Deeper into the rabbit hole that is GTA IV.

Every major gaming review site/show had that perfect 5 or 10 to give GTA IV the day it came out. Obviously GTA IV has a lot of content, and to jump the gun so quickly with only 2-5 hours to play the game and give it a perfect score is kind of funny.

Yes, GTA IV is an amazing game, but it takes time to truly appreciate all the fine details the game has to offer. Here at LXG, we thought it was fair to give an initial impression of GTA IV and hold it to very high standards. You have to earn your strips around here..... and being able to select what kind of service you want from your street walker is a great way to start.

Those are the little details that makes this game so real. If you want to be a lazy ass....sit around and watch t.v. all day, go for it! Take a cab and tour Liberty City, snipe an a-hole preacher who tells everyone they're going to hell. One of the most entertaining parts of this game is the radio. You have so many great styles of music, and just like in real life, you get all the b.s. advertisements and radio talk shows.

Rockstar has done a great job making fun of the lame advertisements we deal with in our cars everyday....if only Niko could steal an i-pod, I could bypass those adds like I do in real life.

All the familiar stores, brands, and cars are in this game (with slightly modified names or looks so no one has to pay anyone or deal with the consequences of having their product associated with this game). The characters and story in this game keeps it interesting. It still feels good to watch the annoying characters die, and to get revenge on the bastards who screwed you over and Facked with your family!



(Don't Fack with me!)




I love being able to take cover during a gun fight, and take some shots while behind cover. The weapons are fun and feel solid and accurate. The auto aim can be annoying when there are many targets, but it's a minor thing.

I have not even touched the online play that this game offers (but I've heard good things). Expect a brutally honest review of that soon!

I will be burning many more hours into this game, and I will be very happy to do so. This game deserves all the credit it has received (maybe not before everyone really got into it, but whatever..they rolled the dice and won). This game deserves all the 10's, 5's, 2 thumbs up, 3 thumbs up etc. it received.

Grand Theft Auto IV: First Impressions

Just like the rest of you knuckleheads, Team LXG has been hard at work playing the smash hit “Grand Theft Auto IV.” Well, with the exception of Paul who is still stuck in November playing Mass Effect.

If you have perused the other grand websites of gaming, you will have noticed that GTA IV has been receiving 10 out of 10 or 5 out of 5. What do I think? Here it goes….

Is this game good? Yes, it is a solid game. I have put in about four hours with the game. Therefore, if you email me with hate mail and tell

You start out as Niko Somebody, an immigrant from some Eastern Bloc country. Having survived off of a steady diet of bread and water for the past thirty odd years, Niko is ready for the Kentucky fried taste of New York City, I mean Liberty City.

The story thus far is the best part of the game. It is not nearly as bland as the last three installments of the Grand Theft series. I actually give a damn about Niko. He is one cool dude with his Cro-Magnon style look. The characters actually have character. From the potbelly cousin Roman, to Vlad Drakov, this game actually incorporates character. I like that part.

The graphics are updated. Fantastic. I am not a graphics-whore, so this really plays little in what I think.

I am sure you all have had the time to read the positive reviews. I am going to cut the crap and talk about why this game falls short of a 10 (at least in my mind).

Frustrating: It took me 30 minutes to find a freakin’ brick to throw at a window. I work for a living. I don’t have time to spend 30 minutes to look for a freakin’ brick. It would have been helpful if Rockstar could have put some type of glowing icon on what you can and cannot pick up. Don’t get me started on chasing people with the next car physics.

Same ol’, same ol’: I loved Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City. I played San Andreas for 4 hours before I traded it in. I had played the game twice before. Go to a cutscene, get a mission, go to mission (which will inevitably require you killing somebody), complete mission (sometimes after 30 minutes looking for a freaking brick), go to next cutscene, continue) GTA IV follows the same pattern. I just got bored with it, and I see myself growing wary already.

Dark: This game is freakin’ dark. I had to jack up the brightness just to see anything at night.

Unrealistic: Yeah, you all know what I am talking about. Niko has already slept with Michelle four times. The dates? Cluck N’ Bell, Cluck N’ Bell, and pool. How often would a woman give in after two dates to Cluck N. Bell for you?

Car Physics: Bleh
That’s my impression so far. I don’t want to give off the wrong impression that this is an average game, but it is not. This is a solid game. However, unlike Oblivion, Mass Effect, and Baseball Stars, after awhile I felt the desire to put the controller game.

More impressions to come kiddies. Then, and only then, will I give my final verdict.