Wize Blog

Grand Theft Auto 4 Video Review Gives Game 10/10

Close to 2.5 million have watched it. It's the Grand Theft Auto 4 (rated 5/5 by amazon and newegg) video review (view below).

It's narrated flawlessly and exciting to watch.

The review ranks the super-popular game a 10/10.

New Grand Theft Auto IV Reviews on Wize.com

Come take on the roll of Niko Bellic and you'll have four new boroughs to explore by controlling cars, boats and helicopters. That's the line for the Grand Theft Auto IV game for XBox 360 and PlayStation 3, the game people are talking about.

CNET reports that Grand Theft Auto IV broke an all-time computer game sales record.
On its first day out, the game sold 3.6 million copies.

Some criticize the game for being too violent. On wize.com, the game rates number one for adult games. In one of three reviews on wize.com, the game is reported to be "the darkest story so far in the Grand Theft Auto series."

But, please don't fret over the violence and/or darkness as this game is good: "What has made the Grand Theft Auto series so superb is the story telling. Excellent voice acting with intense and exciting missions make GTA IV a true winner. From the first moment on you will notice that you aren't really playing a game as much as taking part in an intense crime drama."

No wonder it's selling so fast.

Dualshock 3 Shakes As You Play

This wireless controller rumbles. The DUALSHOCK 3 has pressure sensors that shake with actions. They're coming to stores next week according to the Playstation blog.

Some game titles are already compatible with Playstation 3 (rated 96 at wize.com). You'll know because they'll have the emblem shown on the right.

There's a wide assortment of titles from PAIN to High Velocity Bowling and  Resistance: Fall of Man to Snakeball.

There's a patch available that will download to the PS3 console and that will be needed to play some of the games.

The cost for the controller is $54.99

What is BD-Live?

With PlayStation 3 BD Live support coming soon,  Blu-ray players have one more thing going for them--Internet access.

You'll be able to play games with others online, download content and use social networking sites.

Earlier this year at the CES 2008, Sony used a BD-Live player to demonstrate downloading items from the Internet.

PlayStation 3 (rated 96 at wize.com) definitely steps up to the plate with the new BD-Live capability, which is due out in late summer or early fall.

Below is a video that explains how BD-Live works:

Games: No Two Reactions Ever the Same

An upgraded game, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which comes out this summer offers unique features which makes game unpredictable.

Two technologies are used to make the games more life-like:

1. "Havok" lets the game displace multiple on screen objects in realistic fashion.
2. "Euphoria" allows advanced enemy behavior, so that no two actions are ever the same.

It's all discussed below with clips from the game itself.

HD DVD or Blu-ray?

What's next for movie watchers in the next generation of movie players? Right now there's only one standard for all movies--the DVD.

There are two formats that are competing to be the next generation standard for viewing movies--HD DVD and Blu-ray.

Both offer great movie watching experiences.

No one really knows which one will win out to be the one everybody uses, it's up to the movie studios to decide.

HD DVD

DreamWorks' "Shrek the Third" and Universal's "Transformers" are only available in the HD DVD format.

HD DVD players cost less and start at about $250.

XBox 360 supports HD DVD (with an attachment).

Blu-ray

Sony's "Spider-Man 3" and Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" are only available in Blu-ray.

Blu-ray players start at $400, more than HD DVD.

Sony's PlayStation 3 supports Blu-ray.

Source for this post is New York Daily News.

Playstation 3 Video Contest Videos

Sony asks, "Do you think the PLAYSTATION®3 is the best game-playing, movie-showing, online-gaming, Internet-browsing next-gen entertainment system going?"

If you do, they want you to make and upload a 2 minute video to YouTube (or other video hosting site)   telling them why.

If you win you get a  80 GB PLAYSTATION 3 Motorstorm™ game pack plus five games.

To enter, email the link to your video, plus your name, street address and email address to Playstation_community_support@playstation.sony.com

So what are people coming up with?

Surf here.

And...to get you started viewing, watch the video below.

The Playstation 3 console rated an 88 at wize.com.

CNet Most Wanted Gadgets Reviewed at Wize.com

I stumbled upon  CNET's Top Five Most Wanted Gadgets at cnettv.com, an engaging video that gives you a quick summary of what people want this holiday season.

Fifth Most Wanted Gadget: I phone, rated 87 at wize.com.

Fourth Most Wanted Gadget: Sony PlayStation 3 (20 GB) Console, rated 88 at wize.com.

Third Most Wanted Gadget: AT&T Tilt, CNET calls it the "most desirable phone."

Second Most Wanted Gadget: Microsoft Zune, rated 91 at wize.com, and CNET with respect to the phone, CNET calls Microsoft a company "on the slow march to dominance once again" with respect to smart phones.

First Most Wanted Gadget: Nintendo Wii, rated 97 at wize.com.

XBox 360 TO Offer ESPN Programming Through Download Service

People who have Microsoft XBox 360 delivered through their cable company have enjoyed on-demand, pay-per-view movie and television service for about a year now.

This year Microsoft teamed up with Disney to offer movies with the Xbox's download service.

Today, ESPN joins the service, offering their programs through the Xbox. Viewers are offered NCAA football and basketball games and other sports related programming.

Miscrosoft offers the downloadable conent through its Xbox 360 Marketplace. It had previously teamed with six content partners for a wide choice of programming options.

Movies can be downloaded in standard-definition or in high-definition.

The service also permits viewers to much of the content from the television networks.

Last March, Microsoft introduced Xbox 360 Elite, which, according to their Web site has the following features:

Xbox 360™ Elite, a new model of the video game and entertainment system includes a 120GB hard drive, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port, a high-definition cable, and a premium black finish for the console, wireless controller and Xbox LIVE® headset. Xbox 360 Elite has enough space for a library of Xbox LIVE Arcade games and thousands of songs, as well as downloadable high-definition TV shows and movies available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. The new 120GB hard drive also will be sold as a stand-alone accessory to give current Xbox 360 owners greater choice and flexibility in their games and entertainment experience. Additional Xbox 360 Elite accessories, such as the black Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, Xbox 360 Play & Charge kit and the Xbox 360 rechargeable battery, will be available separately.

Sony Playstation 3 Gets Price Cut

Wize.com has learned that the Sony Playstation 3 will be a bit cheaper this holiday season in the US. 

The top-of-the-line 80GB model now costs $499, down from $599. The lower-end model with a 60GB drive was for $499. So the new 40GB one will debut on November 2 for $399.  Not bad!

Still however, the Sony Playstation 3 holiday price cut will not make this console cheaper than others.  The Xbox 360 costs $350 and Nintendo's Wii costs $250.

Currently, the Sony Playstation 3 has a Wize Rank of 80.