G-pinions

First, to the news at hand. Basically, GTA: San Andreas has just received an AO rating, based on a softcore sex scene hidden within the code that can be exposed with a cheat device. If you haven't been following the story, that is. So all current copies will get the new rating slapped on them, current printings will now have it, and future versions will be M again once the offending content has been removed. It would be easy to say 'fuck the ESRB', but it's even easier to say 'fuck this stupid country'. All the violence imaginable is fine for a seventeen year-old, but two people having consensual, mundane sex is too much for their innocent minds to handle? It makes my mind reel with the myriad social implications. When my dad attempted to break the news story to me a couple of days ago, he started to tell me how you can unlock some sort of rape feature in the game - I was infuriated not only that this ludicrous over-exaggeration had made it's way into my home, but poisoned the mind of someone usually quite wise and not easily influenced. I'm sure that every out-of-touch soccer mom in the country is licking her chops right now with the spoils of victory and a false sense of justice served, but no moron of any degree, including them, could watch the offending content and say it's worse than any R-rated movie they've ever seen. It's nowhere near, in fact, even if you consider sex exponentially more offensive than violence (and then what kind of twisted individual are you?). It frustrates me to an incredible degree just how much controversy and faux-offense comes out of such a pithy, throwaway scene. If these were times of photorealism and the game showed so much as a testicle we could start up meaningful conversation, but until that point it's just bureaucratic bullshit. Argh. Oh, best of all, Take-Two has lowered it's third quarter and fiscal year guidance to "reflect the expected NEGATIVE impact on the title's retail performance." Are they insane!?

What was I going to talk about anyways, before all this jazz? Ah, right! GUN! I've been waiting ages for Neversoft to do something other than Tony Hawk, as they do it so damn well, and cowboys is certainly a fine way to go about it. The first couple of screenshots released were laming is up pretty good, but this new trailer kicked my ass pretty entirely. It actually reminds me a bit of Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, with even higher production values (though not as high art) - great third-person exploration (+ a horse) with awesome first-person combat. The movement of everything looks amazing, especially in first person, and the battles look epic. The physics and the gore look great, it's free roaming, and you can hunt, gamble and defend stagecoaches. Red Dead Revolver was a decent reminder of a long-ignored setting, but GUN is looking spectacular in every area, regardless of theme (though it does help, A LOT). It's definitely a big blip on my radar now, if not in the top ten for the rest of the year. Good for Neversoft, and hooray for something besides skateboarding.

Lastly, if you didn't already think King Kong (the game) is looking downright phenomenal, please read this article. Ancel is a genius, quite simply - and I want his game, BAD.