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Five Days Locked in a Room With GTA IV
bippy writes "Five days, one game. The Rocky Mountain News has a write up of five days spent playing Grand Theft Auto IV recently in a San Francisco hotel.
It ends:
'In Grand Theft Auto IV the story isn't just an amalgam of cut scenes and cleverly written dialogue, it's the experiences I create, too. It's now, watching Niko stand, his shoulders slumped, that the depth of this game finally hits me.
Niko's journey, the one crafted by Rockstar, may have ended, but Niko's adventures in the story I am creating have just begun.'" The most anticipated game in a while, to be sure. I'm certainly looking forward to busting some heads and jumping ramps.
So they've done Miami Vice, mobsters, LA street gangs, and now Russian mobsters. What's next?
Looking forward to this one.
Maybe they should do more "locked in a room" testing with GTA IV on prisoners to see their responses.
I give it a month before someone finds a secret cut scene of Cowboy Neal getting frisky with some Ho. We can call it the "Fat Coffee" scandal. Alright, I'm going back to my cage.
A morning without coffee is like something without something else.
Is it just me or are people getting way too excited about this game?
Now before everyone instantly mods me troll, I'll point out that I own GTA3, Vice City and San Andreas and loved two of those three games (I'll leave it to you to guess which ones), but I never saw them as deep or as art. I saw them as a fun way to pretend to be a gangster and run around causing mayhem.
Yet this GTA comes out and people are practically wetting themselves over what is going to be the same thing but shiny? Don't get me wrong - I'm sure it'll be a good game and win lots of GOTY awards, but does anyone honestly think they'll see a lot they're not expecting?
sucks how the aus and kiwi versions are censored! free speech anyone? and there's no PC version WTF? CoD learned from that mistake
If that's what you want, read Karma Girl, by Jennifer Estep. It's superhero chick lit.
I like birds I can fly. Cars are too slow.
I never thought I'd hear the words "Grand Theft Auto" and "depth" in the same context and at the same time.
So is a PC version planned to eventually be released for this GTA incarnation too?
I just checked Wikipedia, but only the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions were listed.
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
I've played the game a few hours since the ISO was released on Thursday. The main difference between GTA IV and previous versions is that the city feels more alive. Pedestrians say more and varied crap to you, people act in a variety of ways when you jack their car, the police act intelligently and hide behind their car doors, etc. There's a ton of stuff to do in the game and I'm sure it took a superhuman effort by the programming staff to get all this stuff packed into the game.
My main complaint is that GTA IV is just a souped up version of the previous GTA games. You play a gangster who goes around breaking laws and doing gangster stuff. The missions are basically the same since the first GTA III - Steal this, muder that, etc. Also there are some frame rate issues, I notice FPS lagging on some occasions. Strange because Burnout looked better and didn't have these problems.
Overall it's a great game. But in many ways it's the same game you've been playing for years.
IGN has the first video review.
http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/827005/grand-theft-auto-4/videos/gta4_review_042508.html
They have proclaimed it the best game of the decade.
Text review: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/869/869381p1.html
Remind me in a year or two when the PC version finally comes out.
Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
No you can't download one. Second Life does not count.
Invenio via vel creo
The article fails to mention that the five days locked in that room ended only because their mothers' posted their bail.
I live in a place where those who live forever come to die.
I think GTA is as close as it comes to a deep, immersive role playing game without the shitty menu based fighting and hours of reading.
These games will only get better with the increase of technology and the hours they put into making it.
When I sit down with a fully unlocked save file and every cheat code I can find, GTA becomes one of the greatest games ever and I can just play it for hours on end. Occasionally I try to start from the beginning and play the missions and, to be honest, it's god awful. Everything I've heard seems say that the GTA IV missions are better, and I hope that is so, but god damn some of the things you have to do those games are just retarded. One of the earlier missions in San Andreas involves tapping buttons quickly to win a low rider contest. What the fuck? I just want to kill hookers.
It's not all that. I've got a mission right now to keep finding a new job before my Big Blue boss can ship it overseas. I've been on that mission for 4 years now. It's getting old.
I don't subscribe to any gaming magazine anymore. I don't like to think of myself as being easily manipulated, but I used to buy 2-3 PC games a month, based on glowing reviews telling me that such-and such game is the end-all and be-all of gaming. I own UT3, Crysis, Frontlines:FOW, and HL2 (Orange Box). Out of ALL of them, Portal is the only one I actually enjoyed so much that I couldn't wait to get back to it and replay it--and it was thrown in as almost an afterthought. HL2 was interesting but became too much of a grind, and the others simply lack depth, no matter how pretty they are.
Other games that were overhyped and failed to satisfy me: Oblivion, World in Conflict, SupCom, Prey... Oh sure, I was stoked to be playing the latest and greatest on really good hardware, but after a couple of hours the shine starts to wear off and then it becomes a job. I have tried to play these games, really tried to finish them, but I just can't. And then, buyer's remorse sets in--it's a viscious cycle because you feel like you have to play all the way through regardless of enjoyment because it cost 50 damned dollars and you have to get your money's worth, right? I mean, come on, what's wrong with me? Why aren't I shivering in adulation of these gods of the gaming universe? Everyone tells me and I keep hearing how awesomely, Earth-shatteringly, mind-blowing these games are. I've got plenty of horsepower in my rig to run them, so it's not that; I know the developers worked their collective asses off making them, so quality isn't an issue either. I guess I just finally learned to stop buying games based on the "objective" reviews, and once I realized that is when I let my magazine subs lapse.
xx01dk's law: All. Game. Reviews. Are. CRAP.
-and its corollary-
Thank goodness for BitTorrent and leaked/pirated releases.
Do not misunderstand me here; if I like a game that I download, I will go out and buy it. If I do not, it gets deleted and I save my money. In addition, just like my favorite musicians, I will buy outright almost any game that is made by my short list of trusted companies/developers. (i.e.: Frank Delise, Sid Meyers, Stardock, Valve, and Rockstar)
Where was I. Oh yes, the hype machine for GTA4. I'm going to buy it but not because of any stupid review. I own GTA3, Vice City, and San Andreas and have played them all through because they were fun. I don't even care that GTA4 won't be out for PC anytime soon because the content is what matters here, and it will still be fresh (to me). I like what Rockstar does, so I will support them by buying their product sans reviews (I actually liked Postal, I think PCG gave it a 0 out of 10 rating...).
Queue fanboy flame wars in 3... 2...
There is simply too much glass..
Pirate the games, if you like the game, go out and buy a hard copy, if it was crap either don't go out and buy it, or spend the money on something more worthy, I.e, fork out the same money to a charity.
I'd actually like to see a Wii version, I don't care if it has to be scaled back, we know it can be at least as good as San Andreas. It's too bad the Wii is being ignored by many popular franchises, I guess they just don't want money from the largest installed user base. Some users claim that Wii will never get these games because it is seen as a casual system, but the truth is the people who buy Wii are very interested in having fun with games, and are open to new possibilities even if it means taking a more unorthodox approach. But it doesn't mean they also don't enjoy the types of games they have grew up on, they're just so into gaming that they are open to all possibilities, and the Wii sparked something in a lot of people. It represents a focus on intimate core gameplay, but that doesn't mean it has to be ignored by those trying to convey more cinematic and epic experiences. Once the developers saw that Wii sales greatly exceeded their anticipations, they started announcing more support for it, so hopefully Wii owners will be able to get such titles in the future. The demand is there, it's just a matter of getting those games out.
Twinstiq, game news
That summary read like a piece of proganada. I mean I have no doubt its going to be an excellent game and I am huge fan of the series and video games in general. But with so much hype before release, as seems to be the norm these days. I'm started to wonder about the motivation of such glow reviews. Sure it's probably fanboyism and follow the leader mentality, but a small part of me wonders if this isn't just some propaganda to ensure a nice bottom line.
I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask where they're goin' and hook up with 'em later.
Video games are art.
I use Windows... like a two dollar wh.. why don't I just go ahead and not finish that sentence.
GTA3 and Vice City blew me away. They were the most next-genny titles of their era, really showing the possibilities of the new hardware, not just doing the same tired and trite crap everyone else was doing. The controls were snappy, the scenes interesting, the worlds vibrant. One thing that doesn't get covered a lot, most of the missions were doably short. It's not like having to play through for an hour, no saves, to find out you failed. Most missions were under five minutes and you could quickly restore from the save point if you bombed out on it. This kept things moving fast and engaging.
Never had a chance to play San Andreas but many of the reviews said it basically became boring and repetitive. It also didn't help that while GTA3 was a sort of era-less generic mob movie and Vice City was an unabashed homage to 80's cheese, San Andreas was based around 90's gangsta rap and thug movies with a suitably nauseating soundtrack. And because it didn't bring a whole lot new to the table, it didn't feel as fresh as 3 and VC, got boring more quickly.
So, is GTAIV really all that? What have they done to keep things fresh and new? How does it keep from feeling like the same ol' same ol'?
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
Last time I checked, this was a SECULAR nation. You know, separation of church and state and all that fun stuff that keeps people like you from forcing people like me to believe in your "God".... Welcome to freedom buddy. Don't like GTA, that's cool. Don't buy it. It amazes me, no one pisses and moans when TV and movies show copious amounts of violence, but in a video game it's so horrible....
Says the douchebag posting on /. on a beautiful Saturday.
Pot.
Kettle.
Black.
This type of game is nothing but a perversion of what could be a very interesting type of gameplay. Why the obsession with death? Why celebrate the shit of life? Why think pathetic human behavior is fun?
Because it's NOT REAL? They're polygons on a 2 dimensional screen. Calm yourself. The dead hooker isn't dead. She's not even a hooker. She's a (very basic) AI script, polygons and sound files. Relax.
Actually I am an Atheist. I think it is funny that a country with a supposed majority of Christians entertains violence so much but is so weary of sex. It's no wonder there is such a high STD rate in the U.S.
If we had our priorities straight then would wouldn't need violent entertainment.
Try love, it's way more fun than busting heads.
Jesus, you sound bitter. This is about GTA4 and you're turning it into a rant about America as "Christian" nation and STD rates? You've never watched a violent movie? Never a violent TV show? Give me a break. Try realizing that people can do both. Love and still play violent video games. If you don't like it, don't buy it.
They got it out before EA could really make moves to take them over and quickly cash in on others hard work.
Kiss my ass EA.
No sig for you!!
Thanks for wasting my time with the worthless comment, AC. And please stop calling yourself an Atheist - you give the rest of us a bad name.
"Love" is more fun than busting heads, is it? Well why don't you go write your new ultra-fun love-themed video game, you'll be a billionaire in no time.
Idiot.
Let my new 7-digit UID be a lesson to all - write down your passwords.
"and there's no PC version WTF?"
The PC versions of GTA 3, Vice city and San Andreas all came out about 6 months after the ps2 versions, so I'd expect a similar delay for GTA4.
That said, I liked the first two games in the series. I thought that the third installment was terrible, but was mostly remedied by the time San Andreas came about. I'm not drooling in delirium and counting the days until this game is released. I will however probably pick it up once it's released for the PC and give it an inquisitive trial.
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
Still limping along with a PS2 and a Wii. Which platform, today?
We apologise for the fault in this post. Those responsible have been sacked. -- Signed RICHARD M. NIXON
PS3 is starting to become worth the money, but the 360 has a much more well-established playerbase and game library IMO.
If you are the kind of person that wants a lot of good stuff available to you NOW, go 360. If you do not mind waiting a while for a console to show its real value, go with the PS3.
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
Am I the only one who's not impressed a bit by the Euphoria physics engine? It's not that I'm so not impressed but more the fact that from what I heard before it would consist pretty much of a fully body simulation with no cheating, like, a muscle, brain and bones simulation. I haven't played the game yet, but I've seen gameplay videos made by players who played the leaked version, and I'm fairly disappointed. It doesn't look like such a realistic simulation at all, looks like you can still "run against a wall". Also when you turn while walking it looks like your body is overly inclined to the side, and it looks like some stuff you'd except to jump on can't be jumped on, instead you jump still following a seemingly fixed animation, while getting parts of your limbs inside nearby objects in the process.
You just got troll'd!
In spite of the hype [or possibly due to], I think a lot of gamers will be disappointed when this comes out.
If each mistake being made is a new one, then progress is being made.
5 days 1 game?
I think 2 girls 1 cup would be more pleasant.
I've Played GTA3, and Vice City, and basically refused to play San Andreas. I just don't get any excitement out of the GTA series. It's the same bullshit over and over again. Oh, hey, look, I need health, let's go screw a hooker and then kill her.
Sorry, but I am not a fan of Rockstar games. They rank about as low as EA on my list. And I'm sure every magazine out there is like OMG THIS GAME RUUUUULES just like jocks at a kegger, but they said the same thing about Halo 3, and sorry, but Halo 3 was fucking garbage. Now, let's hope Metal Gear Solid 4 and Bionic Commando actually do their jobs and bring something new to games we have experienced before.
Never monkey with another monkey's monkey.
Screw the console version bring on the PC port.
GTA is fun for like 15 minutes then it gets boring. They need to add some new exciting element to the game.
"Okay, who put a "stop payment" on my reality check?"
i always had a love hate relationship with this series,
:)
love, the setting, hate the very outdated graphics
love all the stuff you can drive, cycle fly, hate the OMG so very awfull controls.
love all the missions to play, hate the fact that the only challange is to fight the uber bad controls (for pc) so that the last version for the game is still unfinnished on my pc somewhere simply because i cannot see where iam going, go where i want to and omg the flight models etc etc
all in all, nice ideas and stuff to do but work on the technic / controls etc.etc.
i realy hope the new game, when it will be a pc version, is not outdated in graphics and finally have normal controls, otherwise it will end up on a shelf and i will again hate it and love it and hate it.
regarding the sandbox remark, i dont agree, there is lots to do but all in all it is 1 big repetition of ppl/remarks etc. Being a large map with loads of semi similar buildings and streets that you cannot enter does not make it "deep".
Looking at Oblivion for example and previous versions are rather complex underneeth with individual ai / person, all is accessable etc. and users can create own contenct / mods. but hey, iam a fan of the fantasy genre
Message from god, Please logoff, rebooting the Universe
Says the retard wasting time to answer a troll. Do not. Feed. The troll.
So art is only art if it celebrates the beautiful aspects of human emotion? I wouldn't say so. If that was the case, Schindler's List never should have won that oscar. In my opinion, it's important for art to capture a full picture of human potential, be that good or evil. In some sense, art is meant to help us understand our emotions and actions. It may be even more important for us to understand our shame than to glorify our pride. Note: This is not an argument for GTA IV as art, I'm simply arguing against your point that art shouldn't portray pathetic human behavior.
If someone came out with a full featured non-violent sex and love themed RPG with nudity and a touch of the hardcore, it would outsell 10 to 1 GTA IV and WoW combined.
Just because you bought a game and are playing it however you want doesn't mean you can post it on YouTube - because no matter what you make the game do - it's not your content.
At least that's what YouTube is doing right now playing whak-a-mole with all the people trying to post their in-game footage. STOP IT YOU YARD MONKEYS! EULA CONTROLS ALL - TAKEDOWN NOTICES AT DAWN!
Seriously - what the fuck is wrong with Take 2 games? Oh noes - recordings of a nerd playing a game - holy SHIT! STOP THAT THIS INSTANT!
Last time I checked, this was a SECULAR nation. You know, separation of church and state and all that fun stuff that keeps people like you from forcing people like me to believe in your "God".... Welcome to freedom buddy.
You have described the way a country like this should work ideally. In reality, the US is run by and for rich, white Christians.
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