Grand Theft Auto 4 is all the rage right now. My videogame messageboards are abuzz with it and there's a new geek here at work who has been bringing it up regularly. It's times like these when I feel like I'm not a "real" videogamer, because I'm not interested in the game at all.
A big chunk of it is the theme. I've never wanted to be a gangster. I take that back. Perhaps I've wanted to role play a hooch smuggling 20s era gangster. I've never wanted to play the stereotypical set of villains and thugs from a Death Wish movie/Miami Vice which GTA depicts.
I think a change of theme (as well as a better group of missions than the series is known for) would change my tune. Being a contemporary gangbanger doesn't appeal to me. But what would be really cool would be to change the setting to something like Cyberpunk 2020. Being a cybered rising star solo in the bleeding edge near future is much cooler despite the overarching similarity.
It occurs to me that the old Genesis Shadowrun game was a 2D version of the modern GTA sandbox formula. Wouldn't a GTA style game with a layer of Shadowrun paint applied have been much better than the Xbox 360 Shadowrun game which actually hit shelves?
In the meantime, I'm still waiting for R-Type Command, and I'm wetting myself in anticipation of Soul Calibur IV.
Tags: Videogames
