Games Cheats and Reviews

Mafia stories are about the pursuit of the American dream. Typically, they’re tales of a character who tries to claim a share of the world’s wealth and riches. And, as is true with all mafia tales, these rewards come at a great cost. In the case of Mafia II, our hero doesn’t want to be the Don, nor is he power hungry. He is in this life because this is (what he believes) to be the only thing he’s good at. He simply wishes to exist and make as much money as possible. If he happens to meet a dire end as a result of these actions, so be it. Instead of giving players a character who will rise through the ranks to achieve the rank of Best-Mobster-Ever — like EA’s approach to the Game“>Godfather videogames — we’re given one who is content with being the middleman. But in the process of trying to create a serious narrative, Mafia II falls into the trend of other sandbox games: it reminds you time and time again with “you’re playing a videogame” moments that break the hard work put into crafting this narrative in the first place.

It’s a common problem: in these fully realized worlds, you’re often given the ability to create moments that don’t fit into the world you’re playing in. Games like Grand Theft Auto 4 or Saints Row 2 get away with this because their created fiction is full of puns and tongue-in-cheek humor. Mafia II on the other hand, a game that tries to create a serious narrative and a world full of colorful characters, instantly falls apart as soon as you’re allowed to toss random pedestrians off a boat pier. Or when you comically pick up a Playboy magazine and are forced to view the centerfold in the midst of a heated gun battle.

While Grand Theft Auto may be the biggest name in crime games, you don’t get more gangster then the mob. Mafia first debuted way back in 2002, and it is time for a sequel. Mafia 2 tells the story or Vito Scaletta, an Italian immigrant and US soldier on leave after getting wounded in World [...]

Analysts have been baffled as to the steep drop in game sales last April. Its not that hard to understand the drop… Splinter Cell and Monster Hunter where the only real major releases, and both appeal to a specific market. At the same time, Modern Warfare 2 had a new map pack, the Starcraft 2 beta continued and gamers eagerly awaited the Halo: Reach beta that started in May. When there isn’t much to buy, why would slow sales surprise you?

That all ends this week. The games that hit shelves in the next two weeks should satisfy a hungry gaming audience through the summer. Highly anticipated games like Alan Wake, Prince of Persia and Split/Second all land in the laps of eager gamers this week. It kind of makes you wonder why they didn’t get pushed forward into April, especially when they are up against the next big thing from Rockstar.

Red Dead Redemption can be described as the Grand Theft Auto of the wild west. You take the reigns of the reformed outlaw John Marston and guide him through the wild west. Its hard to determine what the most exciting part of this game will be. Is it the dynamic side quests that can pop up anytime, anywhere, even during another mission? Is it the vast open world that is alive with some 40 different species of wild life that you can hunt… or be hunted by? How about that classic spaghetti western gunplay? And that is just the single player…

Red Dead Redemption also offers a free roam multiplayer mode that will allow you to wander around the west with your friends. You will be able to posse up and take on gangs of bandits, hunt together or jump into a competitive match with another posse at certain landmarks. If you are into a more structured online experience then there are a wide array of classic competitive multiplayer matches, each with a unique western twist.

There is nothing like starting off with a Mexican standoff, the winner getting a chance to get into position while the dead wait to respawn. Modes include your standard gang shootouts and various objective based matches, usually revolving around bags of gold. After completing various weapons challenges based on kills/headshots, you will eventually unlock golden versions of each of your weapons.

I can’t appropriately convey how excited I personally am to get my hands on this game. It looks to be the Grand Theft Auto of the wild west, complete with the multiplayer experience you always hoped would appear in a GTA game. Usually I recommend waiting a few days when a game is coming out, to see if it gets the critical acclaim that you would expect. You don’t need to wait on this one. Red Dead Redemption is a day one purchase.

Just so you know, there is a slight difference between the PS3 and XBox 360 versions. While it hasn’t been advertised heavily, the PS3 version gets some exclusive content. Leaked images of the PS3 box cover highlight that the PS3 version gets “Solomon’s Folly Gang Hideout” and the “Walton Gang Outfit”. These aren’t really major enough to influence most gamers, but its a neat little bonus for PS3 owners.

Sharing: It’s Win/Win

Videogameszone published 80 marvellous Screenshots from the ENB Series Mod for Grand Theft Auto 4.

Following today’s release of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City on Games for Windows – LIVE, Microsoft has revealed a special offer for PC gaming fans of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. For a limited time only, gamers who download Grand Theft Auto IV from Games for Windows – LIVE’s Games on Demand service will benefit from a specially reduced price.

TGH Writes:

"The Grand Theft Auto series has a rich history of telling very unique and epic crime stories, from the thrilling first fully 3D adventures of the no named protagonist of ‘GTA3′ to the beloved Tommy Vercetti and to the present day Niko Bellic. They all had a story to tell, each of them unique and made the player want to keep going and continue on the journey of either a petty thugs rise to power or an immigrants road to make something he can call his own with a past shrouded in vengeance. No matter what the story is Rockstar manages to make something spectacular with it. That pattern is not set to waste here in ‘Episodes From Liberty City’. However does the game warrant a purchase to those who have already experienced GTAIV? After all it is the same landscape with a few minor changes. Does the game add enough content to assure the buy that its going to be 20-40 dollars (single DLC episodes that require GTAIV disc are $20 and disc based 2 episodes are $40) well spent?"

Rockstar has released a new update for GTA: Episodes From Liberty City, now available for download.

Mike Kebby writes

"Good day to you there, how are you this week? Well I hope.

I just want to remind you all that our PSP Favourites promotion will be ending today, so you don’t have that much longer to take advantage of those crazy prices, just a mere matter of hours in fact. Speaking of which, if you have an eye on bargains, then please step over to the stall and check out the latest batch of Special Offers with Gravity Crash, Prince of Persia Classic and James Cameron’s Avatar:The Game amongst the shiny wares I have for you .

I’m sure most of you are aware that this week we finally get the much anticipated episodes for Grand Theft Auto IV, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony onto the store…exciting, I’m sure you’ll agree (they will be available on Friday morning not the usual Thursday publish)."

It’s sale time here at Games for Windows – LIVE…we’re extending the sales into April, so gamers can STILL take advantage of INCREDIBLE limited-time deals!

This is the big one, folks: to celebrate the release of The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony on Games for Windows – LIVE, we’re offering Grand Theft Auto IV for 50% off (that’s just $14.99!), from 2:00 A.M. PDT on Tuesday, April 13, all the way until 5:00 P.M. PDT on Monday, April 19. Don’t hesitate…take advantage of this great deal today!

Sebihunter has announced the demo release of its Grand Theft Auto 4 mod IV: MP, now available for download.