What is the final consensus on GTAIV?
- Thread starter borghe
- Start date
Ploid 3.0
Member
That actually looked like fun, reminds me of another game lol. Prat fall button should have been in the game. Then I would have something more fun than blowing up cars to create chain reactions.
Yeah but to play that you either have to buy GTAIV or Lost and Damned with it.
Thug Waffle
Member
It wasn't quite as enjoyable as Vice City for me. Can't wait for V, though.
petethepanda
Member
The driving/physics make it one of the most endlessly replayable titles I've ever played. Always been amazed that aspect of the game gets so much hate (though I guess I sort of get it in comparison to the older GTA games).
The story is laughable, though. Rockstar can certainly write dialogue and some good individual scenes, but they just can't do a damn story.
The story is laughable, though. Rockstar can certainly write dialogue and some good individual scenes, but they just can't do a damn story.
I imagine I'd like it a lot more on the second playthrough. I tried too hard to be a good friend the first playthrough, and it made the game a drag. Sorry cousin, I don't want to go bowling, you fat fuck.
Problem is, the game's a little too long to impulsively play through a second time. So I don't see myself replaying it any time soon.
Lost and Damned and Ballad of Gay Tony were both great. Loved the tight story focus, whereas GTAIV was too sprawling. Then again, I have the same criticism of RDR, and that game is almost unanimously loved.
Problem is, the game's a little too long to impulsively play through a second time. So I don't see myself replaying it any time soon.
Lost and Damned and Ballad of Gay Tony were both great. Loved the tight story focus, whereas GTAIV was too sprawling. Then again, I have the same criticism of RDR, and that game is almost unanimously loved.
Mauricio_Magus
Banned
It's boring as fuck, then I played RDR and LOVED it so much.... that's the only reason I'm hyped for GTAV
I agree, would be awesome to have a button to do that ( possible on the PC with a trainer and KB/M) on the console versions, so fun.
The part that annoyed me was that you need Brucie, Jacob and Packies special ability to 100% the game, so you couldn't tell them to fuck off if you wanted that.
baxter2231
Member
A discrace to the GTA name as far as im concerned. I bought saints row 2 to get my GTA fix and was more GTA then GTA4. That and rockstars other output this gen make me have zero interest in GTA 5 unless it is clear they fixed their awful gameplay, reason iirc is using the euphoria engine for the character. Once an amazing dev has fallen so hard. Lucasarts fell too but at least they didnt make an abomination out of a once awesome series, battlefront, because they didnt make one.
rohlfinator
Member
Agreed. It takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it the driving is a ton of fun. Made chases feel a lot more chaotic and realistic.
I'd like to go back and try San Andreas for the larger open world and the story, but the moment-to-moment gameplay is so much weaker than IV that it's a chore to play. IV didn't have a ton of variety, but the parts it did have were pulled off pretty well.
A Sentient Keyboard
Member
Just Cause 2 and Saints Row 3 are better where it counts.
bluecapsule
Member
A well polished game, but simply not as "fun" as GTA San Andreas or its modern competitors (Saints Row 2/3, Sleeping Dogs).
Cops & Robbers was amazing.
It really was, would have preferred if there were more rounds per game, got done quickly sometimes.
Even just messing around in free roam with people was very fun, getting chased by actual people who are in helis shooting at you ( not that fun in the DLCs, as the helis were so OP), racing at the airport, having a 16 man battle against 5 star police while hiding out at Burger shot, having a good old cat and mouse chase through the city, stunts with friends etc...
Some great co op modes too.
Good times, good times.
The MP more than made up for the lack of SP activities IMO.
Felix Lighter
Member
I'm mostly with the pro-GTA IV GAF.
I liked GTA IV quite a bit. I found the driving to be great. The gunplay was significantly better than the previous GTA but still needed work. More recent Rockstar titles give me encouragement that they'll get it right next time. The city may have been the best realized open world environment I've played in, only RDR may have it beat. I still consider it one of my favorite games of this generation. I have one major issue with it but it actually turns me off enough to prevent me from replaying it. The cellphone/relationship maintainence mechanics.
I liked GTA IV quite a bit. I found the driving to be great. The gunplay was significantly better than the previous GTA but still needed work. More recent Rockstar titles give me encouragement that they'll get it right next time. The city may have been the best realized open world environment I've played in, only RDR may have it beat. I still consider it one of my favorite games of this generation. I have one major issue with it but it actually turns me off enough to prevent me from replaying it. The cellphone/relationship maintainence mechanics.
Thanks for selectively quoting me, as I addressed that stuff in the next sentence.
I actually find the physics and the interaction with the world's objects what is fun about the game. I spent two hours lining up cars against a wall and smashing them with a garbage truck and seeing how the cars got mangled. It was amazing.
Going full speed on the highway with a motorbike and hitting a vehicle, resulting in you going flying, is super fun and because of the physics is a hell of a lot better to look at/ more amusing than compared to SR or SD, were you character freezes when in mid air and just flies...
IV has spoilt me in that regard.
bone_and_sinew
breaking down barriers in gratuitous nudity
MAX PAYMENT
Member
Spot on. Most real-life police car chases end in total disaster. When you get in a car chase in GTAIV, you pretty much know at least one spectacular accident is goin to happen.
jacksepticeye
Member
Amazing engine, physics (best vehicles handling and damage modelling ever), visuals and world design. But poorly executed and took itself far too seriously. San Andreas was better because it was more OTT and dumb a lot of the time. I never connected with any of the characters in GTA IV at all. People say Niko was great but I didn't think so. EFLC was much better and I hope GTA V keeps that sort of style
Iacobellis
Junior Member
I hated ragdoll. One of the most overused things in the early part of this generation. I would prefer the car just to hit Niko and have him fall down like in EVERY other GTA. Flying thirty feet in the air pissed me off.
TheGreyHulk
Member
boring gameplay
natural motion system ironically gives unnatural motion to Niko... why does he turn like an SUV and move like a sloth. cover system is too wonky and the gunplay is very boring.
automobile controls are awesome though. they've always been on point with them and their motorcycle controls are second to none outside of actual motorcycle racing games.
i was pretty disappointed in GTAIV vanilla. I did enjoy TBoGT though, so I think GTAV will fix a lot of the issues I had with GTAIV.
natural motion system ironically gives unnatural motion to Niko... why does he turn like an SUV and move like a sloth. cover system is too wonky and the gunplay is very boring.
automobile controls are awesome though. they've always been on point with them and their motorcycle controls are second to none outside of actual motorcycle racing games.
i was pretty disappointed in GTAIV vanilla. I did enjoy TBoGT though, so I think GTAV will fix a lot of the issues I had with GTAIV.
CamHostage
Member
Overrated by the press, underrated by the audience.
Ive tried to get in to it three different times now. Each time, I don't make it more than a few hours before I lose my desire to play it. I 100% gta III, and nearly did vice city as well. To this day, I can't put my finger on what turns me off about gta iv. It's a game that I really want to like, and really want to play. But, to this point, it just hasn't grabbed me like the previous entries in the series did.
That sounds like a glitch, I've never flown 30 feet in the air from getting hit (and none of Rockstar's games use ragdoll).
Many people sleep on GTA IV's multiplayer it seems. Any time the Xbox Live activity charts get posted with GTA IV still in the top 10 there are always posts of "GTA IV??? Still?!?"
old manatee
Banned
Driving around the city and listening to the radio is fun for a while, pretty much everything else is shitty.
Iacobellis
Junior Member
What? Did you play IV or...
Exactly, the SP might be a disappointment but the MP is just amazing and I hope many do at least give it a go if not already ( well, not now since it aint as popular lol)
All of Rockstar's in-house games since Table Tennis use Euphoria. Far superior to simple ragdoll physics.
It's one of the coolest things about GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption in my opinion. Grabbing random NPC's with the lasso in Red Dead and then watching the physics work as you drag them behind on your horse never got old.
GTA IV used euphoria, which is a lot better than Ragdoll and is one of the reason why IV is a lot better than many other open world games. Actual hit detection in game, like stagger when the side of your car hits a person, shooting the left arm of an NPC has them reacts accordingly, NPC actually roll over the car if you hit them and not go flying into the air like SR/SD ( may happen sometimes in IV, but that is a glitch, 9 times out of 10 the reaction to running someone over looks very natural)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoES90f-0pk
RDR went a bove and beyond with this, fixing the player movement and having even better physics, shooting has never felt so impactful.
IV was one of the first games I got when I upgraded to "next gen", and it delivered on everything a new generation of hardware was supposed to be. I loved the little details everywhere, like the web browser in game and the television programming on the televisions. And the way Nico ran down steps.
No, it was not the most interesting game, or the most fun (which I'm sure is a solid case against its "flawless" review scores), but for me IV set the bar for the kind of detail and craft we should expect from big budget, AAA+ games. Everything after would be compared with its high watermarks.
So: good game, just not a great game, but an amazing technological achievement.
No, it was not the most interesting game, or the most fun (which I'm sure is a solid case against its "flawless" review scores), but for me IV set the bar for the kind of detail and craft we should expect from big budget, AAA+ games. Everything after would be compared with its high watermarks.
So: good game, just not a great game, but an amazing technological achievement.
I've been sitting in class (finally got OUT!), just wondering how I'd respond to this.
For me, it is simple. Euphoria & the RAGE system has spoiled me, to the point where I can't go back to other open worlds. I love GTA IV; it has it's fair share of problems, but I like it's presentation and the real character is Liberty City. There are places in Broker that resemble Brooklyn in some uncanny ways- when I finally moved to NYC, I kept thinking on my digital memory from this game.
There's nothing that beats driving around in GTA, and listening to Candi Staton's "Young Hearts Run Free" in a drop top, before stopping by Playboy's rooftop to catch the sun rising. Little touches like that, really blow my mind. I'm a simple gamer- I can get lost for hours in the incredible detail they've designed the city with. I love the weight of everything- I know I can immediately go back to driving in this game, and it feels both challenging and rewarding. I love how NPCs react to gun fire in different places of their bodies, and how everything feels like it has momentum. I love the little touches of snarky humor and misanthropic radio commercials; and I love base jumping to catch an aerial perspective of Algonquin before landing in the ocean.
Many will count the game's narrative as a failure- I'm with the camp that enjoyed it, minus the decision making. I wanted more scripted execution animations, but I loved the diversity and cohesion of the characters. I wish GTA would stop stumbling into Italian Gang warfare, but it seemed appropriate. I loved, loved early missions running with Badman to get packages. Every character who interacted with Niko felt different- Florian's flamboyant and flippant attitude as an ex-gangster provided some relief in such a gritty backdrop. And the Episodes were pretty astounding- Ballad added so much creative weaponry, it remains my favorite iteration of GTA next to Vice City.
I think it's also the first impressions of the game that have stuck with me the most. I just remember being kind of awe-struck at the lighting, and how everything felt so vibrant. Shifting weight while taking cover, using manual targeting to pull off headshots in hectic firefights, etc. I loved every moment of it, and I still go back an play it at least an hour or two every couple of days; just to wander.
I think the city was so well crafted that even though I loved SR2 & 3, the cities felt so blah. There wasn't much visual flair, and everything was predicated on being more "EXTREEEEME" that it lost something. I don't even make that comparison much- just because Rockstar really refined the environment, so much more so than the bland design of Steelport or the awesome expanse of Just Cause 2.
So give me V. It'll be a swansong to close this generation for me, and a game I'll play for ages.
The Housers always have intrigued me like no other. And Benzies and Barrera always bring it!
For me, it is simple. Euphoria & the RAGE system has spoiled me, to the point where I can't go back to other open worlds. I love GTA IV; it has it's fair share of problems, but I like it's presentation and the real character is Liberty City. There are places in Broker that resemble Brooklyn in some uncanny ways- when I finally moved to NYC, I kept thinking on my digital memory from this game.
There's nothing that beats driving around in GTA, and listening to Candi Staton's "Young Hearts Run Free" in a drop top, before stopping by Playboy's rooftop to catch the sun rising. Little touches like that, really blow my mind. I'm a simple gamer- I can get lost for hours in the incredible detail they've designed the city with. I love the weight of everything- I know I can immediately go back to driving in this game, and it feels both challenging and rewarding. I love how NPCs react to gun fire in different places of their bodies, and how everything feels like it has momentum. I love the little touches of snarky humor and misanthropic radio commercials; and I love base jumping to catch an aerial perspective of Algonquin before landing in the ocean.
Many will count the game's narrative as a failure- I'm with the camp that enjoyed it, minus the decision making. I wanted more scripted execution animations, but I loved the diversity and cohesion of the characters. I wish GTA would stop stumbling into Italian Gang warfare, but it seemed appropriate. I loved, loved early missions running with Badman to get packages. Every character who interacted with Niko felt different- Florian's flamboyant and flippant attitude as an ex-gangster provided some relief in such a gritty backdrop. And the Episodes were pretty astounding- Ballad added so much creative weaponry, it remains my favorite iteration of GTA next to Vice City.
I think it's also the first impressions of the game that have stuck with me the most. I just remember being kind of awe-struck at the lighting, and how everything felt so vibrant. Shifting weight while taking cover, using manual targeting to pull off headshots in hectic firefights, etc. I loved every moment of it, and I still go back an play it at least an hour or two every couple of days; just to wander.
I think the city was so well crafted that even though I loved SR2 & 3, the cities felt so blah. There wasn't much visual flair, and everything was predicated on being more "EXTREEEEME" that it lost something. I don't even make that comparison much- just because Rockstar really refined the environment, so much more so than the bland design of Steelport or the awesome expanse of Just Cause 2.
So give me V. It'll be a swansong to close this generation for me, and a game I'll play for ages.
The Housers always have intrigued me like no other. And Benzies and Barrera always bring it!
MegaKungFuRadio
Member
Consensus? What fantasy world do you live in?
Well said. I always find myself nodding in agreement with your GTA/open-world posts, dreamfall =D
Nailed it, pretty much my views too.
My mate got IV before and playing it at his house ( was playing SA before hand/ ps2 games still) I was in awe at the jump of graphics and things like animations. Went and got it as quick as I could and have since loved it.
Just cruising around the city in IV is one of the great things about it that is not possible in other games ( crappy physics that make cruising impossible, bad radios, I mean if you think IV has bad radios then I wonder what there views are on other games...)
Not even mentioning the MP.
Playing on the PC with mods is just on a different level.
Oh and
Off-Kilter
Banned
Great game, multiplayer free-roam really brought it all together.
I tried to enjoy it, but they really did manage to suck out all the fun. The only thing I got some entertainment out of was multiplayer, which was excellent. I'm actually playing Saints Row 3 at the moment, and it's everything I wanted from GTA4 and more. Sleeping Dogs is on my list to pickup at some point too, everything I've heard about it has been good.
DryvBy
Member
GTA has never been that over-the-top. Not even close. Saints Row is goofy and like an adult swim version of gaming. GTA has always had a bit of a gritty feel to even the most goofy side stuff.
Ploid 3.0
Member
Oh I tried it, from races with gaf, to free roam with a friend, then to free roam solo to get rid of the annoying cops. I didn't like it, the racing was one accident away from being knocked out of a race (easy to spin out or hit something). Being in solo free roam meant no codes. It's like they split the game up, Multiplayer should have been in the main gaming area, opponents could have showed up as whatever they set their online mode character to look like, to change back do so at your safe house or start a Niko SP only mission.
OrlanisWorks
Banned
The only thing that made it better than the previous games was the engine. The engine was good and I love me some ragdoll car-crashing.
Other than that, it was a step-backward, all the way back to where it started: GTA III. It resembles GTA III more than it does VC or SA. GTA III was fantastic at the time, but we've been spoiled majorly by San Andreas and we prefer not to go back to such a house with fewer rooms and windows. This is all gameplay-wise (also story, sorta).
I still love GTA IV multiplayer with friends. That was always fun. GTA IV single-player still had its moments, and after the first play through it became less impressive. Less memorable characters, less of a memorable story, and the music wasn't so hot (but thank god for the custom radio, PC).
8/10.
Other than that, it was a step-backward, all the way back to where it started: GTA III. It resembles GTA III more than it does VC or SA. GTA III was fantastic at the time, but we've been spoiled majorly by San Andreas and we prefer not to go back to such a house with fewer rooms and windows. This is all gameplay-wise (also story, sorta).
I still love GTA IV multiplayer with friends. That was always fun. GTA IV single-player still had its moments, and after the first play through it became less impressive. Less memorable characters, less of a memorable story, and the music wasn't so hot (but thank god for the custom radio, PC).
8/10.