Poll: GTA4... have you really played it?

[Wolfram23]

I have to say I'm surprised this thread really exploded like this!

Anyway seems like a lot of people really like it. I'm sure if I played it I could get into it. The most recent game of the same genre I played would have to be Mafia 2, although I know it's much less open/sandboxy. But that game really had me hooked right until the end. It's probably not fair to really compare the two but I wonder for people who've played both, are they pretty similar or not?

I actually did play a little GTA4 at a friends hows - for all of 30 minutes - and in that time he showed me some multiplayer and a little bit of free roaming, but all in all it didn't impress me at the time.

 

[Saelune]

Yes. I played it alot. Particularly free roam, but I got through a good chunk of story. Sadly I am one of the statistics of "did not beat it" though, and its less likely I will since I do not plan on playing it on my new Live account.

Edit: I forgot to say my view on it. I liked it, but it lacked the out there fun of past titles, particularly Vice City, the only GTA game I completed so far. Realism should never beat out fun. Free mode though is great, and I hope Rockstar continues to improve it in their GTA styled games. (RDR improved free roam significantly)

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I got it, collector's ed, on the night it came out. I still have the art-book and lockbox! The Rockstar key-chain is still on my keyring too!

Anyway: from the time it came out for several months after, I was hooked: lost in the new and improved Liberty City. I went through the story mode and, spent a bunch of time dicking around. I never made it to 100% but I never do in games like that.

The thing is, I never played any of the DLC games...either of...the DLC games. Lost and the Damned and, Gay Tony. I am thinking about picking up the collection disc but I doubt I will as I'm having more fun in Stillwater.

 

[Light 086]

The story missions are more repetitive then my damn job, I played the missions now and then but mainly screwed around. I absolutely hated the 'friends' shit they added, but luckily I found a way around it: Accept, then call back and cancel. No points lost =P

 

[Rayne870]

I'm midway through the game and i haven't finished it, not out of dislike but just out of lower priority to other games.

 

[Super Toast]

I've completed it six times. So yeah, I like it. A lot.

 

[Kortney]

Absolutely loved it to bits. Remains some of the best character work I've seen in a video game.

I think a lot of people didn't like it because they didn't have the right mindset for it. It's not a game you jump in and dick around in. The reward comes from being engrossed in the story and themes and seeing the big picture. It is, in many ways, opposite to Saints Row 2. And most the people I know who didn't like GTA IV were playing it like Saints Row. I suspect that's why they hated it.

 

[Drakmorg]

I played GTA4 for a while, it was fun while it lasted I'll admit. It was the last game I ever got stuck on a mission and was unable to pass, so I'm still kinda pissed about that.

I stopped playing once I bought Saints Row 2 and found that to be leagues beyond GTA4 in the "having fun" department. Just the fact that I can make my character look like Samuel L. Jackson and karate-kick old ladies to death makes Saints Row 2 a game I'm much more fond of.

 

[Der Kaiser]

I played it, but I didn't like it. The graphics were fancy, the game wasn't bad, but it lacked the Fun Factor.

 

[latenightapplepie]

I have, and I enjoyed it muchly. The multiplayer was a tad underwhelming, but otherwise, it was a superb game.

 

[Rinji]

You've really missed out on GTA 4, friend. I advise you to play it.

 

[Daveeo]

I played it through and i have played both the expansion packs aswell. The original gta IV get´s quite repetive. But the other two were better!

 

[Cheesus333]

I borrowed it from my brother, and got a fair way into the main story arc. My problem was that there wasn't really anything that made me want to do the next mission, no lingering sense of intrigue. I gave it back to him and later got Saints Row 2, so playing it now would be a leap backwards to be honest.

 

[flamingjimmy]

Definitely one of my favorite games of all time.

 

[Private Custard]

Absolutely loved it to bits. Remains some of the best character work I've seen in a video game.

I think a lot of people didn't like it because they didn't have the right mindset for it. It's not a game you jump in and dick around in. The reward comes from being engrossed in the story and themes and seeing the big picture. It is, in many ways, opposite to Saints Row 2. And most the people I know who didn't like GTA IV were playing it like Saints Row. I suspect that's why they hated it.

No, people were trying to play it like a GTA game, where jumping in and dicking around is 50% (or more) of a lot of peoples playtime. GTAIV failed at being a GTA game!!

Me, I got to the third island, although I was bored shitless by midway through the second. Didn't care about the characters or story. I hated the mobile phone hugely. I don't use a mobile phone in real life as I hate the idea that people can get hold of me whenever they want, so to have one in a game = fail!

I hated the cars handling. I hated the lack of decent clothes shops. I hated the lack of decent play area. I hated the lack of planes. I hated the weapons. I hated the fact that merely brushing against a car would fuck up my walking. I hated the lack of parachutes. I hated the fact it just wasn't any fun!

In my opinion, GTAIV broke a major rule......sequels should never have important elements removed. GTAIV took all that made GTA great and threw it in the bin.

And it's not about the realism, it's not realistic......just shitty!!

 

[Kortney]

Absolutely loved it to bits. Remains some of the best character work I've seen in a video game.

I think a lot of people didn't like it because they didn't have the right mindset for it. It's not a game you jump in and dick around in. The reward comes from being engrossed in the story and themes and seeing the big picture. It is, in many ways, opposite to Saints Row 2. And most the people I know who didn't like GTA IV were playing it like Saints Row. I suspect that's why they hated it.

No, people were trying to play it like a GTA game, where jumping in and dicking around is 50% (or more) of a lot of peoples playtime. GTAIV failed at being a GTA game!!
And it's not about the realism, it's not realistic......just shitty!!

Oh where they? My bad! You're right and I'm wrong then. It is one of the highest grossing pieces of media of all time, but yes, it was a "shitty" fail! With two exclamation marks!

Sorry for being so uninformed!!

 

[Private Custard]

Absolutely loved it to bits. Remains some of the best character work I've seen in a video game.

I think a lot of people didn't like it because they didn't have the right mindset for it. It's not a game you jump in and dick around in. The reward comes from being engrossed in the story and themes and seeing the big picture. It is, in many ways, opposite to Saints Row 2. And most the people I know who didn't like GTA IV were playing it like Saints Row. I suspect that's why they hated it.

No, people were trying to play it like a GTA game, where jumping in and dicking around is 50% (or more) of a lot of peoples playtime. GTAIV failed at being a GTA game!!
And it's not about the realism, it's not realistic......just shitty!!

Oh where they? My bad! You're right and I'm wrong then. It is one of the highest grossing pieces of media of all time, but yes, it was a "shitty" fail! With two exclamation marks!

Sorry for being so uninformed!!

OK, so 250 people loved it. But, 200 thought it was merely OK, and 141 stopped playing as they didn't like it. Hardly an outright victory there.

My opinion is that it broke first day sales records due to the hype. I'm sure we all remember the countdown to the first trailer, which killed large chunks of the internet. Absolutely massive hype and expectation.

The drastic change in gameplay was incredibly divisive, with some people loving the change in direction, and others hating it.

I'm not knocking the technical side of the game, although given the hardware for each release, San Andreas was by far and away more impressive...and more fun.

My opinion is that I really hated the shift in style, and I really thought it played like shit. The most entertaing part of the game for me was the TV stations. Great, the best part of the game is the bit where I'm not actually playing it!

Opinions, everyone's got one.

 

[Kortney]

Absolutely loved it to bits. Remains some of the best character work I've seen in a video game.

I think a lot of people didn't like it because they didn't have the right mindset for it. It's not a game you jump in and dick around in. The reward comes from being engrossed in the story and themes and seeing the big picture. It is, in many ways, opposite to Saints Row 2. And most the people I know who didn't like GTA IV were playing it like Saints Row. I suspect that's why they hated it.

No, people were trying to play it like a GTA game, where jumping in and dicking around is 50% (or more) of a lot of peoples playtime. GTAIV failed at being a GTA game!!
And it's not about the realism, it's not realistic......just shitty!!

Oh where they? My bad! You're right and I'm wrong then. It is one of the highest grossing pieces of media of all time, but yes, it was a "shitty" fail! With two exclamation marks!

Sorry for being so uninformed!!

OK, so 250 people loved it. But, 200 thought it was merely OK, and 141 stopped playing as they didn't like it. Hardly an outright victory there.

My opinion is that it broke first day sales records due to the hype. I'm sure we all remember the countdown to the first trailer, which killed large chunks of the internet. Absolutely massive hype and expectation.

The drastic change in gameplay was incredibly divisive, with some people loving the change in direction, and others hating it.

I'm not knocking the technical side of the game, although given the hardware for each release, San Andreas was by far and away more impressive...and more fun.

My opinion is that I really hated the shift in style, and I really thought it played like shit. The most entertaing part of the game for me was the TV stations. Great, the best part of the game is the bit where I'm not actually playing it!

Opinions, everyone's got one.

First of all, an Escapist poll isn't an indication of much at all.

Secondly, its two DLC add ons were two of the most downloaded of all time. That speaks about how well the game was recieved.

Thirdly, you are reaffirming my opinion about people not liking it because they aren't playing it correctly. I loved SA too, but I realise GTA IV required an adaption to both your mindset and your expectations. You couldn't play it like an old school GTA game and still have fun - you needed to change the way you saw the game.

And yes, everyone has an opinion so I am wondering why you even bothered to quote mine and challenge it, despite reaffirming it. You said yourself, you wanted it to play like San Andreas. As I said in my first post, people who wanted the game to act like something other than it is won't like it.

 

[Private Custard]

Absolutely loved it to bits. Remains some of the best character work I've seen in a video game.

I think a lot of people didn't like it because they didn't have the right mindset for it. It's not a game you jump in and dick around in. The reward comes from being engrossed in the story and themes and seeing the big picture. It is, in many ways, opposite to Saints Row 2. And most the people I know who didn't like GTA IV were playing it like Saints Row. I suspect that's why they hated it.

No, people were trying to play it like a GTA game, where jumping in and dicking around is 50% (or more) of a lot of peoples playtime. GTAIV failed at being a GTA game!!
And it's not about the realism, it's not realistic......just shitty!!

Oh where they? My bad! You're right and I'm wrong then. It is one of the highest grossing pieces of media of all time, but yes, it was a "shitty" fail! With two exclamation marks!

Sorry for being so uninformed!!

OK, so 250 people loved it. But, 200 thought it was merely OK, and 141 stopped playing as they didn't like it. Hardly an outright victory there.

My opinion is that it broke first day sales records due to the hype. I'm sure we all remember the countdown to the first trailer, which killed large chunks of the internet. Absolutely massive hype and expectation.

The drastic change in gameplay was incredibly divisive, with some people loving the change in direction, and others hating it.

I'm not knocking the technical side of the game, although given the hardware for each release, San Andreas was by far and away more impressive...and more fun.

My opinion is that I really hated the shift in style, and I really thought it played like shit. The most entertaing part of the game for me was the TV stations. Great, the best part of the game is the bit where I'm not actually playing it!

Opinions, everyone's got one.

First of all, an Escapist poll isn't an indication of much at all.

Secondly, its two DLC add ons were two of the most downloaded of all time. That speaks about how well the game was recieved.

Thirdly, you are reaffirming my opinion about people not liking it because they aren't playing it correctly. I loved SA too, but I realise GTA IV required an adaption to both your mindset and your expectations. You couldn't play it like an old school GTA game and still have fun - you needed to change the way you saw the game.

And yes, everyone has an opinion so I am wondering why you even bothered to quote mine and challenge it, despite reaffirming it. You said yourself, you wanted it to play like San Andreas. As I said in my first post, people who wanted the game to act like something other than it is won't like it.

That's exactly what I hated it for. For me, it just wasn't fun, which is what previous GTAs were all about. I refuse to change my playstyle. GTAIV owes its existence to the insanity and fun of games like VC and SA, it just felt like too much had been removed, including its humour.

GTA is just one of a huge list of games released on current systems that, I feel, were total failures when compared to earlier versions on the previous generation of consoles.