Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

I was playing Liberty City Stories on the PS2 when it struck me that I had abandoned my original game of GTA III nearly two years ago when I was stuck, ironicly enough, on the mission ‘Grand Theft Auto’ which required the theft and delivery of three cars from different parts of Staunton Island. I remembered playing it numerous times, but the tight time limit defeated me every time. I went back to the save game and with my new understanding of the geography and layout of the area I finally cracked it. I pushed on, and finished the rest of the Ray Machowski and Donald Love missions, and finally opened the last island – Shoreside Vale.

Driving into a new area in a GTA game is one of my favourite gaming experiences – exhilarating, bewildering and full of new possibilities. Driving over the Cochrane Dam in a stupidly fast Infernus in the middle of a thunderstorm whilst listening to Greenday is definitely something to savour. I’ve also put some rechargeable batteries in my wireless controller so I can relax on the sofa with no leads tangling in the way. Bliss.

Now I’ve just had fish and chips for tea, and I’m sat with a can of beer and Sky Cops on the telly – ACEBEST!