Tag Archives: Grand Theft Auto

I miss my PSP

And I hate the fact that there’s no true sequel. No, the Nintendo Switch doesn’t count, because the type of games that were available on a PSP and the types of games available on a switch have no comparison.

Sony Playstation Portable. PC: Wikipedia
Sony PSP. PC: Wikipedia

I bought the PSP in 2008 as a gift for my 23rd birthday from Palika Bazaar, during a trip to Delhi. It was the second gaming device that I owned, after the Nintendo Gameboy Advance. It was the PSP-3000 with homebrew OS, capable of running pirated games from ISO files stored on the Memory Stick Pro II Duo. It could output the display to a TV at 720p, too.

Unlike the Gameboy Advance (& currently the Switch), the PSP had serious games, directly ported from the PS2 and PS3 versions. It could play multiple versions of Need for Speed, there were a few flight simulator games and it also had most Grand Theft Auto games.

I remember playing PS exclusives like Patapon & Flow. I also remember returning home from my night shift job at Aricent and playing Resistance: Retribution for 30 minutes everyday, before going to sleep in the wee hours of the morning. My friend KK used it to play God of War on my PSP at work.

Eventually my wife lost it.

The games on the Switch (which is portrayed as the successor to the PSP) belong to a different category. Insanely fun to play, but not serious console games like PSP. Especially, without a single GTA title, I refuse to accept the Switch as a PSP successor and buy it.

I think the demise of PSP type of devices stems from the shift of portable gaming towards cellphones. Why invest in a portable gaming console when you have a powerful processor and chipset right in your phone? Somehow, I can’t bring myself to gaming on my phone.

I hope Sony one day releases a successor to the PSP, or at least a cloud gaming service which has Sony exclusive titles.

Games that have impressed me over the years

I have always been an avid video game player. Like everyone else, I started off with 8-bit games, got a PC and then subsequently upgraded the hardware as games evolved over the years. Somehow, I never got around to buying a console. For me, nothing can beat the keyboard/mouse combination.
Following is a list of games that have impressed me a lot over the years. I will not do full reviews (I’ll include links for those), but briefly state why I found them so appealing. I have included the Plot summaries from wikipedia
System Shock 2 (1999)

I have always been fascinated with Sci-fi, FPS & space. System Shock 2 combines all this with the horror genre and the result is a very addictive and mesmerizing game.

I got this game from Sector 17, Chandigarh, unfortunately, just before Diwali. I was so engrossed in the game that I spent most of Diwali playing it and ignored everything else. 










The reason I liked this game so much was because it conveys a feeling of loneliness. You are the only human (almost) in a city-sized spacecraft light-years away from home. Everything is deserted and the enemies appear suddenly, scaring you.
Also  fascinating for science fiction  lovers is how the overall structure of the Von-Braun and the Rickenbacker are slowly revealed and you discover how the spacecrafts are built to sustain an entire ecosystem. You feel sad, lonely and scared most of the time.
It’s a pity that there was no sequel to this fantastic game (even though the finale is open-ended). However, irrational games did release Bioshock, which is called the “spiritual successor” of System Shock.
Tomb Raider Series (1996 onwards)

Many would consider the Tomb Raider series as girly. Some others (who have only watched the movies) might have a different perception of the character. However, I found the games very fascinating due to the following reasons

  1. Most of the time, you are alone in a deserted location. This conveys a feeling of loneliness & mystery.
  2. The locales are just fascinating. Lara Croft travels through exotic locations, like the City of the Dead, Angkor Vat, South America, the Arctic Ocean etc. A full map of her adventures can be found here
  3. You get to walk, run, jump, drive vehicles, swim underwater etc
  4. The path forward is not always clear. You have to find your way most of the times, time your jumps, look for clues etc.
  5. The soundtrack is fantastic. Most of it, composed by Nathan McRee. They can be downloaded here

The later parts of the games have migrated to more modern settings, however, the earlier versions would remain closest to my heart,
Janes USAF (1999)

 
Jane’s USAF is one of the many Combat Flight Simulationsreleased by Jane’s Combat Simulations, but undoubtedly one of the best. You get to fly several US Air Force planes like the F-105 Thunderchief, F-4E Phantom IIF-16C Fighting Falcon, F-15C Eagle, F-15E Strike EagleA-10A Thunderbolt IIF-117A Nighthawk, and the F-22A Raptor  to different sorties, major missions like Vietnam and Desert Storm and 2 missions set in the future. You can switch from one plane to another within a mission as well. 
The controls were very slick and the graphics very good for that era. Too bad the game refused to run at all on Windows XP onwards.


Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012 (1998)










Rogue trip is a vehicular combat game and one of the few games I’ve played extensively on my friend’s Playstation (PS One). Even though I played it in Black & White (He has a PAL system but NTSC discs), the game was very enjoyable.
The main aim is to take aliens on a sight-seeing trip in various locales in the US. There are other cars who want to do the same, so there’s stiff competition as they try to kill you and vice-versa.



The cars are fun and you have a bevy of weapons including ballistic missiles. I have very fond memories of playing this game. The soundtrack is especially good including the Rascal King by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Here’s the song
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Max Payne (2001/2003)

This is the game that changed it all. It put my graphics card, my processor and my overall computer to shame. I had to invest money into buying new hardware for my computer, especially to play this game. With an almost brand new system and a lighter pocket, this game was a pure pleasure to play. Some things that stand out for this game

  1. Unique storyboard based gameplay
  2. Amazing haunting music
  3. The innovative gameplay style featuring Bullet-time motion, with slow-motion stunts. You can see bullets slow down and travelling through the air, causing shock-waves while you dive for cover and fire back at the same time
  4. The snowy landscape of New York is a joy to travel through
  5. Unique weapons like the Molotov Cocktail

I still vividly remember the opening cut-scene

“Stand by, 10-10 investigated reported disturbance at Aesir plaza.”
“10-4, Dispatcher, verify address.”
“It’s Aesir Plaza, repeat, Aesir Plaza.”

The sequel, though not as great as the first part is still pretty amazing.
Grand Theft Auto (1997 onwards)

My first sojourn with a Grand Theft Auto game was when I played GTA II demo on a Chip CD. The gameplay, though 2D as still quite enjoyable.
GTA-III started the 3D era for the GTA series. GTA-III onwards, the gameplay features a sandboxed city, in which you can navigate to complete different missions. The main points are

  1. You are given access to an open world. You can go anywhere in the city you like, steal an vehicle you can find (including a Tank)
  2. An innovative “RADIO” system. You can switch between radio channels and listen to the obscure in-game radios.
  3. You can sleep off your injuries

GTA-III had one of the best gameplays/graphics of that era and subsequent sequels improved upon it and maintained the high-standards.
The latest version, GTA-IV is widely regarded as one of the best games of all time. Again, I had to spend a lot to upgrade my computer to be able to run this game. If your computer is up for it, the graphics are pure bliss. No other game till now has managed to re-create such a beautiful city in its entirety

The best part about such games is that the game never gets over. You still have the whole city to explore and you can just roam around for hours killing people, fleeing from the police, stealing cars and bikes.

Some other games worth mentioning are Microsoft Flight Simulator, Microsoft Midtown Madness, Crysis 2

Playing GTA non-stop has made me crazy

These days whenever I’m roaming around on my bike, instead of the care-free leisurely way I used to earlier, I’m constantly tensed and looking out for cops. Whenever I see cops anywhere, I either speed up and run away, turn around and go the other way or turn into an alley. Whenever I see a cop car moving slowly behind me, I always think that it’s following me, ready to fire it’s siren anytime and chase and shoot me down. It takes me a while to realize that I haven’t done anything wrong and I’m just being paranoid. I think this is one of the side effects of finishing all the versions of Grand Theft Auto, a game where you’re always breaking the law, risking your life and living on the edge. The worst part is, one day my bike’s tire got punctured and for a moment, I had the sudden impulse to ditch it and steal a parked mercedes, similar to what you’ll do in the game.

But whatever may be, life in the game is much exciting than real life. And the best part is, you can save and reload later.