Kotaku's GTAIV PS3 Review leaked! It is more of an impression than a review.
There is suppose to be an embargo and this is not suppose to be released until Sunday. When I clicked on the PS3 tag it showed with a date of April 27th, 2008.
SIXAXIS Brings Nothing to GTA IV (But Frustration And Burning Helicopter Chassis)
[spoiler] SIXAXIS controls in Rockstar Games' opus Grand Theft Auto IV feels like a last minute appendage, and not a particularly useful one. It's like the game's third nipple, you know it's there, and maybe you can't resist a fiddle, but no good will come of it. When Mike told me that he didn't like the SIXAXIS controls for the game, and wasn't even able to complete the tutorial, I chalked it up to some innate hatred of the PS3's motion controls. He admitted that he doesn't really like the games that use the motion sensing, and there are several that I quite like. After playing through GTA4 on the Xbox 360, I swapped seats with Mike and settled down to get to the bottom of his SIXAXIS hatred. A few minutes into the tutorial I figured out what the problem was. The controls suck, they're absolutely abysmal. I suppose with some time I could master using the bike, in fact it wasn't that hard, and maybe one day I would fly the helicopter, but that's not the point, the point is there's no benefit using the motion sensing in Grand Theft Auto IV. The in-game tutorial for the controller, which is an annoyingly permanent option on your in-game cell phone, walks you through the four ways you use the special controller in the game. Here's the break down and my thoughts: Reload Weapon: Instead of having to mess around with, you know, pushing a button, the SIXAXIS lets you snap the controller back toward you to reload. Very easy to do, but absolutely no benefit. Motorcycle: This was by far my favorite of the lot, allowing you to steer your bike by tilting side to side. Unfortunately, it also allows you to lean forward on the bike or do a wheelie by tilting the controller forward or backward. It's unfortunate because if you're leaning forward as you play, or sitting back in the chair, it forces you to hold the controller oddly. Boat: The steering works quite well and while this also lets you tilt the controller forward and backwards to adjust the trim, its not as problematic because doing so really doesn't have much of an impact on the controls. Helicopter: Whooo-boy, this is what prevented Mike from wrapping up his tutorial training. It took me a good three or four tries to pass it as well. Not only do you have to worry about the pitch problem seen with the motorcycles and boats, but the helicopter is much touchier than the other two vehicles. I also seemed to notice a lag issue with the controls that had me overcompensating and, twice, turning my copter so far sideways it would slam into the ground. It was an exercise in frustration and made me want to through the controller across the room in frustration. Fortunately, you don't have to fly using it. Final Thoughts: I'm not sure why Rockstar decided to include SIXAXIS motion controls in GTA4, maybe they had to, but I'm sure happy they don't force you to use them. Not only can you override the motion controls at any time with the sticks and buttons, but you can turn them completely off. Now if I could only remove the SIXAXIS tutorial option in the menu I might be able to stop fiddling. [/spoiler]
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