Grand Theft Auto V Story Winding Down

(Spoilers ahead about Grand Theft Auto V)

I feel like I'm close to the end of Grand Theft Auto V.  My menagerie of misfits has just pulled off an extremely huge heist that netted them a combined $200 million payoff.  The Union Depository job was one that I managed to pull off despite some mistakes.  For this job I opted for a more confrontational approach rather than the typical "subtle" approach.  As a result of this choice I was faced with a fierce gun battle between various law enforcement officials and Merryweather Security forces.  I frantically tried to navigate Franklin and Michael through the gauntlet of angry police officers and helicopters to the location of the getaway vehicle in the parking garage.

The getaway vehicle almost turned into a total fiasco.  I had taken it to Los Santos Customs and souped it up but had forgotten one key feature....bulletproof tires.  While locked down in the middle of an intense gun battle in the basement of the parking garage, I switched from Franklin to Michael and was dismayed to find that Michael was taking cover behind said vehicle.  I watched helplessly as bullets pinged off the beautiful SUV I stole from a parking lot and then lovingly fitted with armor and turbo chargers.  Then I heard that sound I was dreading...the pop and hiss of a tire being shot out.  So now my getaway car had a flat tire and I had a five star wanted level.

At this point my getaway was looking questionable at best.  My three-wheeled SUV comfortably sat all three robbers, but was extremely sketchy on sharp turns.  After a few failed turns, I decided to settle on a straight getaway path.  I maneuvered my damaged Canis Seminole into an alley and hoped for the best.  The seconds ticked by as I watched the flashing dots patrolling the main roads.  Don't turn down the alley....but there's always that one stupid cop who does, so it was off to the races again.

It's here that I made a choice that could have turned out ver poorly.  I steered my SUV up a hill toward a giant outdoor amphitheater.  This venue only had one way in and out so if the police caught up my escape could be pretty hairy.  I drove up the road and reached the end...but rather than stopping I decided to keep going and park directly in front of the stage--not technically in an alley, but also not right on a road.  I watched again as the police searched the mains roads leading up to the amphitheater.  Fortunately, the police have higher standards and wouldn't drive right through the middle of a major venue.  Five star wanted level evaded.

Now all my characters are $28 million richer.  I have a feeling things aren't going to work out well.  Here are the scenarios I'd like to see:

--Michael and his family work through their issues and are happy.  Michael starts working for Solomon Richards at the studio and eventually takes over.

--Franklin and Tenesha re-unite. Franklin gets out of the crime game and lives a normal life off his share of the cut.

--Trevor kills Medrazo and rescues Patricia.  Even though I think the Trevor/Patricia thing is kind of weird, it's also kind of cute.  Trevor would continue to be pursued by Mexican gangsters, but he is happy that way.  He spends his cut ferrying Patricia around from place to place as they evade those angry gangsters.

Here's what I think will actually happen:

--Franklin has been told by the FIB that he needs to "take care of" Trevor.  I think Franklin will go to do this, but will be stopped by Michael.  I think Michael and Trevor will fight, but that they will reconcile and eventually go off on their own ways.

--more likely they will all end up killing each other.

Of all the characters, I want things to work out for Franklin the most.  He's the uoungest and seems like a decent guy.

I will soon get to see how it all ends and if any of my predictions are true.  I've really enjoyed this GTA game and have felt very entertained.  The story has been fun and quirky in just the right GTA style.

Can Your Avatar's Race Affect Your Behavior?

Jamin asked an interesting question in this week's episode of the PBS series "GameShow."  Does the race of your avatar in a video game affect your behavior?  My immediate answer is no, but I know that this is a very surface type of answer.  Watch the episode and see Jamin's explanation:

I liked that he brought up the game Rust and the seemingly odd decision to assign player race.  This decision seems to have angered some people...who apparently can't stand the idea of simply playing a character who isn't exactly like them.  But maybe I'm just like those people....I can't say that I've ever actively worked to create a character who is a different race than me.  I've played a racially ambiguous Commander Shepard but haven't ever created a black character.  I've played black characters...like CJ from Grand Theft Auto:  San Andreas but I haven't used a character creation tool to actually make one.  Does that mean I'm racist?

But back to behavior...I think that on a subconscious level that race does affect behavior in games.  Unfortunately I feel like people have stereotypical ideas about how members of other races behave and that those behaviors set the stage for in-game behavior.  I think this is true for more than just skin color though and thought that the part of the video that dealt with player perception of their avatar's appearance (like the study about having an overweight avatar) was really interesting.  I find this to be completely true.  If I make a Sims character who's a little on the beefy I'm more likely to let them indulge on some birthday cake.  So I'd have to agree....yes, I do think avatar race, physical appearance, or any number of other factors can affect the way players choose to control them.

It's my goal to make my next Dragon Age character another race.  Then I can truly see if race has an impact on the way I play him/her.

Portal Pinball.

Last week, or maybe the week before, the folks from Zen Studios, maker of the rad multi-platform Pinball FX2, released a teaser indicating that they were going to release a new table with a distinctly Valve theme.  Speculation ran wild....would it be a Team Fortress 2 table?  Half-Life (oooh that would be great!)?  What could it possible be?

Speculate no more...it's going to be a Portal themed table!  No, that cake ain't a lie...here's the blog entry from the Zen Studios Pinball FX2 page:  "Portal Pinball is Teleporting to a Zen Studios Pinball Platform Near You".  All the images look great--the table features a whole bevy of characters from Portal and Portal 2...Chell, Wheatley, GLaDOS, ATLAS, and P-Body.  The blog entry also hints at puzzle chamber-like challenges.

I've greatly enjoyed the various spins that Zen Studios is able to put on something as classic as pinball.  They've managed to re-ignite my interest in an arcade staple with their myriad of table themes.

The Portal table premieres the week of May 25th.

May the Fourth be With You!

It's May the Fourth, a day that has become associated with everything Star Wars related.  To celebrate, we are watching the Star Wars saga in my lunchtime activity class and I am reflecting on my Star Wars related gaming experiences.  I wouldn't call myself a Star Wars game aficionado, but I've played my fair share.

Squaring up your X-Wing to take down some Tie Bombers.

My favorite Star Wars games aren't the more FPS/lightsaber type of fighting games.  I always enjoyed the game in the X-Wing or Tie Fighter series.  It was great fun playing as a pilot and shooting down all those pesky Tie fighters and Tie bombers.  I spent many an hour of my childhood flying through the far reaches of space seeking out enemy ships to destroy or escorting ridiculously slow freighters.  Steam had been offering a great package deal on these classic games and you can get the entire series of fighter games for around $20.

I am pretty sure I played at least one of the Battlefront games, but they aren't my favorite.  Being the BioWare fan that I am, I really enjoyed the Knights of the Old Republic series.  If you're looking for a more RPG-oriented Star Wars experience, I would definitely recommend picking up both of the games in that series.  You get to command a crew and pick your moral preference--light side or dark.

Or maybe you're looking for something Star Wars themed that isn't necessarily a game where you're playing as a Jedi.  Pinball FX2 has a number of Star Wars themed pinball tables.  They even released a new one that is themed after the Star Wars animated series about the rebels (I haven't picked it up yet...c'mon summer sale!)  From Boba Fett to the Clone Wars...there are quite a variety to choose from.

On a completely non-Star Wars related note, one of the friendly neighborhood kitties in my Neko Atsume backyard finally brought me a special treat!  I can't read Japanese and have no idea what it is, but I think it's a cricket or bug of some type.  Exciting times!

Grand Theft Auto Mod--Play as an Animal

I'm not much of a mod person.  I'm sure I'm missing out on a whole world of magic that allows you to alter your gameplay experience in any number of ways.  I've been playing a lot of Grand Theft Auto V lately and generally keep my eyeballs peeled for any interesting news.  One mod that caught my eye allows players to play as any animal in the game.  Finally, you can play as a deer and get revenge for all those roadkill fatalities inflicted by players.  Alternatively, you could play as a mountain lion and go on a killing spree.  My favorite animal mayhem came in the form of this awkward video of a cat going on a killing spree using molotov cocktails.  I always knew cats had it out for the police....

16 days until The Witcher 3!

Countdown to The Witcher 3!

The next episode in The Witcher saga comes out this month!  In a mere 17 days we'll get to resume our adventures with Geralt and company.  Slaying monsters, hanging out with sorceresses, making heavy moral decisions, and wooing countless ladies....it's a Witcher's life.

Indoor fighting...with mimes?  What?

As the release date creeps ever closer more screenshots are being released.  Each one is better than the last and reveals a new location or monster to slay.

I'm counting down the days and getting ready for what I am going to assume is a huge download.

Collecting Cats in a Cute Japanese Game

A fancy backyard filled with happy kitties in Neko Atsume.

As I was browsing through the articles on Kotaku, as I am wont to do from time to time, I decided to read an article about a Japanese game that involves cats.  I am not typically a person who is seeks out content that is specifically Japanese in nature.  I know there is a whole subculture of people who are really into anime and JRPG's and everything that screams JAPAN!  Not me.  I've never really understood anime, or wanted to for that matter, and I have enjoyed a few games that were developed in Japan or were Japanese in nature.

After reading into the article I discovered that this game, which is completely in Japanese is very simple.  You are given a house with a small backyard.  In this backyard you can place items that will attract cats to your yard.  These items range in nature from a simple bowl of cat food to fancy cat furniture.  After you place some food and items, cats will begin showing up in your yard.  It's stupidly exciting to see a cat in your yard.  You can then track which cats have visited your yard in a sort of logbook.  You can also take a unique picture of each cat and give it a goofy name to help you identify it.  Each cat brings you fish, either gold or silver, that you can use to buy different or better items.  Some cats seem to be attracted to certain objects and some objects attract "special" cats.

Is there a goal in this game?  Sort of....you want to attract as many cats as you can.  It's a check-in game so you just pop open your favored device to see which kitties are hanging out in your yard.  Every few hours you have to replenish their food, but there's no risk to them dying or being neglected like the old school Tomagatchi pets.

It's simple, but it's cute.  I've managed to attract a number of different cats and give them all really stupid cat names like "Fluffy" or "Bob."  There's something addicting about checking in on your yard to see what's going on.  I've had to resist the urge to check repeatedly.

Here is a link to the Kotaku article (with a video that explains the game):  "The Japanese Cat Game We Can't Stop Playing"

Here is a handy guide explaining how to play the game (all the Japanese writing can be a little intimidating):  "How to Play Neko Atsume"

The game can be kind of hard to find on the app store, but there is a link in the "How to Play Neko Atsume" article.

Enjoy collecting cats!