I love the drunk dialogs, especially Dwayne's, it reveals a hidden aspect of his character I never thought I'd see. Well, yeah, getting people drunk (apart from getting ladies laid >>) is one way to get secrets out in the open.
I thought I'd just list a superficial compare and contrast list between GTA 3, VC and 4, and my goodness, I'd come to realize how much GTA as a series has evolved...
- no fullmap in GTA 3? @_@ big wtf here. Man, all you GTA junkies who are hardcore enough to complete 100% in this game without a fullmap gets respect, as Little Jacob will say.
- wow@ how hard the Paramedics missions in GTA 3 are. Auto fail if the player attempts to change a damaged Ambulance during level 5? uh... I'd pass on the infinite sprint then. kthxbye. :lol
- no cab rides (fast travel), but this is true for VC as well, not sure about SA.
- Niko can climb buildings and fences like a certain Persian Prince, sucks that Claude and Tommy never had a chance to work on their upper limb muscles, and they can't swim as well! Niko +2, Claude + Tommy: - 20.
- no GPS. A double edged sword, since GTA IV's GPS system takes the legal route to your destination, but shortcuts against incoming traffic can prove to be faster.
- I think this is true for both VC and III, if the player enters a Pay 'N' Spray with the police hot on their tail, they come out of it unrecognized and the Police are like dumb fucks who cannot identify a masked paint job of their suspect. Not true any longer in IV, the player has to enter Pay 'N' Spray without the police's presence in the vicinity. + 1 to IV for realism by giving the uniformed chaps some brains.
- no more hidden packages to unlock weapons/armor at safe houses. I think this is balance at work, since it does make the game harder by forcing the player to spend on ammo, or to locate the freebies in town...
- more armor/health packs during missions, which makes life easier.
- better auto-aim, snaps on to hostiles instead of generic pedestrian 101 which makes missions easier as well.
- Niko is the only protagonist who knows how to take cover while under fire.
- the street races are easier. Much lesser traffic and the AI opponents tend to crash against each other, giving the player multiple shots at getting ahead. Compare the street races in GTA IV to VC's "Malibu Club: The Driver", damn I hated that Saber Turbo which is ammo and rocket proof, and I remember it so well because I tried every trick advocated by faqs - sniping Hilary through the windscreen as he comes in, using trucks to make his Sabre Turbo crash at corners, getting 2 stars wanted level to stop Hilary (ended up making life way more difficult for myself >.>), I even drove the Hotring Racer for this mission and NOTHING worked. Eventually I accepted there is no easy way out and won 1/20 + attempts by sheer skill at cornering.
"The Driver" essentially murdered all enthusiasm for street races in GTA games for me.
- speaking of fair play, I like how R* responded to cheaters trying to rig a race by shooting at the competition's tires. Pull this shit off in GTA IV = instant disqualification.
On the whole, I noticed GTA IV is shooting for mass market appeal, by empowering players with more options for an easier time through the game, while discouraging legit cheating techniques in the process. I like some of the new mechanics - swimming, climbing fences and rooftops are great, but at the same time I wish R* had crafted challenges around these features.
But thanks anyway!