like smashing a car into a wall, while not dying, it's always made games cartoonish. a spectacular image a downtown area of Liberty City. Perhaps Portland? Perhaps even Shoreshide Vale? Either way, it's very beautiful scenery.
I cannot say much more on this game, but thatthe wait is taking longer than needed, and I even recall running home from a long day to see the first trailer. That was in March, and I have been waiting a while for new information, some real gameplay footage, and some more depth to the story. One final thought before I move on to Konami's fifth installment in the Survival Horror Genre Silent Hill V, Grand Theft Auto IV has already been sparking controversy. Rockstar comes under too much scandal due to the infamous "Hot Coffee" Mod in GTA: San Andreas. This has effected them mostly in the attempt to publish games that normally would get the needed Mature rating (17+) but, due to the AO (Adults Only, 18+) made to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, has hurt the ability for Take Two and Rockstar Games to put out titles like they use to do: with ease. Now it seems everyone under the sun wants to see Manhunt 2 get canned due to graphic content and "the game being nothing more than killing to advance in the game" (paraphrased)

reason two as to why Rockstar my have issues. Does this look familar? Looks very much like the Statue of Libery, found near Elis Island in New York City's habor. I guess a name like Liberty City needs a good image to symbolize the name. What better than the giant green lady herself?

Basically it's a game where you kill to survive, and are rewareded for a more gruesome execution-style. Although the majority of the games on the market that are either FPS (FIRST PERSON SHOOTER) or even Survival Horror, your main objective IS to KILL your ENEMY! Besides, in the first Manhunt, you were required to do task in order to advance to new areas. So when games like this come under controversy, and release dates are held off way beyond the point of reason, it scares me to think what they will do to Grand Theft Auto: IV. Especially since Rockstar decied to make Staunton Island (Theory of the name of the area) look like Manhattan. Although some building do look like they have a similar structure, they are not in fact the landmarks that exist in the city today. One fear was that planes would be excluded from the game, due to the idea some "sick fuck" would fly a plane into the buildings that "resemble" the "Landmarks" found in the city. Yet the many flight sims do not come under wraps, since they are not made by Rockstar. The joke is, even in the family friendly games like the flight simulators, planes can crash into bulidings. In fact, the flight simulators often have cities that very much resemble real cities more than the fictional world of Rockstar's giant franchise.
Another gorgeous scene of Liberty City from the shore. Look how the water reflects! This game is in iteself an art that very few have ever seen done on a home console!

To conclude, be sure to buy a copy of this game as soon as you can, since it might be your only chance to own a copy before somone pulls it from the shelves. Nevertheless, if you're a fan, or even a first-time player who just happens to own a PS3 or XBox 360, I recommend investing in this franchise, it's definetly going to set the standard for the future games to come. In fact, I think it already has! Name one game that is not using the free-roaming technique? Hard these days, but GTA had made that a standard, where others just hinted at the idea.
Silent Hill Logo found at sillenthill5.net. All images from same site.

Konami, the name conjurs up some history, and due to that reason we have games that still make us want more. Games like Metal Gear Solid series, and the game I am about to talk about: SIlent Hill V. Silent Hill, the name just envokes the raw emotion an videogame can have, and a storyline that only works well in the gaming world. The story of Silent Hill sets it apart from other games like Parasite Eve, Clockwork Tower, Siren, Fatal Frame, and of course, Resident Evil. Silent Hill's history is one that can be traced well into an inter-woven storyline. The game itself does not have difficult battles, but the eeries ambience, and the twitchy, distorted, even hideous monsters, appirations, and even ghosts make you play this game with a nightlight. The graphics from Silent Hill are not only on par with the storyline, but may even excel just a bit above! The first game on the PS1 looked like a PS2 game, and the first game on the PS2 looked amazing, as if it was like a PS 2.5, definetly pushing the mark.
The new main character going down a hallway.
Although they play out like soap operas from hell, it is an honorable trait that gives this series the fanbase. Some of the fans may not even realize how big Silent Hill is compared to others franchises in the genre. Perhaps it is due to the fact that the storyline makes the games more like Dramas with a touch of Horror. The games reach out to a broader audience due to their content, and even seem to be like a play being shown in front of the television screen. Excluding Silent Hill 3, most of the games seem to have a long play time. Silent Hill 3 was just too short in my honest opinion, and just did not have that subtle edge to it that most of the other titles had; although it did pay homage to Zelda, and to Japanese Anime. Silent Hill 4 is possibly the second best, as everyone knows it is difficult to compete with 2, being a landmark game for the PS2 and Xbox consoles. It was deemed so highly, an alternate version was released called Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams, which was only out for Xbox, but slowly and surely came to the PS2 console as well.


new character, old weapon. Looks like the metal pipe you normally get at the begining of the majority of Silent Hill games.


Now, Silent Hill V, looks amazing. I do not even want to discuss the graphics, because I would downplay exactly how well it is turning out so far in its early development. Not much about the storlyine has been said, only hints and hopes so far. Might I add, that only two pictures exist on Gamespot.com so far, adn the trailer is nothing mroe than a teaser of what sounds to be the lead character of the game. I do not even know the characters name yet, but what is even more intersting is that you are drawn into the trailer so much, you seem to not feel as pissed off that it had absolutely no gameplay, not even a shot of what SH lloks like on NEXT GEN! I mean, I saw nothing but the save symbol that is drawn wherever you can find a place in the game to save, and the words "SILENT HILL V" in red. I was still saying "Wow" after the dialouge. Which proves that Konami know how to make this franchise last.
The plot revealed so far through the dialouge is that a soldier, home from war, yet sounding a tad like someone out of touch with reality, has to find his missing son. So, what better place to look for a missing son than in Silent Hill? This is quite a different tale as was announced around a year or two ago, when the game was going to be based in the insane asylum near SIlent Hill, where the lead character went throught the remenants of the past, explaining what heppended to him to shrinks. I guess that storyline was not holding water, and would not be able to withstand more thatn 8+ hours of gameplay. Nevertheless, more has to be revealed soon, as this was all announced just prior to the E3 2007 showcase. Konami did pay some attention to their trailor, by let words speak louder than actions, and perhaps focused more on the real money maker, Metal Gear Solid: 4.

Just take a little off the top, not really a comfortable looking barber chair there. Bet the Barber Shop Quartet share the same body!

Silent Hill V does look to be a worthy Sequel to IV, but I do hope they make a better final Boss than what was given to us last tine, it was annoying and easy. One way to get pumped up is to go out and get all four first games if you do not own them, and play them all in order. After which, you can watch the decent attempt at the film adaptation, and also count down the days until the second film. All the games should be Greatest Hits by now, or at least at the price in their original packaging.
Hope you've enjoyed this preview, and stay connected to this site for an update coming soon: a "The Stolen Child" Review! Also look forward to a review of Kaled Hosseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns". Thank you again for your support for Malacast Editorial, and as always, please check for recent updates to the sister site for new amateur writing: shortstoryweekly.blogspot.com!