The Catholic Game Nerd

After seeing the features of Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour, I am tempted to buy another new console and the latest incarnation of one of these rhythm games.  The fact that Rock Band 2 has Judas Priest is a great selling point, but the fact that it has Painkiller as an included track is just awesome!  Have you heard that song?  Rob Halford has AMAZING vocal ability.  Whether you are a fan of Judas Priest or not, you must admit he has great talent.  What a range!  

The rest of the tracks for Rock Band 2 look good.  I haven't seen the track list for Guitar Hero World Tour yet.  Let's see what we have here. Mostly rumors.  I'll wait.

What I'm liking so far about Guitar Hero IV is the peripherals first.  The drum set looks amazing, and I have been told from E3 that it is pressure sensitive, opening all sorts of windows for new drum hits and sounds.  Cymbals have been raised and look almost like flaps.  As a child of the 80's, this looks like a synth drum set I've seen in countless bands.  Time will tell how durable the equipment is, but I would assume it will hold up.

GH4 will also give players the ability to make their own music, upload it to the network, and share it with their friends online.  Mixing boards allow them to move stuff around, similar to Audacity.  These features look pretty good.  I now need to see track lists.  The winner will be the one with the best Judas Priest and Led Zeppelin offerings.

Have you played Grand Theft Auto 3?  Grand Theft Auto: Vice City?  Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas?  Same story, next verse, but you're back in Liberty City as you were in GTA3.  Graphically, this game is stunning.  The amount of processing power required to handle all the detail must be pushing the next gen systems to the limit.  Beautiful.  Absolutely beautiful.  And, like the previous games, you can explore till your heart's content.  Plenty of side missions and activities to keep you busy should you decide to take a break from the branching storyline.  But that's not why you're reading this article.

No doubt, you've come here to know whether this is a good game for your little Johnny.  If you're old enough to buy this game for yourself, you're old enough to be culpable for the morality you engage in, even if only virtually, via GTA4.  But you know that.  Parents, if your kids ask you for this game, I have to ask you to say no.  Why?

I'm not the type to say games make people do things, but like many other things in this world associated with vice, they can indeed enhance feelings and behaviors already part of a child or adult.  Just don't blame Pac Man because your child doesn't like long division.  Pac Man is just a game.  Your child needs to study.

Back to the game.  This game has loads, and I mean LOADS, of questionable and even blatantly immoral content.  Despite the beautiful graphic artistry and amazing programming put into this game, you still get points/money for carjacking, among other crimes.  You are still encouraged to cavort with women (prostitutes or otherwise), and you spend a lot of time on the wrong side of the law.  This is not a wholesome game.  Don't buy it for your kid.

I really wish I could say go get this game.  I'd love to tell you that, but I can't.  I have to look beyond the shiny wrapper of all the amazing, and I do mean amazing, gaming wizardry that makes up Grand Theft Auto IV.  I have to look beyond all that and see that it reflects the worst parts of our great nation: greed, lust, struggle for power, hate, pride, envy.  Haven't I seen those words somewhere else before?  Must have been in a book I'm sure.

I'll give this one 2 Police Badges out of 5, for sheer artistic and programming merit.

Since I cannot show footage of this game, I can at least provide you with a safe alternative.

BEHOLD!

 

 Grand Theft Auto IV Cut Scene Alternative: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Lego Star Wars II is a favorite game in our house.  The kids play it together with me and my wife.  In fact, there have been conflicts over whose turn it was and who would be next.  In my opinion, this game appeals to the whole family.

On the one hand you have Legos.  Who doesn't like Legos?  Interacting with Legos in a video game is a lot of fun, especially when almost every part of the environment is interactive.  You can destroy, build, move, rebuild, and more.  You can even build a go cart in the middle of Dagobah and drive around the swamp.  I don't remember that from Empire Strikes Back, but I'm sure it's in there.   The legos add a lot of fun to this platformer.

What about the game play?  Well, controls are simple enough that my four year old has been playing since he was about 3 1/2.  But there are some elements that will challenge an experienced gamer (though not extensively).  There is a decent balance between action, fighting and puzzle elements.  Oh, and there are NO ESCORT MISSIONS!  In the words of C3P0, "Oh, Thank the Maker."  

Heh, that's funny for him to say, especially when his maker is Darth Vader.  Whatever, dude.  Anakin/Darth - they're the same guy.  

So the games follow the movies, and if you haven't lived in a closet the past 30 years, you've seen at least a scene or two from Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, or Return of the Jedi.  Between levels there are plenty of cute cutscenes that have my kids rolling on the floor.  I'm asked to replay them at the Cantina (where you start the game and can choose your next level).

 

 Obi Wan Luke Skywalker and R2D2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

"Daddy, play the one where Princess Leia backsasses Darth Vader."

"What is backsass?"

"I don't know, but that is what she does and it is so funny."

"Whatever dude.  Here you go."

The kids and I love it.  If we didn't limit the amount of TV our family consumes, we would probably play it all the time.  We've beaten the game and are going back and looking for the millions of hidden secrets that we have missed.  Myself, I'm on a mission to get as much "money" (different colored Lego studs are the currency) as I can to unlock the last three characters (the "ghost" versions of Obi Wan, Anakin, and Yoda).  Then I will be getting the last of the golden blocks.  

The game is a blast.  Look at the clip below.  Loads of replay value and a steal at $19.  If you have a PS2, GameCube, PS3, Wii, XBox360, or DS, go get this game.  Even if you don't have kids, you'll have fun.  

The Catholic Game Nerd Rates Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

4 out of 5 Mitres