GTA 4: $400 Million in Sales

It’s only been out for one day, but Grand Theft Auto 4 has managed to pull in $400 million in sales, besting Halo 3’s $300 million. Make no mistake, this game is huge. Being multi-platform, it is not a surprise that it’s managed to kick Master Chief off the podium as the current top dog in the video game industry.

Now for us, this means that it is highly unlikely that Rockstar is going to make any significant changes to the control configurations. With figures like these, they really don’t need to change much of anything.

Some of you are perfectly fine with the controls in GTA 4. If the auto-lock aiming system does the job for you and you don’t have any issues with movement, driving, or combat… well that’s great news as far as I’m concerned.

However, I know there are a number of you that aren’t happy with the controls. You need your Southpaw or Legacy. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Personally, I would imagine that I will be alright for the most part. However, I can definitely see myself having difficulties while sniping without being able to use Legacy.

So now what? Read the rest…

Grand Theft Auto 4 Disappoints With Controls

Supported controls:
-Default
-Southpaw (sniping only)

Well GTA4 is out and many of you have purchased it already. I hope you are enjoying your game. If you liked the six previous iterations of GTA, then you will more than likely enjoy this one. With it’s next-gen overhaul, GTA4 does a much better job of pulling you into the story with it’s cinematic presentations, great voice acting, and believable characters. This game seems to be worth much of the praise it has received so far.

The addition of the multiplayer modes really adds value to the purchase of GTA. I’m sure that many will stick to single player only. I tried to get some multiplayer going last night but couldn’t seem to find a match, I suppose being only hours old everyone was getting into the single player game. Personally, control issues aside, the game isn’t perfect but it is pretty damn good. Now, on to the meat of this post.

The Controls:
Keep in mind that the singleplayer and multiplayer aspects of the game share the same controls. As I said before this game plays mostly like previous GTA games which will surely delight fans of the series, there is even a control option for “classic controls” which mimics the button layouts of San Andreas and company. I was really looking forward to controls more along the PC versions of the last gen games, first person style, as running backwards and shooting came in handy quite often. It is close to first person except when running on foot you can’t strafe and at the same time I can see how a strafing character would seem less believable and take away from the immersion that the GTA world strives to deliver. Fair enough Rockstar. Read the rest…

MGO beta: Metal Gear (alt-controls) Omitted

Well, after downloading the Metal Gear Online beta, waiting for the 1.01 update download, then the 1.02 update download, and registering a “Konami ID” and “Game ID” (separate from your PSN ID), I’ve come to find that no Southpaw or Legacy options are offered.

As a Southpaw user, I can get by during general third-person movement, but the first-person and over-the-shoulder views get awkward. There are options to “invert” the X-axis (horizontal) on the right camera stick, so maybe that will help some folks (not me). Inverting X/Y for the three camera modes are the only customizable control options; there’s only one button config available. While the single-player MGS4 may have some variations in weapon/item selection, I’ll assume the move/look options will be the same as those provided for use in MGO.

It is only the beta version, so maybe more options will be provided in the final release, but I won’t hold my breath.

Quake 3 Arena Arcade

Now being a big Quake fan, and a HUGE Legacy user, I am a bit worried. If you haven’t heard, Quake 3 Arena is soon to be released on Xbox Live Arcade by Pi Studios. Pi do not have a good reputation for including Legacy controls.

I decided to send them an email asking if they could kindly include Legacy controls and not to disappoint me like countless titles I would have loved to have played in the past. They replied with: “What are Legacy controls?”

I explained but never heard back. It’s not looking good. If anyone wants to help get the message across sling them a quick email at info@pistudios.com.

GTA4: Still Taking One For The Team

Well, after much contemplation, I have decided that I will still go ahead and purchase GTA4 for a write up. I’m dissapointed in Rockstar and feel like my bubble was popped because I was really looking forward to this game, but the fight must continue. If you haven’t read my previous post I will be posting my thoughts on GTA4, specifically the single player portion, and it’s control layout. As we always do, pictures of the control menus will be included and I will give you an idea of what to expect if you plan on using a modded controller. I think I can say this now, modded controllers are not going to help alleviate control issues much and will probably cause other problems.

Expect the post around 2:00am EST (-500 GMT). More after the jump. Read the rest…

Marathon on Xbox Live

Just to let anyone know who is interested, Marathon: Durandal now supports the Legacy control mapping with its recent update. This is good news if you are wanting to play this great old school game, but couldn’t due to the absence of Legacy.

GTA4: No Southpaw or Legacy!

Enough said. Everyone go riot in the streets. I’ll buy you a modded controller when you get out of prison IF you make the news. Thanks to Brian and Mike at Kotaku.com for getting this answered before release.

Everything you wanted to know about GTAIV (so stop asking!) via Kotaku.com.

Metal Gear Solid 4: The Snake Is Creeping Ever Closer

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, the much anticipated finale to the MGS series, is almost upon us. Snake continues his unrelenting hunt for Liquid Ocelot across five geographic locales, including the Middle East, South America, and Eastern Europe.

Snake has come a long way since his Nintendo days (that’s right folks, Metal Gear was a Nintendo game prior to the PlayStation manifestations). Innovations such as the stress and psyche gauges, the status of which affect your ability to maintain steady aim and agility, the SOP (Sons of Patriots) system, and a stealth agent’s best friend, the OctoCamo suit, add new dimensions to the typical creep-n-kill mechanics. Read the rest…

GTA4: Alt-Controls Has You Covered

Grand Theft Auto 4, except for the software pirates and folks with an inside man at the game shop, everyone is really itching to get their hands on this game and April 29th can’t get here soon enough.

We know this game is huge and we don’t want our readers to get home and pop in GTA4 only to find out that the game is completely unplayable.

So I am going the extra mile for all of you, I’m taking a leap of faith, and I have pre-ordered GTA4 from my local gaming store; which just so happens to be hosting a Midnight Launch. I will have this game in hand and in my XBOX 360 as soon as humanly possible. That said, I urge you all to hold out until the street date and skip the Midnight Launches because when you awake from your slumber on launch day I will have posted an article about the controls in this game. I may save you $60, you might have waited unnecessarily but you will know if GTA4 meets your needs in the controls department.

I do believe that GTA is getting a simultaneous, worldwide release. Now, being that I live in the US (-500 GMT), all of you readers living in Europe and the Eastern Hemisphere should be able to purchase the game before I have the opportunity. The question is will you wait until I post at approximately 1:30-2:00am EST or take the chance?

Haze Demo: Early May

A demo of the long-awaited Haze by Free Radical Design will be available for download via the Playstation Network in early May.

Haze looks to shake up the FPS genre by offering some very unique game play elements. You assume the role of Shane Carpenter, a Mantel Soldier who is “fighting the good fight” against a rebel uprising by a group known as The Promise Hand. While part of the Mantel Army, you have access to a wide range of high-tech weaponry and a nutritional supplement known as Nectar that increases your strength and improves your overall skills in combat. Read the rest…