Game gear – how to dress like a hero

There’s something so satisfying about wearing a t-shirt of your favourite thing: it’s literally close to your heart. I wear my Foetus t-shirt as a pyjama top, since my pleas for the albums to be released in plush cases so that I can cuddle them have thus far gone unanswered.

These days, it goes far beyond an oversized tee with a logo on it. The bigger the brand, the wider selection of merchandise, and there has never been a better time to be a fan of video games, since you can now wear your love on your sleeve … arms, legs and feet. 

Platform Wars: Grand Theft Auto 4

A couple of days ago, I did something that I’ve done at a least a dozen times before: I bought something for one platform that I already owned on another platform. This time it was Grand Theft Auto IV, which I already had on the 360. It was my husband who bought it, and he played it through. I didn’t manage more than about three hours on the 360 because I just didn’t get on with the controls. Before you could say “typical bloody woman driver”, I’d slammed the car repeatedly into the nearest wall.

I figured this was a shame because, in spite of the game’s flaws (which become apparent much later on), there was a great game to be played. At the time it came out, the opening scene had to be seen to be believed. It just goes to show how fast the technology is moving that it looks old and clunky now. I remember when the title credits came up sitting there, my mouth hanging open in awe.

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LA Noire

Australian developers Team Bondi have created an interactive game noir, published by Rockstar Games. The detective story is set in the late 1940s, and promises to blend “action, detection and complex storytelling” as the player solves a series of murders. The postwar world of freeways, jazz and corruption is vividly brought to life with astonishing animation.  The game has been in development for several years, and appears to take place in the world of LA Confidential. I just hope that the gameplay lives up to the fine graphics and proves as exciting to play as it is to watch.

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2008 trailer