SPOnG spent a rather enjoyable afternoon hanging out at Rockstar's swanky London offices yesterday, having the oh-so-enviable task of seeing the latest preview builds of Canis Canem Edit (the previously named Bully, PS2, out late Oct) and GTA: Vice City Stories (PSP, out late Oct). Both are truly splendid games, unsurprisingly. Rockstar has pushed the limits of both platforms to deliver two gems for PlayStation fans this coming Christmas.
We'll be bringing you full details on the levels we played next week, as we kindly agreed to not tell anyone about them until some Spanish magazine's exclusive is up. Or something. We might tell our mums and our girlfriends, but even if we do, they'll feign interest as usual, whilst thinking about the stuff they really like such as washing powder, jewellery and stupid boy-bands.
What we can tell you is this; Canis Canem Edit is so far removed from the 'Bully simulator' that the Jack Thomsons of this world have had it pegged for (Based on what? A couple of screenshots?) that it is refreshing to actually realise what Rockstar has made. CCE turns out to be a very well scripted, gently humourous and - dare we say it - deeply
emotional game about the universally understood highs and lows of negotiating one's way painlessly through one's schooldays. Well, as painlessly as possible, what with all the bullies, greasers, preppies, prefects, nerds and teachers constantly on your case.
The guys at Rockstar mentioned various sources of inspiration behind Canis Canem Edit, including TV shows and movies such as Grange Hill, Napoleon Dynamite, Dazed and Confused and the classics Porky's and Animal House ("Toga Party excepted!"). SPOnG thinks you get the idea. From our two brief playtests on a few missions, it's one game we look forward to spending
a lot of time with next month.
Check out SPOnG's initial previews of
Canis Canem Edit and
GTA: Vice City Stories to get the full lowdown on how each is shaping up.
One other thing which really stood out for us yesterday, with both VCS and CCE, were the superb soundtracks on both. Shaun Lee, the composer that put together the original audio for Canis Canem Edit has served up the perfect atmospheric soundtrack to accompany your character Jimmy's high jinks, giving the game the feel of a slightly surreal Jim Jarmusch or David Lynch movie. If you can kind of imagine Twin Peaks meets Grange Hill, then you are almost there!
The VCS soundtrack is simply heaven. It could easily be released as a standalone CD compilation entitled, "80s Disco Dreamworld". The game has a hundred licensed tracks, which immediately return the player to 1984 - with plenty of genuine 1980s classics for players to discover as they flip between the in-car radio stations.
We'll update you with more on both titles next week. Oh, and one last thing, because we like to leave you on a Friday afternoon with something nice. Here's a bunch of the latest VCS trailers;
Jump ShipMPEG4 XviD (3.5MB)
Quicktime (3.8MB)
Windows Media (3.7MB)
HelicopterMPEG4 XviD (4.2MB)
Quicktime (4.3MB)
Windows Media (4.2MB)
Insane StuntsMPEG4 XviD (2.8MB)
Quicktime (3.1MB)
Windows Media (3.1MB)