Just bought GTA IV, bunch of thoughts.....

[Raven]

I've had it for about 2 days now been playing it and once you sit down and play it properly in your own environment it is actually a really good game and it is typical GTA still. But having said that despite the fact that it is a really good game and easily 9/10 material - it is overrated. It is a game of the year contender, but so is Uncharted and MGS 4.....but where GTA IV is overrated is that they simply took out alot of stuff from previous games which makes GTA IV somehow seem more restrictive - such as you can no longer train up your character to make him muscly or vice versa make him eat lots of junk food and turn him fat....you cannot get tattoos anymore, cannot fly jumbo jets or fighter jets anymore and they also took out the different states and the rural areas and tiny hick towns in between them. However this is supposed to be New York City so perhaps the jumbo jet is understandable in current times and obviously the other part you are not going to get in NYC.....nontheless they decided to base the game in the NYC knockoff that they call Liberty City for the 5th time and so they took alot of stuff out from the San Andreas game and thusly despite the fact that they have added alot of stuff too, it does feel like a modernised version of Vice City only it's not set in Florida but NYC.

One area where I feel GTA IV has really let itself down is in the radio stations department, I haven't heard one good song on it yet nor one that I recognise either.

So yeah GTA IV is very good, bottom line. But it is also overrated, just like MGS 4 and Gears of War both of which are undoubtedly popular, however they are not the messiahs that they are made out to be despite the fact that MGS4 is also very good and easily 9/10 stuff too but Gears just isn't my cup of tea and so I can't understand what the big attraction is about it since it's basically the same game online as offline. Before anyone says it I am not a PS3 fanboy even though I happen to prefer the PS exclusives as opposed to the Xbox exclusives so far since I have always said that Halo is overrated and I personally think Gears is too. But Im not a fanboy because I don't doubt the 360's success and I don't doubt the PS3's problems, or vice versa, in fact I did own a 360 first and I'm finally thinking about chancing it on another one later on in the year.

Nontheless back on topic I think it would be great if in the next GTA game if they went ahead and did NYC, San Andreas and Vice City all in one game and gave you the ability to take a Boeing 747 and fly it yourself to each island.....either that or just set the game in Vice City, if you think Liberty City version of NYC looks great on PS3 then Vice City version of Florida would look awesome.

[thommo]

MGS 4 and Gears of War both of which are undoubtedly popular, however they are not the messiahs that they are made out to be.


i'll think you'll find gears is the messiah its made out to be as it is the best game ever released bar none on the 360.

look at the sales, look at how popular it still is online after a few years out.

you show me a game like gears on any platform, there isnt one its one of a kind.

just because it isnt your cup of tea doesnt make it what ever you say it is, ask the 5 million plus owners of the game. you dont even have it nor have you ever given it a chance online, maybe you would surprise yourself in the same way gta surprised you when you actually sat down and played it.

gta/halo ect..... over hyped and i have played them, gears (call me a fanboy, what ever one of them is if you please) was and is revolutionary in the games market and many a future game will use the same format in the future.

keep your run and gun games, you need more than a trigger finger with gears.

[randomuser83]

GTA4 is overrated man. The game AI is hella dumb and the overall missions were easy and repetivite. Im not saying its not fun but how could they not take that into account.

[Raven]

@ thommo....me and you probably won't ever agree on this one since you reckon Gears is hands down the best 360 game that ever existed so you are bound to defend Gears, I never said Gears wasn't popular or a big hit...I was saying to me Gears is overrated and it is for me personally. You can say what you want but I have played the game itself, fair play I haven't played it online hardly at all and if I did then there is no doubt I would get raped on it but the reason I haven't played it online is because I have no desire to play the game online because it didn't do anything for me offline. That's the point I was trying to make, and it's for them reasons that I personally think it is overrated which it is for me. Obviously others who enjoy Gears online will disagree totally which is fair enough, but I'm only stating my own opinions as it is as I see them. Doesn't make it right or wrong, or even fact....it is just my own personal opinion.

Gears 2 might just be a different kettle of fish completely, but Gears 1 to be brutally honest, I just can't stand it. It's the same game online as it is offline with the obvious differences of no storyline and the fact that you are playing with and against other people and the bottom line is that the game just did not do anything for me personally whenever I played it and I won't play a game online which I do not like offline. It's the same vice versa that's why I love playing the old Burnout and Pro Evo games online because they were so good but Gears I just plain didn't like it.

@ randomuser83......That's what I was saying GTA IV is overrated - good but overrated, but be fair the AI in all previous GTA games weren't great either more to the point you don't really play GTA games for the fantastic AI because there is no fantastic AI in the game....if you are talking about the cops though then I will agree with you on that since the cops are now far too easy to shake on mid to lower wanted level.

[asuk]

i think gta iv ai is great. this is what makes this game fun to play. u can play the game a 100 different ways. no game is going to suit everyone but rockstar have a hit with its grand theft auto collection.

[violentj]

i really really tried to like gta 4,i gave it a fair chance,but they have taken away a lot of the fun and given it a hell of a lot of anoyancies,i swaer that ****ing mobile got right on my tits

i prefered saints row to gta now anyway they seem to have kept the concept of fun in it ,and heres hoping they do in sr2

as for mgs 4 and gears-well gears is a messaih for the 360-it helped shift more 360s than any other game for the 360 or any game has for ps3( whas the sales figures for mgs4 again) and is one of 3 older 360 games i still play (not online as often as i like but meh)

and as for mgs4 or uncharted being contenders for game of the year-wtf uncharted i admit is a fantastic game-but has no replay value(for me anyway),it adds nothing new to the genre,its just a platformer/adventure games with flashy graphics-nothing that hasnt been done before

mgs 4-hmmmm -again i tried to like it,i gave it a fair run,but imo this game is aimed squarely at a certain market who were gunna buy it no matter what-not to the everday gamer ,and while the fans may love it,it just doesnt have mass appeal - also again brings nothing new,just over hyped-like halo is-in fact the best game ive played on 360 is condemned and best ps3 game is motorstorm, i may even get another ps3 for motorstorm 2-since you can get em for less than 200 notes now

[Raven]

I think there is a big difference between games which are good and popular and the games which are deemed as messiahs. Now to me MGS4 should have been the messiah for PS3 but at the end of the day it wasn't, which backs up my opinion that the PS3 needs a handful more of good and fresh franchises made for the PS3 instead of relying on past franchises, just like what the PS2 ended up doing before it really takes off because if it's ever gonna happen that is what it is going to take....especially since by and large the established franchises have been disappointing on next gen, but in any case the PS3 already has Uncharted and Motorstorm, they need to create more though.

Anyway Gears on 360 is insanely popular and the fans of the game call it a messiah because of it's popularity and commercial successes but to me I just don't see it - to me it's just another shooter there isn't anything there that strikes me as being anything special about it and yeah I do think it is well over hyped for what it is and that's just my opinion. Gears 2 may change my mind but I still say that the original Gears for me is overrated. I just wonder how much of Gear's initial popularity might have been down to the fact that apart from it being a decent game that certain other games were'nt cutting it at the time and then we all know how overhyped Halo 3 was, well Halo in general is another overhyped game for me also. I'm not meaning to hate on the Xbox it is a great console and it's looking like it's gonna be the runaway winner in this console war - it just so happens that I feel that arguably 2 of it's biggest games are overrated for what they are, those being Halo and Gears.

Oh and finally Uncharted should be named GOTY at least on PS3 because of that game's superb pacing, I don't know how they did it but they somehow managed to place the platform/exploration elements and the shootouts perfectly so that neither got boring and once either came along it wasn't a chore either. My only criticism of that game is the technical blunder that sometimes it takes 4 headshots or a clip and a half of bullets to take one guy down. This actually aids the intensity of the shootout though and forces you to keep moving but nontheless it's still something which shouldn't happen - 1 headshot should do it everytime.

[C64]

COD4 offline on Veteran Mode is the best gaming experience I've ever had

[jasontopnotch]

GTA IV is overrated is they simply took out alot of stuff from previous games which makes GTA IV somehow seem more restrictive.

I agree. The one and only reason i brought my ps3 at the most ridiculous price was because i could not wait for GTA IV but on the day of release i was dissapointed. and thought to myself wow is that all it has to offer.

There was no magic or fun factor in this game. once you had done all the missions you could go looking for pigons and go on helicopter tours WOW what fun that is NOT!!!! the old gta you could chuck it on, get sum cars mod them up go to your other houses, find jetpacks and chainsaws and just have alot of options to do alot of fun stuff however in this with the wacky driving and borin gameplay you dont want to play it again after youve finished the missions. lost the fun factor in my oppinion.

i think rockstar should read the fan sites and see what people want the game to have and incorporate that into the game not a nice looking bit of paper blowing in the wind.

[Raven]

It is a good game but I now think that the heart and soul is missing in GTA IV....it just doesn't feel like a GTA game (this in large part down to poor radio station music/humor)...this is why GTA IV isn't great.

[jasontopnotch]

Although i wouldnt even rate it 5/10 - (saints row 1) It looks like saints row 2 is going to be what everybody was expecting GTA IV to be. except with crapper graphics physics and vehicles. well if number 1 is anything to go by. If not and its improved alot since number 1 then i recon that saints row 2 could possibly be a little better (fun) than GTA IV

What do you guys think should be in the new gta to make it better what should be left out and where should it be set? id like to see a new london version. I love the old london one, "im the monkey and ur the cheese grater" but an uptodate london. slummy estates and oxford street shops blaa market.

the game also needs to be more playable. when youve completed the main thing it needs that little bit that makes you think ill stick that on for 20-30mins and have a play. i dont wanna go searching for sea gulls and stunt jumps. i do like the stunt jumps but not when theyre saying 1/50 completed. just put them in there for the fun. not for the if you dont find them you dont get 100% Gta always brung a smile to my face now the ps3 doesnt even get turned on.

that could be because im always at my girlfriends but if the game was that good id INSIST i bring it round n she, i mean i play it.


GTA IV will be out on pc soon aswell thats worth looking at because if you are into it you can always find a way to modify the maps modify the cars people weapons buildings even make your very own map and missions.

if anybody is into that kind of thing do you know any of the sites where you can find the nice files i know a few dont know wether links are allowed so ill just name them and you can google to them
fox gta ua - few linked sites which contain a few nice cars too
borggaming - has a few nice cars
theres more but on old pc favs list will update if any intrested

cheers all

[Raven]

Cheers for the heads up!

The main site I go on for general PC game modding is a site called moddb (google it) but it's rife with GTA, Deus Ex, Half Life mods in particular but it's got mods for loads of games and it's a professional looking site too which is a bonus.

[wilboy451]

call of duty 5 online co-op NAzi ZOmbies is ace!!

[simon 2003]

yea gta 4 is a good game but as stated not much to bring you back to it,i mean shoot a few pigeons FFS whats all that about,yea mods are good for bringing games back to life,one thing i miss about pc gaming,since i stopped really playing pc games when 360 came out,desert combat for battelfield 1942 was a top mod,got into day of defeat as well and i spose biggest mod /online game of all time counter strike

[shizy01]

they should make the next one longer, this version was short!