Grand Theft Auto IV

[RU OX Alum]

Who else waited in line last night?

I only waited for like twenty minutes, it wasn't really that big of a deal.
But I have a cool lock box now.

I haven't figured out if you can swim yet though.

[SoEnchanting]

Originally Posted by RU OX Alum

Who else waited in line last night?

I only waited for like twenty minutes, it wasn't really that big of a deal.
But I have a cool lock box now.

I haven't figured out if you can swim yet though.

Let us know if it's any good. I'm rewarding myself this summer by buying the game.

[DaemonSeid]

I got mine at midnight also...for the 360...if you have it for that system...let me know....

BTW...I wrote this for another board I am on...let me know what you think...and yes...it's long...

Ok...so 12+ hrs later...

Here is my first impressions of GTA IV.

Let me start off by saying that ign.com gave this game a 10 and they actually they had a disclaimer at the end of the review explaining that...while not 'perfect', for what the game does...in thier eyes it earned a 10....good save.

I am about a good 1/2 way thru the first island's missions and I have:

beat up gangsters threatening my cousin
thrown a man out of a window 3 stories to his death
Went bowling and played darts
Watched the cops arrest a guy for illegal credit cards
said no to weed from a ganga smoking Rasta
had warm coffee...hint hint...
played darts
Wrecked enough havoc with the LCPD to make any criminal blush....and got away...
Made it with some random ho in a park and blew her away
Of course, checked out the Strip Club
Watched Katt Williams on TV (for some odd reason, not a funny as it could be...lol)
Saw a magic show
Accidentally ran my car into the river and survived!!!

Now guess which ones were in a mission and not!

I am going to start off some of the cons of the game and get it over with because while expectations are high, let's bring it down a few notches and make sure people don't get too overly hyped about the game.

- display issues: I am not sure what happened here but some some reason Rockstar decided to run this game at 720p. When displayed on my TV, The rght portion of my screen is partially cut off...I can't really see how many stars I have and sometimes it's a tiny bit of a challenge telling what weapons are being used or how many bullets you have left.

- ducking the cops: Ok....this is a mixed bag of a new innovation. While I do like the idea of any trouble you start brings up a proximinty circle of where the cops will come to the scene of a crime, sometimes it's far too easy to get away, even when you have done something that warrants the SWAT team to come in. Even still if after you lose them and come back in almost immediately after the circle disappears, there is no particular reason for the cops to continually be on the lookout for you....maybe I am nitpicking but at least in other iterations, when you have set off every possible alarm, it was nearly impossible to shake the cops and made getting away very harrowing....because once you got up to 5 and 6 starts the cops were very poersistent....but then...with as apathetic as cops really are, this may be real...LOL.

- Speaking of, no real reprecussions and consequences for actions in some cases: One thing I think I would like to have seen more of is, if you do something, the is a bit more of a reaction for the crowd. For instance, I was at a club and some bouncers tried to jump me, I went to town with my shotgun...maybe 2 or 3 people moved. With the way that the AI was hyped in this game, I was hoping more for a stampede for the doors and maybe a 911 call. Same with being out on the street, I robbed and shot someone in broad day light....now while a few people ran, most still carried on thier business and not one frantic call to 911...but again...this may be sad testimony to what kind of empathy to people...LOL

And that pretty much are my only issues with the game...as far as everything else well:


I am very impressed with the storyline and voice acting. This has always been a very top notch standard with Rockstar and GTA games. I also like the fact that if you are with characters during missions, the dialogue doesn't just happen in the cutscenes, it also flows with you and the NPCs as you travel. For instance, you find out more about what Roman has gotten himself into, Michelle asks about your stay in America, Little Jacob, if you can understand his heavily West Indian accent explains why he needs someone he can trust to do his errands and so forth, so count on interactions like that throughout the game beyond cutscenes not to mention most missions do seem to run a little differently and sometimes have added twists

I was also graphically and aurally with the environment. The game really pushes the 360's power! No matter what GTA you have ever played it has always looked kinda sterile despite the grittiness. In this iteration, all you need is smells, good and bad. When you are nicer lookng neighborhoods, you can really tell...when you are in bad areas...ditto.

And aurally, with all the ambient noices...second only to Assassin's Creed (despite all the shortcomings of the game, really listen to the background chatter!) in quality to make you almost feel like you are 'there'.

Everything else that IGN touched on as far as getting around, getting missions and so forth is on point.

The control, once you get the hang of it is fairly decent. The fight controls could have been a bit tighter, but it works. The cover system is actually pretty nice and an added improvement to the game.

Now while I did talk a bit down about the AI, let me tell you how it is when it really does work. You can sometimes go along and see some really random occurances in a course of the day.

There is more traffic on the street at 2pm than there is at 2am and this is still depending on what part of town you are in. I saw a random instance in which a cop chased down a thief and held him at gunpoint. I saw people use thier cell phones. I saw where early in the morning you see people out sweeping the sidewalk. I alos noticed that late at night you see more garbage trucks...but what was most priceless was a womon walking along sipping a soda...walks PAST a trashcan...and drops the cup in the street....yes...she litters!!

Yes, there are so many little nuances in this game that can be picked up on and so much randomness going on that it does make it seem 'alive' but you still kind of wish for more but.....that's not what the whole game is about.

As far as multiplayer, it's a lot smoother than I thought it was going to be, I really haven't had a chance to delve estensively into it as of yet but I played around in a set up with 10 people and noticed no lag whatsoever...it's smooth like butter.

What I will say, and this is one of the reasons why I am not big on doing multiplayers with a whole lot of strangers, is that the kids and the knuckleheads that have gotten this game will abuse the language more than what it needs to be abused. If you got sensitive ears...just be prepared..otherwise I recommend that you find a group of friends and set up your own private match and play.

All in all, GTA IV is the must play game of the year, I can't fully endorse the 10 unless you count the story and all the random mini games but, so far the game is so tight , that I do believe that Saint's Row II will have it's work cut out for it.

SO pick it up, go bowling, make sure you watch TV, and listen out for Jack Thompson's being a stripper reference!!

[Ronnie B]

I wasn't trying to wait in line for it. I'll wait til it's more available.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by Ronnie B

I wasn't trying to wait in line for it. I'll wait til it's more available.

That was for the midnight release only you should be able to pick it up now unless stores have sold out of it already.

[Kevlar281]

The only game I have paid $60.00 for was Halo 3 and I kind of regret that. I usually wait for a game to hit $40.00 before I'll bite. Of course since my 360 RRODed yesterday purchasing GTAIV is kind of a non issue. Luckily I have a Best Buy Product Replacement Plan so I just have to bring it to the store and exchange it. No waiting 4 - 6 weeks for MS.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by Kevlar281

The only game I have paid $60.00 for was Halo 3 and I kind of regret that. I usually wait for a game to hit $40.00 before I'll bite. Of course since my 360 RRODed yesterday purchasing GTAIV is kind of a non issue. Luckily I have a Best Buy Product Replacement Plan so I just have to bring it to the store and exchange it. No waiting 4 - 6 weeks for MS.

your 360 RROD'ed????? dayum fella!!!


Good luck getting it replaced...i hope all goes well

I have had mine since the beginning and never had anything happen to it..knock on wood...

[macallan25]

I got it for my PS3 and my roommate bought it for his 360.

Not gonna lie, mine on the PS3 looks and plays better, in my opinion. Looks sharper, cleaner, runs better, etc.

Badass game. I hear that later on down the road they are going to be developing GTAs that have multiple outcomes, story lines, etc. Theoretically you could play the game over and over and still not experienced everything in it. All has to do with your interactions, how you do on missions, etc.

[RU OX Alum]

Originally Posted by SoEnchanting

Let us know if it's any good. I'm rewarding myself this summer by buying the game.

reward self now!!

[RU OX Alum]

Yeah I got it for the PS3 that game is sick. I love the blu-ray technology that's like watching one of those animated movies

also, you can get drunk in the game and it makes it hard to walk and drive

[DaemonSeid]

Ok..I was done when I saw a drunk dude pissing on a stairwell.....

[RU OX Alum]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Ok..I was done when I saw a drunk dude pissing on a stairwell.....

it's just like real life

[DaemonSeid]

Crime File: Crook Steals GTA IV, Has Real-world Intro to Jail
Police in San Diego arrested a 27-year-old man yesterday and charged him with robbing a GameStop location, pepper-spraying two employees there and stealing a launch day copy of Grand Theft Auto IV.

Richard Fiel (at left, in the back of a police car) found that it’s tougher to shake real cops than GTA IV’s animated ones and was busted after a short standoff.

In addition to GTA IV, Police found a copy of GTA III and a PlayStation 3 controller in his pickup truck. A San Diego PD spokesperson told the local NBC affiliate:

The call came out as a robbery of a commercial business… and the suspect was described, and the vehicle that he got into was described as a white Toyota pickup truck, lifted with the tailgate down, and our helicopter ABLE spotted the vehicle southbound. The officers followed it.

There was no word on how many police alert stars Fiel’s crime generated.



http://gamepolitics.com/2008/04/30/c...intro-to-jail/