What is so good about GTA4?

[VulakAerr]

I don't get the hate for GTA IV either. It deserved to be the instant classic that it was. I still have very fond memories of my time immersed in that epic story. The tone felt right to me, too. The whole story was satirical, aside from a small few of the more personal missions, which I think worked for investment.

The gameplay was great (though I still struggle with the slightly vague cover mechanics in both that and RDR), the voice acting was brilliant and I am glad they kept anything too over the top out of the features. It sets itself well apart from the horrendously buggy SR and SR2. I could never whole-heartedly recommend Saints Row 2 to anyone, without some serious amounts of small print.

 

[Steppin Razor]

Playing through the stories in GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas was good and all, but the real draw of those three games was the fun you could get from causing mayhem and destruction. Going on a rampage, evading police pursuit and stealing tanks, they were all loads of fun. Hell, SA went a step further by letting you fly a fighter jet around.

And then we got GTA 4. The story was nice enough I suppose, but the game itself was boring. Going on rampages was not fun. Evading police pursuits was not fun. There was no fucking fighter jet. Seriously, of all the things to take out, WHY THE FUCKING JET? The series went from a fairly decent story and over-the-top carnage to drab and boring realism with a slightly better story at the cost of everything that made the previous games fun.

Maybe I just like the 80s (Vice City) more than the 90s (SA). Don't we all?

I think my somewhat embarrassing love of 80's synth pop might have helped. Certainly better than the rap of SA.

But...
There was Radio X in SA. You didn't have to listen to the other rubbish stations when you could put on some rock/metal.

 

[Steppin Razor]

Still, it had bicycles. All is forgiven.

Ah yes, the bicycles. Nothing was more fun than running down bicycle riders in a car at high speed. Or a combine harvester. Trying to escape a 6 star wanted level on a bicycle was pretty fun too. Completely ineffective, but fun for a bit.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

I think my somewhat embarrassing love of 80's synth pop might have helped. Certainly better than the rap of SA.

But SA also had Alice in Chains, Guns N Roses, Soundgarden, Helmet, Billy Idol, Faith No More, Stone Temple Pilots, Rage, Jane's Addiction... man what a soundtrack.

EDIT: Oh and how could I forget, it had 'Eminence Front' by The Who... (digs up PS2 and plays SA)

And this little beauty:


Man I had some good times tearing through the countryside in my monster truck, dildo weapon in pocket, with that song blaring as I ran over rednecks...

GTA, what happened to you??

 

[The Hero Killer]

It was overall an amazing game with plenty of small things that made me go "wow". But it had a problem that it was so realistic that it soon became boring. I dont hate it, but its not my favorite in the series. Saints Row 2 was more "fun" in almost every way and in the end thats what mattered.

 

[Mr. Google]

There's nothing wrong with it, people just love to hate popular games (Such as Halo 3 or Call of Duty).

You make it sound as if i havnt played it before and im just a troll

 

[Colodomoko]

Yeah I agree with you. Man I can't understand what made me want the game so badly. In fact I got the 2 add-ons for the game as well. It was good for the first couple of hours of mindlessly shooting and driving over people with cheats enabled but in all seriousness I would rather have not spent my money on something so overhyped. Although I did meat some good friends by doing so. But come on, Halo 3, ODST, Cod 4-6, even fallout 3, I spent a good 60 dollars on each including any add-ons. No more, you can never trust what anyone says about a game until you rent it and play it yourself.

 

[superbatranger]

I actually found GTA 4 pretty fun. Now, it wasn't as fun as Vice City or SA. I'll be the first to admit it, but it was still able to keep me entertained while I played it.

 

[Redem]

Heh one thing I've found frustrating about GTA IV is how they are little payoff for your efforts both in term of gameplay and Storywise, I suppose that the fact that Niko stay a victim no matter what is a theme of the storyline but not giving you additional capacities for completing mini-game now that just feel like a waste of time. (hell you basicly loose money for killing of thoses pigeons)