“Yeah?!” the voice on the other end barked.

“Hey, Brucie. I feel like winning something. Know of any races?”

“NB! You’re an animal, baby! Yeah! There’s one in mid-Alderney! Get to Roebuck Road in Alderney City! Destroy ‘em!”

“Thanks.”

The starting line was only a block away, and Niko was there in no time. Pulling around the corner, he lined up in the back and surveyed his competition. Two Banshees, a Turismo, a Super GT, and . . . a Sultan? Looked like he might have his work cut out for him, this time, except for that Sultan. They sat in anticipation, roaring their engines and clenching their teeth. Then, the light turned green and the adrenaline took over.

Streetlights blurred and the only thing in Niko’s mind were the simple, yellow markers telling him where to go. He glanced in his rear-view mirror, taking note of the four sets of headlights shrinking behind him. Wait . . . four? Whipping his head around, he searched for the other car. To his astonishment, the Sultan was not only keeping pace, but gaining ground. Just above the din of his own engine, he could hear the hiss of nitrous emanating from the little street rocket.

Niko turned his attention back to the road, just in time to dodge road crews working on the highway overpass. He had to think fast because the Sultan (now he could tell it was an RS Model) was close on his tail. Down the exit ramp, Niko saw a hard right onto Barsac Avenue and his eyes nearly popped from his skull. There was a ramp of some sorts aimed right out at the water and he was going way too fast. He slammed on the brakes and pulled his emergency brake, sliding out towards the ramp. Then, he stopped, with one back wheel teetering over the edge.

The Sultan had already made the turn, and Niko helplessly watched its tail lights speed away. Then, glancing right, his hair stood on end as he saw both of the Banshees, neck and neck, rocket down the off-ramp, aimed directly at his side. Dropping into first gear, he slammed the accelerator and peeled away seconds before impact. Unfortunately, for both Banshee drivers, they hit the small ramp at full speed. Tearing away from the intersection, Niko watched in his mirror as both cars catapulted into the river. The Turismo and the Super GT drifted into the turn, and he raced off after that Sultan RS.

Evidently, the Sultan’s driver had not expected a hard left onto Niblick Street and had locked bumpers with an unsuspecting sedan. Dropping into a lower gear, Niko swung around and shot past the competition, laying into the straigtaway on Babbage Drive.

The small victory was short-lived however, as when Niko approached the Asahara Road intersection, he misread the signs and swung right. Noticing that he couldn’t see any more markers, he realized that he’d made a wrong turn. Using the hand brake, Niko pulled a perfect 180º turn. But, his little error had cost him, as he watched the other three remaining cars hurtle around Koresh Square. The tires squealed, sending blue smoke into the air as Niko dropped his foot onto the accelerator.

His overzealousness got he better of him, however, and he spun out while trying to make it around the Square. He was losing precious time. Regaining his composure, Niko carefully executed the next few turns and got onto the next lap.

Just as he approached the on-ramp for the highway, an explosion ripped through his vision. His Infernus tore through the flaming wreckage that had been the Turismo, and Niko wondered what that poor soul had hit. He prayed that he would not also meet such an end.

Drifting through each turn, he saw the Sultan just making the turn back onto Koresh Square. It was, at that point, that he knew he hadn’t seen the GT, and he wondered where it was. Maybe it had met the same fate as the Banshees? Niko would never know.

Finally, on the third lap, he and the Sultan were side to side, flying onto the highway. He knew he needed to stop the Sultan, or Brucie would never let him live it down. Looking ahead, he remembered the road crew and had an idea.

Sliding up on the left side of the Sultan, Niko started to nudge his competition to the right. He winced as sparks flew off of his beautiful ride, but a predatory smile crept onto his face. The Sultan driver, snarling, glared at Niko for a long second. Then, his eyes opened in dawning horror. Swinging his head to look forward, the driver had enough warning to throw his arms in front of his face as his car smashed into the road workers. The sudden impact threw the hapless competitor through the windshield where he slammed, face-first, into a truck, and his broken body cartwheeled over the edge of the highway.

“I hope that didn’t hurt as bad as it looked.” Niko could hardly keep from laughing as he leisurely completed the rest of the race. Victory was sweet, indeed.

By Cade Antilles

Crawling from the wreckage, Niko silently cursed the Mr. Faustin for sending him on yet another chore. Can’t this Russian thug take care of his own damn business? He quickly scanned the area and noticed he was near the highway. Perfect, I should be able to hitch a ride here. So, brazenly, he hopped the short wall and ran out onto the road. A minivan refused to stop and sped by, followed by a pair of taxis, then a sedan. The cops were getting closer and Niko was going nowhere fast.

BAM! Niko’s head hit the hood as his legs were knocked out from under him. Still concious, but angry and in pain, Niko stood up slowly. The dumb driver that had hit him had gotten out and began gawking. You idiot! He leveled his pistol at the man and pulled the trigger, dropping the man in one shot. That’ll teach you to hit a man standing in the street!

Conveniently, the car that had hit him was another, but far better condition, Banshee. Stepping over the man’s body, Niko felt that his luck was changing, but then he looked down. The stranger he’d shot was staring at him and kept darting his eyes back and forth. His mouth was forming words, but all that was uttered was a string of gurgling and gasping. He wasn’t as dead as Niko had thought.

As the blood began to pool behind the suffering man’s head, Niko understood that as evil as he’d been to this poor man, nothing would be worse than letting him suffer. One more trigger pull later, and the nameless man’s life left him. “This city is really starting to get on my nerves,” said Niko Bellic. Climbing into the Banshee, he left the man’s lifeless form behind, and sped down the road, running from the sirens once again.

- by Cade Antilles

A barely embellished story from my experiences playing of Grand Theft Auto IV.

A Review by Cade Antilles

Okay, here it is, the inevitable review for one of the most anticipated video game titles of 2008. Except, this game is so voluminous and grandiose that one week of play time just isn’t enough time to encompass its magnificence. This game, of course, is Grand Theft Auto IV!

In this latest installment to one of the most popular and controversial game franchises, Rockstar Games returns to the game’s roots by going back to Liberty City and setting it in modern day. This time, instead of playing the silent, nameless anti-hero of GTAIII, you portray Serbian immigrant Niko Bellic (who bears a striking resemblance to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) who gets off the boat to find that his cousin has been lying to him about how amazing the United States is. Playing a named anti-hero isn’t new for the series, though, as players have already portrayed Italian gangster Tommy Vercetti (voiced by Ray Liotta) in GTA: Vice City, and as African-American gang member Carl Johnson in GTA: San Andreas.

First Impressions

While it looks almost exactly like GTA: San Andreas, at first, I came to notice the significant upgrades. Texture, colors and lighting are far greater, and environment is masterfully immersing. With the introduction of the Euphoria game engine, the physics of the game world are mind-blowing. Materials react as each should (water, wood, metal, paper, glass, etc.) and objects move as gravity and inertia should dictate. Character animations are smooth and far more intricate, and how they react when hit by vehicles is deliciously brutal. Every time I pick it up, the game creates new jaw-dropping moments.

The AI reacts intelligently now, as opposed to staring blankly down the barrel of your shotgun as you line up the perfect headshot. This includes people running from you, and cops chasing you, if you’re carrying your guns in public. They also do things that I’ve never seen in a game before. Once, I carjacked some guy and was about to pull away when this guy tried to get his car back. That’s not new, I know, but what happened next blew me away. Since, in the earlier games, you could thwart reverse car jackings by speeding away, that’s what I did, but this guy already had his hand on the door handle. Instead of just being knocked over, he held onto the door handle as I hurtled down the street, screaming and feet dragging. He wouldn’t let go, so I tried shaking him off, but no, he held tenaciously firm. So, Plan B, I swung into oncoming traffic and let them scrape him off my side with a sickening “kathrunk”. I could not stop laughing. Hmm . . . maybe this game does program us to be emotionless murder machines . . . oh well, at least I’m having fun doing it!

Downsides

It seems blasphemous to say this, but there are things I’m not happy with. It mostly has to do with things that were in previous GTAs, and are not found in this one. First on the list, the skill system from GTA: San Andreas is gone. Where, before, you improved your skills with vehicles and weapons by using them, there is no improvement. How you are with driving, piloting, and shooting remains the same throughout the game. Also, the immense character customization from GTA: SA, is a shadow of its former glory. Where you could once customize everything from hairstyle, tatoos, clothing, bling, and even body type, now it feels more like customization was an afterthought. All that can be changed, thus far as I can tell, is clothing. However, even these outfits aren’t anything special, nor can I turn Niko into a caricature like how I made Carl Johnson into Wesley Snipes and Mr. T. Also missing are the vehicle mod shops. I can’t get the custom paint jobs, grills, rims, hydraulics, and nitro upgrades found in GTA: SA. This lack of customization is a real downer for me. Almost enough to drop it a full letter grade.

Additionally, there are fewer guns. I’ll let you know if I find a flame thrower or a minigun, but as far as I can tell, they’re not in the game. Finally, I miss the celebrity voice actors. No Ray Liotta, James Woods, Burt Reynolds, Gary Busey, Jenna Jameson, or Samuel L. Jackson. I’ve looked through the credits, and I don’t recognize anyone. Oh well, guess they needed to keep the costs down somewhere.

Next time

I hope to have the Story completed by next Tuesday, so I’ll talk more about that then. I’m also going to talk about the Strategy Guide by Brady Games. Plus, I’ll have more stories of murder and mayhem.

Grade (so far): A-