1. Why I would like to join: As I've quit Runescape now I have more free time on my hands (despite GCSE's fast approaching). I feel with this time I could give back to the community.

2. Desired section: Entertainment

3. My experience: As for a newspaper or online magazine - none. However me and my friend run a website that has reviews on.

4. My example: (Taken from my website [see sig] and thus Copyright © My Website - No Sarcasm Here)

It’s been nearly 4 years since developer's, Rockstar North, last released a new product, and in that time, pointless knockoffs have attempted to fill the void. None have… GTA has been special as it taps into the spinal cord of pop culture in modern gaming, and despite very little information shown prior to its release, it’s finally here! The question is… has the new dawn of open world games arrived?

Story

You play as Niko Bellic, an Eastern European attempting to escape his past and the horrors of the Bosnian war. He arrives in Liberty City to experience the American dream, only to discover his cousin, Roman, may have fibbed a bit in his tales of success. Starting from nothing, Niko makes a living as a killer and enforcer, a bad-cabbage foreigner who appears to have no morals. The longer we stay with Niko, the more we see that there is a broken human being inside, one who would give anything to escape the person he once was, while and the same time, revenge is on his itinery. With plenty of playmates around, Liberty City soon becomes Nikos’ playground.

The GTA protagonists have always been unrealistic and hard, and therefore, hard to love. This isn’t the case with Niko as he’s much more human, showing sympathy, empathy and fearless loyalty. This time you WANT him to win! This, with the Famous Rockstar wack job, creates the twists and mysteries the GTA franchise has been known for. This is one of the few games that can hold up to high end action flicks, with the help of some excellent voice acting and a slick script. It’s rare that one should even care about the characters in video games, but the plot-shifts here won’t come and go unnoticed.

Design

As before, GTA IV, include driving, shooting and the new addition of a social life, this include the use of restaurants to impress your so-called partner and mini games such as snooker, bowling and darts. Some of these mini-games have the potential of become full-fledged games, but in the world of GTA, they are nothing more than a side dish.

The formula for main missions is one that works basically goes like this:

# You watch a cut scene

# Someone in the cut scene tells you that someone has done them wrong

# You’re then told they need to be taught a lesson

# Then you drive off to teach them a lesson

# At this point another cinematic is triggered and the process repeats

Slightly out of this framework are the side missions, but telling the difference between these and the main track is impossible to tell as both have had the same effort put into them. You can either follow these side missions to the end or follow the main story ad still get a hectic 30 hours out of it! As you progress through the game, you make more acquaintances and keeping the all happy can be almost impossible, but it’s all held together by the cell phone of Nikos’ which shows you times, dates, objective, cheats and is also the gateway to online.

Gameplay

Previous GTA titles had many things to complain about. This new instalment has been refurbished to the max. The new cover system has been revamped and despite being a little too unique, is worthwhile in use. Lock-on can be a little finicky but not enough to go crazy about. Drive-by shooting has improved allowing you to use the right analogue stick to aim while the left analogue is used to drive. Aside watching people react to your ludicrous driving, the physics deserves the most credibility, especially in cars. Many thanks to the new engine as it is almost realistic and looks it too.

Looking at Niko falling out of a helicopter from 100ft or flying through the car windscreen shows what the engine is capable of. The physics also give the vehicles an illusion of weight and makes collision ever more effective. The driving style is different to conventional racing game and may take a while to get use to.

Online

Everything is active in Liberty City online -- the cops, pedestrians, traffic, and weather. And yes, the entire city is open to you and 15 of your closest friends. To keep you and your pals from getting separated, GTA IV offers a party system. The party lobby is actually set in the outskirts of Liberty City. You're given plenty of guns and some vehicles to mess around with. You can stay and fight or run around the city if you like while waiting for the host to set up a match and, there are there a lot of options to choose from. As with just about every game, there are both ranked and unranked matches. Ranked matches are the only way to progress up the ranking system (from 0-10). Progressing up the ranks not only makes you feel better about yourself, but it opens up new clothing and accessories to better customize your character.

There's not a lot of pull to rank up, though, because many of the modes don't use your custom character. The co-op modes and Cops n' Crooks use a different cast, so if those tend to be your primary focus, having new outfits for a character you never see isn't going to mean much. I won't go so far as to say that GTA IV is the best multiplayer out there, but it's definitely among the best. Having Liberty City in full effect and only seeing occasional instances of slowdown is a real treat. When a few million people load hop online, it's anyone's guess how the game will hold up, but from my experience, playing with 16 people in Free Mode only caused occasional hiccups. It’s certainly not enough to make one stop playing.

Visuals

It’s not really fair to criticise the games visuals and compare them to an FPS with a pre-decided scene. Considering that GTA IV is a free-roaming game and is massive in size, it’s fair to say that the visuals are of very high standard and is amongst the top games. Some interior scenes can look almost real with the proper lighting. Character models are great and good at lip-syncing. Along with Day and night sequences, and looming skyscrapers, it can be one breathtaking view.

Conclusion

Grand Theft Auto III was a great title, one that inspired a whole new generation of 3D action games. Grand Theft Auto IV is just as big a leap forward, though perhaps in subtle ways, and sets a new benchmark for open-world games. Everything in GTA IV works in harmony. The story would be nothing without the city; the city gains realism from the physics engine; the physics complement the improved AI; the AI would make no sense without the new cover system. The list goes on. There is no one major weak aspect. GTA IV is really the drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll of the gaming industry.

10/10 - A 10 doesn't mean in anyway a game is perfect; it means a game is pushing boundaries, expanding a genre, and doing many things to a level so far above and beyond its competitors that they overshadows any flaws.

I skimmed through the article, and I saw it as decent. Although, you may want to apply for Entertainment if this is what you're going to write about during your time on the newspaper. I didn't spot any spelling errors, and your summary on the game was great. You covered most of the areas that any videogame has to offer, and you did so putting a lot of thought into each area. The "Design" section was something that I found unique, as I have never seen that on any videogame article that I have ever read. The only thing I want to point out is, explain or tell the audience what GTA is. Not everyone knows of Grand Theft Auto.

If you are applying for my section, I guess I would accept you. But, with this sort of article, your best bet would be to apply for Entertainment, in which, if I were the section head for that too, I would still accept you. So, Entertainment or Tech?

If you feel that this type of article is best suited for entertainment then I guess I will apply for Entertainment instead.

I will edit my post as required.

According to this:
http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/inde...=231115&hl=
I think Doddsy will be away for two weeks.

I hope Doddsy will be okay with this, but since you're a good writer, I will accept you.

It's solid. Little rough but whatever. Good article and covers everything.

Thanks for the catch Prash.

T'was a good article and I agree wih Prash