The Poop Deck

What A Week

This week has been a dream come true. Not only has one of my all time favorite video game titles come out, but TWO of them... in the same week!!

My quick review of both: Amazing.

First of all, Mario Kart is the all time leader in games to play with friends. The best part though, it's equally as fun to play alone (since Karen never plays me, I have gotten used to this. However, the Wii has online capabilities, so that solves that.) The Wii wheel turned me off at first, I thought it was more gimmicky and less helpful. I was pleasantly surprised though in how much it actually helps, and you can't overlook the fact that it really adds a third dimension to the game (or a fourth dimension? It adds another dimension, how about that). I am very happy with the game, especially compared to Double Dash... which was fun, but just didn't have the heart. Mario Kart Wii definitely stepped it up and certainly lived up to it's expectations.

Now, Grand Theft Auto. I have an analogy I use for this game, along with Mario Kart. Mario Kart is like that comfort food... the food mom always made that had a very distinct taste and flavor that no one else could match. No matter what, it was good, you always looked forward to it, and it would never disappoint. Grand Theft Auto, on the other hand, is like the really expensive meal you go to once in a great while... that one time you decide to splurge and spend a ridiculous amount of money on expensive food and drinks. It's excellent in a different kind of way...you know you're going to get quality, and you savor every second of it because who knows when it'll come around again.

Having said that, Grand Theft Auto IV is like eating lobster stuffed with Kobe beef, with a bottle of really expensive champagne and a salad topped with white truffles. And that's just the appetizer.

Keeping many of the same attributes from past games, GTA4 did a great job of adding even more detail and cleaning up some of the glitchy spots from earlier versions. For one thing, the pedestrians are way more involved, from their interaction with you to their interaction with each other. At one point, I stole a car which angered the driver. He chased me, grabbed on to the door, and held on as I drove down the road. I took a corner, the door flew open, he smashed into a light post and finally fell off. There are tons of minor additions to the details such as this that makes you feel as if this place is real. The graphics are smooth, the map is huge... the game is probably the best I have ever played.

Clearly I could go on and on, but I will stop myself for now. I guess my point though, is the reason I like Nintendo is for Mario Kart, and the reason I like Xbox is GTA. Having both been released just two days apart, I have been in a video game heaven and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight! (Sorry Karen)

Cheers!