Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV Dated April 29th)

[Captain Wrong]

I'm about six hours in, 12 percent according to the game, so consider this a "first impression".

This game is no better than any PS2 GTA game I've played. Yes, it looks a LITTLE better, but not significantly so. At this point it's what Beautiful Katamari was for the 360 - a nice version of the older game on a current gen console. I love the characters and the story so far, but the gameplay is way too familiar. Bowling, Darts, even "Drinking"... yawn.

I haven't done any online stuff yet, which I'm sure will improve my opinion, and here's hoping for some crazy-fast planes or something to get me around faster, because this slow traveling thing is the main thing that's annoyed me most in this, one of my most beloved series to date.

Remember... this is an EARLY opinion and I haven't given up, I expect great things as I dig deeper into the game but so far, it's the same old game with a nice paint job.

To be continued.

OK, I was beginning to think I'd lost my mind. I mean, everyone and their dog declaring this BEST GAME EVAR!!! PERFECT 10!!!! etc., etc.

Is it fun? Yeah. Is there a lot of good to it? Sure. Is it perfect? Nope. I don't know what exactly I was expecting, to be honest, but, yeah, at 20 hours and <30% in, it feels like a prettier game from the GTA3 lineage. Not a whole lot I haven't done and seen before. It's still fun, but it's not amazing. It's not blowing my socks off like GTA3 did.

And, can someone explain to me why there are no in mission checkpoints? OK, I'm not the greatest gamer in the world. I'm fine with that. What I'm not fine with is having to re-do driving half way across town, getting in this car to pick up a weapon, going over here to take this guy out, etc., etc and then getting to the end, having one guy getting the drop on me and having to do the whole shit over again from the top. Again.

At the very least, let me start at the actual place where the mission starts rather than putting me back at the house of whoever I'm doing the mission for and making me drive, drive, drive. Even better, just let me start off at the part I fucked up. These missions all are multi-stage events. Gimme a goddam checkpoint! Fucking Godfather had checkpoints in the missions and it was only 75% the game this is.

Also, why do all the cars feel like they are driving on streets made of ball bearings?

The drunk driving screens almost made me chuck too.

[Sudo]

How do you do this? I've stolen police cars, but didn't see a way to do this.

Hit LB after you come to a complete stop.

[mnbren05]

How do you do this? I've stolen police cars, but didn't see a way to do this.

press the left bumper if you are using the xbox 360 version while stationary. It brings up a list of things like search criminal database, current crimes etc. Go to current crimes and it will have things like vehicle theft, robbery, etc.

Side note- today I was evading a four star police wanted level and I was out of the search range when I swerved to attempt to go to the docks, and swim away to avoid being caught by police, and hit something. After crawling off the ground and the police catching up, I had hit an invisible tree. WTF mate. Seriously officer, that tree came out of nowhere.

[Nesmaster]

Just finished the storyline. 80.08%, 39:10 on the clock. Rockstar really knows how to tell a story. I think I have a new favorite GTA game now.

Fantastic game, I don't care what anyone else thinks. Sure it still suffers from a few problems that have plauged the games in the past, but at least the combat works now. It could stand alone well enough without the cover system, but its addition is nice. Improved visuals, AWESOME physics, excellent voice acting, top notch car damage modelling and the most detailed open-world game to date.

Does it live up to the hype? I'm not sure how to answer. On one hand I've been waiting nearly two years for the game, and on the other hand it's the most fun I've had with a game in almost 3 years. I'll say yes, based on my single player experience alone. Still haven't tried multiplayer.

[Captain Wrong]

Ars Technica has a pretty fair and even handed review up: http://arstechnica.com/reviews/games/gta-4-review.ars

[LiquidPolicenaut]

I'm about 33% into the game (according to my game progress) and I'm liking it a lot. I love the feel of the "new" Liberty City. The original Liberty City will always be special to me but I love this one as well. The really nailed down the feel of the specific areas of NYC even the area I'm from! Does the game deserve a 10? No, but I also think that San Andreas didnt deserve a 10 as it had a few things that pissed me off (like the horrible flying controls). Both games are great to me though. Car controls did take some time to get used to, but I mostly got the hang of it now. I do like the new aiming system imo.

The thing that gets me about people hating on the game is that...what were people expecting out of this new GTA? It has to be new but still be "GTA"....which is excactly what it accomplished I think......

[SaturnFan]

Hey can you still beef your guy up at gym's like San Andreas, or is that gone in GTA4?

[Sudo]

Hey can you still beef your guy up at gym's like San Andreas, or is that gone in GTA4?

No, the RPG aspects are gone.

[Trevelyan]

My 1st impressions are pure superlatives. It's a breathtaking game imo Can't wait to see how the story ends, & how the multiplayer plays out. I hope the updates are cool too.

[zektor]

I've been getting alot of playtime with the title thus far....well, as much as I can get during my off hours. At first, the game felt like the old GTA's with a new coat of paint, but after playing more I am truly amazed. The amount of time (obviously) and effort that went into the game is enormous...much more so than any of the previous games. The missions are fun, the exploration even more so. And, my own car (Monte Carlo) is in the game...and it kind of looks like mine too Hah...great game...easily the best I have played this year.

[Nesmaster]

Jumped into multiplayer all day today. Don't quite care for the deathmatch modes, and the one game of turf war I played didn't go too well. Yet to try race, but I do enjoy the three co-op modes, quite a bit. Seems like a good way to earn a lot of money quickly as well anyways. Then there's free roam which is an absolute blast. This could very well become my most played game, ever. Well worth the $60 entry fee (or $90, because I bought the SE).

Once I tire of multiplayer I'll take a break by beating the story again, or finishing my current save to 100%

GOTY 2008? Early, but a strong contender I think.

[diskoboy]

Is it me, or does anybody else wish there was a shaving option (for Niko) in the game?

It's just weird -you can buy new clothes. You can get them dirty, then clean again. But Niko can never shave.

[Flack]

I picked this up today (PS3) and, like others have mentioned, I'm sitting around patiently waiting for my kids to go to sleep tonight.

[sisko]

OK, I was beginning to think I'd lost my mind. I mean, everyone and their dog declaring this BEST GAME EVAR!!! PERFECT 10!!!! etc., etc.

Is it fun? Yeah. Is there a lot of good to it? Sure. Is it perfect? Nope. I don't know what exactly I was expecting, to be honest, but, yeah, at 20 hours and <30% in, it feels like a prettier game from the GTA3 lineage. Not a whole lot I haven't done and seen before. It's still fun, but it's not amazing. It's not blowing my socks off like GTA3 did.

And, can someone explain to me why there are no in mission checkpoints? OK, I'm not the greatest gamer in the world. I'm fine with that. What I'm not fine with is having to re-do driving half way across town, getting in this car to pick up a weapon, going over here to take this guy out, etc., etc and then getting to the end, having one guy getting the drop on me and having to do the whole shit over again from the top. Again.

At the very least, let me start at the actual place where the mission starts rather than putting me back at the house of whoever I'm doing the mission for and making me drive, drive, drive. Even better, just let me start off at the part I fucked up. These missions all are multi-stage events. Gimme a goddam checkpoint! Fucking Godfather had checkpoints in the missions and it was only 75% the game this is.

Also, why do all the cars feel like they are driving on streets made of ball bearings?

The drunk driving screens almost made me chuck too.

Couldn't have said it any better myself. The game is good, but not great.

I prefer to spend my time with Mario Kart Wii online.

[G-Boobie]

Has anyone else noticed that the Republican Space Commandos, viewable in the first safehouse and on the Weazel channel, are dressed in Halo style Spartan armor?

I was entertained.

[Flack]

I got my first two hours of GTA4 (PS3) in last night. I wouldn't call myself a huge fan of the series, so here's a brief assessment from a casual gamer.

Right off the bat, let's talk about the install time. I wasn't aware that was coming. I've read reviews of the "five minute" install time but I swear mine was closer to 10. I'm running a 60 gig (launch) PS3. I've also read about people experiencing lock ups, but I never did.

I enjoyed watching the early cut scenes and was almost disappointed when they ended and I had to start playing. While the graphics are still stylish (ie: not super realistic), after watching it for a while you kind of forget it's a game. It seems more like a movie. Maybe that's from watching so many CGI shows on television with my kids over recent years.

The new targeting system, at least with hand-to-hand combat (all I've done so far) is much improved. The most frustrating thing in any game for me is trying to do something and not knowing (or being able) to pull it off with a controller. I like being able to target people and kick their asses.

I tried out over a dozen cars and they all drive like ass. Seriously. Maybe I've been playing too many racing games but every car I drove handled terribly. Maybe it takes some getting used to. I tried drifting/sliding around corners with the handbrake and ended up doing a u-turn almost every single time. Likewise, I tried slowing with the regular brake and slid past every intersection and couldn't turn at the same time. The key to getting away in high speed chases (at least so far) has just been going fast and straight.

I enjoy the amount of radio stations in the cars but I need to figure out how to turn the radio off or at least down.

My wife got jealous last night when she asked me where I'd been and I told her I'd taken Roman's friend Michelle out bowling.

If I get a chance tonight I'll try out the online stuff.

[kaedesdisciple]

I tried out over a dozen cars and they all drive like ass. Seriously. Maybe I've been playing too many racing games but every car I drove handled terribly. Maybe it takes some getting used to. I tried drifting/sliding around corners with the handbrake and ended up doing a u-turn almost every single time. Likewise, I tried slowing with the regular brake and slid past every intersection and couldn't turn at the same time. The key to getting away in high speed chases (at least so far) has just been going fast and straight.

Similar to Crackdown, I found the police cars and the high end sports cars to handle the best. Most cars, though, are complete boats.

[mailman187666]

I think as far as the game design itself goes, I'd say this has to be the most detailed game, graphically, I've seen. With the amount of different looking people walking around. Street signs and building signs pretty much everywhere. I haven't found any secret missions or anything though. Like when you jump into a random parked car in a big open parking lot which throws you into a mission. Maybe I haven't looked hard enough or something. I know there are the flying rats and stunt jumps. I was a little sad when I saw they removed those tiny RPG elements of the last one. I liked knowing that by running around aimlessly, I was gaining progress in the game. I guess to play a game like that though, I'd just go for Oblivion. Seriously though I think its my favorite game on PS3 so far. Just the detail in the city itself blows me away. I guess I could say that this game amazed me more than seeing a portable version of Liberty City on PSP, but it didn't amaze me as much as GTA3 did when it first came out.

[Oobgarm]

I tried out over a dozen cars and they all drive like ass. Seriously. Maybe I've been playing too many racing games but every car I drove handled terribly. Maybe it takes some getting used to. I tried drifting/sliding around corners with the handbrake and ended up doing a u-turn almost every single time. Likewise, I tried slowing with the regular brake and slid past every intersection and couldn't turn at the same time. The key to getting away in high speed chases (at least so far) has just been going fast and straight.

Driving in GTA certainly has it's quirks. I too had some difficulty at first, but I've warmed up to it nicely and have little to no trouble now driving right through crowded intersections with nary a scratch. Drifting is still pretty much non-existant for me, though.

I suggest driving the more modern luxury-types and sports cars to really get a good feel. (that's what I did)

I enjoy the amount of radio stations in the cars but I need to figure out how to turn the radio off or at least down.

On the 360, you cycle through the radio with the d-pad, and turn it off by holding left for a second or two. I dunno how the PS3 works, but I'd assume it's somewhat similar.

[mailman187666]

I enjoy the amount of radio stations in the cars but I need to figure out how to turn the radio off or at least down.

you can just turn the music level down through the sound option menu, just not while driving like you could with switching the stations.