Jack Attack Tuesday

Gamester’s Paradise and

Drafting Like a Champ

I’ve been a gamer for as long as I can remember with my earliest consoles being the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo.  I remember sinking countless hours into games like VR Troopers (which was a Mortal Kombat knockoff before I knew what Mortal Kombat was), Super Mario World and Donkey Kong Country, beating the SHIT out of my brothers in anything that was multiplayer (they may still be butthurt) and enjoying every minute of it.  I’ve always been the kid that hated going outside.  To me, the worst thing you could do to me as a kid was tell me to “go play outside” the day after I got a new game.  It’s not that I wasn’t sociable, I just didn’t see the value in running around in the sun playing sports that I never had any inclination to get good at.  Throughout my gaming career, there have been ups, downs and some glaring omissions.  I went the Sony route as a young kid and never really dove into N64, have never touched a single Zelda game and missed the Dreamcast.  However, if you mention Crash Bandicoot or Spyro waves of nostalgia start kicking in and I’m reminded of the good old days when I was first being introduced to this world.

Games like Heart of Darkness, Wild 9 and the fantastic (and newly remastered) Oddworld: Abe’s Odyssey all started moving me into a new world of gaming, but honestly as I got older games became less and less of a focus.  I think there comes a time in gaming for every gamer worth his/her salt where things get stale.  It’s happened to me in every iteration of console I’ve had and I’m sure it will continue to happen, but throughout the years there has always been one franchise that keeps on bringing me back.  I don’t know if it’s the perspective, the humor or the chaos (probably a bit of all three), but every time I need to get a new console, it’s because of Grand Theft Auto.

My most fond gaming memories absolutely start and end with GTA.  From the mundane, like reaching top speeds on Grove Street in San Andreas and whipping around the neighborhood trying to hit as many pedestrians as possible, to getting a tank to fly via the proper cheats and skill in Vice City to the very first time you pick up a hooker in III, this franchise, to me, is what gaming is all about.  GTA presents the ultimate escape from everything, transporting you to a world you could never be a part of and giving you free license to do whatever you want.

GTA IV upped the ante with the incorporation of a truly impressive style of cinematography previously only hinted at in the GTA series, telling the story of Nico Bellic and his experience coming up in America as an immigrant in Liberty City, but truly each incarnation of the series has innovated in its own way.  For instance, the brilliant property ownership and side-quests of building up your criminal empire in Vice City gave the game a more grounded RPG feel which to this day stands as the one feature that I hope comes back in future incarnations.  In San Andreas, the fantastic gang-warfare and territory aspect keeps the area fresh and seemingly “alive” throughout your playthrough, and enough can not be said about the amazing jet pack in San Andreas (fingers crossed it comes back soon, the GTA world needs it).

It comes as no surprise to me that, yet again, Rockstar did something totally unique in GTA V.  Granted the triple-lead character angle is stunning when used on the heist missions, but I’m actually referring to the genius current-gen first-person mode.  I’ve played the story mode of this game twice through already and am already salivating at first-person mode, experiencing the iconic moments I’ve already experienced with a completely different perspective.  In an odd way it actually makes the action more real which is both good and bad.  I have read reviews from different gaming sites like IGN and Gamespot stating that the first-person mode actually makes them re-think their choices as to who they murder in broad daylight.  That’s pretty impressive for a game that employs BJ Smoove as a self-help guru.

While GTA V is what I’m playing most these days, My PS4 is not even three weeks old, and I’ve been catching up on a lot of stuff.  Here are some of my initial thoughts on the platform:

– The Last of Us has to be a contender for greatest game of all time

– Rayman Legends is the closest thing to Super Mario that I’ve played in years

 – Helldivers > Destiny (but I’m still enjoying Destiny)

– Any game that lets you manipulate an elephant to do your killing for you is a-ok in my book (Far Cry 4)

– Dragon Age Inquisition re-iterates that if you want to complete a game 100% these days and it’s an RPG, get the guide lest you fuck something up

In movie/TV news, I’m rewatching Party Down and might do a recap of that this week, but I REALLY wanted to mention my brilliant hottie team this year.  Quite simply, despite missing out on Star Wars and Avengers 2 points, I’m astounded that I got the picks that I did.  I have to give props to Kupka, my brother in Binge, for reasoning out a few things for me, which was of course reciprocated throughout the process.  I, like him, did have Angela Kerecz on my board last year, he just beat me to the punch on it (well played).  Between Lizeth Hutchings, Lisa Ann Smith and Tamika Shanell Johnson, I don’t see how it will be easy for anyone in the BABADIIICK conference to touch me.  I say this with confidence because I, much like my New England Patriots, know how to draft, and all y’all fucks are basking in my glorious benevolence at this point.  Some afterthoughts:

– Pete MC, you chose correctly by taking Judy Greer first overall, I had her at #1 as well.  Smart pick, I applaud you for it.

– Mike Scull, you will be my bitch this year XOXO.

– TM, I will take you down.  So long as I beat you in the draft this year will have been a success.

That’s it everyone.  Stay tuned for some sweet Better Call Saul commentary and, as always, Binge On!