Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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50 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Been there, done that... but there was no T-shirt to buy, 16 May 2008
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
Ah, Grand Theft Auto... If you enjoyed riding your bike through GTA:San Andreas, swinging your katana or your chainsaw, going on a rampage with your tank, wasting oodles of money on clothes and stuff, flying a plane, investing or bodybuilding... then stick to GTA:San Andreas. Because all of this has been removed from GTA IV. While graphically it is quite a feast (initially at least, it does rather wear off after some time), and the physics engine has been improved (car damage is now much more diverse; but prepare to spend a lot of time watching your car spin out of control, even when driving at a walking pace), interactivity has taken a huge step backwards. After approximately 40% of the game, I realized I had more money than I could ever spend, even though I had maxed out all my ammunitions reserves (there aren't that many weapons, anyway, and only a bat or knife as melee choices). There are only four clothes shops, two of which are identical. And that's a problem. Sure, there are additional side-missions, like taxi-driving or similar. But since all they get you is more money, but no additional places to spend it, they are rather pointless. Watching TV, strip or comedy shows is no replacement, since they repeat themselves quickly. The included minigames (Darts, Pool, Bowling, and a Tetris-clone) are not good enough (Darts is laughably easy, there's no real way to control the strength of your strike in Pool).
In addition to that, a big flaw of earlier games was not adressed: the targeting system. It still happens that, when surrounded by gun wielding enemies trying to cut me down, I found the auto-targeting system locking onto an innocent bystander running away (even though I wasn't even looking at him). It's also annoying that the auto-target stays and locks on enemies even after they've died, so instead of quickly taking out a room of enemies I frequently found myself battling with the lock-on system more than with my opponents themselves.
But there's online multiplayer! That makes up for everything else, doesn't it?
Not really, since it's quite buggy and laggy. During one match of cops'n'crooks, both teams started as cops (making it unplayable), during a deathmatch with bazookas (should be a blast, right?) I found that the projectiles didn't explode on contact with the ground, but rather progressed into the street and exploded about a second later. And it often happens that enemy players and car skip frames, jumping from one place to another like a bad stop-go-animation, a fatal flaw in a game requiring precision shots and driving. And there are (apparently) no safeguards to prevent unbalanced teams, so if you play turf war, you might suddenly find yourself in a minority, which prevents any real sense of fun.
It's a pity things turned out this way. The characters in this installment are a lot better than the previous games, three-dimensional and more likeable, but the story is too episodic and disjointed. And without any means to personalize the experience (through favourite clothes and weapons), and no way to interact with this huge city (apart from driving over and shooting bystanders. Oh yes, and occasionally buying a hot dog!), the long term motivation is a lot less than the initial size of the game would suggest.
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95 of 123 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I don't know... I just don't know., 30 April 2008
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
The most eagerly awaited game ever? Well it's certainly up there in the top five, rubbing shoulders with the Master Chief which ever way you cut it.
Does it look amazing? Yes of course it does. More gritty and less cartoonish than it's predecessors, detail aplenty, pop-up and draw-distance problems controlled if not entirely removed, cars that look as good as a racing game, characters that look as good as a third person action game. It's all here.
It looks and feels fantastic, but...
If you've been there since the beginning there is just a tiny nagging feeling that past all the glitz and glamour, beneath all the media hype it isn't really that much of an advancement from GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas.
You see, when GTA III came along it replaced a crude but addictive top-down scroller. It took that world and used the newly minted PS2 to blast it into full 3D, defining that platform and ushering in the era of the sandbox game.
As I stare at GTA IV in 36 inches of HDMI beauty I simply don't feel quite as excited as I did when I hit the streets of Liberty City the first time. There's a tiny voice inside me that keeps saying that all the glowing reviews in the mainstream media are only written because those reviewers weren't there to see how incredible it was when the series first went 3D. Struggling to come to terms with a form of media that they neither understand nor respect, they are only written because they feel they are expected to crow about how great it is.
I try to put my finger on what exactly has disappointed me but it isn't easy. Perhaps it was the fact that Saints Row really made a feature of the car modifying thing, that San Andreas gave you a whole county to explore, perhaps I just like the playlist less this time or perhaps its just one sandbox too many?
Don't get me wrong, this still beats most games by a country mile. The voice acting is beyond reproach, as are the character models, the level design, the cell phone system. In short, it oozes quality from every pore and yet remains a bizarrely muted experience.
Of course you'll buy it. Everyone will. But twenty years from now, will we talk most fondly about this one? Or will it be one of the previous three?
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35 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!, 1 May 2008
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
This game is excellent in so many ways and there is just so many things to do. In my eyes, the cars in this one are fantastic and despite what people are saying, the handling is actually fantastic and varies with each car.
What people dont seem to understand is that the cars work on a hierarchy (sort of) which means that if you pick a roughed up car, it wont drive as well (and the steering is a lot worse) whereas a nice car is much better to drive (great steering) just like in real life which I think is a fantastic feature. Furthermore, it makes you feel a lot happier when you end up driving a ferarri or something flashy because you can notice the difference.
I think the main problem people are having with the game is that their ''expectations were high and it didn't live up to the hype'' In my mind, this just doesnt mean anything. I think it surpassed my expectations and the game really is a lot better than San Andreas in so many ways. I reckon that the people who wrote these reviews never really got very far with the game. It was designed to start off slowly and to get a lot more fun as you progressed through the game which I think the blokes at Rockstar pulled off really well. For example, parts of the city open up as you go along and there are more things to do in other parts of the city which makes the game more fun. Also, the missions get a lot better further on in the game too. I happen to have only got about 20% through the game so far and am already starting to notice the difference.
I'd love to say more but I think its worth mentioning lastly that the Xbox live with this game is just too fun for words. I was playing free roam where you can just walk around the city doing whatever you want to BUT WITH 16 OTHER PLAYERS. This is where the game really shines. It just makes the game so much more fun and it takes away the sense of loneliness. Its the sort of thing I dream of in a game and it really does make it ridiculously fun. We went around the city trying to get as many stars as possible-great fun! If you get this game and give it some time, Im certain you wont be disappointed. Thanks for listening.
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