Well, some may say we've already had the best title of the year come out. I am on about Grand Theft Auto IV. At the moment, it looks to be my game of the year but that could soon change with some highly anticipated titles due out later this year.

Whilst I enjoy the Grand Theft Auto series a lot, I have come to a conclusion that this isn't my favourite of the series. It does so many things better than its predecessors but takes so many things out to make way for those. In a way, it seems like a downgrade of San Andreas because of no parachutes, planes and tanks. Now, it may be going for the whole "realism" thing but let's be honest - since when is any Grand Theft Auto title realistic? Grand Theft Auto IV does certainly do best for realism but there's things in it that make it unrealistic still.

I can still top my health up with a hot dog or a burger - apparently all those wounds caused by bullets are still there but Niko feels 100% once again. Maybe not having planes in it was a good idea to avoid controversy but it still would have been great to actually use planes (for purposes other than crashing into buildings). My argument about Grand Theft Auto IV is they used the whole "realistic" tone as an excuse to say they just couldn't implement some of the features from San Andreas because they have placed in so many new things. IV doesn't quite make it to a 10 for me but it's on the 9.5 mark for GameSpot's current ratings system. San Andreas got a 9.6 from me which would probably convert to 9.5 anyway.

Moving on to what I originally wanted to make this entry for - 2008 and the releases we still have pending. The next probable purchase for me is Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures. This will be my first purchase of a Lego title. Simply because Indiana Jones is a subject I enjoy. The movies (and even the Chronicles television series) are great and I love the whole idea of tombs in a video game. Watching various gameplay clips, really makes it seem fun. Available at a budget price, which is fair, this would be something to get. Only downside is there will be no online co-op.

Race Driver: GRID I am still on the lines with. Played the demo but can't decide on if it should be a purchase. The same thing happened with Forza Motorsport 2. I didn't feel too comfortable with the demo but the full game I really got into. TNA iMPACT! is a new addition to the wrestling genre. Doesn't mean to say it will be enjoyable like the SmackDown! vs. RAW series. The Bourne Conspiracy - will need to play a demo to consider this (waiting for one on European Marketplace).

Titles like Saints Row 2 and Gears of War 2 are immediate purchases, no doubt. Just Cause 2 may not be too good but I did enjoy the first to an extent. It wasn't perfect but I loved the setting. Tomb Raider: Underworld may not be for everyone but you may see me playing this near the time. Even titles like This is Vegas look enjoyable to an extent. There's more titles but those are the ones I wanted to highlight. is a title I may rent.

2007 was a good year and 2008 could indeed top that. I'll soon tell you when 2008 is over.

Earlier on, I completed the story (in nearly twenty hours of playing) to Grand Theft Auto IV. Without spoiling it, I have to say it was a much more serious, gripping and exciting storyline to play through compared to previous titles. This is yet another time I have seen the credits roll in a Grand Theft Auto title.

Bare in mind, I did have some glitch that prevented me from continuing (as I explained in my previous entry) and I was half way through it. With no backup save, I had to start over a few days ago. My focus was purely on the missions for my new save. I have 60% done, which basically means all missions completed. Now, this is what every game should be like - it should have a decent length story that presents you with various options throughout. The added side tasks are also keeping me coming back for more. Oh, the multiplayer too, of course.

The previous titles were pretty much following a linear storyline. Now, with Grand Theft Auto IV, you make the choices at various points, which gives it a more personal feel. Earlier I decided to go for some extra achievements. The first I went for was "Under The Radar". This requires you to fly a helicopter under every main bridge that crosses water. Sounds simple but I missed out one. Eventually, I found it and was happy about that.

Now, after that I was pretty much doing some insane jumps at the runways. I was trying to roll my car five times in one crash for an achievement. This one took ages but for some reason I just didn't feel like giving up on it. I did get it after about an hour of doing that. Probably the hardest single player achievement in the game. I plan to keep playing Grand Theft Auto IV for a while, mainly because of the possibilities available.

I try to love Rockstar Games for many things. They're not as annoying as Electronic Arts and certainly like to push the limits with their controversial series, Grand Theft Auto. Today, I really just about had it with Grand Theft Auto IV. In my total playtime of this title, I have come across two major glitches. Now, I know for a fact these are glitches because I have searched through forums and noticed others experienced them too.

I am going to mention certain elements of the story here, so please take note there are some minor spoilers. The first came to be when I was about thirty odd missions in (the first ? blip on map). One of the mission markers you walk into, simply didn't trigger off the mission. I couldn't understand why. If it didn't want to let me enter that mission right away, the marker would not have been visible. After a few hours of troubleshooting this, I realise the date that was set up for me didn't occur. I was at the appropiate place but no date. It took some time for the date to spawn and when it did, it seemed to let me walk into the ? marker.

When I was able to finally get on with the game, I was so relieved not to start over. I didn't think I would have any more problems. However, I soon did not too long after. A mission quite late on in the game requires you to go for an interview that you set up on the computer. After applying, it advised me that I should go buy a suit. I soon did. Now, because it was night, the place I had to go to was supposedly shut. Fair enough. I was notified by text message that I will get a response very soon.

The next day came and then the night again. I had no response. I couldn't even ring the place as it just went to their answerphone (as did all my other contacts). So, I was pretty much locked of continuing the story I was very much enjoying. It's like having a movie ripped out your DVD player just as it starts to get very good. I tried troubleshooting this problem but had no luck. So, instead of spending more hours trying to troubleshoot, I eventually decided to start over.

I have retained my original save just in case I can get it working again (or if a patch can address this issue). Now, I have turned autosave off and regularly save in two more different slots. I now keep a backup slot (which is around 5 missions behind my current progress) in case I experience this again. I am annoyed but stuff like this does happen (as it did in Bully: Scholarship Edition). In my times spent playing Grand Theft Auto games, I haven't had something like this that has prevented me from getting through the story.

My post does seem a little negative but overall (with glitches aside), this is certainly an early candiate for my 2008 game of the year. Saints Row 2 has a lot to live up to if it wants to get as close as Grand Theft Auto IV. Since starting over, I've had to rush through those missions I had already done and managed to get 24 completed in nearly three hours. It was so weird replaying some because first time, a few of those took me some good time to get through.

I've been tracking Race Driver: GRID, a racing title scheduled for release this May. The one thing that appeals is the flashback sequences. After watching this demo on On the Spot, I was impressed by it. You have so many chances in a race to reverse your mistakes. So, if you accidentally crash into a wall, you can enable the flashback sequence and rewind the race. It looked pretty sweet seeing it pulled off. There should be a demo (well, that is what Codemasters said on their official YouTube channel) sometime soon. I am hoping they can pull of a great addition to the Race Driver series and not make a mess of it.

Earlier, I popped back in the Burnout Paradise disc. I soon realised why I didn't play it for a while. It's frustrating and becomes much more than that when you don't have much left to do. Think I will wait until new content later this year is released for it. Over the weekend, I played Portal on The Orange Box and finally got those advanced levels completed. I also managed to knock down 33 cameras. Yay for me! I'll try and get more playtime of Half-Life 2 and its episodes but I think I'll be too occupied with another title. There's no new title on Xbox LIVE Arcade this week but I guess that's understandable.

Have a great week everybody. I know mine certainly will be.

...here's the latest trailer recently released for Grand Theft Auto IV.

My order was dispatched earlier today and so hopefully I will have it on or before Tuesday. It would be so sweet if they had post over here on Sunday. Just a few more days and I shall try and blog something other than Grand Theft Auto soon.

No, not me (unfortunately). I'm so jealous of these people. At this time, there are twelve people who have played Grand Theft Auto IV at one point on the Xbox 360 according to myGamerCard.net. Of course, there's possibly more that are playing but not connected to Xbox LIVE. I question what methods they went through to play this title early.

Hopefully my order will be despatched soon. There are also 500 Microsoft Points and exclusive gamer pictures with my order that I want to be able to use too. I really want to get playing it as soon as possible!

In other news from my world, I watched The Last Mimzy and Juno the other night. The Last Mimzy was your average family movie but Juno is what really made me happy to have seen. It felt very natural throughout and parts reminded me of other independent movies such as Little Miss Sunshine. I first saw Ellen Page in Hard Candy and she did a good performance back in that. She yet again proves to continue to be a great actress as Juno.

6 days until Grand Theft Auto IV.