Monthly Archive for May, 2008

I’ve been playing GTAIV since the release day, and I just passed 50% this weekend, so I thought it would be a good idea to summarise it in a bit more detail since my last (rather short) post about it.

It still remains my favourite game of all time, for sure. The look and feel of Liberty City is absolutley fantastic, and it actually feels like a real city. The hundreds, if not thousands of little touches to the game make it a superb environment to play in, and the story line so far is also very good. It does get a little confusing because there are so many characters, but it’s still an incredible game.

The fact that Rockstar also have not only thought about the game, but the out-of-game experence, is superb. Case in point, if I like a song on the radio, I simply pull up my phone, go to the phonebook, and call “ZiT”, the music service. Just like in real life, it’ll “listen” to the track you’re playing and then a moment later, you get a text message. But thats’s not all. You also get an email from Rockstar, so you can download the song yourself on your PC. Now that’s clever. Here it is, for those who don’t have the game:

However, as good as GTAIV is, I do have one complaint. The in-game phone. First of all, it’s too small, even on a 40 inch HDTV. Second of all, why are the multiplayer options there? Honestly, Rockstar, the phone is a very good tool, but it would be a whole lot better if it was bigger. I’m talking Blackberry. Niko can get the horrible standard phone at the start of the game, but then give us an option to upgrade or something!

Anyway, apart from that, and a few other minor issues, it’s still a fantastic game, and if you haven’t yet played it, get out from under your rock and go buy it!

Why?

Since I started this blog, I’ve used the exact same template. I’ve not edited a single piece of code at all except for my own mods, and it’s not broken a thing.

Also, if I install a plugin, it can somehow modify the WordPress files on-the-fly and add in any functionality. For example, The reCAPTCHA, the Flickr thumbnails, the iPhone skin, all those plugins were activated with a single click. NO code edits, NO file modification, nothing.

That’s why I like WordPress. It’s so easy to use.

Invision Power Board, on the other hand…..oh boy. Have a look at TVF’s blogs. IPS recently changed the layout a little, but all our custom skins are totally screwed. What it should look like, is this: IPS Blogs.

Somehow, if it was WordPress, that would be possible without needing any code edits. But being IPB it means there’s a TON of code to be edited, which is a chore.

So, IPS, please, steal some code from WordPress and make IPB work better then it does now between upgrades!

So, I ordered a refurbished Dell 2407WFP-HC from MCS Technology, at a total cost of £333. Placed the order on Monday, and it arrived today (Wednesday). So far so good, I’m very happy with it and it’s a huge improvement over my old 19″ BenQ panel. I’ve currently got them running side by side, the old one on the left and the new one in front of me. Also, being a refirb, it’s not brand new but it certianly appears to be new, there’s virtually no signs of use on it at all. Apart from the lable on the box, which still had the previous owner’s address on it, haha.

There is a very noticable difference between the two, the BenQ doesn’t seem to be able to display white AT ALL, when next to the Dell. The BenQ also doen’t display black very well, there’s a rather visible backlight showing against a black screensaver on each side. The Dell, however, shows both black and white very well. It also looks bloody superb with high definition movies, too. I played back a few clips of the movie “Phone Booth” in 1080p, and they look stunning.

It also has some handy features including the ability to rotate and display in portrait mode, a card reader, and, quite handy, it also has a USB hub-type-thing – two ports on the back where the connections are (for a keyboard or whatever), and another two on the side (flash memory, etc).

Overall, well worth the £333 and highly recommened. The only thing is if you are taking the leap from 19″ to 24″, you’ll need a while to get used to it. But it’s worth it in the long run.

The other thing I’m considering doing is selling my Logitech Z5500 speakers, and getting the Logitech Z-4 speakers. I’m still considering it, but the main reason for doing so is because I just find the Z5500s are….too much. Too many speakers and too many wires and too much power and too much work. The Z-4s on the other hand, are a neat 2.1 set which is pretty much all I need, since I watch most movies on the TV downstairs. However, like I said, I’m only considering it. I might just keep the Z5500s anyway.

Finally, if you haven’t already, download or buy Pendulum’s new album, “In Silico”. Actually, don’t download it. Buy it. It’s totally worth the money. And I’d recommend the single Propane Nightmares too, it’s a very good track, and the remixes are especially good. I’d rate it 9/10.

Anyway, that is all for today. Bai. :p