Ziggy

I'm not really doing anything to prepare for it, just trying to stay calm. I should make sure my controller is fully charged though. Thanks for the reminder!

It's about 10:30 PM where you live, but it's only about 4:30 PM where I live, so even if you and I both got it at midnight, you'd get it 6 hours before me.

Yesterday, I was browsing around on some Grand Theft Auto forums, and I read a thread about certain areas of the world getting the game very soon. This is because of the different time zones, of course, meaning that some places are hours ahead or behind others. I then realized that since Grand Theft Auto IV will be released at midnight according to each country, and not simultaneously around the world, some countries will get the game hours before other countries will, giving the people in those countries a huge, unfair advantage in the race for the first ten people to complete the game. I was never planning on participating in this competition, but it's still really unfair for those who did want to. Not to mention all of the people who ruined it for everyone by finding ways to buy or get the game early. I really think Rockstar should just cancel this competition, it isn't fair in any way. It was a nice idea, but poorly planned out, and ruined by selfish people.

Wow, a lot of gameplay videos have been posted today! To add to the already long list, GameSpot just posted six new gameplay videos, which can be found here.

This is the only video/review that has actually made me want the game less, rather than more. - The physics engine looks cheap - kind of a Tony Hawk-style ragdoll look as Niko was flying through the air after crashing on a bike. - He was barely moving when he crashed his bike into the fence, but still flew forward quite a ways. - The cheap-looking fire in front of the back tires, shown a couple times in the video. - The way he escaped from the cops looked very poorly implemented. - Niko leans WAY too much when turning. - It's nice that Niko walks down each stair individually, but that, too, looks poorly implemented. - The car blowing up didn't look very realistic. - I thought everyone was supposed to react better to what's going on around them. So why are they just driving casually when Niko flies off his bike, goes through the sign, and lands about 20 feet in front of his bike? Then the cops start shooting at him (yeah, very realistic - cops almost NEVER Shoot, especially if someone gets hurt), and everyone continues to drive casually. - The cop just ran up behind Niko, pointed his gun at his head, and stood there. A real cop would try to take Niko down and cuff him. Instead, they just stand there, ready to open fire on him after he moves one inch! - He said the missions may seem repetitive at times.

I just got a great new computer about two weeks ago. It has: Processor: AMD 2.2 GHz dual-core processor RAM: 2 GB (plus an extra 1.8 GB with ReadyBoost) Hard drive: 500 GB (2x250) Video card: ATI RADEON X1250 (256 MB video RAM) Operating system: Windows Vista Home Premium (SP1) Monitor: Acer 19" HD LCD flat-panel

I hope that's right. Being able to use Pay N Sprays to evade the cops was a poor feature, in my opinion, but I would at least like to be able to change the color of my vehicle.

I don't know how realistic crashes will be damage-wise, but Rockstar did say that if you're going fast enough you will fly through the windshield when you crash. But I don't think this will kill you instantly (unless you're energy/health is low, of course) because, as others have said, that would get very annoying very quickly.