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This Week in Lumps
#45 [01/04 - 07/04]

· Far be it for me to repeat myself on topics I may have already covered, but sometimes the topic is just too good to leave dormant. And since it was last talked about over 40 weeks ago in week 6, I think now is as good a time as ever to bring it back up again. Repeating topics and opinions, of course, will happen for many things I’ve talked about previously, such as the next Batman film, but this week I will be repeating myself somewhat on one of the most anticipated video game of the last few years: Grand Theft Auto IV.

So, the latest GTA is just weeks away, and the countdown is making every gamer blog and console website moist at the lips, be it stories of leaked photos, gameplay achievements, or even maps of the streets, it seems that nothing can be announced without it ending up gaining more attention than any Beatles reunion could ever do. So here, in our own special lump-like way, is a guide through some of the stories that have appeared over the last fortnight, starting with:

The Achievements:
The (supposed) full list of Xbox 360 Achievements for Grand Theft Auto IV have been leaked for a few weeks now, but remains unofficial as there has been no official word from Rockstar. The list includes some expected Achievements for things like hidden packages, stunt jumps, mission completions and mini-games, but some of the alleged feats are interesting and unique. Semi spoiler material warning if you click here.

The Social Club:
Rockstar has announced that it will be launching the Rockstar Social Club, a new website that will extend users experiences with the game and all future Rockstar titles. The Social Club – for which users can register with their Xbox Gamertag or PlayStation Network ID – will feature statistical leaderboards as well as performance-based competitions and awards. For more info, click here.

The first (media) person to complete the game:
GamesRadar has an interview with the first person to complete Grand Theft Auto 4 – Xbox World 360’s Deputy Editor Rob Taylor. Though many members of the press have gotten a chance to play the game, Taylor is the first to finish the game among them. He completed the game during a three-day, 30 hour marathon that took place at Rockstar’s offices. Read the interview at this link.

The multiplayer possibilities:
Scans of the latest PlayStation Magazine in Spain revealed quite a number of details on GTA 4’s multiplayer mode. According to the article, the game will support 16 players online and will have up to 15 game modes. So far 14 of them have been named. The names of which can be found here.

The 360 will get exclusive content in 2009:
Take-Two recently announced that it intends to release more exclusive GTAIV episodes for the Xbox 360 next year. The company revealed earlier this year that it would be supplying two extra episodes for Microsoft’s home console in 2008, but this is the first time it has spoken of extra content beyond the initial deal with Microsoft.

Some other snippets of news include the rumours that 6 million discs will be shipped in the first week, as well as the limited edition XBox 360 and PS3 bundles that are mouth wateringly beautiful.

Here’s the good news, GTA IV will be released worldwide on 29 April 2008 for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. I cannot wait, it’s going to be immense.

~

· It’s one thing to admit to your shortcomings, but it’s another to make damn sure that you don’t do it again. A few months ago, news broke that Athens, Georgia’s own R.E.M. were due to be releasing their 14th album at some point this year. Fear struck many, some critics say the bands time had been and gone many moons ago, and they haven’t put forward a decent album since original drummer Bill Berry departed. A quick look at those albums that have been and gone since, may confirm this for many:

• New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)
• Up (1998)
• Reveal (2001)
• Around the Sun (2004)

The last LP on that list, Around the Sun, took nine months to make and only sold well under 250,000 copies in the States, and met with a mass of critical negativity, even with the band members themselves. Guitarist Peter Buck told Q:

“I personally hated it… No, hated is too hard. I hated the fact that it wasn’t as good as it should’ve been. Even Michael was going, ‘Y’know, if we make another bad record, it’s over.’ It’s like, ‘No kidding.”

Well, the time has come: Accelerate is here- have the band made that bold and adventurous step backwards to the days of making fresh, energetic rock songs, or have they once again fallen into the musky pit of mediocrity?

Thankfully, their bravery has paid off. Thankfully, it’s a fine fine album. This collection of songs is a welcome throwback to the politically engaged and musically brash REM of the ‘Lifes Rich Pageant’ / ‘Document’ era of ’86/’87. This couldn’t be more the case in the opener ‘Living Well Is The Best Revenge’, a husky upbeat anthem which sets the tone perfectly, which would have sat just fine next to ‘It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)’, or in fact anything from the two aforementioned albums. Other highlights include the next single ‘Hollow Man’, which strangely avoids all feelings of nostalgia, but instead soaks you through with a pop-rock-but-not-too-much-pop riff, after a sweet piano beginnings, and also ‘Sing For The Submarine’, which starts as the musical equivalent of a icy stare over a crowded room, and transfolds into a twisty, hypnotic requiem.

This album is a big fat reminder that it’s still cool to like R.E.M., and anyone who lost faith in them at all this decade will need to buy this record, and pay it over and over until the hi-fi breaks, or until they are back in love with one of the finest rock and roll bands we’ll ever know. The most heart-warming fact about it all, apart from the music itself, is the knowledge they all took a long hard look at themselves, and realised what they had to do to get back to their best. As the Guardian wrote:

“There comes a point in any established band’s career when looking backwards seems to be the only possible way to move forwards.”

It’s one thing to admit to your shortcomings, it’s another to go out and make one of the best albums you’ve released in years. R.E.M. are still very much alive and kicking, and I couldn’t be more delighted for them.

~

· New to Facebook this week is Facebook Chat. I say ‘this week’, but it’s only been released on a few networks, and that doesn’t include Glasgow, sadly. However it is expected to be fully released within the next few weeks, as Facebook take big steps to keep up with Myspace chat.

The new bits and bobs you’ll soon be noticing will be found on a new bar along the bottom of the page. This ‘chat bar’ is always present when logged into Facebook (It’s there by default, and you’re not able to hide it), and although it will mean you don’t have to install anything unlike MySpaceIM, it does mean you have yet another IM to add to your already vast collection.

“Facebook IM takes a page out of Gmail’s GTalk, mimicking the way that browser-based IM functions – it even offers a way to pop-out your conversation window, so you can continue browsing Facebook without losing track of your chat session.”

So, aside from the fact that you’ve yet another IM to talk to people online with, have you ever considered just how well you know these people? Aside from those you met IRL first, of course. A recent study at the University of Texas shows that you might not know your online friends quite as well as you think you do. From ReadWriteWeb:

“The study, which utilized a Facebook getting-to-know-you type application, “You Just Get Me,” showed that the typical information posted on social networking sites does not always give others an accurate impression of you. Surprisingly, answers to most of the basic type of questions, did not help users figure out what each other were “really” like. Instead, the researchers found that when a user posted things on their profile like their most embarrassing moment, proudest moment, or spirituality, their personalities were much better understood.”

Despite me slating off Match.com a few weeks back, the profile information page is perhaps their best features, and one that either Facebook, or the next big social networking site should embrace; it guides you through putting as much information about you as possible, to avoid sounding clichéd and bland (”I love going out with my mates, cinema, and nights in” …eugh, who doesn’t?), and even assists in parts you may be stuck on. So, no more one dimensional questions like ‘About Me’.

Putting the shoe on the other foot; would this put people off? I know many people who would definitely think twice about putting personal details about themselves on the Internet. You may snigger at your stone-age parents who dislike buying shopping online in fear of their credit card details being stolen, but in reality it does happen, and they are right to be worried about something they may not know as well as you, and the same goes for your networking sites; a lot more people than you realise are worried that putting information up for others to read. When I talk about personal information, I don’t mean whether you prefer baths or showers, or what hand you use to scratch your bum, I’m talking about more sensitive facts, such as a persons date of birth, address and relationship status, anything that may lead to unwanted situations; stalkers and the like. Lest we forget that apparently nowadays sites like Bebo and Facebook are scanned and analysed by possible employees, and could be the deciding factor in you getting a job or not. Crazy as it sounds, it does happen.

So what have we learnt here? Networking isn’t as personal as you think, because if it was, we’d all be running for the hills. To summarise… lets keep things how they are, eh?

~~~

That was the week in lumps, a week in which: a US man sold the domain pizza.com and got $2.6 million for it, Velvet Revolver split with vocalist Scott Weiland, a Saudi man killed his daughter for being on Facebook, Dubai now has the tallest skyscraper in the world (and the 140th floor view is impressive too), Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg are making another film together, could this be the easiest job ever? Football Manager has arrived for the Xbox, but this aside, the Telegraph still say the PS3 is currently on top, and I very nearly wrote about this article about the iPhone and porn, but the original is better.

and rest in peace Charlton Heston, a fine fine actor, who makes the current batch of A-list stars seem completely pointless and irrelevant.

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