Grand Theft Auto / GTA Online

[Alex79]

I preferred San Andreas, although Vice City was brilliant. 4 was a right boring grind though.

[ratsoalbion]

Don't forget that we're recording a podcast all about GTAIV and the Liberty City episodes this coming Thursday, so get your thoughts in sharpish if you'd like them to be considered for inclusion.

[Alex79]

http://www.dlcentral.co.uk/shootthebarr ... -in-gta-5/

[Alex79]

Thoughts for the podcast...

GTA 4 was a game I'd been looking forward to for ages. My girlfriend bought it for me on release day as an early birthday present and I actually booked a week off work to play it. As opposed to GTA 5 where I've actively tried to avoid too much info on the game, I eagerly devoured any trailers, screenshots and snippets of information about the fourth instalment. I think it's fair to say that by the time the game was released I was at absolute fever point.

When I finally popped the disc in my 360 I wasn't disappointed. First impressions were great. Graphics were amazing and the 5.1 audio mix dragged you straight in to the heart of Liberty City. Then I got in a car and sped off and the driving felt way off the mark. It was really loose and crashes were plentiful - for a game that's arguably 50% driving and 50% combat it seemed odd for the game to be such a departure - handling wise - from previous instalments. Still, it didn't take long to become accustomed to the new handling, and before long I was hand-braking around corners and pulling 180's as if nothing had ever changed. My first few hours - nay, days - with the game were excellent, but then at some point, and I can't remember exactly when - it all started to fall apart. The missions became incredibly repetitive and dull, keeping up friendships with other characters became nothing but a grind, and eventually even Liberty City itself became a grey and brown boring blur of monotony.

The game tried to implement new stuff that it just didn't need to. There was a morality system barely touched upon to the point it was completely redundant, the lack of flying vehicles was a real disappointment. The helicopters just weren't as much fun as all the jets and different planes in San Andreas. I can totally see they were going for a more realistic game, but it seemed to be massively at the expense of fun.

There are plenty of positive thing to mention though. Combat was solid, the cover system worked well and shooting from cars had been greatly improved. Whilst Nico wasn't particularly likeable or charismatic there were a few really good characters. The steroid pumped car nut (was it Bruce?) was a stand out for me. Unfortunately, by the time I'd reached the end of the game I'd just had enough of it all. It's the only GTA I've never replayed. I don't think the soundtrack helped either. It just didn't have the iconic tracks we saw in VC and SA.

I played both the add-on packs and both deserve a brief mention. The Lost And The Damned was brilliant. Johnny was a much better lead character, the story was tighter, the missions more fun, and a special mention goes to the bike races which really evoked fond memories of the Road Rash games on the Sega Megadrive for me.

The Ballard Of Gay Tony was also a lot of fun, I think the character you play, Luis, was probably my favourite and the most well written of the three main protagonists. I really enjoyed the way all three stories intertwined through the main game and two add ons. It was fun playing essentially the same mission from three viewpoints in places. I'm hoping this is something GTA 5 can build on.

All said then, GTA 4 was without a doubt my least favourite of the series so far - but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it, or at least parts of it. I just hope Rockstar remember to bring out the fun next time. I'm quietly confident they will.



EDIT : Apologies for any typos - having to do it all on my phone at the moment!

[RoboticMonk3y]

GTA 4 is the best worst game that I own (or should that the the worst best game?)
So much stuff to do in the game, so many things to see, and so many places to explore, I feel however, that most of my enjoyment from the game, came from messing around in free roam mode in multiplayer. Clicking on the jazz radiostation and going for a nice gentle drive across the city, absorbing the sights and sounds, seeing how the people interact with the city and each other.

The game for me was rammed full of so many exciting moments, where careful detail had been paced onto things. I remember shooting at a car, the windscreen flashing with red, followed by the driver slumping forward in their seat and the car accelerating wildly out of control and running me over.
I heard people complaining about the cars controlling badly, and that they felt to sloshy, i think they handled just like an actual car and once you got used to driving a little more gently, then the car physics were just fine.
So why then, is it my best worst game? well, while the city was nicely crafted, and the cars and driving were handled well, the rest of the game to me just felt a bit... meh...

There was little variance in the missions, just repeated iterations of steal this from here, shoot this person, chase this person. One mission in particular (three leaf clover) ultimately made me give up on the game. I tired every variant of trying to run ahead of my team mates who I had to nanny, or hanging back and trying to pick people off to keep them safe, but every single time, someone would die and I'd be reset back to half an hour ago, for another agonising drive across the city, back to the same bank heist.

I had no emotional investment in the story, I felt that I was being led by the story to believe that Niko is a troubled man, with a past he would like to forget and move on from. Sadly I spent most of the game thinking that Niko was a bit of a jerk, and was continuing to surround himself with morally bankrupt people. The writing seemed a little schizophrenic and kept flip-flopping between trying to be gritty, poignant and serious, disinterested with moments of "hey, it's my wacky friend Bruce! isn't Bruce wacky! he's saying silly things, lets go and drink beer and look at boobies". It's not that either approach to the game would been bad, but it left me feeling like a lot of the writing was just a bit awkward.

The AI seemed rather clumsy, trying to escape and being shot at in your car while your AI companion is running in circles around the car because they seem to have forgotten how to use a door handle. I probably don't really need to go into how irritating it was to have to answer your phone every 5 minutes to go out with one of your wacky friends.

The multiplayer gaming was great fun, the co-op missions were great. Racing was spoiled by the fact there was always one jerk who would park traffic and jam up the streets, and multiplayer in general for me was spoiled by one of the most un-intuitive multi player matchmaking systems, it felt like a wrestle and lots of loading screen watching while tying to set up.

I could wiffle on for ages about the niggles of the game, but equally there was a lot about the game that raised a smile.

TLDR:
good game spoiled for me by some gaming irritations.

[dezm0nd]

Nice post. The word wiffle had me giggling whether its a typo or not!

[RoboticMonk3y]

wiffle is so a word!

[Buckled Kipper]

Controversial opinion, but this is actually my favourite of the series. Memorable lead character for once, and a really immersive game world. Possibly the most underrated multi player of all time as well.

[RoboticMonk3y]

Controversial opinion, but this is actually my favourite of the series. Memorable lead character for once, and a really immersive game world. Possibly the most underrated multi player of all time as well.

not controversial at all, I hope that my post didn't come across as too negative. Like I say, there was a lot about the game that made me smile. The random encounters with strangers, the adverts on billboards all across the city ( wonder what pisswasser beer actually tastes like? ) the amazing mix of radio stations, the wide variety of vehicles and things to do and see.
I find myself to be very jealous of the people with a PC powerful enough to have the game running with all the 'realistic' graphics filters on. Where the game takes on a glossy 'real world' look and feel.

[Buckled Kipper]

Not at all. Was speaking more in general of people's attitudes towards it.

Must say I never actually finished the game (but got pretty damn far) as I got my second Xbox red ring which drove me into the arms of Sony.

[RoboticMonk3y]

Must say I never actually finished the game (but got pretty damn far) as I got my second Xbox red ring which drove me into the arms of Sony.

I remember there being a lot of fuss at the time over GTA being one of the console breaking games. When you install it, the xobx doesn't get too loud, but running form the disc, man that made the xbox get loud!

[Buckled Kipper]

Yep, Gears Of War broke my launch model and GTA IV broke my second one. Ended up buying a 360s some years later but never quite loved the Xbox brand the same way since. It's pretty much a glorified entertainment hub for me these days.

[kappisun]

One mission in particular (three leaf clover) ultimately made me give up on the game. I tired every variant of trying to run ahead of my team mates who I had to nanny, or hanging back and trying to pick people off to keep them safe, but every single time, someone would die and I'd be reset back to half an hour ago, for another agonising drive across the city, back to the same bank heist.


TLDR:
good game spoiled for me by some gaming irritations.[/quote]

Exactly where I gave up & got rid of game. Got sick of having to start so far back. I know save system much better with RDR and GTA Chinatown Wars so hopefully won't be an issue.

[RoboticMonk3y]

.. as for a three word review


GOD!

DAMN!

PIGEONS!

[adderblack39]

Grand theft auto 4 is hands down my absolute favorite game this generation.
I remember being genuienly dissapointed when the release date slipped from 07 to april 08,but also eagerley scanning the internet for any morsel of information in the intervening months made it well worth the wait.
It still amazes me that rockstar managed to completely keep any gameplay footage away from the public until release day,(a tactic they look set to replicate with GTA5),which only added to the incredible hype that had reached fever pitch come launch day.
Unfortunately mid night launches were not popular in my home town,so i had to wait till the next morning.
I barely slept that monday night,and rose that sunny april morning to purchase my copy.
From the second the game started i became nico belic,the incredible attention to detail,the fully fleshed out characters,the gripping central story drew me in for hours at a time,i would play gta4 at any spare oppurtunity,there was no other game that came close at the time time and few have taken over my life in such a way since.
I understand there are a considerable amount of people that missed the over the top,wakkyness of earlier gta games,but i embraced the serious tone rockstar took with gta4,it really felt more like a hard boiled thriller as a result.
I really enjoyed my time with LIBERTY CITY STORIES as well,even though i think rockstar left the dlc a little to late,by the time LCS came out the controls felt a lot clunkier than i remember and liberty city was a little bit too familiar,as such i didnt enjoy LCS as much as much as nicos story,but it was still was better than most AAA games at that time.
Three word review> Three leaf clover

[ratsoalbion]

Would anyone who has posted here object if I quoted some of your responses in an article I'm writing about GTA IV for my job?
It won't be long quotes, just a few words to give a sense that a lot of gamers don't dig what is still the highest rated game of all time (according to Metacritic).

Please let me know if you have any objections!

[mikeleddy83]

Interesting opinions, getting excited for the podcast now (just resisted the urge to type poddy). Might even have a stab at a third playthrough with the quiet times ahead on the release front.

[RoboticMonk3y]

Would anyone who has posted here object if I quoted some of your responses in an article I'm writing about GTA IV for my job?
It won't be long quotes, just a few words to give a sense that a lot of gamers don't dig what is still the highest rated game of all time (according to Metacritic).

Please let me know if you have any objections!

no objections at all (except maybe a request that any dumb spelling/grammar errors are tidied up! )

[RoboticMonk3y]

http://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/a ... tunes.html

All GTA radio stations on spotify playlists!

There goes my afternoon!

[Alex79]

Disappointed we didn't get the first game soundtrack though.

"The menfolk found their women scary, because they were so big and hairy..."



The main theme was kickass too.