The first game this gen that I ever bought was GTA IV. Really it was this game, or Final Fantasy XIII that I was waiting for to buy one of this gen’s consoles. I went a head and bought a PS3 a bit after this game came out and this game the same day thinking I really didn’t need anything else.

At the time I did not like it much. I thought it looked pretty decent, although I couldn’t get the settings right on a 1080i HDTV where it wasn’t jaggy as hell. No big deal. Then playing the game it became quite obvious that this wasn’t the GTA of the past.

First thing that probably popped out to most people was the driving mechanics. They were revamped a bit and felt much more difficult to get used to. At the time I hated it. I expected to jump right in and be able to drive like a beast.

Then we have the new wanted system where you have to “outrun” the cops instead of just going and standing in a alley for a few seconds. Besides that it seemed that the cops were much more of a nuisance in GTA IV than they had been before. This game was starting to be way too realistic.

Those two things alone I think put me off the game for quite a while. I didn’t really feel like I was having “fun” playing it. Never could you really just go off and just kill everyone around for 30 minutes and live through it. Then having cops pop up at the edge of the wanted circle it just got to a point where i was having little fun.

So…a few days with my new PS3 and this game I am somewhat disappointed and ready to throw this game into the composter. I go out and buy Fallout 3 and find it to be incredible. First impressions compared to GTA IV were off the charts. Nevermind that after 70 hours or so it became a glitchfest and chugging piece of crap. It was more free than GTA was it seemed and I didn’t have to spend 50% of my time running away from cops.

Fast forward about 2 years, nothing of interest available in the new game market for a couple months, and a 1080p HDTV this time. I decided to give GTA IV a try once more. This of course is after playing Red Dead Redemption several times already so I am much more familiar with the controls obviously. Easily picked it up and was good to go.

Something changed between when I first played GTA IV and now. A lot of the controls were actually closer to things that everything else this gen had incorporated. Things that are definitely different from the XBox and PS2 days.

This time I was in awe of the game. I didn’t think the game was bad the first time, but I wasn’t particularly impressed at all. After a couple years of playing everything from Bioshock to Just Cause 2 to Dead Space, I realized this game was a masterpiece.

I couldn’t believe I disliked this game before. Now I’m actually upset that I missed the prime when the multiplayer was jumping. The city in this game is by far the best in any game I have ever played. It may not have the best graphics of any city, but the “feeling” of the city is so perfect that I can’t honestly say there are many games I have played where I felt as immersed. Just take a cab ride and not skip it. The way everything on the streets look from the people to the lighting is outstanding.

Maybe this gen changed the way I look at games. Maybe the games like Fallout, Dragon Age, etc. gave me a new appreciation for how weak storytelling generally is. Maybe it just took getting used to the controls for this gen. Maybe it just took me to mature a little. I don’t know, but I have a new found respect for this game going back to it. It may be the only game that has ever changed my view so much with a replay years later. It is definitely not outdated either. It could come out today and still be a top game.

Originally I would ahve given this game probably an 8/10. Showing that I knew it was technically a good game, and well designed. Just wasn’t fun. Now? I’d probably say this is a 10/10 game. At worst a 9.5/10 since I almost never consider any game a 10/10.

So…if you were wanting the next GTA: San Andreas and didn’t really give this game the chance it deserved the first time try it out again with a couple years experience of this gen. It really is an amazing game.

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I was watching this Phoenix Wrong and saw it mention a song in the middle that they spelled “Leva’s Break”. This lead me down an odd path. So I searched that song title and it turned up little. The video creator had it wrong somehow.

Eventually after a bit of searching on not just Youtube, but Google I came to figure out that the actual song was called Ieva’s Polka, and that it had become some random sensation where it would be remixed hundreds of times. The Wiki article is pretty interesting on the history of its popularity.

The original performance here:

was heard by some anime fan and they decided to clip it and use it to make the video below.

This was the original Orihime Inoue from Bleach video:

This remix I think is the best, but the video makes it more than anything.

While I know I could just steal the audio from the Youtube video I saw in the comments that some dude named Beatnick was the one that made this version. After a bit of searching around I found the website here and was able to download it, but not before he gave me a pop up that described how he made the song and the history of it being stolen from him and claimed by another. (To download that song do the right-click save as angle. Don’t click the link as it will just start playing)

Interesting little internet history I must say. Now I have it on my iPod for my in ear headphones listening pleasure.

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I’ve really been pumping up my subs lately on Youtube. Some of it has to do with finding good channels, but I actually got spammed with a couple and still foudn them good enough to sub. Usually I just tell those people to go to hell and don’t even think about subbing their spam channels.

Kid’s React is a pretty hilarious series. It’s actually one of many that a pretty funny group does called the Fine Brothers (Check out the Saved By the Bell Game it’s phenomenal. Better than any Nintendo Wii game you can find). Kid’s react basically has a bunch of kids from 6-14 watching some of the most popular Youtube videos ever and then like only kids can do as Bill Cosby demonstrated with Kids Say the Darndest Things make you laugh.

Another one that is actually a bit more serious, and probably more important is one called WhyEvolutionIsTrue. The channel shows all kinds of great videos on evolution. Maybe the most interesting are the ones of the show Inside Nature’s Giants. These are animal autopsies on the biggest animals on Earth like giant squids, giraffes, elephants, etc. It’s mind=blown level fascinating. Good for conversation starters to make you sound real smart too.

I mentioned her before in the girls can troll too, but if you ahven’t subbed her and like really bizarre stuff that is clever and funny hartmanncara is hilarious. She is a “performance artist”, but really she’s just a troll.

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With the invention of the smart phone, the iPod touch, and any other handheld device in which you communicate with others, there also came: “Auto-correct”. A nice little feature that changes your words for you when you spell them wrong. If you aren’t paying much attention this can lead to many embarrassing results.

Also, with the ability to copy/screenshot almost anything you do, it is possible to save it for all future generations so they may see your embarrassment. Someone has dedicated their time to collecting such pleasantries thankfully, and we are all able to enjoy them here. Are they all real? I’d imagine no, other than maybe the earliest ones, but hilarious none the less. The next time you want to tell someone about an rv insurance quote don’t be surprised if it changes it to HIV”.

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I can’t remember a time when I was more annoyed than I was watching these videos. They kind of filled me with and anger that could only be quenched by leaving extremely rude comments, and to tell this person that I congratulated them on achieving a status in internet history as one of the biggest idiots to ever live.

Unfortunately, like the true dumbass this person is, they are censoring their comments and are filtering out all the obvious hateful replies they are getting. Easily concluded by seeing the huge number of dislikes on the video compared to very few likes.

The woman even goes as far as saying that they are not trying to make any money off of this, yet have COPYRIGHTED the video already and I’m sure blowing up barcode scanner at their local shops in expectation of being the recipient of a windfall.

The most annoying thing about this video, besides all of it, is that the woman now tries to act like she cares about how some of these animals are treated while having absolutely no idea what she is even complaining about. A horse got dizzy and collapsed. If you saw the weight that the family was putting into the carriage they were riding you would not ponder why.

So she is concerned for these animals, starts yelling at the guys who run the carriages, yet SHE WAS THE ONE RIDING IN THE CARRIAGE. Then she proceeds to act like the horse is going to explode and runs away like it is a time bomb screaming like a hysterical psychopath. This woman deserves all your scorn friends.

Part 1 (Horse Gets Spooked and Takes a Tumble in Central Park 07/31/11):

Part 2 (maybe even more annoying if you can believe it) Horse Back to Work Right After Accident:

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