Games of the week for 05/04/08: A load of Radiohead nonsense

6:48 PM on 05.04.2008   |   Jim Sterling

76 comments

Frankly, I have never gotten what the big deal is with Radiohead. The band has always just been "there" for me, but apparently it's actually the greatest musical group known to mankind and I am very wrong to just think they're okay. Anyway, I am saying this because the "Games of the week" feature for today was just mostly a bunch of editors yammering on about them.

Do you like Radiohead? Does anybody care? I don't really care. This is going nowhere. Hit the jump for our usual self-indulgent meanderings on what we've been playing this week.

Chad: Surprisingly, I haven't started my copy of Grand Theft Auto IV yet -- I am trying to finish Lost Odyssey first (of which I am on the final dungeon). Not playing GTAIV is pretty much torture, as I am a huge fan of the series and heard this was the best one yet! Look at you, GTAIV box, staring at me. You want me to play you, don't you. You want it! But, no, I am staying strong. Damn you, GTAIV box. Damn you.

Fronz: Unfortunately, NOT Grand Theft Auto 4! I'm leaving for my annual Myrtle Beach vacation today and the Xbox 360 is too clunky to throw in my luggage. So I was faced with the dilemma of either buying GTA 4 and playing it nonstop for a week, and then going through withdrawal, or being patient and not tearing into it until I get back. So for the next three weeks I'll be hitting up all the Wii games I never had the time to finish over the past year, starting with Super Mario Galaxy, plus the new Mario Kart. Other than that I've been playing a lot of the first Phoenix Wright DS game and also Professor Layton and the Curious Village. Both are a lot of fun so far, but Professor Layton has way more meat to it, so I always end up playing it longer before bed every night.

Samit: This week, I've spent close to 13 hours tooling around in Liberty City. That isn't too different from what I normally do with my time, since I live in New York...minus the whole "wanton destruction and killing" stuff, that is. I would've stayed in Niko Bellic's shoes for much longer, but playing GTA IV from 2 AM to 8 AM on Tuesday completely screwed up my sleep cycle for the entire week. Of course, my playtime was also severely impaired by the obscene amount of mucus that has been spewing profusely from my nostrils; I've gone through half a box of tissues in two days. Damn you, lousy Smarch weather!

Aside from gleefully comparing Liberty City's roads, bridges, and landmarks with those of its real-life doppelgänger, I headed over to the New York Hall of Science on Wednesday to try out THQ's WALL•E movie tie-in game on the Wii and 360. In addition, I played through the echochrome demo last night, which made my brain hurt but also convinced me to spend ten bucks on the full game. You should do the same if you have a PS3 or PSP.

Topher: Shockingly enough, I've played almost nothing but GTA4 since Monday. Aside from that, a little Taiko No Tatsujin 2 on DS and some Radirgy on Dreamcast.

Gameboi: In addition to my usual staples of Warhawk and CoD4, I squeezed in some time with GTA IV and The Orange Box. Not as much as I would have liked, but I hope to get some more free time next week.

Nick: Well, a little Grand Theft Auto IV here, a little Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PSP) there. What a huge leap there is between those two games.

Colette: I played GTA IV for about a minute. For me, it's more fun to watch than it is to play. I finished Lost Odyssey (sigh...sad to see it end) and have been madly playing Persona 3 FES to fill the hole ever since. It's doing the job quite well -- I can't babble on enough about how superior that game is.

DMV: GTA IV isn't out here in Japan, nor do I have the means to play it. So instead, I've continued my love-hate relationship with War of the Lions, and recently started Mother 3 to improve my reading skills. Catch of the day: Street Fighter 2 for $0.84.

Jonathan: Picked up GTA IV. Initially, I was extremely disappointed. But now I accept the game for what it is... more GTA. I was never able to stay interested in the past games enough to play through them, and I doubt GTA IV will be different. Too bad, because the game is extremely well crafted. It's just not very compelling.

On the other end of the spectrum we have Mario Kart Wii, which was also disappointing at the start, and also more fun once you accept it for what it is...more Mario Kart. Unlike GTA IV, Mario Kart Wii actually gets more fun the more you play it. Maybe I'm just saying that because I'm lucky enough to have Tristero on my Mario Kart friend list. That alone makes the game worth the price of admission. 

Orcist: If you've been following these little weekly wrap-up posts for the past month or so, you'll have noticed that every week, I say the same thing: I complain about school and how I only played 10 minutes of a video game and then I complain about school some more. Hopefully, this will be the last time in 4 months that I will have to say that. I've got 2 exams to go, and then I'm done.

Nevertheless, I played some BioShock, a little Rock Band, and, since a friend of mine just bought a Dreamcast, Marvel vs. Capcom 2.

Also, I'm going to see Radiohead on Thursday in Atlanta -- anyone else going to be there?

Nick: When it started costing me more than $20 to see Radiohead that's when I stopped. :(

Chad: I am going to see Radiohead at the Hollywood Bowl when they come here. Huzzah! :)

Samit: You guys are going to see Radiohead? I am so jealous!

Jim: Radiohead is no ELO, that's for sure. I have been playing GTA IV and, despite my initial Jimpressions, I must say that it's really grown on me. I still hate the way the cars handle, but there are times where the driving feels like good ol' GTA again and the sheer experience is enough to keep me wanting more. You managed to pull the wool over my eyes again, Rockstar.

Grim: I finally got a PlayStation Portable this week along with Mega Man Maverick Hunter X, Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, and of course, Grand Theft Auto IV.

What in the name of THE DEVIL'S HELL have you all been playing?