The Big GTA 4 discussion thread. (Mild Spoilers)

[richasr]

It seems wrong a game has been receiving 10s and perfect scores when it's not even released yet, at least if it really is that good, give it some time to play it properly and then give it a review. If these scores have been purchased rather than the reviewers giving them their own opinion, that's just ridiculous.

Not saying Rockstar or Take-Two needs to do that though, because most things i've played from Rockstar, GTA series or not, have been excellent games.

 

[Strafe Mcgee]

My friend is actually playing it right now, due to him having a connection with an independent gaming store (the bastard), and from what I've seen it looks like the smoothest, most polished and downright entertaining game I've ever seen.

The amount of detail in the environments is staggeringly huge, my mate's been playing the game for 20 hours and he's yet to hear any pieces of dialogue, adverts etc being repeated on the radio. He's also been continually getting taxi's for that time, and the dialogue has ALWAYS been different. The graphics are lovely, and the occasional complaints about the framerate is still lightyears ahead of the previous games.

The cover system works well, and the driving is much more realistic (though still a bit bouncy). Based on what I've seen, I'm gonna be getting up at 6 on tuesday to get a copy, and I've NEVER done this for a game or console. It's still GTA, but it's the best GTA you've ever seen, in one of the most detailed worlds I've ever seen.

And, for the record, I'm not really a GTA fan. The game looks ESSENTIAL.

 

[WingedFortress]

I'm crying.

No, I'm not, but I damn well could be. Rockstar is about to deliver the goods.

 

[Doug]

Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/384421/grand-theft-auto-iv-review-life-liberty-city-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness] gave it a similar review and if i cant trust them who can i trust?

The question is, if they posted a really negative but rational review stating that they dident like it would Rockstar give them the cold shoulder in the future?

Well, they do at least list 'dislikes' in the game - in fact, if you look beyond the scores for these reviews (excluding IGN) they all point out little problems and annoyances, but still think its an excellent game.

The problem with a 'out of 10' system is that a game that would score, say, 96% would get rounded to 10/10, which then gets people worried.

But I think the thing is, its all relative. After all, some people hate half-life 2, and point out that the gameplay doesn't innovate much, if at all. Personally, I loved Half-life 2.

I think, ultimately, if you want to decide whether or not getting this game is for you (not everyone else), ask yourself if you liked GTA3 and/or its offspring. If yes, you'll probably like GTA IV. If not, probably not.

I honestly don't know how different GTA IV will be - from what I've heard, there are a few changes that could be enough to make 'haters' change their minds. But ultimately, its your tastes and likes that count. Personally, I think I'll love this game, but I loved GTA3, VC, and SA too, whereas lot of people here don't.

 

[Cousin_IT]

a note to everyone who gets to buy & play this game before the end of May: I hate you & hope your Xbox/PS3's discdrive goes crazy & spins the disc so fast it shoots out & decapitates you. Seeing the IGN & other reviews almost make me consider dropping out of uni to get my hands on it...almost

 

[wilsonscrazybed]

Good news! Asia is getting this game tommorrow at noon! Now I don't have to listen to everyone tell me how good it is while I stew and wait for it to be released!

 

[Rabid Toilet]

Good news! Asia is getting this game tommorrow at noon! Now I don't have to listen to everyone tell me how good it is while I stew and wait for it to be released!

Lucky bastard! I still have to wait until after school on Tuesday!

 

[Andrenavarro]

The Youtube gameplay videos and video reviews so far have been astonishing. And since San Andreas I've been a fan of the GTA series. Before San Andreas, GTA games offered you total freedom to blow things up and nothing more. They were still fun and with good stories, but a lot was missing on the gameplay.

But in San Andreas, there was variety. Yes, the shooting sucked and the death animations were repetitive, but the mission objectives were so creative they got around that, like jumping out of a car before it flies off a dock taking your target along with it to drown. And the story was fantastic, with a brilliant main character. And according to the GTA IV reviews, it seems writer Dan Houser has done it again.

I'm looking forward to GTA IV. And, of course, to the Euphoria Engine. Hitting pedestrians with your car or shooting them has never looked this great.

 

[Drong]

I can honestly say i'm not that bothered it's not big deal, all hot air....ok so i'm lying through my teeth I don't normally give into hype but I'm totally psyched, I pre ordered the special edition pack months ago and i'm hoping play get it to me promptly tomorrow (it's my birthday too, double bonus) and I have most of the rest of the week off work too.

 

[sammyfreak]

In one videoreview i saw them driving around mashing down people in true GTA style. But i actualy was annoyed by how everyone was ragdolising, infact i liked the animations better in San Andreas. But i'll have to se how it looks ingame.

 

[Doug]

I can honestly say i'm not that bothered it's not big deal, all hot air....ok so i'm lying through my teeth I don't normally give into hype but I'm totally psyched, I pre ordered the special edition pack months ago and i'm hoping play get it to me promptly tomorrow (it's my birthday too, double bonus) and I have most of the rest of the week off work too.

Heh, me too. I was hoping it'd arrive today (twas dispatched Saturday on first class), but unless its going to come this afternoon (along with a squad of flying pigs) it looks like I still have to wait 20-whole-hours! The horror!!! THE HORROR!

(Legal statement: The author reckonizes that 'the horror' of the scenario is small relative to real horror, and it was entirely for humour. By reading this statement you have directly sold your soul to satan and caused the deads of over 100 especially cute puppies and kittens)

 

[jezz8me]

My friend just picked it up from the midnight launch for me. I have GTA 4 now, i will get back to you at around 10 ish tomorrow to say my first impressions

 

[wilsonscrazybed]

My friend just picked it up from the midnight launch for me. I have GTA 4 now, i will get back to you at around 10 ish tomorrow to say my first impressions

Great, remember to keep it spoiler free so those of us who haven't played get a chance to enjoy the wonderment.

 

[laikenf]

I've nerver been a GTA fan because of the AWFUL combat system, but I'm aware that GTA IV has greatly improved on this (they actually overhauled it) so now it includes a targeting and a cover system that seems very intuitive; because of this I do plan on getting it and break my GTA ice.

 

[krysalist]

I'm very excited to hit Best Buy at midnight tonight with fellow people who don't care how much they hate waking up in the morning even when they go to bed at a reasonable hour, and proceed to devote countless hours (I've already taken off work on Wednesday) to this brand new world.

I've been checking up on impressions, and I'm particularly intrigued by Stephen Totilo's war cry [http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/04/27/grand-theft-auto-iv-impressions-of-an-impressive-first-seven-hours/] against the game, wherein he says that Rockstar's talk about the game being "revolutionary" for the game industry is pretty much all hype.

And I'm thinking that, though I will have to see for myself, there is no doubt that a next-gen GTA has to be revolutionary simply for the experience factor, but not necessarily for gameplay elements (although if you've read anything about the multiplayer, you're probably salivating like a mad dog, ESPECIALLY if you're a PS3 owner because, as we know, we pay absolutely nothing for the right to kill).

I'm pretty unshakeable when I get excited for something. Nothing's going to change my world -- no Stephen Totilo is going to be able to reduce my enthusiasm with his early nit-picking seemingly done for the sake of self-aggrandizing. Especially when at the bottom of his "article," he notes that, "As perfected as this ?GTA? is, I must admit that I spent a good deal of Saturday tempted to return to playing ?Super Mario Galaxy.? Is there really an excuse for such a statement?

Best believe I'm a ho for Rockstar, till the bitter end, and I am ready for the revolution. How about you?

 

[L.B. Jeffries]

It would probably help video game culture for a developer to focus more on the experience a game provides than worrying about gameplay elements all the time. The only people who care about those things are rapidly becoming the minority. And frankly, they all seem to just be re-hashes or twists on old concepts these days anyways.

It's the same GTA structure but with the incredibly polished and smooth experience of being a criminal in New York City. A game that devotes itself to that is revolutionary enough.

 

[sammyfreak]

I feel torn between picking it up at midnight (5 hours 15 minutes left in that case) or waiting until tommorow morning. But since i got the entire week off and havent had a proper nights sleep in to long i should wait.

 

[Doug]

I feel torn between picking it up at midnight (5 hours 15 minutes left in that case) or waiting until tommorow morning. But since i got the entire week off and havent had a proper nights sleep in to long i should wait.

*grumbles* have to wait for the mail delivery *grumbles more about 10 am sortof time*

 

[Valaska]

I'm looking forward to this game a lot, they seem to be a seriousness to the story and characters that was lacking before. I mean San Andreas was fun to randomly combine an entire crowd of unwitting people until you finally have swathed through 30 of them and a rain of blood and skin bits has caked them enough that they are weighted down, but CJ was a horribly shallow character just like the rest of them.. Especially Tony Vercetti or whatever the hell he is named.

Nicko this time seems to have a really rich back story and some good lines, I assume he was in the Afghani war when he was just basically a kid, and his whole intro video explaining him really took me aback, especially when the quote "A creature that could do this, has no soul" came, it seems that the writers of rock star went back to high school again and picked up some short story tips.
To me, Depth of Character matters a lot but this game might actually repel its usual drunken fratboy or frustrated 13 year old boy audience with having a factor of humanity etc to it. Of course if they manage to get past a few missions they can aimlessly go out on a rampage, which is another odd thing they are apparently implementing a light cover system and making the combat more tactful and so you have to think. This is probably going to really hurt its previous Audience.. Oh well they'll still buy it and Rockstar will make the money, they just won't like it lol.

At any rate I am really looking forward to this one.. Except for how they want to make it more realistic.. So they took airplanes out right.. Well I actually have quite a few hours to my pilots license and a few to Helicopters.. Helicopters are several times harder to fly lol, which you can pilot in this game.
That kind of upset me, I liked flying the Harrier around on San Andreas, gave me a whole hand of god feeling.

 

[Doug]

Nicko this time seems to have a really rich back story and some good lines, I assume he was in the Afghani war when he was just basically a kid, and his whole intro video explaining him really took me aback, especially when the quote "A creature that could do this, has no soul" came, it seems that the writers of rock star went back to high school again and picked up some short story tips.

Erm... I'm just curious, but why do you think he was involved in the Afghani war? Not to rain on you parade or anything, as I think your right about the changes to the story, although I found that the characters in GTA Sa were alright (maybe playing the earlier ones fill in the back storys - that assumes you didn't play them...?)

Anywho, Nicko is definitely from the Balkanlands, (I think Albian?) which is in east-Europe, and has had its only set of wars, so of them genocidal (although my history of the area is patchy so I don't know if Nicko could have been involved in any).