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General Category => Entertainment and Media => Topic started by: Tau on March 05, 2008, 08:58:30 am

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on March 05, 2008, 08:58:30 am
(http://www.angel-spire.com/forum/uploads/IMG110-1204707031.jpg)


Grand Theft Auto IV Site (http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/")
Release Date - 29th of April!

Grand Theft Auto IV has been announced by Take Two Interactive on the 9th of may, 2006. The game was to be released on the 16th of October 2007, but the release date has been pushed back to the 29th of April, 2008. The game will be released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 at the same time. There has been no announcement about a possible PC version so far. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game will be practically the same, but extra downloadable content has been announced for the Xbox 360 version only. The first download pack, named "Grand Theft Auto IV: Episode One", will be available in August 2008.

There will also be a special edition for both consoles on the day GTA IV is released. This collectors edition will be packed in a metal safe deposit box and contain the game, an artwork book, a music CD, a key chain and a duffel bag.


Update alert on Grand Theft Auto 4 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360). The latest edition of EGM had a feature on the game, and we're given a lot of new info. This is great news as updates on GTA4 seem to come in bite-sized pieces recently.

* Sam Houser - "Its Official, Im American now...I can now vote but for anyone but Hillary Clinton. I love America." (Note: Sam Houser is the founder and executive producer of Rockstar Games)
* The Sixaxis will be used in GTA4 but in a way thats done Right.
* A possible MMPOG GTA in the future. May be subscription based.
* Beat up cars will eventually stall, leaving you to flee on foot.
* Tired will shred apart when they are shot.
* Ps3 Version will have warmer colors while the 360 version will have more vibrant colors.
* Tap Up on the D-pad brings up the Cell phone. Up a second time brings up the key pad.
* There are several different cell phones you gain through out the game. the basic has contacts, organizer, camera, and multiplayer mode. The MP3 version is obtained later in the game.
* You can kill anyone and everyone, even your contacts.
* Theres a conservative talk station called WKTT (We Know the Truth). This is making fun of Rush limbaugh and will have those red stater rants that was recorded from real fans that called in doing that time period R* was taking calls from fans.
* DJ Lazlow Returns
* Bloggers play some form in the game.
* The old GTA cheat codes we come to love seem to have returned.
* You can drop grenades out of the vehicle while driving. you can also "cook" the grenades.
* R* is really getting into episodic downloads. may see some for the PS3 version.

Hmm...that MP3 part sounds like custom soundtracks to me, hope it means off the PS3 HDD :fogetrockon:

Trailers
Move Up, ladies Trailer. (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/28634.html")
Everybodys a Rat Trailer. (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/32309.html) New!

Reviews
IGN Review! 10/10 (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/869/869381p1.html)
Game Trailers Review 9.8/10 (http://www.gametrailers.com/game/2924.html)
Gamespot Review 10/10 (http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/grandtheftauto4/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;review)

Gamertags


PSN
theHunter = ShdwDrake


The first Multiplayer screens are up, Check them out! (http://www.gtagaming.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100956)


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Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Supra Mairo on March 05, 2008, 12:59:43 pm
* Sam Houser - "Its Official, Im American now...I can now vote but for anyone but Hillary Clinton. I love America." (Note: Sam Houser is the founder and executive producer of Rockstar Games)
* The Sixaxis will be used in GTA4 but in a way thats done Right.
* A possible MMPOG GTA in the future. May be subscription based.
* Beat up cars will eventually stall, leaving you to flee on foot.
* Tired will shred apart when they are shot.
* Ps3 Version will have warmer colors while the 360 version will have more vibrant colors.
* Tap Up on the D-pad brings up the Cell phone. Up a second time brings up the key pad.
* There are several different cell phones you gain through out the game. the basic has contacts, organizer, camera, and multiplayer mode. The MP3 version is obtained later in the game.
* You can kill anyone and everyone, even your contacts.
* Theres a conservative talk station called WKTT (We Know the Truth). This is making fun of Rush limbaugh and will have those red stater rants that was recorded from real fans that called in doing that time period R* was taking calls from fans.
* DJ Lazlow Returns
* Bloggers play some form in the game.
* The old GTA cheat codes we come to love seem to have returned.
* You can drop grenades out of the vehicle while driving. you can also "cook" the grenades.
* R* is really getting into episodic downloads. may see some for the PS3 version.
Where are all the interesting/cool new features or is this it?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on March 05, 2008, 02:11:23 pm
Theirs a lot more of course, those are just the newest ones mentioned.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on March 05, 2008, 02:22:29 pm
Where are all the interesting/cool new features or is this it?

No planes. ;(
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on March 05, 2008, 02:53:37 pm
I'm mostly interested in how they're going to map Liberty City.  They pretty much changed the name to Manhattan and it's now canon, but after playing through an entire STATE in San Andreas it would feel like a cop out to go to a generic city again.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on March 05, 2008, 03:09:52 pm
well like the post above you said they are cutting out flying so it wouldnt surprise me if they downsized a lot too

i guess itll be like gta3, eventually more games will be made with the same engine that'll be excellent. but gta4 on it's own? eh, it excites me, but the very fact they cut out flying is a huge downer for me. it's like when they cut levitation out of oblivion to meet with their stupid cell'd cities system.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Kaworu on March 05, 2008, 03:49:00 pm
It's not really downsizing because the city is noticably larger and more lfelike, and there's so many more places to go. There's most likely a larger surface area to go on, but more of it in buildings and whatnot. It is by no means a "generic city" it does look verymuch alive.
The whole game seems a major upgrade to me, especially interms of it's animation physics.
It sucks though that there is no info about a PC release yet, because that's all I'm after.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on March 05, 2008, 04:36:44 pm
I'm not a big fan of the series (I thought they were fun but whatever) but this game sounds like it could be really exceptional.  I think that too many people are focusing on the bullet points that are no longer printed on the back of the box (such as no flying and no rural countryside driving etc) and are forgetting that the team is focusing on basic game design to carry the experience this time.  In previous games, you had fun because of the nature of having a large playground with a lot of toys.  From what I understand, GTA4's focus differs in that it gives you a smaller but more detailed playground with fewer, more sophisticated toys. 

Preview impressions report that the game design surrounding the missions makes them much more fun, that the writing is really polished and thoroughly entertaining, and that game mechanics such as fighting, driving, shooting, and just moving around are more refined so that it's simply more fun to push the buttons and make things happen onscreen.

Incidentally my girlfriend is really excited about this game, which is weird because she usually only plays construction/management simulators (things like Sim City).
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Bill Murray on March 06, 2008, 09:57:21 pm
The one thing that got me interested in this, was something Kotaku posted from Rockstar's Dan Houser. 'They' asked him what his favourite moment was, and he said (dun dun dun):

Quote
There are so many defining moments, but a recent one was during a police chase. A song I love came on one of the radio stations while I had two cop cars chasing me through chinatown. I was speeding along when another cop car I hadn't seen rammed me straight on, our cars crunched together, and I was sent flying through the windshield. I ducked into cover and could still hear the song playing from my smashed-up car. Then the cops opened fire, but one of them hit a pedestrian who pulled out his gun and started shooting. The next thing I know, there was a full-scale war going on between a random gang and the cops. Within a few seconds all the cops were dead and the gang members walked away. I got hold of another car and quietly drove out of the search area to lose my wanted level.

If it's anything like that, then I'm sold.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on March 07, 2008, 02:23:03 am
Haha, that's fucken crazy..  that settles it, I am preordering the game RIGHT NOW!!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on March 07, 2008, 03:22:51 am
Haha, sweet. This game is sounding better by the minute.

I think I'll wait until a few weeks after it comes out, but it will definitely be in my library soon enough.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Fire Mage on March 07, 2008, 04:03:00 am
On the main forum page I saw something like "Del" and I thought it was "delayed."

I was about to cry :(
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Finality on March 07, 2008, 04:31:25 am
No planes. ;(
Thank god. The plane missions were the worst in San Andreas. Definitely going to pick this up next month, I had no idea it was so close to being released.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on March 07, 2008, 04:58:05 am
I heard there's going to be helicopters, but not planes. That you can use your cellphone to call the police to a remote location so they're not around while you do a hit. That you can take a cab to any location in the city. That you can get a GPS for your car, input the exact location and it will direct you on the way. That you can't just hit Triangle to steal a car parked in the road; you have to break the window and hot wire the car. ....A whole bunch of crap. It will be a downsize from San Andreas, this we go into it knowing; though it was originally slated to be episodic, so who knows what'll come in expansions along the way!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Warped655 on March 07, 2008, 05:21:31 am
I read somewhere (magazine or online article, not sure) that you can grab on to vehicles as they are driving away from you to escape, and climb onto the roof of the car and try to kill them from there, while you are trying to do, so they will drive extra erratically in order to fling you off the car.

This game sounds so sick. its a definite buy for me.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Ragnar on March 07, 2008, 06:46:15 pm
I'm going to imagine from now on that Don Miguel looks and sounds exactly like Niko

and for some reason I forgot what page I was on and I saw a IV and was hoping it was a topic about Final Fight IV (even though there already was a new Final Fight and it sucked)
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Finality on March 07, 2008, 07:17:12 pm
I heard there's going to be helicopters, but not planes. That you can use your cellphone to call the police to a remote location so they're not around while you do a hit. That you can take a cab to any location in the city. That you can get a GPS for your car, input the exact location and it will direct you on the way. That you can't just hit Triangle to steal a car parked in the road; you have to break the window and hot wire the car. ....A whole bunch of crap.

Wow. This plus what warpped655 said is insane. They really stepped it up, I was expecting more of the same for the most part.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on March 07, 2008, 08:42:22 pm
According to all the previews I just read, this game focuses more on the smaller details than an actual HUGE map like San Andreas.  The game world is basically one giant interactive sand box... which is cool I guess.  I rather interact with shit in a small world than run around a static, big world.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Kaworu on March 07, 2008, 11:46:43 pm
The "internet" in the game is pretty intersting. There's like 100+ websites that you can go on in cyber cafes. You can check your emails, go on dating sites and shit. There is so much in this game that it seems like you can NOT BE BREAKIN' THE LAW and still hav tonnes of stuffs to do.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: `~congresman Ron paul~~ on March 07, 2008, 11:50:10 pm
I read somewhere that Liberty City in-game is going to be about half as big as the entire landscape for GTA:SA, but that might be a misrepresentation (including whole bay area for example).

It'll certainly be far bigger than any one of the cities in SA alone.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on March 08, 2008, 12:00:19 pm
INTRAN3TZ!!
Holy fuck, I never knew they added the internet into this game, geez it's sounding more like a Sims game with a lot funner features and crime, I wonder if they'll have the whole bump into each other thing like in Assassins Creed.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on March 08, 2008, 12:31:16 pm
Apparently you can access the criminal database when you steal a cop vehicle and find info on yourself and others :D​.

There's a lot of little things I'm finding cool about the game, and the fact helicopters are a definite is excellent. I don't really mind about planes.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Ragnar on March 08, 2008, 07:06:47 pm
The "internet" in the game is pretty intersting. There's like 100+ websites that you can go on in cyber cafes. You can check your emails, go on dating sites and shit. There is so much in this game that it seems like you can NOT BE BREAKIN' THE LAW and still hav tonnes of stuffs to do.

There should be a way to beat the game without doing anything illegal (just like in MGS you can beat the game without killing anyone)
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on March 08, 2008, 08:25:54 pm
I read somewhere that Liberty City in-game is going to be about half as big as the entire landscape for GTA:SA, but that might be a misrepresentation (including whole bay area for example).

It'll certainly be far bigger than any one of the cities in SA alone.

Yeah, early on in the dev. I remember reading that the city will be more to scale. So I imagine that means sidewalks and streets are wider, buildings taller etc. It's supposed to be a bigger Liberty City. Should be killer! I can't wait to regain HP by screwing a whore in the backseat of my hot-wired, beat up car. Sa-weet!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Ragnar on March 09, 2008, 05:59:51 am
Yeah one of the things that really got me was the sense of scale, like when it zooms in on the bridge and you see the train, it would probably take forever to get across the bridge on foot (I've never played GTA III or any others so forgivuness purease)

Also that chase scene at 1:34 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4yx1s-l6f8 really got me for some reason (I just realized now your dude is on foot lol)

I wonder if it'll make car chases easier/harder because, you know, the city's actually to scale now?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: bonermobile on March 09, 2008, 06:23:41 am
if they announce a pc release i will upgrade my pc JUST FOR THIS (and god knows i'll need it just looking at the trailers)
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on March 09, 2008, 07:37:18 am
i don't know, i'm not that big of a fan of the series anymore, either.  every time a new one came out, i'd always get all pumped and be like YEAHHH and go out and buy it the day it was released, and then get pretty bored with it once i realized it was just like the older ones but with a typically larger city and some new features.  i think my problem is that the format of the quests really isn't that inviting.  i never saw the games as being that open-ended, as you more or less have to do the missions, in a general order, to progress, and they always seemed sort of repetitive to me.  so without doing the missions because i just found HERE'S A CHAINSAW GO KILL VINNY to be pretty boring, and without seeing exactly how the nonlinearity of it, which i think is somewhat overestimated, is really all that appealing (you can go mug this hooker OR go steal this kilo of coke...... the choice is yours), i mostly just drive around killing people for ten minutes before turning it off.

maybe i'll get this, though.  it'd be the fourth time i've fallen into the gta trap, but i might make a serious effort to get into the missions this time.  i mean, i played bully, which is essentially the same format, and lightweight enjoyed it, so who knows.

i hope it has better controls, too.  for an action-based game, the actual combat controls have always felt kind of half-assed.  you'd think it was an afterthought, the way they throw shit like targeting in it.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: NightBlade on March 09, 2008, 07:57:31 am
if they announce a pc release i will upgrade my pc JUST FOR THIS (and god knows i'll need it just looking at the trailers)

I'd say the PC release is a given. It'll just take several months more for it to get to the PC.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on March 10, 2008, 02:08:32 am
i hope it has better controls, too.  for an action-based game, the actual combat controls have always felt kind of half-assed.  you'd think it was an afterthought, the way they throw shit like targeting in it.
Nah yeah theirs cover and a new aiming system, plus the new physics used for the game, should be pretty interesting.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on March 11, 2008, 01:26:28 pm
Nah yeah theirs cover and a new aiming system, plus the new physics used for the game, should be pretty interesting.

I hated combat until San Andreas popped that easy targetting in. Always drove cars through people. It... was just the only way.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Kaworu on March 11, 2008, 09:04:00 pm
Holy fuck, I never knew they added the internet into this game, geez it's sounding more like a Sims game with a lot funner features and crime, I wonder if they'll have the whole bump into each other thing like in Assassins Creed.
Dude if you're gunna quote me and include that kinda "INTRAN3TZ!!" shit, I will send people round your house to kick you in the knackers.

Also I doubt the PC version will be ultra taxing. This isn't exactly a huge jump from San Andreas' pc graphics. It's like BETTER SHADER and that's it. Essentially I find it near impossible that this game's requirements would be higher than Just Cause.

But yah controls... seriously how can people play GTA games on console? Like yeah the analogues make flying so much easier (as in... possible) but the aiming and shit was terrible and stiff. The game really needs the fluidity of a mouse imo.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Warped655 on March 11, 2008, 09:06:56 pm
http://www.thegamereviews.com/articlenav-434-page-1.html

some of the details that are known. In list format.  :cool:
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on March 12, 2008, 04:08:52 am
Dude if you're gunna quote me and include that kinda "INTRAN3TZ!!" shit, I will send people round your house to kick you in the knackers.

Also I doubt the PC version will be ultra taxing. This isn't exactly a huge jump from San Andreas' pc graphics. It's like BETTER SHADER and that's it. Essentially I find it near impossible that this game's requirements would be higher than Just Cause.

But yah controls... seriously how can people play GTA games on console? Like yeah the analogues make flying so much easier (as in... possible) but the aiming and shit was terrible and stiff. The game really needs the fluidity of a mouse imo.
the keyboard however is horrible for controlling the character and vehicle movement imo!

and considering the fact that the console versions use auto-aim i dont see the problem with that!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: UPRC on March 12, 2008, 12:06:26 pm
http://www.thegamereviews.com/articlenav-434-page-1.html

some of the details that are known. In list format.  :cool:

Very good read, thanks for the link. I'm looking forward to the game a little bit more now.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on March 22, 2008, 05:49:20 pm
I read an article about this game in Playstation The Official Magazine. Says the skeletal structure will have you stepping automatically up when walking up off the street to a sidewalk (or placing a foot atop your recently murdered victim for that matter).
Apparently the whole city is available to you at the beginning of the game, except that you have immigration document issues, so you can only go so far. I laughed at that, it's such a convienent (and necessary) plot point.
The radio is reportedly as funny as ever, not that I need to say that for you to know. It's a series staple.
Oh, and the cover system sounds even cooler now, since certain cover will be penetrable by certain weapons. Hint, don't hide behind a cardboard box?

I could just retype the article, perhaps if you're all interested.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Kaworu on March 22, 2008, 06:02:51 pm
the keyboard however is horrible for controlling the character and vehicle movement imo!
Meh I disagree.

Yeah the character physics on this game seems really good, movement is all based on collision detection and physics as opposed to scriped animations. Also there's more random events, I've been reading previews that gone on about punks spraying on walls, car chases that get in your way and shit. They're really going overboard to make a living breathing city.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: `~congresman Ron paul~~ on March 22, 2008, 06:12:52 pm
Also I doubt the PC version will be ultra taxing. This isn't exactly a huge jump from San Andreas' pc graphics. It's like BETTER SHADER and that's it. Essentially I find it near impossible that this game's requirements would be higher than Just Cause.

Are you kidding me? The graphics on here are so much better than GTA:SA. The textures are high-res, there's bump mapping, shiny surfaces, huge draw distance, NPCs don't look like they're from a game made in 1999, etc.

I can imagine the graphic requirements being pretty high. Certainly not I NEED AN 8 SERIES NVIDIA CARD but definitely in the 1.5 gigs ram and decent video card range.

Also every trailer I see for this game gets me SUPER PUMPED. I really want this game guys.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on March 23, 2008, 03:36:28 am
I read an article about this game in Playstation The Official Magazine. Says the skeletal structure will have you stepping automatically up when walking up off the street to a sidewalk (or placing a foot atop your recently murdered victim for that matter).

You know Lost Odyssey had this and I thought it was pretty ridiculous because otherwise the hero's animations on the map are canned and really terrible but they went the extra mile to make sure that he placed his feet correctly on uneven surfaces or rough terrain.  It was especially awful whenever he would jump.

I can imagine the graphic requirements being pretty high. Certainly not I NEED AN 8 SERIES NVIDIA CARD but definitely in the 1.5 gigs ram and decent video card range.

I agree that the requirements will be high but I disagree that it will be anything less than 8-series Nvidia cards.  Those cards are getting really old now and you need two of them to run a lot of new games at their intended specs.  I'm positive that the requirements for GTA IV on PC will be really really high and just as uncompromising as just about any other high-end PC game on the market.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Warped655 on March 23, 2008, 07:00:48 am
I read a while ago that there is going to be about 15 multiplayer game modes... I'm surprised no one posted that here yet...

Translated Magazine on the multiplayer modes (http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=317327)

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Ragnar on March 23, 2008, 08:26:25 am
I wouldn't say that the graphics are the best ever but it's just that it all looks so cinematic/whatever - it's like art imitating other art to look like life
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on March 23, 2008, 07:34:31 pm
You know Lost Odyssey had this and I thought it was pretty ridiculous because otherwise the hero's animations on the map are canned and really terrible but they went the extra mile to make sure that he placed his feet correctly on uneven surfaces or rough terrain.  It was especially awful whenever he would jump.

They're using the same technology as Star Wars : The Force Unleashed for the skeletal reactions to environments (IE footfalls). So, I don't know if this will be an issue. I haven't played Lost Odyssey, so I can't say.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Kaworu on March 23, 2008, 07:46:46 pm
Dudes it looks like just cause, and you don't need fantastic setup to play that.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Mince Wobley on March 23, 2008, 09:52:21 pm
Thank god. The plane missions were the worst in San Andreas. Definitely going to pick this up next month, I had no idea it was so close to being released.

I don't think so. The best one was the one where you had to jump from one plane to another LOL

This GTA IV sounds good I hope they make a version for PC too because I will never own a PS3 or a Xbox 360.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on March 26, 2008, 02:39:25 pm
The first Multiplayer screens are up, Check them out! (http://www.gtagaming.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100956)


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Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on March 26, 2008, 06:18:05 pm
@ Screens; :O Can I play now? :(
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on March 26, 2008, 06:53:00 pm
After playing through Saint's Row I expect GTA's gameplay to live up to it.  SR itself wasn't a fantastic game, but it brought a lot of good ideas to the "open sandbox gangster" style videogames.  For one, the map could be marked with way points which made driving around a lot easier than "PRESS SELECT CHECK MAP DRIVE A LITTLE BIT PRESS SELECT CHECK MAP" and the game's dual analog control set up actually made combat FUN. 
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Warped655 on March 26, 2008, 11:10:16 pm
The street map's (http://kotaku.com/372415/gta-iv-street-map-leaked) been leaked as well...
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on March 27, 2008, 11:36:06 am
That's a huge city, can't wait for this game! I wonder who leaked it?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on March 28, 2008, 02:32:35 am
The final trailer for the game was released.. Everybodys a Rat Trailer. (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/32309.html) Doesn't really show much but still, it's April 29th release date is real.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on March 31, 2008, 02:51:45 am
After playing through Saint's Row I expect GTA's gameplay to live up to it.  SR itself wasn't a fantastic game, but it brought a lot of good ideas to the "open sandbox gangster" style videogames.  For one, the map could be marked with way points which made driving around a lot easier than "PRESS SELECT CHECK MAP DRIVE A LITTLE BIT PRESS SELECT CHECK MAP" and the game's dual analog control set up actually made combat FUN. 
The map marker/GPS system has been confirmed and by description seems identical to the SR one. Also GTA4 has free aiming now (which isn't as broken as SA's), both in person and in car and I think I read that they've learned from SR as well that players should be able to use other weapons than just small automatic weapon for drive-by's (I think I read, again, somewhere that all weapons are available from the car but only the one-handed can be used while driving (does this mean increased AI driving? That you can GPS a location and you can get a gang member to drive you???))

SR did a lot of small things that made it superior to GTA imo. Free aiming is the most important one, but stuff like way better sidemissions (not all were good, but stuff like Insurance Fraud was way ahead any sidemissions I played in the GTA series), having a lot of information on screen (what gangs are currently gunning for you, how the police meter is building up, seeing the run bar increase and decrease as you run/stop), not really having any load times in-game (which opened up a shitload of gameplay for me that was in SA as well but that I never ever touched in there because it took forever, like car tuning and going into shops for buying stuff) and character customization (which was pulled way better off in Saints Row than in SA, but tbh this doesn't matter that much as long as the characters are as fleshed out as Niko seems to be).

That said, I do prefer the GTA series (especially Vice City, SA was a bit of a disappointment as it seemed a bit blander). So now that it seems GTA4 is going to take the good parts from previous GTA installments (character development, style) and mix it with elements from SR (free aiming and GPS have both been confirmed) and add a little Gears of War-style cover mechanics plus multiplayer and I think we have a winner. Considering that SA was a bit of a disappointment, it was still a great game and I doubt GTA4 will be anything but it.

And ya I already pre-ordered mine plus a strategy book 8)   (too lazy to find all the damned hidden packages/tags etc and  I'm not gonna wait for some dude to gamefag it)


edit: oh yeah Saints Row also has way better visuals and audios on quite a few levels as well. Gunfire in Saints Row sounds very satisfying and I feel like my guns pack quite the punch. And the explosions are probably as awesome as any game I've played.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: reko on April 01, 2008, 02:20:30 am
I'm sure that I'll get this game, but what I'm not really sure is hat will I get it for the PS3 or the X360. The extra downloadable content available exclusively on X360 sounds tempting, but I'm under impression that PS3 will most likely handle the game more smoothly with less framerate issues.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 01, 2008, 02:44:34 am
just wait for reviews then! they mention the differences.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: theHunter on April 01, 2008, 02:50:28 am
360 has downloadable content and the PS3 will have some nifty GTAIV Home spaces.

Also the 360 DLC is scheduled for fall meaning that it will be here before Home.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: chanicakes on April 03, 2008, 01:17:48 pm
I gotta say I saw the tv spot for it just last night and it seems like it will definitely rain supreme over the other GTA... not only that but also the True crime games as well.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: UPRC on April 03, 2008, 02:25:09 pm
That city map picture is damn impressive. Should be a blast to just go off and explore Liberty City.

Definitely looking forward to this! When is it out? The 28th or so?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on April 03, 2008, 02:49:41 pm
That city map picture is damn impressive. Should be a blast to just go off and explore Liberty City.

Definitely looking forward to this! When is it out? The 28th or so?

I happen to be listening to a video game podcast right now and just as I read this question they mentioned the release date for GTA IV.  Serendipitous!

Anyway, it's April 29.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on April 26, 2008, 04:05:27 am
10/10 IGN Review! After watching the video review I am even more pissed I managed to get into the 0.4% failure rate, anyways heres the Review..enjoy! (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/869/869381p1.html)

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on April 26, 2008, 04:13:57 am
Just read through both the US and the UK review and watched the video review. I am so excited right now, and happy that I preordered it. If it doesn't arrive on the 29th I'm gonna have to buy it anyway.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 26, 2008, 04:19:40 am
no way. a 10/10?

what games have ever gotten that on IGN?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on April 26, 2008, 04:20:54 am
ocarina of time and soul calibur 1 at least

its the first one in 9 years for consoles

edit: oh here's a list of them link of all perfect 10's at IGN (http://games.ign.com/index/choice.html?ordering.order=desc&constraint.multi_channel=is_true&ordering.attribute=article.review_date&constraint.bool.article.is_editors_choice=is_true&constraint.locale=us&sort.attribute=article.overall_rating&sort.order=desc)

also seems like its the 3rd console game ever to get one (soul calibur and ocarina of time being the two other)

and the portable crew seems to give out a lot of tens :(
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 26, 2008, 04:52:46 am
I am pretty pumped for this no matter what dumb sites had rated it. Grand Theft Auto games are probably some of the most fun (and occasionally frustrating) games created.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: theHunter on April 26, 2008, 05:58:54 am
I'm getting this shit.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on April 26, 2008, 06:55:06 am
yea i'm totally gonna buy this and then play it for five hours and then never again


edit:  PUUUUUUMPED
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on April 26, 2008, 08:07:06 am
yea i'm totally gonna buy this and then play it for five hours and then never again


edit:  PUUUUUUMPED
man I don't understand this

I always get addicted to the gta games, and I've probably invested like 120 hours into both gta3 and vice city (ive beat the storylines many many times, got 100% on different saves etc) and about 40 or so in san andreas (san andreas really went downhill after a while imo)

gta is so addictive i dont get how you can spend only 5 hrs on one :(
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on April 26, 2008, 08:43:35 am
because the missions are generally pretty uninteresting and repetitive and i get tired of FINDING VINNY AND GETTING THE MONEY HE OWES and once you get past that it's really only fun to drive around and kill people for a few minutes before that, too, gets old.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DS on April 26, 2008, 09:24:40 am
IGN's video review was... wow. I had no idea the game looks that good. And it seems like they really improved the gameplay which is nice.

Can't wait.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 26, 2008, 09:27:19 am
Quote
because the missions are generally pretty uninteresting and repetitive and i get tired of FINDING VINNY AND GETTING THE MONEY HE OWES and once you get past that it's really only fun to drive around and kill people for a few minutes before that, too, gets old.

with that said i get tired of half-life 2 because you shoot things with guns and sometime solve derivitive puzzles which revolve around picking up thing and placing it on thing.

The appeal of the GTA games doesn't boil around missions or killing shit (although that certainly appeals to some gamers) but the fact that they're actually designed well.  It's not quite a racing game but there are racing missions and the engine is advanced enough to handle dozens of cars and make them feel different.  It's not an action game but there's still plenty of action and shit to do.  It's not a RPG or adventure game but the plot lines are generally more interesting and well written than 90% of everything else available.

GTA is basically a combination of several GOOD THINGS into one game.  You can pick apart any product to its bare bones and say "this game sucks because i press "x" a dozen times a minute and kill monster A constantly" but what seperates the GOOD games from the BAD games is the effort the developers put in their products.  When you play GTA you can tell that Rockstar put some thought into its design and that rubs off on the gameplay.

It's a shame you get bored giving vinny his money but I can't think of a single game on the market past or present that wasn't "ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL... A HUNDRED TIMES" until the very end.  Maybe one day an avante garde developer will make a game about doing nothing in as long as time possible-- oh wait, they already have a game like that (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progress_Quest)
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Kaworu on April 26, 2008, 09:31:16 am
I have to wait til (rumoured release) october to play this game, and then I'll be too busy painting dongs to have enough time to play it.
Life is cruel.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Carrion Crow on April 26, 2008, 12:31:26 pm
I am getting a PS3 after my exams with MGS4 and this.

(Is materialistic and requires bribery to work)

Edit:

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: tsimehC on April 26, 2008, 02:37:40 pm
The multiplayer thing looks awesome but I never take IGN's reviews seriously.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 26, 2008, 09:47:29 pm
"gta 4 is the best game i played in a decade.  it is full of violence, full of explosions, ladies of the night..."

Good god, IGN has the worst video reviewer I ever heard.  The dude talks in a completely boring and monotone voice and I almost fell asleep while watching it.  Atleast Gametrailers has that guy that talks really really loud but tries to make things SOUND interesting.  This dude was just... dull.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on April 26, 2008, 09:48:42 pm
with that said i get tired of half-life 2 because you shoot things with guns and sometime solve derivitive puzzles which revolve around picking up thing and placing it on thing.

The appeal of the GTA games doesn't boil around missions or killing shit (although that certainly appeals to some gamers) but the fact that they're actually designed well.  It's not quite a racing game but there are racing missions and the engine is advanced enough to handle dozens of cars and make them feel different.  It's not an action game but there's still plenty of action and shit to do.  It's not a RPG or adventure game but the plot lines are generally more interesting and well written than 90% of everything else available.

GTA is basically a combination of several GOOD THINGS into one game.  You can pick apart any product to its bare bones and say "this game sucks because i press "x" a dozen times a minute and kill monster A constantly" but what seperates the GOOD games from the BAD games is the effort the developers put in their products.  When you play GTA you can tell that Rockstar put some thought into its design and that rubs off on the gameplay.

It's a shame you get bored giving vinny his money but I can't think of a single game on the market past or present that wasn't "ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL... A HUNDRED TIMES" until the very end.  Maybe one day an avante garde developer will make a game about doing nothing in as long as time possible-- oh wait, they already have a game like that (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progress_Quest)
the difference is that while hl2 and most other games force you to do SOMETHING over and over, it doesn't really seem to get old.  i don't think you can compare HAVING TO SHOOT THINGS in an fps with doing too-similar missions in a game like gta or uh... spider-man 2 when it came out which was the same 5 missions over and over.  what's more, i never thought the plotlines were especially well done, and i thought the action was limited by the fact that the controls were poor and if you judged it AS AN ACTION GAME then it wouldn't be a very good one because there was a complete lack of things like combos or anything else of that nature that modern action games depend upon to be interesting.

but yeah you are really reaching here, bakusan.  well... in mario bros. you have to jump over and over so therefore the extreme repetition that takes place in other games.  i never understood why you guys got boners over GO THERE AND DO THIS MISSION, THEN COME BACK AND DO ANOTHER SIMILAR MISSION, REPEAT.  actually, no, that's not true.  i get it; you like the setting and the story and the repetition is justified by progression of the narrative.  but i just never thought the stories in any of the gta games were any good beyond being vague mafia movie rip-offs.  oh also the settings always felt incredibly lifeless to me, which killed the immersion factor.  this was in part due to the subpar graphics and also to the fact that they had like 8 character models that they just reused to populate the entire city.  i understand that this was a hardware limitation, and hopefully gta 4 will do much better in this respect, but it was a pretty big problem with the game in my eyes.  it didn't even feel like a real city to me.  also the ai blew so that didn't help the population feel like real people, either.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 26, 2008, 09:56:00 pm
I actually thought the narrative was pretty good but for reasons that are probably going to be a bit offtopic (w...why aren't we talkin gabout engines...)

part of what sold it for me is there are so many games who claim OH CINEMATIC PRESENTATION and then they aren't. look at this shit:


what makes this intolerable other than the DIALOGUE is how they trade off. the characters aren't talking to each other. they are waiting for the other one to start moving or whatever. it's like trading monologues.

whereas GTA:


they are DOING shit while talking to each toehr. the presentation of the narrative is like an actual movie and they interrupt each other and everything.

you combine that with just a really good atmosphere (the GTA soundtracks are seriously off the fucking hook every time) and I tend to forgive the fact that there isn't so much a level design (the difference between HL or Mario and GTA) and enjoy honestly driving around listening to A Flock of Seagulls or whatever while doing some stupid drug bust. It's an interesting way to present the story because it requires you to almost find the fun yourself but I think it gives you enough tools (cars, guns, whatever) to make it interesting.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 26, 2008, 09:57:19 pm
Quote
i don't think you can compare HAVING TO SHOOT THINGS in an fps with doing too-similar missions in a game like gta or uh...

Yes I CAN compare it to having to shoot things because the entire basis of video games is doing the same repetitive tasks over and over again until completion.  I'm not reaching for fuck shit here I am telling you exactly to the letter what a video game IS. 

You're the only one who's reaching here because every GTA mission isn't the same.  They may be made up of the same basic goals such as escaping from an enemy, alluding the cops, or assassinating the targets (which boils down to RUN AWAY, DRIVE REALLY FAST, and SHOOTING STUFF in that order) but every video game in existence (notice the bold because that is important) is designed around a single basic idea that you do until completion.

Just reading your comments for the past 6 months already drills in my head that you hate video games which is fine.  I don't care.  I just find it stupidly hilarious that you complain about the lack of length in modern games but when a game comes out that is actually LONG (and the length isn't artificial by forcing you to sit through 20 hours of cutscenes) you instantly complain because it gets boring really really fast. 

The problem isn't the games it's YOU.  You don't know what you want as a gamer which is understandable because everyone sits down and questions what they're spending their money on but I'm not naive and nihilistic enough to claim that everything released is a waste of time and totally arbitrary because it doesn't specifically appeal to me (notice how I also put that bold).

fuck

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 26, 2008, 10:02:56 pm
oh yeah, I forgot to add that the key to defeating repitition is by simply altering the events.  The difference here is that GTA actually MASKS that repetition with different mission models.  In Spiderman 2 you rescue the same civilian over and over again (they even have the same skin and they stand in a generic location while thugs beat them up).  In Assassin's Creed you do nothing but pickpocket and eaves drop to advance with absolutely nothing new thrown in.  In GTA an escort mission might be protecting a single target or could be following a helicoptor while being chased by 100 policeman.  An assassination mission might involve sniping a single person or it could be taking out 10 different targets halfway across the city while a timed bomb is strapped to your wrist. 

If you cannot honestly see the difference between:

-Doing task 1

and

-Doing task 1 while avoiding object B and destroying target C

Then my god, there is no help for you.  It's clear you haven't played the games long enough to have seen the difference because the mission structure extends further past the rigid structure of, say, Spiderman 2.  Yes, you kill people and race cars but the missions are set up to gradually provide more than that or alter the way you do it.  Racing a sedan and racing a pickup that's on fire are two different situations and require two different tactics.

This is the key to defeating boredom and marketers have been researching this to the ground.  Half-Life 2 is no different than doom but the developers decided to throw some in-game cinematics and an extra puzzle factor in and people ate it up as the greatest thing in the world.  This is no different than FIND VINNY'S MONEY and FIND MINNY'S MONEY THEN HIJACKING A TANK AND BEAT UP THREE PROSTITUTES. 
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 26, 2008, 10:07:24 pm
i think you're severely underestimating his argument and ignoring just how much level design plays into shit. the event alteration is often dependent on just the player.

like if I choose to I can probably beat every mission in most GTA games by driving up, shooting the enemies, and driving away. this is not fun though so I smash into the building with a plane or something, but it's still all dependent on ME and that's the flaw of every sandbox game like this; if you get bored after exploring most of hte possibilities, its not a great game.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 26, 2008, 10:16:28 pm
i think you're severely underestimating his argument and ignoring just how much level design plays into shit. the event alteration is often dependent on just the player.

like if I choose to I can probably beat every mission in most GTA games by driving up, shooting the enemies, and driving away. this is not fun though so I smash into the building with a plane or something, but it's still all dependent on ME and that's the flaw of every sandbox game like this; if you get bored after exploring most of hte possibilities, its not a great game.

I will openly admit that this was the flaw in GTA III but Vice City and San Andreas fixed that with a semi-rigid mission structure.  You're still tasked with specific goals and objectives and you have to carry them out in the planned way.  In San Andreas there's a mission where you drive up next to a speeding train and avoid incoming trains while your buddy shoots all the guys off.  There's a mission where you infiltrate a building, shoot everyone, then proceed to an on rails shooter chase.  In another mission you move through a burning building, kill everyone, go through a boss fight, run out of the building while it's on fire, then go through a big chase scene.  In another mission you torch a house then have to run inside the burning building to save someone.  Vice City had missions where you went from on rail shooting to action scenes to driving sequences--

I don't need to go on.

My point is that Panda's argument certainly passes with GTAIII which was essentially "perform the same tasks ad naseaum" but Vice City and San Andreas mixed it up by encorporating the various gameplay styles in the mission structure.  In GTAIII you killed people then drove away.  In VC/San Andreas you stealth killed people then hopped in a plane then did an aerial bombardment then drove away while the army was after you. 

How this basic set up of "do the same stuff... then do the same stuff (but a little differently)" doesn't compare with games like Mario Galaxy and BioShock is beyond me and I will call anyone who thinks otherwise a liar.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 26, 2008, 10:17:43 pm
repetition of action!=repetition of content, that's why.

*takes panda's thunder*
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 26, 2008, 10:20:51 pm
Then someone pm me when a video game comes out that let's us completely change the internal code.  I will kill for a generic jRPG that let's me turn it into hack 'n slash.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on April 26, 2008, 10:22:21 pm
Yes I CAN compare it to having to shoot things because the entire basis of video games is doing the same repetitive tasks over and over again until completion.  I'm not reaching for fuck shit here I am telling you exactly to the letter what a video game IS. 

You're the only one who's reaching here because every GTA mission isn't the same.  They may be made up of the same basic goals such as escaping from an enemy, alluding the cops, or assassinating the targets (which boils down to RUN AWAY, DRIVE REALLY FAST, and SHOOTING STUFF in that order) but every video game in existence (notice the bold because that is important) is designed around a single basic idea that you do until completion.

Just reading your comments for the past 6 months already drills in my head that you hate video games which is fine.  I don't care.  I just find it stupidly hilarious that you complain about the lack of length in modern games but when a game comes out that is actually LONG (and the length isn't artificial by forcing you to sit through 20 hours of cutscenes) you instantly complain because it gets boring really really fast. 

The problem isn't the games it's YOU.  You don't know what you want as a gamer which is understandable because everyone sits down and questions what they're spending their money on but I'm not naive and nihilistic enough to claim that everything released is a waste of time and totally arbitrary because it doesn't specifically appeal to me (notice how I also put that bold).

fuck


ahaha it's funny because i actually said i think most games over 40 or 50 hours overstay their welcome, so it's not like i'm sitting here being like "this one's too short :(​(( (ten hours is nuts btw)" and then "this one's too long :(​((" but yeah you're really looking at things in a ridiculous way and i think this is obvious from the fact that if i used your logic, no game would ever be able to be criticized for being repetitive, ever.

the problem here is definitely gta.  you're right in saying that i might not know what i want entirely (although, a lot of the time i do!), but i very much know what i do not want.

do you know why comparing gta to EVERY GAME EVER is dumb, marcus?  it's because there's a difference between repetition of content, and repetition of action.  you take a game like ratchet and clank or some other platformer where you basically throw your wrench around the entire game.  this is forgivable and usually not looked upon as HIGHLY REPETITIVE in a bad way because the focus isn't on throwing your wrench to begin with.  the focus is on level navigation, solving puzzles, countering/evading different enemies.  there's repetition in all games, this is true, but most GOOD games temper it with a variation in the content.  you get new weapons to use that there's actually a practical difference between, you encounter enemies that there are actually practical differences between, the locations are varied, and so are the puzzles (read: varied, not difficult.  they actually require the use of different TOOLS IN YOUR ARSENAL or whatever).  yes, you walk around swinging a wrench, but this is not the crux of the gameplay, and what COULD be viewed as the crux of the gameplay mixes it up enough to make up for this.

gta doesn't do this.  in gta, it's not just the actions that are repetitive (firing a gun, MOVING WITH THE DIRECTIONAL PAD, etc), it's the content, and the locales.  because of the graphical limitations, most of the various locales in the city feel identical to one another, in addition to being lifeless.  the settings and environment don't really vary all that much compared to other good games.  but beyond that, the content is the big issue.  i can forgive a platformer making me PRESS A TO JUMP over and over again (is this seriously your justification for all repetition in games marcus?  jesus christ i can't even believe we're having this conversation) because that's just an action; it's what you have to do to get through the content, but it's much more difficult to forgive repetition content in gta because THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE THERE TO DO.  i don't understand how you do not differentiate between the repetition inherent in firing a gun over and over while you go through content, and the repetition inherent in said content that's actually the reason you're playing a game, while you do basically the same missions over and over again.  one is way way worse and it's really not fair at all to compare action to content.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on April 26, 2008, 10:26:32 pm
I will openly admit that this was the flaw in GTA III but Vice City and San Andreas fixed that with a semi-rigid mission structure.  You're still tasked with specific goals and objectives and you have to carry them out in the planned way.  In San Andreas there's a mission where you drive up next to a speeding train and avoid incoming trains while your buddy shoots all the guys off.  There's a mission where you infiltrate a building, shoot everyone, then proceed to an on rails shooter chase.  In another mission you move through a burning building, kill everyone, go through a boss fight, run out of the building while it's on fire, then go through a big chase scene.  In another mission you torch a house then have to run inside the burning building to save someone.  Vice City had missions where you went from on rail shooting to action scenes to driving sequences--

I don't need to go on.

My point is that Panda's argument certainly passes with GTAIII which was essentially "perform the same tasks ad naseaum" but Vice City and San Andreas mixed it up by encorporating the various gameplay styles in the mission structure.  In GTAIII you killed people then drove away.  In VC/San Andreas you stealth killed people then hopped in a plane then did an aerial bombardment then drove away while the army was after you. 

How this basic set up of "do the same stuff... then do the same stuff (but a little differently)" doesn't compare with games like Mario Galaxy and BioShock is beyond me and I will call anyone who thinks otherwise a liar.
probably because since the game, as you pointed out, is so goddamn long, the minority of really cool missions doesn't make up for the majority of ones that still tended to have uninspired and repetitive structures.  i actually FORCED MYSELF for the first time to play through san andreas because everyone loved it and i was sure it was a good game, and yeah, some missions deviated (more than a few, even), but most didn't.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 26, 2008, 10:40:41 pm
...what?

Quote
this is forgivable and usually not looked upon as HIGHLY REPETITIVE in a bad way because the focus isn't on throwing your wrench to begin with.  the focus is on level navigation, solving puzzles, countering/evading different enemies.  there's repetition in all games, this is true, but most GOOD games temper it with a variation in the content.  you get new weapons to use that there's actually a practical difference between, you encounter enemies that there are actually practical differences between, the locations are varied, and so are the puzzles (read: varied, not difficult.  they actually require the use of different TOOLS IN YOUR ARSENAL or whatever).

WTF man you're stealing my entire argument and using it against me.

The focus on GTA is racing, shooting, dodging enemies, and doing missions.  Yes, the difference between a pistol and a shotgun isn't that notable but you do get new vehicles on both land, air, and sea and each vehicle behaves differently.  The locations are varied (big city vs. forest...), I could claim the side missions like skateboarding, delivery, and pimping are puzzles (although I did not know Ratchet and Clank had actual puzzles). 

I don't even know how to defend this because you have this warped perception of the games themselves.  It's pretty pointless for me to continue so I'm just going to spit out one final quote pissing contest then let you get in the final word (which more than likely includes tons of laughing and finger pointing on irc). 

Quote
because of the graphical limitations, most of the various locales in the city feel identical to one another,
Seriously? (http://kungfurodeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/grand_theft_auto_san_andreas_hr_1.jpg) I don't (http://www.rittau.org/blog/images/20050713-01-flying.jpg) see the similarities (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/60/205306197_c55d7987af.jpg).

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the settings and environment don't really vary all that much compared to other good games.

San Andreas came out in 2004 and contained three different cities that used different building textures and light filters, had a desert area, and two wilderness areas.  Considering that no other video game released in 2004 was as large as San Andreas I don't see how this counts.

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i can forgive a platformer making me PRESS A TO JUMP over and over again (is this seriously your justification for all repetition in games marcus?  jesus christ i can't even believe we're having this conversation) because that's just an action; it's what you have to do to get through the content, but it's much more difficult to forgive repetition content in gta because THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE THERE TO DO.

You already pointed out to me that Ratchet and Clank was about dodging enemies, navigating environments to find secret stuff like packages and blow up dolls, and shooting different guns.  I already pointed out to you that GTA is about racing cars, shooting guns, dodging cops, and exploring different areas.  FFFFFFFFFFfffffffffffffffffff

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differentiate between the repetition inherent in firing a gun over and over while you go through content, and the repetition inherent in said content that's actually the reason you're playing a game

Because in GTA the action in isnt inherent in the content.  Using your own argument I could blaze through Ratchet and Clank using only the wrench and I will say the game is utter trash because this is how I play it.  You don't like driving cars, shooting stuff, and dodging cops so, you know, whatever.

How would you improve GTA?  I'm just curious because you complain but never suggest any methods of improvement.

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 26, 2008, 10:44:21 pm
Then someone pm me when a video game comes out that let's us completely change the internal code.  I will kill for a generic jRPG that let's me turn it into hack 'n slash.

there's seriously no way you are this confused.

okay marcus lets say this is a series of five mario levels.

four of the levels are almost indistinguishable. there are no new jumps or moves you make. there's no forced scroll, no really significant new interactions. basically level 1-1 of mario with slight adjustments (this time a goomba is a koopa troopa!). the fourth stage is mario typing sim.

do you seriously think this mario game is better than the one you played, with shifting locales, constantly different stages, all that shit?

GTA isn't level design, it's ENVIRONMENT design. this is why a lot of the missions feel exactly the fucking same unless it places an artificial constraint like "kill five in a driveby". I personally enjoy the environment design because I only play GTA games when I just want to drive around doing shit (coincidentally I prefer playing with full cheats) but it's not like there's this sudden incomprehensible idea that level design and content is important and some people would rather have levels than just a big open city that more or less looks the same.

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Because in GTA the action in isnt inherent in the content.  Using your own argument I could blaze through Ratchet and Clank using only the wrench and I will say the game is utter trash because this is how I play it.

except using the wrench only would make the game far more difficult and as a result probably less fun, where as it's easier to take the straight forward approach in GTA and just shoot people.

it's weird that of all the shit to get worked up about this is the one you chose.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 26, 2008, 10:53:23 pm
Quote
GTA isn't level design, it's ENVIRONMENT design. this is why a lot of the missions feel exactly the fucking same unless it places an artificial constraint like "kill five in a driveby". I personally enjoy the environment design because I only play GTA games when I just want to drive around doing shit (coincidentally I prefer playing with full cheats) but it's not like there's this sudden incomprehensible idea that level design and content is important and some people would rather have levels than just a big open city that more or less looks the same.

What?  Did you even play San Andreas?  The missions were specifically set up like levels.  You navigate rickety old boats, go through building hallways, sneak around mansions, cut off trains and hijack them and shit

How is this not level design?  I can understand wanting a linear level with straight paths and dodging spinning blades and stuff but how is a level in Ratchet and Clank that has you

-Killing robots
-Jumping over pits
-Jumping on moving platforms
-Finding a new gun

ANY DIFFERENT than

-Killing ballahs
-Dodging cops
-Evading traffic
-Finding a new car

This entire argument is based around one simple concept:  GTA isn't repetitive because the actions are the same but the content is different.

Answer my fucking question, that's all I need.  Answer the question.

How is shooting robots and dodging pitfalls in 12 different levels any different than dodging cops and shooting badguys for 12 different missions.

And don't say "all the cops are the same" or "all the badguys are the same" because the police get progressively more challenging and the badguys wield different weapons and come at you in different vehicles.  How this is different than Ratchet and Clank (where the robots wield different weapons and the levels have different ways of killing you) is completely beyond me.

Answer the question.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on April 26, 2008, 10:57:40 pm
i don't even go on irc!

and on the environment setting, i think you're taking too many steps back.  if you zoom waaaay out, then yeah it looks like an entire state.  but, once you go in on a personal level, i found that it never really mattered much what city you were in, or what small town you were in, because all cities felt like other cities and all small towns felt like all other small towns.  you couldn't go in most buildings, so it was just... here walk around this block full of similar-looking houses and buildings that are really just hollow models.  you have to understand that a lot of how different towns/cities feel when you're actually WALKING THROUGH THEM is based not only on an architectural level, but also on an atmospheric and cultural one.  the architecture may have varied some, but there wasn't much that made the towns FEEL different from one another.  none of them had any personality.  i'll give san andreas a bit of an exception because it had some cool remote locations like forests/mountains, but the URBAN locales weren't especially good.  it doesn't help to zoom out and say look the buildings are in different order!!!

if you like the exploration component of gta, that's cool!  i also sort of do, but a game rarely survives on that alone, and i found the dodging cops/shooting guns/racing cars stuff to be not all that well done.  it was like a game that did a lot of stuff, but none of it especially good.  like, a mediocre racing game combined with a mediocre action game, thrown in a sandbox where the environments totally lacked personality and life most of the time.  compared to a legit action game, gta's mechanics always seemed pretty laughable.  that's what i got out of it.  ratchet and clank, for example, at least did what it did WELL.  that's what separates it from a bad platformer!

honestly, gta 4 will probably be a lot better.  it looks like they put more of a focus into making the world feel lifelike and not just a bunch of hollow-modeled houses with same-model hookers walking past them.  also, they seem to have improved upon the action, and the driving mechanics (to be fair, the driving was never a huge problem with me, but i never thought of it as a RACING GAME so much as a mode of transportation) quite a bit.  they've addressed my major issues with it, but for the past 3 games i've thought the game would be cool, bought it, and sort of found it to be suffering from the flaws of the previous ones, so i wouldn't be surprised if that was the case in this one.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 26, 2008, 10:59:53 pm
Quote
How is shooting robots and dodging pitfalls in 12 different levels any different than dodging cops and shooting badguys for 12 different missions.

because they are entirely different concepts.

in GTA it was frequent that you'd end up shooting cops or rival gangs as not part of any mission. so lets rewrite the question

how is shooting robots and dodging pitfalls in 12 levels (each DESIGNED to be different) remotely similar to having a series of twelve missions, some only slightly different from others (and a few that are vastly different) interspersed with sometimes long sequences that use the same structure as these missions, only tiered down some?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 26, 2008, 11:02:22 pm
was there ever a mission in GTA San Andreas where the boss was anything other than a normal enemy with a bigger gun, body armor, and a crew? how many missions seriously took you to a different place than anywhere else on the map? did any of the levels really scream DESIGN to you, or did they say REALISM for the most part (which while a noble goal also makes for some ultimately boring experiences)?

I remember Crackdown having this problem much worse but at least even then the stages were more than A BUILDING; GO UP IT.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 26, 2008, 11:07:55 pm
Quote
how is shooting robots and dodging pitfalls in 12 levels (each DESIGNED to be different) remotely similar to having a series of twelve missions, some only slightly different from others (and a few that are vastly different) interspersed with sometimes long sequences that use the same structure as these missions, only tiered down some?

You got me.  Seriously, by rewording my argument you bring up a point I didn't think of.

Rockstar does a good job of interspersing their repetitive missions with something new.  The length of the games themselves often hurts the rigid structure but they're smart enough to include stupid little things to do to break it up.  I instantly get bored doing more than 3 or 4 missions in a row; that's why they have other things to do like chasing criminals and sky diving and shooting random pedestrians. 

Like Steel said, this is pretty much the downfall of sandbox games in general but I enjoy playing through them little by little because by all means you can't just sit in one spot for 10 hours and enjoy it.  Panda, I enjoy GTA because it's made up of so many smaller factors that it's the little things that add up to make it a good game.  If you take any one part and hold it up to another game that does it better (like comparing the first person aspects of Oblivion to Doom 3) then yeah, it doesn't hold a candle.

God, I hope Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanomo Bay is funny or else I'm coming back and writing a mean spirited article on pretentious indie comic book artists.

Quote
did any of the levels really scream DESIGN to you, or did they say REALISM for the most part

There were areas that were specifically designed for doing crazy stunts like the big ass biking mountain and all the special stunts (or whatever they called them) like jumping a river in a 4x4 but I digress.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 26, 2008, 11:09:13 pm
DONT GO TO SEE HAROLD AND KUMAR

ITS JUST AMERICAN PIE AGAIN

seriously i went to see it and was furious that i went to see it. like i always say HEH SHITTY MOVIE but i was so upset they shit on the most promising comedy series ever.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on April 26, 2008, 11:36:58 pm
You got me.  Seriously, by rewording my argument you bring up a point I didn't think of.

Rockstar does a good job of interspersing their repetitive missions with something new.  The length of the games themselves often hurts the rigid structure but they're smart enough to include stupid little things to do to break it up.  I instantly get bored doing more than 3 or 4 missions in a row; that's why they have other things to do like chasing criminals and sky diving and shooting random pedestrians. 

Like Steel said, this is pretty much the downfall of sandbox games in general but I enjoy playing through them little by little because by all means you can't just sit in one spot for 10 hours and enjoy it.  Panda, I enjoy GTA because it's made up of so many smaller factors that it's the little things that add up to make it a good game.  If you take any one part and hold it up to another game that does it better (like comparing the first person aspects of Oblivion to Doom 3) then yeah, it doesn't hold a candle.

God, I hope Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanomo Bay is funny or else I'm coming back and writing a mean spirited article on pretentious indie comic book artists.

There were areas that were specifically designed for doing crazy stunts like the big ass biking mountain and all the special stunts (or whatever they called them) like jumping a river in a 4x4 but I digress.
dude what the hell

"how is shooting robots and dodging pitfalls in 12 levels (each DESIGNED to be different) remotely similar to having a series of twelve missions, some only slightly different from others (and a few that are vastly different) interspersed with sometimes long sequences that use the same structure as these missions, only tiered down some?"

this is the same thing i said before more or less!  why are you just suddenly going from being REALLY ANGRY no panda it's your fault not the game's to completely agreeing with us?  i do not get you, marcus.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on April 27, 2008, 12:33:16 am
so who's gettin this for the 360?

me and bm are fiddling with the idea of fitting a gw crew in liberty city and duking it out (altho cross-atlantic might not work very well)

so any euros gettin this for the 360 (and also has live)?

no plans yet but if you do maybe we could get a game goin not too long after the release :)
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Rye Bread on April 27, 2008, 12:56:54 am
I'll probably be picking this up for the Ps3.  I prefer the PS3 controller and the system's been collecting dust lately.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on April 27, 2008, 01:33:29 am
i am getting it for 360. yay.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on April 27, 2008, 02:11:52 am
so who's gettin this for the 360?

me and bm are fiddling with the idea of fitting a gw crew in liberty city and duking it out (altho cross-atlantic might not work very well)

so any euros gettin this for the 360 (and also has live)?

no plans yet but if you do maybe we could get a game goin not too long after the release :)

i'm getting it for the 360 and i think a gw crew is a neat idea
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 27, 2008, 02:16:15 am
Quote
REALLY ANGRY no panda it's your fault not the game's to completely agreeing with us?  i do not get you, marcus.

i'm content thinking of ways to embarass you in mock trial.

oh i'm getting this for the 360 *insert generic one sentence reply SQUEEE*

Quote
DONT GO TO SEE HAROLD AND KUMAR

Too late.  It was a 90 minute live action south park... that wasn't funny.

LOL BUSH JOKES
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on April 27, 2008, 02:45:18 am
I'll get it for 360 probably. Then again, I'm Australian, so.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on April 27, 2008, 02:50:28 am
so we got 4 euros gonna duke it out on live so far huh!?

'tis excellent
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on April 27, 2008, 05:06:01 am
I'd do the GW GTA crew shit but I still gotta wait for my Playstation 3 to come back!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Roman on April 27, 2008, 06:18:42 am
DONT GO TO SEE HAROLD AND KUMAR

ITS JUST AMERICAN PIE AGAIN

seriously i went to see it and was furious that i went to see it. like i always say HEH SHITTY MOVIE but i was so upset they shit on the most promising comedy series ever.

what fuck you dude it was so awesome
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: PTizzle on April 27, 2008, 07:17:26 am
and the portable crew seems to give out a lot of tens :(


Jesus christ they do.

I've had a bit of a love/hate past with GTA, and I've never really been able to get into it as much as most people can. I thought GTA3 was cool for a while, Vice City was pretty boring to me (there didn't seem to be enough new) and San Andreas, while being really well done and pretty awesome fun for a while, still had the 'done it all before' feeling and some stupid, awkward missions.

That said GTA4 looks fantastic and I'm definitely going to give it a shot. I hope they've evolved the formula rather than just refining it, and I hope the fighting has been improved.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 27, 2008, 07:28:58 am
Quote
I hope they've evolved the formula rather than just refining it, and I hope the fighting has been improved.

Judging by the video they pretty much lifted the combat from Saint's Row which is fine by me.  I never understood how anyone could manage to play GTA on the consoles (I've always played the pc versions) using the crappy auto-aim.  Free aim and strafing is the only way to play the games.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: PTizzle on April 27, 2008, 07:47:40 am
Judging by the video they pretty much lifted the combat from Saint's Row which is fine by me.  I never understood how anyone could manage to play GTA on the consoles (I've always played the pc versions) using the crappy auto-aim.  Free aim and strafing is the only way to play the games.


Yeah, I agree. I found the combat so clunky and awkward on the consoles so the PC versions were a welcome breath of fresh air. I think I got into SA more than the others simply because I played it on PC.

I haven't played Saint's Row but anything that fixes up the combat so the good parts of the game can shine is fine by me.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Carrion Crow on April 27, 2008, 12:48:34 pm
I found that with console shooters you get used to the aiming after a while. I used to be PC gamer all the way (Since I left my PS1 behind) and I've recently been playing Halo and you definitely get a better hold of controls after a while.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: oc_gunslinger on April 27, 2008, 03:35:58 pm
A lot of the reviews I've read have been saying that getting missions are far more dynamic now.  You don't have to drive to the spot, get a cutscene and do the mission.  Now your contacts will call you, let you know they've got work for you and you can either accept on the spot or call them back.  It sounded intrusive to me at first, but everyone keeps drilling that it's more liberating than anything.

Also, in regards to repetitive missions, the Rockstar team has put a focus more on storytelling during the missions.  So, yeah, we'll get a cutscene at the beginning and the end, but we'll also be treated to the story throughout the mission as well.  Missions are said to take 25-45 minutes each (I'm sure there are exceptions) and after 20 or so hours they said they never found themselves doing the same thing. 

This is all from IGN's interviews with Rockstar and their hands-on stuff.

Obviously the real star of this game is going to be the online, despite how amazing the single player is.  Ever since I first played GTA III my friends and I have said how much fun it'd be if we could all be playing at the same time rather than just handing off the controller every time we were wasted/busted.  Free Play will break the world.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Milkman on April 27, 2008, 04:41:47 pm
Cant wait for this! Gotta go renew my XBL account Tuesday when I pickup the game.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on April 27, 2008, 05:37:02 pm
Everyone who has Xbox live (playstation people, go away) should definitely leave their gamertag in this thread so we can hook up and kill each other on Tuesday.

Apparently the store I pre-ordered my game from sent it this Friday so if I'm lucky I'll get it tomorrow already  :gwa:
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on April 27, 2008, 06:27:09 pm
Everyone who has Xbox live (playstation people, go away) should definitely leave their gamertag in this thread so we can hook up and kill each other on Tuesday.
This is a pretty good idea. The only problem is I have so many friends that I have no idea who are so I might delete all my friends before doing this...
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Milkman on April 27, 2008, 06:31:02 pm
Well my XBL name is Shanklin, i'm still using my 1 month free trial as of now.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Warped655 on April 27, 2008, 07:25:16 pm
The review embargo has been lifted. jesus christ on a crutch... (http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/grandtheftauto4)

EDIT: Oh and the meet Niko Belic (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/33252.html) video makes me pretty interested in the character.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on April 27, 2008, 10:09:27 pm
rofl, so many 100s. that's insane. it's ridiculous to say there is no room for improvement in ANY game.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Dead Phoenix on April 27, 2008, 10:14:45 pm
rofl, so many 100s. that's insane. it's ridiculous to say there is no room for improvement in ANY game.
a perfect score doesn't mean its a perfect game or there is no room for improvement(at least not for all review sites/mags), if it did then no game would ever get a 10/100/A+/whatever.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Neophyte on April 27, 2008, 10:54:53 pm
Gametrailers has the best review of this game IMO. They really hit all the keypoints, unlike IGN.
So yeah, just watching it makes me want to get this now. Unfortunately I don't have a 360 like I used to, so I'll have to but one again shortly.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 27, 2008, 11:05:17 pm
a perfect score doesn't mean its a perfect game or there is no room for improvement(at least not for all review sites/mags), if it did then no game would ever get a 10/100/A+/whatever.

The problem is, most magazines specifically state in their criteria that a perfect score is indeed a PERFECT game.  Videogames are criticized based on what is currently available and there should be an ammendment to the scoring criteria that states all scores be followed by a date.  Obviously a 10/10 in 1995 is going to be held to a higher standard in 2008.  I always remind people that are against the 10 point rating scale that it's based on what is on the market when it comes out.  If there's a massive GOOD GAME VACUUM then that acts as an artificial grading curve and pretty much guarantees the game in question will get a higher score than necessary.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 28, 2008, 12:01:11 am
what magazine says PERFECT SCORE=PERFECT GAME? I know EGM, IGN, and Gamepro all don't!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Dead Phoenix on April 28, 2008, 12:10:49 am
what magazine says PERFECT SCORE=PERFECT GAME? I know EGM, IGN, and Gamepro all don't!
game informer says near perfect!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 28, 2008, 12:18:54 am
yeah, that's still not perfect though! they know people will be pedants and be like FUCKKKKK THERES NO PERFECT GAMES WHAT ABOUT THE LOADING TIME???
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Milkman on April 28, 2008, 12:24:40 am
And there are still a few glitches...
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on April 28, 2008, 12:27:00 am
yeah, i think at a certain point it just seems petty to give it a 9.8 because of really minor flaws that don't really have a negative impact on the overall experience.  i don't have any problem with them giving games ten if they really do 99% of things well and deserve a ten, in spite of small things they could improve here and there (loading times, slight visual glitches, etc).
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Milkman on April 28, 2008, 12:33:58 am
Yea but in all honesty, it seems more realistic to give it that than a 10.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on April 28, 2008, 12:38:44 am
Yea but in all honesty, it seems more realistic to give it that than a 10.
critisism is hard!!

there's no REALISM here its abotu judging how good a game is on a scale from 0.0 to 10.0.

what the fuck are you all on about?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on April 28, 2008, 12:42:12 am
Yea but in all honesty, it seems more realistic to give it that than a 10.
jesus christ man it's just a symbolic number.  giving it a ten does not mean THIS GAME IS FLAWLESS, it's representative of the fact that there's nothing in the game that really negatively impacts it.  there's nothing in the grading scale that says "if the game has even a single error it cannot get a perfect score."  we're not talking about some rigid grading scale where every minor thing means detracted points; this is just some guy assigning an arbitrary number based on his perception of the quality of the game.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Milkman on April 28, 2008, 01:36:24 am
I never said any of that, its just natural for anyone to think that a 10 is perfect out 1-10 scale (technically it is supposed to be).
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: theHunter on April 28, 2008, 02:49:09 am
I never said any of that, its just natural for anyone to think that a 10 is perfect out 1-10 scale (technically it is supposed to be).

So if you get an A on a paper that means it's perfect and there is no possible way you could improve it?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: ryuudou on April 28, 2008, 03:13:35 am
I'll be getting the 360 version and I think starting a GW Crew sounds like a great idea. So is there support for clans in it?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 28, 2008, 03:16:04 am
So if you get an A on a paper that means it's perfect and there is no possible way you could improve it?

I'm going to go ahead and cut off anyone about to say BUT A 100 DOES because no it doesn't I'm sure it would fail at a graduate school level or in a different class, it doesn't mean perfect.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Milkman on April 28, 2008, 03:49:45 am
100 on a math test=perfect.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: HL on April 28, 2008, 03:56:02 am
100 on a math test=perfect.

that's a test, not a paper you tard.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Milkman on April 28, 2008, 04:22:27 am
Whatever.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 28, 2008, 04:56:24 am
oh for fuck's sake YOU CAN'T GRADE GAMES LIKE MATH what's wrong with you. there's no way you didn't see the intense flaw here.

hmmm well magical negro your paper was to include exactly seven unique five syllable words and you've only done six, gotta dock you two points for that, as well as not quite hitting the six page mark and going over, dock you another two.

when you grade a creative media you can never say it's perfect because (christ I can't believe I have to explain this) perfection cannot be created since people are imperfect and you can never satisfy everyone. GTA doing so well doesn't mean it's the BEST GAME EVER IT'S PERFECT or even that it's the best sandbox game ever but it means it's a damn fine specimen with few flaws that anyone with the slightest interest in the style of game can find.

a Christian reviewer would dock it for violence, panda probably will not play it much, and a blind man will hate it, but this doesn't mean you must suddenly give the game a 9.8 because it's not perfect across the board with every possible demographic.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on April 28, 2008, 06:16:58 am
Hey guys stop fucking up my thread haha.. kidding you guys take things to seriously. If people do want to post their gamer tags here I'll put them in the first post.

Haha check this shit out!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: PTizzle on April 28, 2008, 06:43:12 am
Steel is basically totally right. I don't think many publications try to say that their highest score is perfection.

I mean, an Aussie Nintendo magazine gave Perfect Dark 101%. IGN gave Jade Empire (a short as hell game which is nowhere near perfect) a 9.9. A 10/10 review means the game is basically flawless to the person writing it, and nothing more.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on April 28, 2008, 06:47:58 am
A 10/10 review means the game is basically flawless to the person writing it, and nothing more.
so im confused, why does that mean we arent allowed to call it out and say it's a stupid rating to give any game?

edit: actually, it doesnt really matter, so yeah who cares. it is nearly out hooray!!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Dead Phoenix on April 28, 2008, 06:52:04 am
so im confused, why does that mean we arent allowed to call it out and say it's a stupid rating to give any game?
you can call out scores all you want, but bitching about a game(you have never played in this case!) not being perfect(duh! what game is?) but getting a 'perfect' score(which doesn't mean the reviewer thinks the game is actually 100% perfect) is stupid.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on April 28, 2008, 06:59:11 am
you can call out scores all you want, but bitching about a game(you have never played in this case!) not being perfect(duh! what game is?) but getting a 'perfect' score(which doesn't mean the reviewer thinks the game is actually 100% perfect) is stupid.
ptizzle just said it means the reviewer thinks the game is flawless :(

i can still call the reviewers stupid, right? or is that stupid too?? there are too many rules involved here.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on April 28, 2008, 07:09:38 am
nah you can call him stupid.  i do it all the time!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: theHunter on April 28, 2008, 07:14:23 am
ptizzle just said it means the reviewer thinks the game is flawless :(

i can still call the reviewers stupid, right? or is that stupid too?? there are too many rules involved here.

Thats putting words in the reviewers mouth. Seriously did you guys actually READ the review or did you go, "He gave it a 10 MUST FLAME!!"?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Dead Phoenix on April 28, 2008, 07:14:47 am
ptizzle just said it means the reviewer thinks the game is flawless :(
i really doubt they believe the game is flawless, but probably believe the flaws that it has don't get in the way of it being a great game.. or maybe they do, but i highly doubt most do.

Quote
i can still call the reviewers stupid, right? or is that stupid too?? there are too many rules involved here.
if you're calling them stupid because they gave a game a 10 that you don't think is perfect then yes, it is very, very stupid.
that said i'm sure there are plenty of better reason to call a reviewer stupid
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: theHunter on April 28, 2008, 07:19:44 am
you can call out scores all you want, but bitching about a game(you have never played in this case!) not being perfect(duh! what game is?) but getting a 'perfect' score(which doesn't mean the reviewer thinks the game is actually 100% perfect) is stupid.

Its not a perfect score it the highest on the 1-10 scale.  Hell IGN even went OVER the 10 Pt scale before.

http://dvd.ign.com/articles/037/037306p1.html

Overall Score 11/10.

It's like how a girl can be a 10 and not be the prettiest but her intellect makes up for it or something along those lines.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Dead Phoenix on April 28, 2008, 07:22:54 am
Its not a perfect score it the highest on the 1-10 scale.  Hell IGN even went OVER the 10 Pt scale before.

http://dvd.ign.com/articles/037/037306p1.html

Overall Score 11/10.

It's like how a girl can be a 10 and not be the prettiest but her intellect makes up for it or something along those lines.
yeah thats what i was trying to suggest with the quotes i had around 'perfect'

on topic its nice to see that hookers actually do something instead of just sitting in your car while it rocks back in forth(this is very important to me(not really))
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: PTizzle on April 28, 2008, 07:47:24 am
Thats putting words in the reviewers mouth. Seriously did you guys actually READ the review or did you go, "He gave it a 10 MUST FLAME!!"?


How is that putting words in the reviewers mouth?

Do you forget that reviews are, after all, opinions?

Therefore I don't think it's too much of a leap of logic to say that a reviewer giving a flawless score to a review (as in, his opinion) would believe the game to be flawless. This doesn't mean that they're saying this is a flawless game in the grander sense, as not everyone will find it flawless (like what Steel said before).

I'm not trying to flame or anything, but you seem to have forgotten that no matter how big the site reviews by definition should be an opinion (of a professional in the case of places like IGN). Unless they're all getting paid off or something.

i really doubt they believe the game is flawless, but probably believe the flaws that it has don't get in the way of it being a great game.. or maybe they do, but i highly doubt most do.

I was just expanding on what Steel said about a 10 never being able to be universal. I did word that a bit wrong. The IGN reviewer seemed to only have very small problems with the game, to the point where I don't think they'd really be considered flaws (of course they are literally, but they won't get in the way of your gameplay at all and the game can thusly be considered flawless to the person in question if it has nothing detrimental within it to them).
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: theHunter on April 28, 2008, 07:58:51 am

How is that putting words in the reviewers mouth?

Do you forget that reviews are, after all, opinions?

Therefore I don't think it's too much of a leap of logic to say that a reviewer giving a flawless score to a review (as in, his opinion) would believe the game to be flawless.

I'm not trying to flame or anything, but you seem to have forgotten that no matter how big the site reviews by definition should be an opinion (of a professional in the case of places like IGN). Unless they're all getting paid off or something.

I was just expanding on what Steel said about a 10 never being able to be universal. I did word that a bit wrong. The IGN reviewer seemed to only have very small problems with the game, to the point where I don't think they'd really be considered flaws (of course they are literally, but they won't get in the way of your gameplay at all and the game can thusly be considered flawless to the person in question if it has nothing detrimental within it to them).

You just said, "a reviewer giving a flawless score to a review (as in, his opinion) would believe the game to be flawless.". Thats putting words in the reviews mouth because the reviewer blatantly pointed out some of the games flaws!

How can someone think a game is flawless and they point out the flaws?  10/10 =! Flawless.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: PTizzle on April 28, 2008, 08:01:48 am
You just said, "a reviewer giving a flawless score to a review (as in, his opinion) would believe the game to be flawless.". Thats putting words in the reviews mouth because the reviewer blatantly pointed out some of the games flaws!

How can someone think a game is flawless and they point out the flaws?  10/10 =! Flawless.


I just edited my post because I didn't explain properly. A reviewer giving a 10 (or a 100 or whatev) would lead me to believe that the reviewer finds the game flawless, but it doesn't mean everyone will, thusly not making it 'perfect' as such.

I shouldn't argue the point though because you're right, I don't really know what the reviewer thinks. I just don't think it's a stretch to believe that a reviewer giving a game a symbolic 'perfect' score would find a game flawless in their opinion.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on April 28, 2008, 08:05:04 am
GOD DAMN ONE MORE DAY..................
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: theHunter on April 28, 2008, 08:41:39 am

I just edited my post because I didn't explain properly. A reviewer giving a 10 (or a 100 or whatev) would lead me to believe that the reviewer finds the game flawless, but it doesn't mean everyone will, thusly not making it 'perfect' as such.

I shouldn't argue the point though because you're right, I don't really know what the reviewer thinks. I just don't think it's a stretch to believe that a reviewer giving a game a symbolic 'perfect' score would find a game flawless in their opinion.

What I'm saying is that people read to much into the score without reading the review.  If a 10 would lead you to think that a reviewer thinks a game is flawless then you haven't read what the review thinks of the game.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on April 28, 2008, 09:10:48 am
I read the IGN review he states how amazing the game is for what it is, but does say some parts are let downs but the shear amount of great things in the rest of the game out do the flaws... or something like that?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on April 28, 2008, 09:33:37 am
Haha check this shit out!

I found it hilarious that the guy shot the hooker towards the end of the clip. Almost felt like the player was embarrassed for actually doing this and had to justify it by shooting her. Game looks excellent by the way.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: GameMX on April 28, 2008, 09:37:53 am
ptizzle just said it means the reviewer thinks the game is flawless :(

i can still call the reviewers stupid, right? or is that stupid too?? there are too many rules involved here.

I'm very butthurt that you're calling my game which is the game of all games crap in an indirect way. Because you don't agree with the reviewers and do not follow their opinions, you are considered a faggot! Go back to playing your Nintendo Wii you faggot!

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: theHunter on April 28, 2008, 09:48:14 am
I can see why some people wouldnt want to read it though... it's fucking 7 pages (overkill much?).
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on April 28, 2008, 09:55:03 am
Why are any of you even discussing the reviews? When a game you like gets less than expected you go like "Meh, who cares about reviewers.. the only opinion that is important is my own". However, when a game (hyped too) gets high scores some of you seem to be upset by it. Play the game, discuss the reviews after if you have too.

Gamers are geeky indeed.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Milkman on April 28, 2008, 10:16:43 am
oh for fuck's sake YOU CAN'T GRADE GAMES LIKE MATH what's wrong with you. there's no way you didn't see the intense flaw here.

hmmm well magical negro your paper was to include exactly seven unique five syllable words and you've only done six, gotta dock you two points for that, as well as not quite hitting the six page mark and going over, dock you another two.

when you grade a creative media you can never say it's perfect because (christ I can't believe I have to explain this) perfection cannot be created since people are imperfect and you can never satisfy everyone. GTA doing so well doesn't mean it's the BEST GAME EVER IT'S PERFECT or even that it's the best sandbox game ever but it means it's a damn fine specimen with few flaws that anyone with the slightest interest in the style of game can find.

a Christian reviewer would dock it for violence, panda probably will not play it much, and a blind man will hate it, but this doesn't mean you must suddenly give the game a 9.8 because it's not perfect across the board with every possible demographic.

Look man im not even trying to argue, i just stated my opinion and you get offended. Im just saying 10/10=perfect technically, yes technically, and its natural for someone to think that the game is flawless. Try it for yourself, go to 5 random people and ask them what is 10/10 and i'll bet all of them say perfect. Its not really that serious...But to other matters, anyone know if there are going to be seasons?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: theHunter on April 28, 2008, 11:15:18 am
Look man im not even trying to argue, i just stated my opinion and you get offended. Im just saying 10/10=perfect technically, yes technically, and its natural for someone to think that the game is flawless. Try it for yourself, go to 5 random people and ask them what is 10/10 and i'll bet all of them say perfect. Its not really that serious...But to other matters, anyone know if there are going to be seasons?

But its not perfect technically.  On a 10 point scale... 10 is the highest.  Just like on a 50ft moutain... 50ft is the highest point.  I would give Uncharted a 10 but it isnt perfect.  If you tell those same people the flaws in said game they gave a 10 they would counter it with something that was god because in their opinion the good points >>>>>> the bad points.  And that warrants the highest point on the scale.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Archtemplar on April 28, 2008, 12:11:21 pm
Who gives a flying fuck about the damn rating? Like anything you have to take it with a grain of salt until YOU evaluate it. 'Nuff said.


Anyway, I'm picking up my copy tonight at 12!  :cool:
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: PTizzle on April 28, 2008, 01:24:43 pm
I can see why some people wouldnt want to read it though... it's fucking 7 pages (overkill much?).


I did read it, but you're right, it was split up like all crap. I spose that's IGN's style though.

But yeah review talk is stupid I don't know why I got into it in the first place rar rar. Everyone has a different opinion on what a 10 is so sorry for assisting the derailing.

Anyone else going to a midnight launch? I'm fairly sure my mate was gonna go to one after his shift tonight.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: ryuudou on April 28, 2008, 02:34:29 pm
I'm going to a midnight launch. Taking my friend with me even though he isn't getting it.

I'm going to be upgrading my Live account to play it online. I heard that it comes with a free month of Live, anyone know if that's true? If it isn't I'll just activate the subscription card I got as a present. Also, does this have support for clans in any form?

So is anyone else getting the special edition?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 28, 2008, 02:41:17 pm
review talk is better than OH MY GOSH SOON HERE because no one has the game.

also yeah I'd say a 10/10 doesn't mean FLAWLESS IN MY EYES but that the flaws are wholely negligible to the reviewer. no one is going to ever say perfect.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Carrion Crow on April 28, 2008, 02:53:47 pm
I would literally kill several kittens and put the cure for cancer through a paper shredder to not have exams right now.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on April 28, 2008, 03:04:50 pm
Yeah why argue about the game getting a 10/10 PERFECT instead of 9.9/10 AS GOOD AS GAMES CAN GET?  Seriously guys?  Maybe the critics think GTA IV is a 100% must-play, absolutely-recommend-to-everyone, better-than-anything-else-out sort of game.  If you play a game and think that it's absolutely amazing and that everyone you know should play it ASAP, doesn't that mean it's a 10/10 game?

EDIT: Holy shit the PS3 version so far has an average of 99.8% on aggregator sites, which makes it the best-rated game ever released by several percent.

EDIT again:  Also, Spinal Tap getting 11/10 as a rating is probably a reference to one of the movie's in-jokes so I don't think it's fair to say that IGN has rated things above 10 before.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on April 28, 2008, 03:39:48 pm
roll on midnight
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on April 28, 2008, 05:22:05 pm
It's already available to buy over here in New Zealand now, but mines pre-ordered anyway so I'm still waiting, don't matter because that case is gonna tease the shit out of me until my Playstation is fixed. Anyways please guys tell me what it's like, the wait has finally consumed me and I need some killa storys!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on April 28, 2008, 06:33:25 pm
Four and a half hours mate...
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Milkman on April 28, 2008, 06:50:50 pm
Cant wait till tomorrow!!!! Heard Circuit City is giving a 10 dollar rebate if you buy it tomorrow...is this true or not?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 28, 2008, 07:11:07 pm
review talk is better than OH MY GOSH SOON HERE because no one has the game.

also yeah I'd say a 10/10 doesn't mean FLAWLESS IN MY EYES but that the flaws are wholely negligible to the reviewer. no one is going to ever say perfect.

Did I fucking start this shit?  I remember posting about reviews then coming back the next day and HOLY SHIT.

Admittedly I haven't read EGM since Metal Gear Solid came out but I used to subscribe to Gamepro, PSM, and Computer Gaming World or pcgamer or whatever it was called (all shitty mags 10 years ago) and a 10/10 was literally quoted as "flawless" or "perfect."  If they changed it now then more power to them but back in the days when gas was 1$ a gallon and one could buy a pound of candy for 25 cents, magazines considered a 10 to be the holy grail.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DS on April 28, 2008, 10:15:55 pm
*pats his copy of gta4*

decided to buy it for ps3 so if anyone else is going to get the ps3 version, tell me so we can play online sometime.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 28, 2008, 10:19:21 pm
I will be. You and me... we will have a duel...

edit: but we gotta do it before the end of this week.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: GameMX on April 28, 2008, 10:38:59 pm
As I look at this thread, apparently GTAIV will be talked about so much it'll be a dead horse in a few months, where it was literally killed by it's fanboys, same goes for any game really!

But I guess I'm ruining the fun...
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DDay on April 28, 2008, 10:55:28 pm
*pats his copy of gta4*

decided to buy it for ps3 so if anyone else is going to get the ps3 version, tell me so we can play online sometime.
I will add me to you PS3 friends DDay22 I believe
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Milkman on April 28, 2008, 11:13:10 pm
Like I said before, GT is Shanklin.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 28, 2008, 11:16:52 pm
I would gladly join in on the action if the wireless routers for the 360 didn't cost a fucking benjamin franklin.

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Milkman on April 28, 2008, 11:19:54 pm
Fuck man just buy a long ethernet cord. Thats what I did.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on April 28, 2008, 11:22:16 pm
I would gladly join in on the action if the wireless routers for the 360 didn't cost a fucking benjamin franklin.

Yeah man, you don't need a router or anything. Just hook it up with a normal cable via your modem. I guess you already thought about stuff like this but I felt I had to mention it anyway.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DS on April 28, 2008, 11:26:04 pm
Attention Xbox 360 owners!
Buckle up boys, we're going in for a hard ride in Liberty City...

Maybe we should make another thread like the Smash Bros. peeps did, I dunno. However, since there is no such thread yet we might as well make a post with our gamertag in here. Basically, make a post and state your gamertag and simply add anyone you wanna shoot in GTA 4.

My gamertag is: nliman



If you make a topic like this, add a list for both Xbox 360 and PS3 users so that we don't need two different topics for having list of names.

Also, only played this for a bit (it's over 2am here got work tomorrow :<) but it already seemed very promising. The loading times are really short because you download it on your HD first (like with DMC4) and the framerate is really good given how large the city seemed to be and how good the graphics are. I just fucked around for a little while and the new police system seems so much better and driving a few different kind of cars was neat too. The city really feels alive by the way, and it's so much better than before. I was seriously amazed by this. But anyway, that's all I can say for now since I only played it for a good 40 minutes but it was really promising.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DDay on April 28, 2008, 11:27:16 pm
I would gladly join in on the action if the wireless routers for the 360 didn't cost a fucking benjamin franklin.



I sort feel your pain but lucky me I have PS3
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 29, 2008, 12:46:23 am
Yeah man, you don't need a router or anything. Just hook it up with a normal cable via your modem. I guess you already thought about stuff like this but I felt I had to mention it anyway.

My 360 is three walls of away from my modem.  Running a cord to it will look stupidly tacky and it would be a tripping hazard.

I also have to start subscribing to Xbox Live and aaaaaaaaaaargh i don't feel spending 10 bux a month or whatever.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Dead Phoenix on April 29, 2008, 12:56:01 am
My 360 is three walls of away from my modem.  Running a cord to it will look stupidly tacky and it would be a tripping hazard.

I also have to start subscribing to Xbox Live and aaaaaaaaaaargh i don't feel spending 10 bux a month or whatever.
its only 4(maybe 5) bucks a month

also because i'm a dick, i looked in my 1995 egm too see if they say a 10 is a perfect game, but all it says is that they grade games on a scale of 1-10 compared to the other games available on the console it is for.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 29, 2008, 01:59:28 am
I'm watching some youtube videos and it's pretty neat how pedestrians actually REACT in this game unlike in previous games were city folk were so fucking badass they would simply walk around someone you just knifed in the back.

One video showed Niko bike jumping the empire state building only to flatten himself like a pancake on the ground and you see a couple of people scream and a dude slams on his brakes.

An animated gif I saw on 4chan shows a car pileup because someone slowed down and rubber necked when you got into a fender bender on the other side of the street.

I'm also digging the new mission structure where you can take care of multiple missions at once instead of following a rigid "go here talk to dude" arc.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: NightBlade on April 29, 2008, 02:11:22 am
Has a PC version been announced yet? =/
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Milkman on April 29, 2008, 02:31:51 am
I thought all youtube vids were gone?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Ghost_Aspergers on April 29, 2008, 02:42:50 am
Man...

We went out to get a bite to eat at around 8 pm and we saw a line forming at the gamestop we preordered it from. We ask what was going on (knowing full well what it was) and apparently there was a huge preorder list. Being the rabid GTA/Saints Row fanatic that he is... my brother took the keys and forced us to stay in line with all these ghetto mother fuckers. Here we are standing next to people holding glocks in their pants and shit.... mingling with the beardfaces that where also in line. It was a pretty stange scene. Especially in the last five minutes when 50 people showed up out of nowhere... walking/driving in from every other corner of the plaza.  But by 10:25 (they opened back up 10... but only allowed 2 people in the store at a time)... we got our number and we where out of there. 18 out of 20.

My brother is going back at 12am.

...

I never thought I would have been one of those guys to actually wait in line for a mother fucking game. I didn't plan on it.... and I wasn't alone though. We recognized a lot of people there, not to mention the five of us that came in the same suv. The funniest thing though was how ghetto some of the people waiting in line was... and how much shit they where talking. I had my camera phone ready just in case shit went down. The most awkward moment was when neckbeard was taking a poll to see who was getting the PS3 or 360 versions to see who he can play with online. Fat, pasty, white neckbeard walking up to a guy that looks and talks like baby joker with fucking tear drop tattoes under his eyes and asking him what his gamertag was.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 29, 2008, 03:06:27 am
oh man what a hilarious story.  i can't count the number of times a neckbeard with a sbarro stained t-shirt walks up to me in software etc. and starts talking about random vidya's as if i care.

And I still don't understand this numbering system thing.  About a mile away there's an EB, GS, and Software within 500 feet of each other but they never do midnight releases with the random numbers and shit.  If you preorder a game, they guarantee it when you walk into the store at 10:00AM release day even if a thousand copies are shipping in. 

I could've sworn the whole point behind preorders was to guarantee your copy on the release day.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DDay on April 29, 2008, 03:55:15 am
I have a per order so they better have it when my bro gets there tomorrow.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Ghost_Aspergers on April 29, 2008, 04:13:42 am
There where so many people on the plaza cars no longer fit in the parking lot. People are parking behind it and shit. There where hundreds.

( fyi.... we just got our copy )
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 29, 2008, 04:25:42 am
I just got mine! installing now...
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on April 29, 2008, 04:27:15 am
Well I'm leaving to go get my copy and I can't decide between 360 or PS3.  I think that it will end up being 360 purely because the triggers on the PS3 make me want to kill myself and I am sure I will be pressing the triggers a lot in this game.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 29, 2008, 04:29:01 am
The PS3 version has faster load time and virtually no popup (the 360 version is good about popup but every once in a while a tree magically appears).  However, the 360 version is getting two exclusive bonus story episodes.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on April 29, 2008, 04:55:10 am
Man I just found out that because of Aussies stupid no R18 rating Take Two decided to stop people importing from New Zealand and give us the censored version to.. FUCK! damn Australian rating system!

Oh yeah you guys want me to put all your gamer tags in the first post or is their going to be a new topic?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 29, 2008, 05:45:40 am
Ugh, I'm so used to the driving from the other games that this just feels awkward. I really wish they'd stuck with the traditional x to accelerate square to brake system.

Damn you triggers... you've caused the death of many civilians.

Also there's SO MUCH TALKING. The cut scenes go on so long and even once you're driving, the passenger/person on the phone NEVER SHUTS UP. It's hard to concentrate on both.

Quote from: chainer
Here we are standing next to people holding glocks in their pants and shit.... mingling with the beardfaces that where also in line. It was a pretty stange scene.
ahahahaha this is what my dad said too (he went and waited for it for me because he is a bigger fan than I am and is really willing to wait in lines)

he phoned me up while waiting and said I THINK I'M GOING TO BE CAUGHT IN A SHITSTORM OF PISTOLS AND LIGHT SABRES
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: PTizzle on April 29, 2008, 06:18:59 am
Man I just found out that because of Aussies stupid no R18 rating Take Two decided to stop people importing from New Zealand and give us the censored version to.. FUCK! damn Australian rating system!



What does the censored version remove, out of interest?

Australia is in dire need of an R18 rating for games.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: theHunter on April 29, 2008, 06:43:42 am
Driving in this game is horrible I have to PS3 version so if anyone wants to play PSN is in my sig.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Hundley on April 29, 2008, 06:43:59 am
yawn

i wonder if this game is ACTUALLY gta 4 or just GTA 3.75

it'd be neat if rockstar actually put effort into a game for a change and made an experience where it takes more than 20 minutes of dicking around to pretty much experience everything the game has to offer, sans that one rare ROCKET LAUNCHER or HELICOPTER or HOUSE that you play 50 hours to get. at this point i would be pleasantly surprised if they made a game where it takes 35 OR EVEN 40 MINUTES to fully experience their game
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on April 29, 2008, 06:53:34 am
Goddamn it, I went out and bought this this morning at like 10 or so, but I don't get home from uni until 4 or something. Gay beyond belief. ;(
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Rye Bread on April 29, 2008, 07:00:15 am
I'll be picking this up for ps3 in the morning, since the only guy I really care about playing online with doesn't own an xbox.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on April 29, 2008, 07:35:09 am
I just got mine! installing now...
INSTALLING

did it come out for the pc, too?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 29, 2008, 07:42:37 am
INSTALLING

did it come out for the pc, too?

ps3 version installs the game to the harddrive to speed things up

Quote
it'd be neat if rockstar actually put effort into a game for a change and made an experience where it takes more than 20 minutes of dicking around to pretty much experience everything the game has to offer, sans that one rare ROCKET LAUNCHER or HELICOPTER or HOUSE that you play 50 hours to get. at this point i would be pleasantly surprised if they made a game where it takes 35 OR EVEN 40 MINUTES to fully experience their game

now there's internet, meta-fiction (broadway plays and television), and multiplayer meaning possibly 60 minutes of play time.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on April 29, 2008, 07:49:34 am
Also dating through the internet, play around with the new Euphoria physics engine, if you don't know what that is check this video out..


Also the amazing AI interaction between each other, read this one part in the IGN review where some guy was looking at a chick in his car and smacked into this girls car at a red light, he got out of the car to check if she was alright!?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: theHunter on April 29, 2008, 07:51:24 am
WTF! I just saw a random car chase!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on April 29, 2008, 09:42:36 am
Man, Ten hours and I still haven't got a copy yet.... I am super pissed.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on April 29, 2008, 11:05:02 am
Added the the two people who actually gave out their Online IDs to the first post, anyone else want to be added  then post your IDs in Bold so I can see them easier and what platform.

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: theHunter on April 29, 2008, 11:40:07 am
Man I just found out that because of Aussies stupid no R18 rating Take Two decided to stop people importing from New Zealand and give us the censored version to.. FUCK! damn Australian rating system!

Oh yeah you guys want me to put all your gamer tags in the first post or is their going to be a new topic?

If you have a PS3 just import it.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on April 29, 2008, 11:42:47 am
I want to play this online with some people but I don't want to just give out my gamertag randomly on the net so if you know me and i know you and you want to hit up some GTAIV action sometime then just ask me on IRC and I will give you my gamertag aight. Cheers buds.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on April 29, 2008, 02:45:14 pm
So guys I have this game and it's not bad.  It's definitely not the best game ever made (Metacritic told me it was :( ) but it's so much better than every other GTA game it's ridiculous.  I think my favorite part about the game is that the main character is one of the least attractive people I have ever seen in a video game.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on April 29, 2008, 02:49:35 pm
So, which conosole did you get it for, Mala?

Oh yeah, my pre-order is late so I won't be playing until tomorrow or something. Oh well, at least I get a 12 month live along with it.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on April 29, 2008, 02:52:52 pm
So, which conosole did you get it for, Mala?

PS3 because whenever I play my 360 I can't but think that I'm playing on borrowed time.  It's so noisy and freezes sometimes and I just really don't want to bother with that!  The reviews said the PS3 version has faster loading but in a game that never loads it's not really a great feature.  I also have problems with the 360 controller being a little too heavy and I prefer the freakishly weightless Sixaxis.

However the PS3 triggers absolutely suck and I hate them (they are convex instead of concave and they feel spongy and take a lot of pressure to hold down all the way).
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DS on April 29, 2008, 03:31:07 pm
I got used to the controls in no time since Burnout Paradise also used the R2 trigger.

Also man, the city is so well done that it's still hard to believe. I also love how each person seems to be pretty unique. Of course this can't be true as there are hundreds or thousands of people in the city but Rockstar has really managed to to make it seem like a real city. At one point, I just stood next to some dude who was talking to a phone and then he started talking to me. I was eating and didn't do anything and he tried talking to me twice more and when I just kept standing there, he got angry at me and attacked me. And I tried that with a few others and they all react in different ways. The level of detail is just amazing and the size of Liberty City is insane considering the details and how well designed it is. It's so much better than anything in the previous Grand Theft Autos and seriously, I just keep getting impressed by everything. The gameplay has been improved, the physics are fantastic, voice acting is great and the story seems interesting too, though it's nothing new, just like the missions. It definitely doesn't reinvent GTA and if you didn't like the earlier ones, I doubt you'd like this one either.

back2playing

By the way, has anyone discovered any tall places to climb to? I mean in the first part of the city.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: NightBlade on April 29, 2008, 04:25:33 pm
The more I read, the more I want an Xbox360 just for this game.

I lack the ability to think for myself so tell me: http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Microsoft-Xbox-360-Arcade-Console-882224519588/sem/rpsm/oid/194701/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Why is this so cheap?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on April 29, 2008, 04:40:03 pm
The arcade console is just the Xbox 360 with a controller and some arcade games nothing else. Holy Shit DS with the guy trying to talk to you thats pretty amazing to me and when you ignored him he hit you haha I cant wait for my Playstation to come back.. if they delay bringing it back I'll be fucken pissed.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 29, 2008, 04:53:23 pm
I have the afternoon off so I decided to play this again a little. Getting drunk was hilarious because I got into a car and repeatedly slammed into a poll, causing the police to come after me, causing me to attempt to run away and in turn fall down on my face... several times.

Has anyone found any packages? Are there any collectibles in this game?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on April 29, 2008, 05:15:13 pm
The more I read, the more I want an Xbox360 just for this game.

I lack the ability to think for myself so tell me: http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Microsoft-Xbox-360-Arcade-Console-882224519588/sem/rpsm/oid/194701/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Why is this so cheap?

The reason the Arcade version is cheaper is because it lacks the 20gb or 120gb Hard Drives the other two versions have. The Arcade version only has a memory card with 256mb of space. Basically, what you get when you buy the Premium or Elite is a much better HD.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: oc_gunslinger on April 29, 2008, 05:22:38 pm
They said they're doing away with Hidden Packages because it didn't fit the feel of the living, breathing city thing.  So, they've added different "collectible" system.  Not sure what it is though.

Looking forward to picking up my 360 and the game today.  First thing I'm doing?  Finding the highest place I can and jumping off it/throwing someone off it.

And yeah, the systems are split up as Arcade, Pro and Elite.  Obviously getting better as you go.  The big difference is the hard drive.  Arcade doesn't have one, Pro has a 20GB and Elite has a 120GB (and it's black).  I believe getting a Pro console and then picking up the HD would end up running you the same price as an Elite, so you can either just splurge and get the Elite or pick up a Pro and wait until you have more cash for the 120 HD.  That's what I'm doing.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 29, 2008, 05:29:24 pm
Well I saw photographs in the stats screen but if that's all there is then that's balls. I loved running around tagging or picking up packages or whatever. Being on a mission and being like DAMN THERE'S ONE GOT TO STOP
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on April 29, 2008, 05:30:34 pm
Climbing high places is so much fun. Anyone notice that this time around there is a MUCH heavier focus on cars as opposed to motorbikes? In my four hours with the game, I've found two different types of motorbikes. Still, it's a freakin' great game. Feels so much more SOLID and TIGHT than the last ones, but I wish I could find a weapons store/easier way of getting weapons than beating up cops/random civilians with guns for some reason. The civilians are awesome, as is the city.

FUN TIP for those who have it; near Roman's garage there's a good fun place to jump off with a car. Basically, go driving toward Roman's Garage, keep going, take the first left you get, and keep going until you see the lowered wall. Try to land on the roof below!

Man, I can't wait to see what later parts of the game offer if it's this good early on.

EDIT: Yeah, the civilians are FANTASTIC fun. I was walking on the beach when I bumped into this guy in a suit (odd choice of clothing for a beach, chump!) and he pulled out a knife and started attacking me. I pushed him down a sand dune, and just as he reached the bottom, shot him with the pistol. It was satisfying to see him roll and tumble down the sand dune. xD

Oh and pushing people into trains as they're approaching.

I once had Niko hit a car, come flying out of my own car's windscreen, go flying, and go straight through another car's windscreen (or at least shattered it).

God damn it I'm a sadistic bastard.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DS on April 29, 2008, 06:12:50 pm
Oh yeah, getting drunk and driving is pretty hilarious.

The stunts are fun, but I still can't find any really high places. :(

It's also awesome to get some really fast car and then just drive through the city in full speed, the game looks really awesome and you can cause some nice damage when you collide with other cars.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 29, 2008, 06:17:55 pm
Oh yeah, getting drunk and driving is pretty hilarious.

The stunts are fun, but I still can't find any really high places. :(

It's also awesome to get some really fast car and then just drive through the city in full speed, the game looks really awesome and you can cause some nice damage when you collide with other cars.

I did have a link to an Empire State Building base jump on youtube but it was up for all of 60 minutes because Take 2 is doing some crazy fucking aggressive sweep of the game on youtube.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DS on April 29, 2008, 06:25:33 pm
Quote
I did have a link to an Empire State Building base jump on youtube but it was up for all of 60 minutes because Take 2 is doing some crazy fucking aggressive sweep of the game on youtube.
Empire State Building is in the second part of the city and I don't think I can get there yet.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Archtemplar on April 29, 2008, 08:11:30 pm
I stayed up til 4am at work (I work at a LAN gaming center) to play this game on LIVE. And my god it is AMAZING online. We had a 6v6 cops versus robbers game. It felt like an episode of cops, as I was hopping over fences trying to catch the Boss. Only when I finally caught him I emptied a magazine of 9mm into his head.

Turf war and TDM was just as sweet.

Excellent game, try it online, tis sweetness.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: AdderallApocalypse on April 29, 2008, 08:21:39 pm
Can you watch broadway plays in this?

Also, has this ever happened to anyone? I stabbed a man to death on the boardwalk, then once he died(he even left his money), he sort of sat up and looked around then fell back down to the ground.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on April 29, 2008, 08:31:21 pm
i've played this for a couple of hours today, done a bunch of missions and then done the online stuff. i haven't seen that much of the city, or done anything outside the main game.

it's fun, yeah it is. the city looks really nice. the radio can be pretty funny. but hundley said something like this could end up being gta 3.75, and so far that's pretty much what it is. everything about it is better than the last one, san andreas, and all the others before that, too. but really it's the same stuff, and i guess i was expecting to be blown away a little more. i dunno why, it's just a game, but i was expecting the city to be really uhhhh ALIVE like, people talking to each other all the time, coming in and out of shops/restaraunts with bags and food and unique responses from people if you are acting strangely - maybe not unique, but varied. mostly the extent you can interact with the pedestrians is bumping into them and listening to them be angry, or mowing them down. maybe i'm too quick to judge on that and there is some cool stuff in here but basically driving around the city is the same as it ever was, it's just shinier now.

i could say a bunch of stuff about it, but i don't really care enough, it just feels like a fresh coat of paint over a wall that smells like cabbage. it's not even that i've grown out of games cos man i had so much fun with everything on the orange box, i just feel a little silly playing this. 

oh and the online is certainly fun, but it feels a bit sloppy and unstructured to me and after playing team fortress 2 for so long i guess it just feels a little bit dumb. i'll be playing the online for a while though i expect.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Summoner on April 29, 2008, 08:43:20 pm
people talking to each other all the time, coming in and out of shops/restaraunts with bags and food and unique responses from people if you are acting strangely - maybe not unique, but varied.

I've seen pretty much all of these happen in this game so far.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on April 29, 2008, 08:55:49 pm
I've seen pretty much all of these happen in this game so far.

i didn't mean that stuff doesn't happen - maybe those were bad examples of the kind of thing i was hoping for. i meant i haven't seen much of this stuff at all. and i definitely haven't gotten any other response to anything i've done than "hey fuck you i'm gonna fight ya". for example i walked up to a bunch of different people to see if they would maybe react and start talking to me or something, but it's just been aggression so far. couldn't someone be like "man check out this weather psssh..." i don't even know why i want this but i do.

i have seen people talking to each other but it's in that way that it just sounds like a couple of soundclips being played close together, not two characters interacting. yeah maybe streamlined conversation for the thousands of pedestrians was a bit too much to expect! it's just too disjointed, like when i was doing this mission earlier niko kept repeating the same one liners over and over cos i was taking a bit longer than the game apparently expected. i mean, these are not big complaints, for what it is the game does a lot of cool things so far, but it's the little things like this which make it all feel simulated and gamey. i know it is a game but heck i was expecting something pretty amazing from all the crap i read, but it's just an improved version of grand theft auto.

if i'm just totally wrong and i've managed to avoid all the responsive AI (or something), then just say so cos i'm gonna play it anyway and i'll probably find out.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on April 29, 2008, 09:14:54 pm
I watched a few hours of TV, fucked my gf, and splattered my motorcycling head across the highway a few times. While not that far into the game, I'll probably be heading online. (PS3)
Look out Liberty City PSN's Dudesoft is going poppin'.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 29, 2008, 09:47:06 pm
I actually locked myself out of the safety deposit box collector's edition when I dropped the keys down the vent.  I managed to fish the keys out but that was pretty embarassing.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on April 29, 2008, 09:53:35 pm
I got 33k points in CUBED on my first play. Anyone else got any better? ho ho ho

(its in the stripclub at bohan (the smallest island in the north)
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on April 29, 2008, 10:44:09 pm
haha, i got two copies by accident. i guess i preordered a year ago then forgot and preordered again last month. dumb amazon! i guess i will flog one of the copies to someone at work.

awesome game, btw. ive only played for 4 hours or so, but all the little details are amazing. it's taking me a bunch of tries to get used to the car and/or fist fighting controls, but shooting is a lot tighter and more fun.

they certainly did a good job of making the city feel a lot more alive, too.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 29, 2008, 10:56:43 pm
Does anyone get how darts works? I got bullseyes every single time and never won :(
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on April 29, 2008, 11:02:43 pm
do you know how darts work irl?

you have a total number (like.. 300 or 500 usually, i think) and you have to build up to and hit that number exactly. if you go over, you wasted your turn.

getting bullseyes is fine until you have like 20 points left to get, then you obviously need to hit a 20 to win.

i havent played darts in the game yet, but yeah it might work the same way?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 29, 2008, 11:06:22 pm
Ooooh that's how it works.

I thought you had to get the highest points possible, being bullseye every time.

WELL THEN
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Rye Bread on April 30, 2008, 12:28:14 am
Picked up my Ps3 copy of it today, but haven't had too much of a chance to play it.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 30, 2008, 12:48:45 am
Man I am kind of really disappointed. I've got like 3 hours into it and I'm at 11% already. Even the Stories games had more content.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 30, 2008, 12:54:49 am
Man I am kind of really disappointed. I've got like 3 hours into it and I'm at 11% already. Even the Stories games had more content.

Most of the percentage is in extra stuff like getting everyone's respect/like meter to 100% and doing all the side missions.  If I remember correctly, doing all the story missions in San Andreas was only 40% of the total game.  Rockstar said in an interview that they cut out a lot of crap that they felt was unnecessary (hidden packages and a bajillion collectibles) and I'm sure multiplayer will be a big time waster.  I hate playing multiplayer on consoles but my friend let me play his game and I actually enjoy it.

Coolest thing to happen to me so far is jumping a bridge and landing ontop of an old guy.  This woman standing next to me backs up, looks around, then claps her hands as she says "That was FUCKING SUH-WEET DUDE!"
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 30, 2008, 01:02:00 am
Most of the percentage is in extra stuff like getting everyone's respect/like meter to 100% and doing all the side missions.  If I remember correctly, doing all the story missions in San Andreas was only 40% of the total game.  Rockstar said in an interview that they cut out a lot of crap that they felt was unnecessary (hidden packages and a bajillion collectibles) and I'm sure multiplayer will be a big time waster.  I hate playing multiplayer on consoles but my friend let me play his game and I actually enjoy it.

Coolest thing to happen to me so far is jumping a bridge and landing ontop of an old guy.  This woman standing next to me backs up, looks around, then claps her hands as she says "That was FUCKING SUH-WEET DUDE!"
That's my problem though. I don't enjoy multiplayer, and I actually really liked all of that 'unnecessary crap'. It is actually kind of wrecking the experience for me because it's been nothing but mission after mission because I don't care to explore when I have no reason to, which is one of the reasons hidden packages were good. In all of the other games I've tried going for the 100%, but I doubt I will with this one because most of the extra shit in this is NOT FUN
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Cheesy Doritos on April 30, 2008, 01:31:00 am
I heard a lot of good stuff about the game, but unfortunately I don't play video games enough to (in my mind) validate the large sum of money I'd need to get a 360 and Live and all the games I'd need, so... I don't see this coming out on the Wii, so that sucks, but I'll play it at my friends' houses I guess. It sounds fun!

I've never been in love with the series, really, but I always enjoyed taking a nice motorbike ride through Vice City and beating up old guys, and staking out in malls, chucking grenades and building a fort with the benches. If you can still do that stuff, it's probably good enough for me.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 30, 2008, 02:14:44 am
Well, after much playing I've come to the conclusion that this is (as gametrailers said) definitely the most "friendly" GTA in terms of getting new players to the series.  A lot of the hardcore collecting and stuff is gone, it's much more story oriented, and a lot of the bitch work you had to do in previous games is gone (friends and girlfriends will now set up dates before their respect/love meter lowers). 

This is kind of a mixed good and bad to me.  The combat and driving has been tweaked to the point where it no longer feels broken and could be part of a normal action game itself and while the missions start out with the generic "FIND VINNY'S ROMAN'S MONEY" they end up becoming pretty cool and varied once you get past the beginning training levels.  The script and writing has definitely taken a huge leap and Niko is actually a kind of likeable character.

All in all it's pretty DIFFERENT.  So different that actual fans of previous GTA's will be put off by it.  I think it's a step in the right direction but it's a definite rental.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 30, 2008, 02:22:28 am
That's my problem though. I don't enjoy multiplayer, and I actually really liked all of that 'unnecessary crap'. It is actually kind of wrecking the experience for me because it's been nothing but mission after mission because I don't care to explore when I have no reason to, which is one of the reasons hidden packages were good. In all of the other games I've tried going for the 100%, but I doubt I will with this one because most of the extra shit in this is NOT FUN

you're arguing FOR pointless pseudo-content?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 30, 2008, 02:42:51 am
you're arguing FOR pointless pseudo-content?
Absolutely.

What is the point in having a giant city if you don't want to explore it? That little shit not only gave alley ways and rooftops purpose, but it was a buffer between story tasks, and you got GOOD REWARDS for doing it.

Now all there is is story, dates which include stupid games like BOWLING which are boring and forced as shit, and... driving. WOO.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 30, 2008, 02:49:53 am
and the driving is really slow and annoying.  if i wanted to play gran turismo i would have bought it BRING ME BACK MY ARCADE STYLE DRIVING :(

I am seriously put off by this game.  It feels more like THE GETAWAY than it does Grand Theft Auto.  During the first mission where you drive to your pad I actually said out loud "Annoying controls?  Annoying camera?  Cover system?  Is this shit The Getaway 3?"

Maybe I'll warm up to it once I get deeper in the story and more shit becomes open for me to do but it is very very slow going.  I don't mind doing pointless pseudo-tasks like package collection but when I'm forced to chug around in cars with exagerrated shocks and citizens that want to pound my face in at every corner... fuck.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on April 30, 2008, 02:51:00 am
if you really like exploring a big, full of life city, then you shouldn't really need rotating golden discs that collecting 50 of will get you some type of prize to do it.  the joy of exploration isn't precluded by a lack of fluff content.  you may have a point about HEY I GOT COOL REWARDS FOR IT, but i don't think it's that big a deal.  i wandered around the areas in morrowind and oblivion even when i knew there probably were secret hordes of treasure waiting for me, because the locations genuinely had some interesting stuff to just SEE.  if they did a good job designing the city, it should be the same in gta 4.

also, idk, i'll buy this game in the next few days.  i have a test tomorrow and a paper due the next day and blah blah blah, so i don't want to buy some really involving game, but i don't have much to do over the weekend, so i might pick it up then.


edit.  did they really make the driving that bad?  why in god's name would they want the driving in a gta game to be hyper-realistic?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 30, 2008, 02:55:50 am
if you really like exploring a big, full of life city, then you shouldn't really need rotating golden discs that collecting 50 of will get you some type of prize to do it.  the joy of exploration isn't precluded by a lack of fluff content.  you may have a point about HEY I GOT COOL REWARDS FOR IT, but i don't think it's that big a deal.  i wandered around the areas in morrowind and oblivion even when i knew there probably were secret hordes of treasure waiting for me, because the locations genuinely had some interesting stuff to just SEE.  if they did a good job designing the city, it should be the same in gta 4.

also, idk, i'll buy this game in the next few days.  i have a test tomorrow and a paper due the next day and blah blah blah, so i don't want to buy some really involving game, but i don't have much to do over the weekend, so i might pick it up then.


edit.  did they really make the driving that bad?  why in god's name would they want the driving in a gta game to be hyper-realistic?
Everything in the city is all crammed together though and it's actually kind of BLURRY or something. There's just too much.

Although while I say I like exploring I really don't like exploring without a purpose at all. I truly do need the fluff to keep me entertained. I mean... I like hearing what the people have to say and also seeing shit and being like HEY THAT'S COOL but I need something between that. Idk I just don't like doing shit without a reason I guess.

edit: also yeah the driving is pretty poor. most cars handle really uh... haphazardly and you go flying like 900 feet away from the car on impact with the smallest thing.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 30, 2008, 03:18:29 am
I have a hi-def tv so the blur effect isn't that bad and the city looks pretty good (there's even shit like leaves and trash that blows around in the wind) but yes, the driving is annoying.  I wouldn't be surprised if they had a driving school course that mimicked the annoying tutorial sessions from gran turismo.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: AdderallApocalypse on April 30, 2008, 03:21:25 am
I honestly find the driving to be fine. The game feels very different from the previous installments, but I think it's great. That's just my opinion, though.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 30, 2008, 03:23:27 am
honestly at this point if you don't have an HD tv and are going to complain about blurriness it's kind of on you, considering that's pretty much THE FUTURE you gotta catch up to.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 30, 2008, 03:27:41 am
I DO have a high def tv with the component cables. It is just really blurry because there's so much going on.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 30, 2008, 03:28:56 am
nah you just got bad eyes get them checked son.

basically if it was blurry I am pretty sure someone would hop on this.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: NightBlade on April 30, 2008, 05:18:54 am
Each moment that passes where I'm not playing this game is a moment of agony; however I cannot justify getting a 360 just for this ONE game.

Tell me there's a reason for getting a 360 other than GTA 4, please.




Please?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: HL on April 30, 2008, 05:21:29 am
Each moment that passes where I'm not playing this game is a moment of agony; however I cannot justify getting a 360 just for this ONE game.

Tell me there's a reason for getting a 360 other than GTA 4, please.




Please?

Ummmm

Halo 3
Bioshock
the live arcade rules
Super Turbo HD when it comes out
other stuff I am probably missing
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 30, 2008, 05:22:58 am
^^^goddammit you ass.

before anyone posts a huge list of games I'll just say that you can just wait for the PC version and if you can't just look through the games the 360 has and decide on your own, there now no one can post a big list of CRACKDOWN HALO 3 GEARS OF WAR.

also keep in mind that the 360 is essentially fostering the microcontent craze which is a somewhat political motivation to not buy one and also independent gaming which is a motivation to buy one.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on April 30, 2008, 05:26:35 am
go to gamestop and ask yourself how many of those games you would actually pay $40-60 for.  if the answer is less than say EIGHT i would not bother!  like steel said, it's coming out for the pc eventually.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 30, 2008, 05:29:18 am
I will admit that some funny random shit happens in this game and you never expect it.  I was walking underneath one of those giant billboards that hang over the freeway when this guy smack landed on top of a car.  I literally shouted out "what the shit?" and looked up to see another hobo dressed guy waving his arms and then he jumped and hit the pavement. 

A passing cop stared at the two dead bodies for like... 5 seconds, shrugged his shoulders and walked off.  As the medics arrived, a dude in a convertible smashed into them and both meds got into a fight with the guy.  The guy was one of those hard assed Russians so as soon as he died three other Russian dudes popped out of the alleys with shotguns and toasted the meds.

I'm not even making this shit up or exagerating.  I would love a spectator mode or something like Gary's mod where I can set particular AI behaviour and watch the mayhem unfold.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on April 30, 2008, 05:40:05 am
theres almost certainly going to be cheats for that.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 30, 2008, 06:34:36 am
Ahhh I am so happy.

I just found out instead of the normal collectibles you need to

that makes everything a little better!!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: NightBlade on April 30, 2008, 06:39:23 am
Ummmm

The problem is, most everything Im interested on Xbox360 is either out for the PC already, aside from this game.  :cry:

MGS4 might be interesting and crackdown seemed fun... Thats pretty much it aside from GTA4.

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: HL on April 30, 2008, 06:45:52 am
The problem is, most everything Im interested on Xbox360 is either out for the PC already, aside from this game.  :cry:

MGS4 might be interesting and crackdown seemed fun... Thats pretty much it aside from GTA4.



mgs4 is ps3 exclusive tho
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on April 30, 2008, 07:46:47 am
Metal Gear Solid 4 has 30-40 minute cutscenes anyways, I'm not one to sit through a cutscene for a game that long haha. NightBlade theirs also a lot of great upcoming games as well as some good Rpgs available?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on April 30, 2008, 08:16:00 am
So I'm pretty convinced this game is insane fun even when you're not doing missions. I've played it for 8 hours, and I'm only up to... I think I've just done Dimitri's third mission, the porn shop one. (that's not a spoiler, right?) It's awesome.

That said, I had a fun experience with the AI earlier. I hit some dude's car, and he came out and tried to beat me up. I saw some police coming off in the distance so decided to have a little fun. I let him beat me up, the cops came and put him in the paddywagon. In my infinite wisdom, I went and stole a car, like, 10 metres away from the cops (I didn't actually think about this -_-). The wanted level goes up, the dude that WAS getting arrested knifes a cop and legs it, and suddenly there's a fuckin' gang war going on with the cops fighting about 5-10 people that just randomly pulled out guns. Mad, but so much fun.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: yugi on April 30, 2008, 10:13:56 am
Though it's not as good as I'd heard about, it is still a pretty awesome game!
Can't say I am impressed with the missions, most of them are "Grand Taxi Auto 4", and if you are lucky the mission might involve something other than driving from point A to B. Admittedly I have only done 15% or so of the missions.

Also :[ The radio stations really suck. Maybe I have bad taste in music, or maybe the music just isn't worth listening to. The radio stations are either rap, jazz or rock, or some strange combination of the 3.

And. Hahaha, can anyone understand what Little Jacob says? Even with subtitles on I have no fucking idea what he is saying most of the time.

One last thing. Has anyone tried playing multiplayer yet, and if so what is it like?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Dyne on April 30, 2008, 12:23:48 pm
Hahaha, I love this game. Most memmorable thing I've encountered so far was driving past some cop as I've got a 1-Star wanted level, and he grabs onto my trunk, and as I'm driving I am just dragging him along as he lankly swings around. Fantastic.

I'm having a little trouble driving for some reason, I just can't seem to make turns well. I use handbrakes and the normal brake, but I dunno, it's tough. Maybe I suck?

And I need some better clothes. :(
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 30, 2008, 12:32:01 pm
Quote
Also :[ The radio stations really suck. Maybe I have bad taste in music, or maybe the music just isn't worth listening to. The radio stations are either rap, jazz or rock, or some strange combination of the 3.

uh, they've got old school and contemporary rap, classic rock, heavy metal, ska, european rock, techno, pop, jazz, reggae, spanish shit the radio is so much better.  If you were expecting something esoteric or a date related soundtrack like in vice city or san andreas you'd probably be disappointed but shiiiit I love the radio here.

I'm just disappointed you can't use custom soundtracks (well technically you can but it overrides all ingame SFX).  Saint's Row had a fucking mp3 player that let you use your custom soundtrack in game but Rockstar likes being noncomformist and doing stupid stuff like this DAMMIT
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: yugi on April 30, 2008, 01:41:34 pm
Maybe it was just me, but whenever I got into a car I was confronted with some horrid "rock" that could make my ears bleed, rap, jazz, reggae or...
Айн цвай драй
Шики-шики швайне
О-о

(My German is none existant, but I am pretty sure it is "Ein, zwei, drei, schicky schicky schwein")

Good god, I hated that song when my friends use to listen to it years ago, and I still hate it now.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Ghost_Aspergers on April 30, 2008, 02:31:14 pm
And. Hahaha, can anyone understand what Little Jacob says? Even with subtitles on I have no fucking idea what he is saying most of the time.

Nope. He isn't nearly as bad as the one guy who guarded Little Jacob's door though... and it's hilarious to see Niko's reaction to them when they speak.

Quote
spanish shit

Man... reggaeton is the worst fucking music. Be glad you don't understand it.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on April 30, 2008, 03:01:38 pm
Man... reggaeton is the worst fucking music. Be glad you don't understand it.

I agree with this 100% but it's pretty neat that there is a radio station in the game devoted entirely to raggaeton.

I don't know why some of you guys are down on the game because unless you didn't like other GTA games you should probably like this one.  The driving physics are a little more realistic etc but really it's an excellent iteration and significant improvement of an already excellent game concept.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: theHunter on April 30, 2008, 03:04:48 pm
The driving controls have officially killed this game for me, I can't play it.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Carrion Crow on April 30, 2008, 03:08:34 pm
Them releasing this before exams is NOT COOL man. Also I am totally with #1 Dad on the city collectibles thing. I used to love the driving checkpoint challenges too they were ace.

GTA3 is my fave in the series but I have yet to play this new installment and for me to buy it now would be career suicide :sad:
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: [Sam] on April 30, 2008, 04:36:15 pm
Grand Theft Auto 4 is finally out, and I've been playing it since!

Yes, I had to go into the city at eleven at night and stand in line until one in the morning to pick up my pre- order, but it was definately worth it! Before I begin to talk about the game I actually want to talk about picking up the pre-order itself first. You see, it excited me because every game store in the city had a giant queue of literally hundreds of gamers outside. Now, I've not seen the gaming community get this excited about a release, this is the UK, we tend to sleep or go get drunk, then try and find a copy of the game in the morning. We never queue up in our hundreds and open stores at midnight, so this was a real first for me. The energy and buzz surrounding the game, and the air of anticipation in the breath of every gamer there really got me excited, not just about the game, but about the games industry. The demographic was enormous, everyone from your average sweaty nerd to your football hooligan were lined up, chatting away, and waiting for the same game. The one night every social group in the country came together in celebration, rather than to kill one another.

And with good reason too, the game doesn't disappoint and deserves the hype surrounding it. The first thing I wanted to try was the gameplay, the one thing Rockstar had been clever enough not to show us before the game's release. I was relieved to see the same camera angles, the same map, and various other familiarities, but did, immediately notice a few changes. For example, the health and body armour meters are now wrapped around your classic, circular mini map rather than being two bars in the top corner. Your money is now only displayed when you buy something or get paid, meaning you have to pause the game to check your balance. These were minor things and simply took a few moments to adjust to.

The major changes here are to the controls, when I first started walking I noticed that it had been slowed down and felt slightly stiffer and more rigid, and when I tried running I found out you now swerve more and have less control whilst running. Where before you could weave in and out of pedestrians and turn 180 on the spot, you now run in a slightly more clumsy and realistic fashion. This takes more adjusting to than the changes to the HUD, having said that, I do like the feel it gives the on foot sections. It adds a certain desperation when fleeing on foot that makes things that little bit more dramatic and engaging.

What has changed, in a big way, are the cars - the handling has undergone a complete overhaul. I've played and completed Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto: London, Grand Theft Auto 2, Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, yet the first thing I did when I got behind the wheel in Grand Theft Auto 4 was crash. Initially, I was horrified by the fact that the car was now controlled with the left and right triggers and immediately changed the control set up to "Classic" mode, which emulates the PS2 controls of old. Even so, I found the handbrake had been made a lot sharper, the normal brake weaker, and the steering wheel tighter. This made for a whole new driving experience. Risky, considering how much time you spend in a car in this game. And yes, it does get annoying at first as you crash hopelessly into bollards, walls and police cars, but it does feel like the right decision, as insane and nonsensical as that sounds. Yes it's a pain I have to learn to drive in Grand Theft Auto all over again but it feels as though it was needed. I guess you have to play it to understand, and even then I know some will disagree with me, but I stand by my statement.

You've probably heard that the cop AI has been changed around too - you heard correctly. Now, when you get a wanted level a circle of blue and red will appear on your mini-map, this is the area in which the cops are looking for you, and it expands and grows larger as your wanted level increases. This time around you actually have to hide from the cops. If you escape the circle on your map and another patrol car sees you, then the cricle will center around your new pursuer and the chase begins anew. These guys aren't like Metal Gear Solid's genome soldiers either. They will see you, and they will hunt you down. Even with a one star wanted level you'll note that they co-ordinate and drive objectively, pulling off every trick they can to make you stop. Before, a group of police cars would just trail behind you, now they'll try tactics such as locking you between two cars, or having one swerve out sideways in front of you. Also, all main roads and bridges will be barricaded in seconds, and it's a lot harder to drive straight through this time around. It adds a sense of peril that I have never felt in a Grand Theft Auto game before. Suddenly, you're no longer invincible, and you actually have to try if you want to shake them. It's quite refreshing and really adds to the formula.

The combat system has also been revamped. Hand to hand allows you to throw a normal punch, a heavy punch, or a kick. You can also block and dodge opponent's attacks. If you time it right, you can even counter them! It does feel stiff and alien the first time you try it out, but it grows on you - as do most of the changes, and you realise you have a basic version of Tekken on your hands.

Naturally, you can't revamp the hand to hand combat without changing the shooting system. After all, it wouldn't be a Grand Theft Auto without guns. The changes are, thankfully, the ones fans have been crying out for! You now have to strategically take cover in shoot outs, selecting your targets and popping out to take them down. It's all done so fluidly that it feels natural. You can't take as much damage in this game as you could in the old ones, so you can't go in and pretend you're Rambo. Also, damage now flucates depending on how far the bullet has travelled, for example, take a hit from a shotgun half way across the room and you might get knocked to your feet. Take a shotgun at point blank and it's instant death. Guns are ranged weapons and this really promotes that and forces veteran Grand Theft Auto players to change their tactics, and pick their guns wisely, before entering the fray.

Dating returns, and is joined by the new ability to go out on the town with various friends you've made during the missions. It's rather simple, you can either call them on your mobile phone to invite them out, or on the odd occasion, they'll call you and tell you to pick them up. There are a variety of activities too, you can play darts, shoot some pool, go bowling, visit a strip club, watch a stand up comedy act, or go to a bar - most of which include mini-games which, for once, don't feel like a last minute addition and are actually rather fun. Though I should warn you, if you do go to a bar, then you will come out drunk. The drunken controls are actually quite an accurate recreation of how it feels to be drunk. Walking in a straight line is impossible, the camera wobbles and slightly blurs now and then, constantly going in and out of focus. You're also subjected to involuntary actions like lurching to the side. When driving, it can be an ordeal trying to keep the car even remotely steady and cops will chase you if they see you get behind the wheel after downing a few pints. This addition was causing a fair amount of controversy before the game's release, with people saying it will only encourage drink driving. If anything, it's put me off it. I think the Rockstar crew need to be applauded for actually it off when you consider how volatile the subject matter is.

The mobile phone is given to you at the start of the game, and you can use it to call anyone you meet - and they can also call you. It's how you'll recieve a lot of your missions and all your invites to go on a night out. The team didn't sell us short either, we can change the ringtone, decide if it vibrates or not, you can even buy new ringtones for it!

You buy new ringtones online - that's right, you can go online in the new Grand Theft Auto! Go to any Tw@ cafe and you can grab a computer to see Rockstar's hilarious take on the internet. There are parodies of YouTube, dating sights and, of course, e-mail. It's all fantastically well done and emulates the net in great detail, it's internet videos even have comments on them!

The new radio stations are to the standard you'd expect and the new chat shows are side splitting. The adverts make a return, not just on the radio, but on TV. That's right, you can watch TV in the game! Also seeing a welcome return is the ability to change clothes - which your dates will take note of. Again, you can regain your health by eating.

As for the plot and the missions, they're back on form. I found San Andreas' plot to be boring, and filled with 2D characters that I didn't care about. Grand Theft Auto 4 puts that where it belongs, the past. We're focused on believable, fleshed out characters with various motives and sides to them and a plot that slowly thickens and unfolds whilst not hogging the spotlight. The humour's back in both the sequences and missions too. The missions are mostly things you've done before, following people, extracting information, killing off any inconveniences, the usual. What has changed, is the way you have to approach them. As I said earlier, the gameplay mechanics have drastically changed, so old tactics for doing missions just won't work anymore. It breathes new life into the routine and makes the challenges feel new again. There are some suprises too, for example, there is one mission where a man owes money to your boss, so you go online to a dating site, find his profile and set up a date with him. When he turns up you take the money by force. There are some new innovations too, for example, in one mission the man I was chasing down ended up dangling from the edge of a building, and I got to choose whether I threw him off the edge to his death, or helped him up. These little choices have reprucussions later on in the game. If you decide not to kill someone, they may come back and try to finish the job off later, or they might turn up to help you later on. It's a gamble and you have to judge their character for yourself. An amazing addition that I've only encountered once so far.

Alongside the main missions are the side quests. These are jobs you can get from your friends. Your cousin will let you drive cabs for him, another friend will ask you to deliver packages for him, and a third will ask you bring him certain cars. Completing these tasks earn you money and hidden rewards. My personal favourite is that if you steal a police car, you can use it's on board computer to search the criminal database and view crimes happening at that very moment before turning vigilante.

The thing is, there are far too many things in this game to be covered in one review. It really is huge and offers a ton of distractions that will keep you playing long after the story is complete. Little details thrown in that you just have to applaud Rockstar for. A good example would be one mission where I had to steal a polie car. I called 911 on the mobile phone and a cop actually turned up! Of course, the second he did, I stole the car and ran him down.

Grand Theft Auto 4 is an amazing game, and I really can not do it any justice. I highly recommend you buy it, if you're over 18 anyway. The only reason I'm not playing it right this second is because my friend is!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on April 30, 2008, 05:02:09 pm
wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooords

Uh so is this a copy/paste from your blog or something?

EDIT: Man I don't know why I got the PS3 version this sucks.  I am probably going to trade it in for the 360 version =\
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on April 30, 2008, 05:07:19 pm
Them releasing this before exams is NOT COOL man. Also I am totally with #1 Dad on the city collectibles thing. I used to love the driving checkpoint challenges too they were ace.
There are races, there are collectibles (the one #1 dad already mentioned in spoilers, which is pretty funny (I laughed first time I did one)) and there are Unique Jumps. I'm pretty sure there's more stuff left over but by the looks of it they're well concealed. I'm like 16 hours into the game and I've only found one 'hidden package' (tho I haven't looked) about 3 or 4 hours ago and three unique jumps (two are at the same spot).

if you want to know where to get two unique jumps: they're right at Little Jacobs & Badmans apartment. Look for a double road that starts high and goes lower into a back alley, and that back alley should have a ramp (which is the first jump) that will let you access the roof where there are three more jumps (one of them is unique).

but yeah I'm digging this game. getting a bit tired from playin so much but this is amazing imo.

edit: also

Endangered Species   Collect every hidden package - 50 points

rofl
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lyndon on April 30, 2008, 05:27:41 pm
what are the differences between the PS3 version and the 360?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: [Sam] on April 30, 2008, 05:33:13 pm
Uh so is this a copy/paste from your blog or something?

EDIT: Man I don't know why I got the PS3 version this sucks.  I am probably going to trade it in for the 360 version =\

Yeah, I posted that up on my site with the new issue of Pokemon XS
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 30, 2008, 06:09:49 pm
Fuuuuck it's going to take so long to find all of the pigeons.

I am going to compile a pigeon list for anyone who cares!

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on April 30, 2008, 06:48:39 pm

Hahah loser I have found 2.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 30, 2008, 07:01:17 pm
I found another one
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: yugi on April 30, 2008, 07:17:21 pm
Man :[ Can anyone here actually play online? Whenever I try I get a black loading screen followed by a disconnected message. This better not be a fucking repeat of Team Fortress 2 on Xbox Live (this is an "online" multiplayer game, except it doesn't work online at all!!!)
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on April 30, 2008, 07:47:35 pm
Speaking of collectibles, there's this random coke fiend that only appears as a small blue blip on your radar.  He has 30 or so missions so I retract my "there are no pointless collectibles" remark.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on April 30, 2008, 07:48:36 pm
I found another one
#3:
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 30, 2008, 07:49:48 pm
Speaking of collectibles, there's this random coke fiend that only appears as a small blue blip on your radar.  He has 30 or so missions so I retract my "there are no pointless collectibles" remark.
Brian!! He's awesome. I've found him like 3 times so far.

It is kind of sad but since I found out about the pigeons I have begun to enjoy the game 100% more.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on April 30, 2008, 08:56:29 pm
i want to play with names i recognise

my xbox live id is realjamicus
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on April 30, 2008, 10:12:16 pm
I'm impressed by the little things. Like, I bought these big 'pedophile' glasses and matching jacket. Michelle seemed to like this.
Then I got in a hideous car crash, nearly losing my life, and get called to a date. I rush over and she asks where my glasses are, as she liked them. Pretty nice little thing.
Also, when going to my date, Roman called for an emergancy. Then when I get a call after the date, Roman is at the hospital bitching at me for abandoning him, and Niko is all like, "Sorry, cousin, I was out with Michelle."
That sort of thing is awesome imo.

However, I too miss the hidden packages. That was part of the fun when you weren't busy with missions. Oh well.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on April 30, 2008, 10:39:30 pm
However, I too miss the hidden packages. That was part of the fun when you weren't busy with missions. Oh well.
The new packages have been mentioned all over page 7 how did you miss it O_O


Also Brucie is the best character ever and my best friend.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on April 30, 2008, 11:09:37 pm
i was browsing the internet and clicking all the links and one was a pedo site and i got 4 stars instantly :(

that was my first getting-shot-at-from-a-helicopter experience!! it thankfully isnt as overwhelming as the older gtas.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on April 30, 2008, 11:25:27 pm
Aahahha, that's awesome.

By the way, did they take that Jack Thompson mission out? I'm pretty far in and I still haven't seen it. And they said it was one of the first (if not the very first) in the game. :(
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on April 30, 2008, 11:33:57 pm
The new packages have been mentioned all over page 7 how did you miss it O_O

I'm at work. :( (a little tear)
Sounds like an alright replacement. My co-workers are telling me about the online multi. Sounds fantastic!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 01, 2008, 01:34:28 am
It pisses me off how hardy Liberty City's people are.  Even when you reduce them to zero bars of health there's a chance they'll stand back up and hobble away.  You practically have to headshot them or put a few bullets in their chest once they fall to ensure they're dead.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 01, 2008, 03:31:45 am
That's what real city people are like.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Dyne on May 01, 2008, 03:41:18 am
The new packages have been mentioned all over page 7 how did you miss it O_O


Also Brucie is the best character ever and my best friend.

yes, Brucie is fantastic. What a great character.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on May 01, 2008, 04:00:59 am
i was browsing the internet and clicking all the links and one was a pedo site and i got 4 stars instantly :(

sorry to hear that blargsnarf.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on May 01, 2008, 05:01:09 am
also for anyone who has played for a short time (5 hrs or less maybe?) and arent fans:

this game grows a fuckload on you. i wasnt very impressed during the first part but once things pick up they dont let you down at all. im at about 22 hours rite now and it is really hard not to play. it is as addictive as gta3 was when it first came :D

so yeah, it becomes a lot better after a few hours. it takes getting used to the game before you appreciate all the amazing stuff rockstar has done.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 01, 2008, 05:13:31 am
also for anyone who has played for a short time (5 hrs or less maybe?) and arent fans:

this game grows a fuckload on you. i wasnt very impressed during the first part but once things pick up they dont let you down at all. im at about 22 hours rite now and it is really hard not to play. it is as addictive as gta3 was when it first came :D

so yeah, it becomes a lot better after a few hours. it takes getting used to the game before you appreciate all the amazing stuff rockstar has done.
jesus.  didn't it just come out like yesterday?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on May 01, 2008, 05:34:29 am
ya ive had it for about 44 hours now

so half of the time since then has been gta4 time
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on May 01, 2008, 05:59:14 am
By the way, did they take that Jack Thompson mission out? I'm pretty far in and I still haven't seen it. And they said it was one of the first (if not the very first) in the game. :(

got asked on the last page but then got WIPED OUT by new page and is very important for... well just to see if jack thompson's whininess won.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 01, 2008, 06:35:10 am
sorry to hear that blargsnarf.
wow i sure am the one that makes terrible posts

i havent found the jt mission yet either. i honestly wouldnt be surprised if it was gone, but then again having one that involves killing a political activist/lawyer early in the game wouldnt make much sense, so i also wouldnt be surprised if it was later on.

i guess we will just have to .... game and see...

or in my case go to work for the next 10 hours and not see.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 01, 2008, 07:13:26 am
The mission where you kill Goldberg (I think that's his name) is still in the game but it's around the middle, not the beginning.  I don't know why early previews said it was pretty early but they used that mission as a demo for the beta.

I believe Goldberg is a guest speaker on WTTK or whatever that talk station is that's pretty hilarious (PAY EVERY AMERICAN MINIMUM WAGE THUS THERE IS NO INCENTIVE FOR ILLEGALS TO COME INTO THIS COUNTRY HURF DURF). 
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on May 01, 2008, 09:11:08 am
I've pumped about 6 hours gameplay into this and I'm insanely impressed and a little disappointed. Firstly Sarah if nobody pointed it out already (I haven't read the last two pages) there are 200 pigeons to shoot in Liberty City that replaces PACKAGES or whatever I think. I started shooting pigeons at one point and it was counting down how many was left so I think that's it.

Secondly for everyone who was saying It's 45 minutes to experience everything. Six hours in and I've only just got out of the first section of missions. (Probably spending too much time chilling out playing the most unrealistic pool games ever with Little Jacob fuck knows what that guy is saying.)

Thirdly RICKY GERVAIS was on the freaking radio what a disappointment :(

I'm really loving the physics though, like if you shoot someone and walk on them you actually walk OVER them and your character just reacts dynamically and differently to everything. Conversations in cars are always different so you never get the same dialogue twice when retrying missions and things and the way the city is so dynamic is great.

The thing that is pretty disappointing though, is I'm 6 hours into gameplay and I'm having to spend an excessive amount of time keeping people happy and running errand-boy jobs. My character hasn't even got his own place yet and the way it works is DO REALLY NASTY THINGS AND EVERYTHING IS GETTING WORSE AND WORSE. I hope it picks up a little bit because I'm getting a bit sick of being everybody's errand boy. I really wanted to just pump a bullet into vlads face the second I met him and it was the same for Faustin. (Yeah it was satisfying.)

I'm hoping it starts picking up now I'm in the second safe house with Mallory.

Oh yeah, can we get some GAMERTAGS and GTAIV MASS GW PLAY going on. I haven't tried multiplay yet but it would be cool if we could get some GW guys together to play.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on May 01, 2008, 09:41:24 am
Ive added some peoples Gamertags and what not but so far no ones posting theirs here, I'm happy to put them in the first post like I have so far.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on May 01, 2008, 10:03:14 am
hey ya jackass i posted mine. it's realjamicus
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: yugi on May 01, 2008, 11:06:05 am
I will play multiplayer with you people whenever! (Provided it wants to work and stops fucking disconnecting me all the time)
Xbox live username is Garfybold.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on May 01, 2008, 11:58:42 am
Aight, been playing multiplay all day and holy shit. It has the potential to be so awesome if people weren't douchebags. First game I started was a cops and crooks and the "boss" decided to crouch down in a corner and just hide while the cops made their way over and pumped him full of lead. Fair enough he might not have understood what to do so I didn't give him any shtick about it, but game two rolls round and the first thing my "team-mate" does is shoot me in the leg so I hobble over to a car and try to get away from him and he's just shooting after me. I find a medikit and some gunz and get to work and he manages to catch up with me. I get out of my car and he shoots me in the leg again, steals my car and leaves me in the middle of fucking nowhere. At this point a crook manages to kill me and I have to watch the rest of my team scramble around before they realise the boss is just swimming around in circles in the water. :(

EDIT: Not to mention my team seemed to LOVE running me over a lot.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Orange00 on May 01, 2008, 12:06:02 pm
This game is very addictive. (my addicted level at the moment is "weekend rolled in", or something like that) Physics really add so much to this game! Just bumping onto random people has never been this satisfying! Feet moving according to enviroments looks a little funky at times (every staircase) but it's a nice detail.

On surface this game looks like every other GTA so far, but there are tons of little stuff that really set this higher. I'm finding something new all the time, just few hours ago I crashed onto some concrete block and Niko actually flew through the windshield!! Only negative I can think are the camera(especially with cover-mechanic) and keeping up with social connections. I don't really see the point in dating someone in a videogame. But of course it's not mandatory, so all is fine.

With network game... My game is never able to connect online games, other people have this problem? I've got PS3-version.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on May 01, 2008, 12:11:15 pm
Is anyone else finding the cover system really, really dodgy? It seems loose as hell to me and never really works properly. I end up just running around so the bullets don't hit me and aiming and shooting whilst I do so.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 01, 2008, 12:28:11 pm
Is anyone else finding the cover system really, really dodgy? It seems loose as hell to me and never really works properly. I end up just running around so the bullets don't hit me and aiming and shooting whilst I do so.

I honestly do not like it.  I'm playing the 360 version and there's a half second pause when you hit the right bumper which is painful when you're being rushed by enemies.  Also, the camera pisses me off to no end as it always tries to stay behind Niko and even when you move the camera if you move Niko then it'll try to reorient itself behind him.  Third, you can't blind fire behind certain objects like pillars unless you're EXACTLY pressed up against the edge.  Fourth, it takes Niko almost a full second to turn around and it takes two seconds for the camera to readjust to his turning.

I don't know if the PS3 suffers from this problem, but I hate the sensitivity of the triggers.  In order to go into free-aim you have lightly hold one of the triggers but I'm heavy handed so I often hold them down.  This really hurts when blind firing because you have to hold it down for a second or two before Niko pulls his shots off.  Blind firing is really important as the enemies really do run for cover so this problem totally pisses me off.

The combat took me a lot of getting used to because I was so used to playing Saint's Row which has first person style controls.  Why Rockstar couldn't just use that method is beyond me because the controls and camera system (for both foot and vehicles) took so much time to get used to and the first 3 hours of the game were really frustrating.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on May 01, 2008, 12:29:40 pm
hey ya jackass i posted mine. it's realjamicus
I know I put it in when you posted it before haha :happy: Oh yeah in the censored version of GTAIV has the camera stuck in the back of the car with hookers and shit and some scenes and swearing cut or some shit, IGN posted something about it.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 01, 2008, 01:49:40 pm
Yeah, if anyone decides to add me, send me a pm here or on XBL so I know it's you. Don't want some random guy adding me (like those who already did since I started playing GTA4)
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on May 01, 2008, 01:54:07 pm
I don't know if the PS3 suffers from this problem, but I hate the sensitivity of the triggers.  In order to go into free-aim you have lightly hold one of the triggers but I'm heavy handed so I often hold them down.
ya this annoyed me as well but im pretty used to it now and its nice to able to change between them by just adjusting pressure to one button


edit: also my xbox live accoutn has been suspended (what) because of payment problems :(
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: theHunter on May 01, 2008, 02:30:52 pm
Man they need to patch this game..

1. Why do I have to press X to walk? If I wanted to walk I could ever so slightly push on the analog stick, all the way to run.
2. Why let you control the camera but when you move it just reverts back to behind the character?
3. The audio quality is horrible, its like they use 128 kbps mp3s! Dialogue is especially bad. I mean Wtf? Theyre enough space on the disc. Use it.
4. Hand to hand combat sucks ass.
5. Driving controls aren't as bad as I originally thought but the camera while driving is HORRIBLE.

/end rant.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Dale Gobbler on May 01, 2008, 02:35:53 pm
If you guys don't want your rep with people to go down, but don't want to meet up with them. Whenever they call agree to meet them, then hang up, call them back and tell them you can't.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on May 01, 2008, 03:00:15 pm
3. The audio quality is horrible, its like they use 128 kbps mp3s! Dialogue is especially bad. I mean Wtf? Theyre enough space on the disc. Use it.

Are you serious?  $500 says that there is no way in hell that you were playing the game and suddenly realized gosh this audio is sampled at 128 WTF?!?!?! and that rather you read it on the internet.  Also there is probably not enough space on a 360 disc for audio without lots of compression and probably not even on a Blu-Ray for uncompressed audio.

1. Why do I have to press X to walk? If I wanted to walk I could ever so slightly push on the analog stick, all the way to run.

This is so true.  It's actually a mildly serious design flaw, because if you are just wandering around on foot and tapping X to sprint, you can end up hanging up on phone calls and offending your friends.  Holding X just to jog is a pain in the ass.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: theHunter on May 01, 2008, 03:10:14 pm
Are you serious?  $500 says that there is no way in hell that you were playing the game and suddenly realized gosh this audio is sampled at 128 WTF?!?!?! and that rather you read it on the internet.  Also there is probably not enough space on a 360 disc for audio without lots of compression and probably not even on a Blu-Ray for uncompressed audio.

This is so true.  It's actually a mildly serious design flaw, because if you are just wandering around on foot and tapping X to sprint, you can end up hanging up on phone calls and offending your friends.  Holding X just to jog is a pain in the ass.

I was basicaly saying it sounds like crap.  I said it sounds like "insert shitty sound quality file type".  And the sound really is bad.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on May 01, 2008, 05:13:55 pm
Oh yeah been wondering about the running, is their the whole run heaps and you grow stamina like in San Andreas, or is it just you run for awhile and get tired?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 01, 2008, 05:15:12 pm
it seems to be endless. ive sprinted over the entire first island while running from the cops and didnt get tired.

however, in that early mission where you have to chase a guy up several flights of stairs niko got tired once he got to the top and refused to sprint. so i dunno.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on May 01, 2008, 05:17:09 pm
How many ranks are there in multiplayer? I'm trying to rack up some of the achievements but I've made a good $6K+ in cash and am only on rank 1.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Leric on May 01, 2008, 05:31:21 pm
I like this game alot more than I expected I would. In fact I'd say it's my favorite game in the series (I've noticed I have said that about alot of series this generation). From what I heard on the net I had been led to believe that this game would be vastly different from previous GTAs but really it's not. The mission structure which was suppose to me a dynamic element of the gameplay seems to me so far (I'm I've only gotten past the 2nd Little Jacob mission but I've played around with my cellphone off ALOT) to be basically just the same as always (except with the addition of people calling you when they need you).

Aiming seems way better, kinda reminds me of RE4 which I've beaten hundreds of times so I was right at home there (I should note that I've never played Saint's Row or experienced it's universially thought better aiming system). The half press in targeting thing took some time to get use to but now I actually like it. The cover system seems sorta strange to me. Sometimes it works perfectly (like when you're using a full wall as cover) but usually it doesn't (like when using a car or a smaller brick fence as cover) although I guess using it DOES lead to you taking less damage than in previous games and being shot because your head or leg is still out of cover does make sense, I think most of my problem comes from being use to the nearly completely safe while in cover systems of games like Gears of War. Still I like it and I'm sorta glad it doesn't just completely do away with classic unrealistic GTA run around shooting like Bill Rizer on crack formula since sometimes it's just more useful.

As for driving like almost everyone else I had to get use to the new more realistic physics of the cars. I'll say it took me like an hour of just drving around to get use to the fact that if you drive like a lunatic with the pedal to the metal in this game then you'd better make friends with Mr. Brake over there as well. The e-brake feels different too but I've gotten use to it now as well. I love the new shooting from the car system. Hahaha once while running from the police one of them was coming at me head on so I started firing at him and for some reason (maybe I blew out his tire) his car suddenly flips over and it actually completely flipped over my car and landed right in front of the 2 police cars chasing me and I got away, I felt so badass right then. Speaking of which I love the new police system. They feel less I dunno "omnipresent" than in other games and I'm less scared to do crimes since there's a good chance you won't get no heat on your ass if you don't see them. The new area based chasing system is pretty cool too. Being able to see them on the map makes it feel more like Driver 1 and 2 (never played the others) and because you have to get out of the area with them not seeing you for them to leave you alone it seems to feel like they're actually chasng you (again like Driver 1 and 2) instead of just being everywhere like in previous GTAs. Those damn helicoptors are relentless though aren't they? I actually had to hide under a bridge where they couldn't see and come out at and unexpected place to get away from them.

I also thought it was kinda cool that you don't really have a gun in this game (unless you steal one from a police or something) till you meet Little Jacob. Made Niko feel more believeable since up until that point he really didn't need one.

Ive added some peoples Gamertags and what not but so far no ones posting theirs here, I'm happy to put them in the first post like I have so far.
I WANT to play online but I'm using a bootleg connection (I.E. DSL cable connected to a dial-up connection) so I'm not sure if it'll be fast enough to even play this (oddly enough Crackdown works with little or no lag at all). I also only have a silver account (because as you can guess I don't use Live enough to pay for it, heck at frist I only signed up to buy Castlevania:SoTN) and I'm wondering if you can actually play the game with only that. But I think a Gold trial came with the game so that's not a problem for now. Anyway if this works on my crappy set up I'll probably buy gold. My gamertag is Leric22 (because some asshole is already named Leric), I'll probably be on some time or another if it even works, which I doubt it will... I can't wait till I move to Orlando in a couple of months, I know you can get highspeed internet there.

1. Why do I have to press X to walk? If I wanted to walk I could ever so slightly push on the analog stick, all the way to run.
Yeah Niko feels way slower than CJ was. In fact I think the hold A/X jog speed in this game is the same as CJ's simply push the analog all the way over jog speed in San Andreas.

4. Hand to hand combat sucks ass.
I thought so too at first but I like it now that I can counter like a god. It feels more like you're a guy in the real world where there's a chance you're gonna get your ass kicked depending on how the fight goes instead of a uber badass videogame guy like CJ felt in San Andreas (this was an odd change though when you consider that Niko is S'POSE to be a uber badass trained Seribian soldier or something and CJ actually was just an ordinary guy with no previous martial training). I like to throw a brick or something at the guy I'm gonna fight's head or legs to knock him off balance before I actually approach him. Dirty I know but this is Liberty City, anything goes.

5. Driving controls aren't as bad as I originally thought but the camera while driving is HORRIBLE.
I think it works better if you use the farest out camera. Still alittle weird though.

(Probably spending too much time chilling out playing the most unrealistic pool games ever with Little Jacob fuck knows what that guy is saying.)
I'm half Jamaican and even I don't know what the heck he's saying most of the time. It helps (alittle) if you turn on subtitles, plus you get to actually know what Niko and Roman are saying when they speak their native language (Russian?) since it shows it in english.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Shadow Kirby on May 01, 2008, 10:34:32 pm
LJ truly is something but I was blown away by Badman. It's just insane the way he speaks.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 01, 2008, 10:45:20 pm
where can i find hookers because i have seriously seen none walking around even at 12am.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 01, 2008, 10:47:44 pm
really? i find a ton of them. i found a really fat one just now, it was awesome.

just drive around the shitty parts of the first island.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on May 01, 2008, 10:51:36 pm
when i was driving around i found badman sitting on a bench looking out of sorts so i investigates and get pulled into a mission to kill some russian drug dealers he doesn't like that was pretty cool. i hope there is a lot of that hidden away. i've seen the little blue man icons before but i dismissed them as body armour.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 01, 2008, 10:58:18 pm
when i was driving around i found badman sitting on a bench looking out of sorts so i investigates and get pulled into a mission to kill some russian drug dealers he doesn't like that was pretty cool. i hope there is a lot of that hidden away. i've seen the little blue man icons before but i dismissed them as body armour.

Yeah, I got that one too and I had like no health when he asked me to tag along. But it turned out fine when the drug dealers appeared to be too stoned to hit me. Shot the first 3 or 4 while the last one tried to run away but I quickly fired from distance and he fell to the ground, dead. Badman thanked me and sent me on my way.

Those jamaicans are pretty funny.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on May 02, 2008, 12:33:51 am
when i was driving around i found badman sitting on a bench looking out of sorts so i investigates and get pulled into a mission to kill some russian drug dealers he doesn't like that was pretty cool. i hope there is a lot of that hidden away. i've seen the little blue man icons before but i dismissed them as body armour.
I also knew this and considered posting it but I am being really fucking careful about spoilers so I figured I shouldn't tell anyone but now the cat is out of the closet.

Badman is kinda early tho and easy to find I guess, but there are other "supportive characters" from the main storyline (aka Badman) that pulls the RANDOM PERSON mission shit.


edit:


ALSO ALSO

Do anyone know of any side missions that give ACTUAL IN-GAME BONUSES? I just finished all the MOST WANTED missions and all I got was an achievement :(


edit: also I got info how to fix my xbox live account

I don't really feel like giving out my gamercard on the forum but ask on IRC and ill give it
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on May 02, 2008, 12:39:26 am
i don't really see how it's a spoiler. anyone who is playing this knows the score, they know what kind of peopel are in it and what you do. the only spoiler i guess is that found missions exist? and i would be happy to learn that because it's just a cool feature which i might have missed otherwise.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on May 02, 2008, 12:59:29 am
There are all sorts of spoilers dude. RIGHT IMPEAL!!!!!!!


but yeah i personally would like stuff like that to be kept a SURPRISE so please use spoiler tags in the future. i know it's not important or storybreaking to know but it is still something I wouldn't have otherwise and yeah secrettssssss
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Impeal on May 02, 2008, 01:06:12 am
There are all sorts of spoilers dude. RIGHT IMPEAL!!!!!!!
Really sorry, dude. :(

If it makes you feel any better, I had a major plot point spoiled for me just a couple of hours ago, so I know how you feel.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on May 02, 2008, 01:21:19 am
Really sorry, dude. :(

If it makes you feel any better, I had a major plot point spoiled for me just a couple of hours ago, so I know how you feel.
It does.

You know what's really balls? I was on the mission (and had lost like 4 times) that had the part that you spoiled for me.

I am not really mad or anything I just like making you feel bad, sorry!!!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 02, 2008, 01:58:09 am
aight guys just bought this badboy crits inc soon PEACE


edit.  fuuuuck i lent the power cable to my 360 out because i never use it!!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sludgelord on May 02, 2008, 03:56:57 am
what's the point of being able to call people whenever you want if they never answer the phone? i've seriously called little richard or whatever his name is like 20 times and he hasn't answered once.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 02, 2008, 05:10:38 am
jacob is a stoner and is only awake between 2pm-6am.  any other time and he'll be like "hay star i be catchin' some ar an ar  call me bak when you wanna get rill tight we swill at da bar and ting and ting, peace mon"
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DS on May 02, 2008, 09:03:26 am
Quote
edit: also yeah the driving is pretty poor. most cars handle really uh... haphazardly and you go flying like 900 feet away from the car on impact with the smallest thing.
I don't understand how you manage to do this! I tend to drive really fast almost all of the time and I have flown through the windshield like 3 or 4 times.

Anyway, after having played the game for about 12-13 hours, it's hard to describe how impressed I'm by it. I'm glad that I'm not a huge fan of GTA so I wasn't really looking forward to GTA4 all that much, and I wasn't expecting much more than what San Andreas was. Now, I can't get enough of the game and I already think it's definitely among the best games I have ever played. Man, I don't think it's exaggerating to call this game phenomenal because that's what it is. Everything, everything, about GTA4 is top-notch. I think I'm the most impressed about the sheer amount of detail in it. Liberty City is so well designed and has so much detail and life in it that I don't even know how Rockstar had the time to pull this off, because there isn't a single other game which comes even close to the city. And of course there's more to the level of detail, like the AI and how you see all kinds of random things happening around you all the time and they are truly all unique and it actually feels like a real city. Like some review stated (forgot which one), for every detail you try to describe, there's a dozen you miss. There are also some scripted events (in missions) which are a nice addition too. And there's so much more, simply how detailed the graphics are, the quality of animation, the day and night system, weather effects, everything. Impressive and not only from a technical point of view, it's a fantastic world to play in.

The physics are another really impressive thing about GTA4 and everything just works perfectly. Different cars and vehichles behave in different ways and driving actually is a bit more difficult than it was before, I think. It takes some time to get used to some vehichles but once you play enough, you will appreciate the way the vehichles behave. Coupled with physics, another thing which makes the city more interesting and fun to explore is how you can climb over fences, climb on buildings and just pretty much climb anywhere as long as you can reach the place. There are a lot of neat hidden locations and it's just great to explore, discover random locations, play minigames, find treasures and so on.

The cellphone is also a really nice addition because there's always something to do and therefore it has less random exploring than other GTA games unless that's what you want to do. And the internet, it's hilarious. Or hell, not just the internet, the game is full of comedy and some nice parody too. Radio stations have some really funny and interesting commercials and then there's TV shows and theater and probably more stuff I don't even know about yet.

And that's just, you know, all the random stuff which makes this game so good. The main story itself is very interesting and GTA4 has one of the best cast of characters ever. There are so many good and hilarious characters that it's awesome. The writing is terrific, the cutscenes are among the best in the industry and the voice acting is just as good. I have also noticed that when you replay missions, sometimes the characters you are with say something completely different than before which is pretty nice and keeps things fresh. And even though the game starts out pretty slow, I think there's been plenty of variety in the missions I have done so far and some of the missions have just been really cool.

So yeah, pretty much everything about GTA4 is simply praiseworthy. And it's equally impressive how Rockstar have managed to fit this all in one game, in such a huge world, and how perfectly it works. There are some minor flaws like the camera system can be a bit annoying indoors or that the cover system isn't always completely accurate (I still use it all the time and it's a great addition) but no game is perfect and I think GTA4 is one of the most polished games I have played. I can completely understand why it's getting such high reviews and I think it deserves the reviews it get, and I really couldn't believe I would like it this much.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DS on May 02, 2008, 09:12:50 am
Alsooooooooooo

The random things which keep happening can be pretty hilarious. Like, this dude was waiting for the light to turn green and I stole his car. But I couldn't get away in time and he tried to take it back and started to attack me. At the same time, some car just drove behind the car I was trying to steal and saw how that guy attacked me and the driver got out of the car. At that time, I thought he was going to attack me but he actually attacked the other guy because he thought I was being robbed. Then, the police arrived and when they tried to arrest the dude who tried to help me, I stole his car and it was just pretty awesome. It's impressive because these random things seriously just keep happening and they are all different. One time I was standing still next to some guy who was talking to a phone. After the call was over, he tried talking to me but I just stood there because I was eating and didn't have controller in my hands. He kept waiting for my reply and after a short while, he talked twice more with a more and more annoyed tone and eventually attacked me because he got angry.

Also, I'm seriously in love with the city. For example, it's awesome how different the second city part is from the first one. And the first one already had a lot of variety and was huuuuuge. It was great driving in the second part of the city for the first time and seeing all the scyscrapers, huge amount of traffic and basically a completely different kind of city.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 02, 2008, 09:24:23 am
yeah so i found a cord and played it a bit.  i'm like five missions in and idk, it's alright.  the city feels more alive, although it's disappointing you can't have conversations with random people; they still seem like husks.  i'm not crazy about the controls, either.  they're better than they were in the previous games, but they still feel clunky in combat, and too often in a hand to hand fight i will be trying to kick someone who's on the ground while i'm locked onto them, and just kick thin air half the time.  it's definitely not up to par with an action game, but it's better than before, i suppose.  also, i'd agree that the driving controls leave a lot to be desired.  the controls feel too loose, and BRAKING doesn't seem especially effective (as in, reverse slows you down quicker, but you can't turn well while doing it, and braking barely slows you down at all, and regardless of how fast i'm going i seem to 180 every time i try to turn a little bit while braking).  braking's the main annoyance, because there's a fuckload of turns, and without being able to effectively take them at decent speeds, i can't seem to go that fast.  is this anyone else's experience?

i haven't gotten to see any of the RANDOM SHIT people do, but the city itself is cool.  i don't feel like the mission structure has been a huge departure from previous iterations so far, but they're better than they've been in the past, in terms of variety.  one thing that annoyed me so far was having to repeat an entire mission because i got roman's fucking taxi cab stuck in a staircase and couldn't move it or get back in it to drive him back to his garage.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on May 02, 2008, 10:24:01 am
panda when you are coming up to a turn just release the accelerator and use the L trigger reverse to slow you down so you don't go shooting past the turn, you can the just hit the accelerator again and take the turn at a little slower speed but it's quicker than slamming on the handbrake, flying past the turn crashing into a lamp post, reversing to turn round and doing the same thing trying to go back the other way.

So use the L trigger to slow yourself down BEFORE you get to the turn, and then accelerate again to go round the turn. It's the quickest way I found. Also give me your gamertag so we can play online I think.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 02, 2008, 10:32:58 am
Okay, here's some tips on driving.  I learned all of this shit doing all 10 of lil' jacob's missions in a row which require some precision driving as you literally have 15-30 seconds to do half of his shit.

Turning Corners: Slow the fuck down.  You cannot take corners at really high speed.  Cool thing to note; neither can any other vehicle.  Unlike in previous GTA's, every vehicle is subject to the laws of physics.  Cop cars can just as easily spin out of control as you can (and they will especially if you drive through obstacles or incoming traffic).

Fun Fact: In addition to the cool AI it also applies to drivers.  If you shoot at a chasing vehicle (mainly cops), the driver will actually swerve around to avoid getting hit.  Civilian drivers will instantly speed up and drive recklessly to get away from you or they'll abandon their vehicles.  Use this to create barriers behind you.

Drifting: The Mario Kart physics are gone.  You cannot drift at stupidly high speeds without spinning out of control.  To effectively drift, use the regular brake BEFORE you come to your turn.  When you're near the turn, let go of the accelerator, turn in the direction your drifting, tap the handbrake for less than a second, and you should spin in that direction.  Before you reach the 90 degree point, pull in the OPPOSITE direction of your drift to level yourself out.

CAUTION: This will not work as well in top heavy vehicles like SUV's.  2-door sports cars like the Banshee are excellent at drifting.  Humvees and the like, not so much.  Big cars are more durable so use that to your advantage.

Try This Out: If you're in a top heavy car, use objects to straighten yourself.  If you know you're going to drift around a corner, try and aim for a lightpost, wall, or parked car as your drifting and SIDESWIPE IT.  The force of the impact will slow you down a little but you spin out of control and it will level you in the direction you're going.

Slowing Down Really Fast: I learned this from Crazy Taxi.  To slow down really fast, use the handbrake in conjecture with the regular brake and jiggle the control stick left and right (don't hold the stick too long or you'll spin out of control).  Seriously, this you'll stop in less than a second at any speed.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 02, 2008, 10:47:40 am
panda when you are coming up to a turn just release the accelerator and use the L trigger reverse to slow you down so you don't go shooting past the turn, you can the just hit the accelerator again and take the turn at a little slower speed but it's quicker than slamming on the handbrake, flying past the turn crashing into a lamp post, reversing to turn round and doing the same thing trying to go back the other way.

So use the L trigger to slow yourself down BEFORE you get to the turn, and then accelerate again to go round the turn. It's the quickest way I found. Also give me your gamertag so we can play online I think.
yeah i get that, it's just when there are turns so often, it's impossible to build up any decent amount of speed before having to slow down in anticipation for the next turn.  realism wasn't something i was looking for in the city driving of a gta game!  like you can clip a mailbox or something and go spiraling out of control at minimal speeds.  it's nuts.  i'm honestly sort of at a loss as to what they were going for with the controls here.

also marcus, i noticed that the cars you end up chasing are subject to the same annoying physics, but at this point they seem to at least be better drivers than me.  hopefully not for long but w/e!

thanks for the braking tip, though.  i had found that both brakes alone took an insane amount of time to bring me to a stop (rushing past turns sometimes etc).  hopefully that'll help.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DS on May 02, 2008, 10:48:02 am
Quote
Drifting: The Mario Kart physics are gone.  You cannot drift at stupidly high speeds without spinning out of control.  To effectively drift, use the regular brake BEFORE you come to your turn.  When you're near the turn, let go of the accelerator, turn in the direction your drifting, tap the handbrake for less than a second, and you should spin in that direction.  Before you reach the 90 degree point, pull in the OPPOSITE direction of your drift to level yourself out.
Yeah, this is what I do with drifting too. I have also noticed that with some (especially fast cars) it helps to use the regular brake right after using the handbrake and you can still drift in corners with somewhat high speeds, it makes the drift end sooner.

Quote
Fun Fact: In addition to the cool AI it also applies to drivers.  If you shoot at a chasing vehicle (mainly cops), the driver will actually swerve around to avoid getting hit.  Civilian drivers will instantly speed up and drive recklessly to get away from you or they'll abandon their vehicles.  Use this to create barriers behind you.
Yeah, I have also noticed that chases are so much better and more interesting in this game and there are cool tricks you can do.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Kaworu on May 02, 2008, 10:58:45 am
Only been able to play it for a few hours so far (note: first phonecall from vlad) but it's pretty rad. the radio stations rock (Fusion is the shit, I didn't expect them to have Gong on there!). I dunno I love how the combat is improved so I'm beating down on some shit who crashes into a bin and gets bucked in a corner by the bin against a wall. The cars are so cool how they crumple and smash and then the engine catches fire and explodes, but not in the formulaic way that they do on previous ones. The whole movement physics is such fun.
Also gotta love the magic shows :D
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on May 02, 2008, 11:06:43 am
panda when you are coming up to a turn just release the accelerator and use the L trigger reverse to slow you down so you don't go shooting past the turn, you can the just hit the accelerator again and take the turn at a little slower speed but it's quicker than slamming on the handbrake, flying past the turn crashing into a lamp post, reversing to turn round and doing the same thing trying to go back the other way.

So use the L trigger to slow yourself down BEFORE you get to the turn, and then accelerate again to go round the turn. It's the quickest way I found. Also give me your gamertag so we can play online I think.
He's not playing the PS3 version so there are no triggers. Also you should set the control type to classic because that trigger stuff is bullshit.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 02, 2008, 11:09:00 am
the 360 has triggers!  i'll try screwing around with the control setup, though.  idk the physics shit is nice, and what ds said about car chases being a lot more interesting/open-ended is also good, but it seems like a pretty unnecessary move away from arcade-style controls, given the type of game it is, and the environment you're driving in.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on May 02, 2008, 11:15:17 am
Oh I see.

Also a couple of protips from vaginals

when falling from a height HOLD UP on the analog stick. This will make niko roll when he hits the ground instead of breaking his legs upon impact. (somehow my dad doesn't understand this concept and in turn has... died from many falls)

when being chased by the police DON'T JUMP IN THE WATER. Pretty self explanitory but fuuuuuck those boats got some big guns.

Incidentally, when being chased by the police, try to hide in shadows. Like alleys and shit. You'll see the stars darken if it's the right spot and you can use that time to get out of the vehicle and try and find another one and drive out of the DEATH ZONE.

Also, watch out for a little man on the radar that looks like the dude chilling out on the door to any mens bathroom (irl) for pleasant surprises.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on May 02, 2008, 11:49:38 am
Hey I got some tips too.

ALWAYS try and fight your way out of any situation. Even if it's just one star it's better to fight the cops than to run.

NEVER take cover. You're a lot less likely to be hit when standing in the middle of a road than ducked behind a mailbox. Just take aim and start firing.

NEVER brake. Just jam on the accelerator and let it rip. You can do what I do and tie an elastic band around the right trigger and that way it leaves you with an extra finger for extra shooting and other misc. activities.

hope i've helped  :)
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 02, 2008, 12:05:01 pm
Alright, about two hours ago I played some Free roam online and all of sudden this weird guy with a grey name parked right next to me. It turns out to be scubacoaster.

We happily drove around the city until some guy landed with a chopper next to us, basically telling us to join him. He then flew all the way to the airport and dropped us off next to the real badass choppers and we took one each. I dunno about scubacoaster but I waved him good bye and flew off.

But... something changed after that. The chopper seemed to have changed him. Whenever I parked next to him to say 'hello' with my horn he quickly pulled his UZI and killed me :( I decided something had to be done about it so I chased him around the city for a while but the bugger always managed to kill me.

Oh well, it was good fun seeing a familiar face in the game! :D

... next time, bunny, next time....
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on May 02, 2008, 12:12:58 pm
Alright, about two hours ago I played some Free roam online and all of sudden this weird guy with a grey name parked right next to me. It turns out to be scubacoaster.

We happily drove around the city until some guy landed with a chopper next to us, basically telling us to join him. He then flew all the way to the airport and dropped us off next to the real badass choppers and we took one each. I dunno about scubacoaster but I waved him good bye and flew off.

But... something changed after that. The chopper seemed to have changed him. Whenever I parked next to him to say 'hello' with my horn he quickly pulled his UZI and killed me :( I decided something had to be done about it so I chased him around the city for a while but the bugger always managed to kill me.

Oh well, it was good fun seeing a familiar face in the game! :D

... next time, bunny, next time....

The guy with the purple name was grim and the guy with the orange name was Lars, also I had to keep killing you guy because you kept trying to shoot me and run me over!!! But yeah the cruising was pretty cool, if people weren't all trying to kill each other so much.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 02, 2008, 01:09:08 pm
The guy with the purple name was grim and the guy with the orange name was Lars, also I had to keep killing you guy because you kept trying to shoot me and run me over!!! But yeah the cruising was pretty cool, if people weren't all trying to kill each other so much.

Haha, lars was the orange guy trying to get the achievement? Man, I tried to help him but he shot me as well.

I guess the whole shooting was a mix up then (except when I blew you up with the rocket, harrharr) I just wanted to hang with you. Had no idea there were more GW'ers online. Cool.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Kaworu on May 02, 2008, 02:18:04 pm
Jacob's the best.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on May 02, 2008, 02:35:43 pm
Haha, lars was the orange guy trying to get the achievement? Man, I tried to help him but he shot me as well.
what achievement?

I was just shooting everyone I could see...


Jacob's the best.
I'm assuming you haven't met Brucie yet? :D
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on May 02, 2008, 03:50:17 pm
Does anyone know if it's possible in multiplayer freemode to play some pool and bowling and stuff? I haven't managed to get anyone to stop shooting long enough to find out. Also I pulled a Lars, dragged Liman as high as I could up into the sky in a chopper and bailed on him. It was the funniest part of the game so far.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 02, 2008, 04:20:57 pm
Does anyone know if it's possible in multiplayer freemode to play some pool and bowling and stuff? I haven't managed to get anyone to stop shooting long enough to find out. Also I pulled a Lars, dragged Liman as high as I could up into the sky in a chopper and bailed on him. It was the funniest part of the game so far.

Haha, yeah that was kinda... funny. Best part was the fact that I survived the crash while you fell to your death, did you notice that?

I personally found it hilarious when bunnymilk landed on the roof of a very tall building and I quickly stole the chopper and took off. Then I felt bad and decided to return and pick him up but he took his life by jumping off the building before I got back.  :laugh:

I haven't tried the pool thing yet either but all the regular houses are open so I don't see a reason why it shouldn't work. On the other hand, trains aren't in free mode for some reason so you never know.

what achievement?


Weren't you the guy who asked everyone to kill the police and their choppers so you could get the achievement? Or was that some other orange guy that joined later?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on May 02, 2008, 05:27:15 pm
I'm assuming you haven't met Brucie yet? :D

Haha, man, Brucie is just about the best character ever invented. Jacob's awesome, but everything Brucie says is just pure gold.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sarah on May 02, 2008, 05:38:15 pm
I just got done where you have to snipe the dude. That was fun... and easy. I tried phoning the number on the phone at first but nothing happened so I just shot the window next door.

Next for ....
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on May 02, 2008, 07:02:30 pm
Weren't you the guy who asked everyone to kill the police and their choppers so you could get the achievement? Or was that some other orange guy that joined later?
Nah, I haven't found my headset yet so I didn't say anything at all. I already got the STAY ALIVE ACHIEVEMENT if that's the one you meant.

Also I dropped out much later than all of you so it was def. not a guy that joined after me droppin' out(I have no idea whether I was orange or not tho).
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: NightBlade on May 02, 2008, 07:45:12 pm
Everywhere I look, there's GTA 4. Penny Arcade, advertisements, gaming sites, YOUTUBE, gamingw.net, even the damn daily show had a joke segment on it.


Fine, you bastards. I bought it. Are you happy now? I did my part as a PROUD AMERIKAN to mindlessly spend my tax refund on a 360 20g, and this wonderful game.



Bastards.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 02, 2008, 08:28:39 pm
fun little thing to note: if you just sit on a bike for a second or two Niko will put on a helmet that cuts his damage from falling in half.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sludgelord on May 02, 2008, 09:37:32 pm
brucie is my favorite character in a video game.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 02, 2008, 09:40:04 pm
he has a special place in my heart because my co-worker thinks he's gods gift to women and does situps at every possible moment.  i don't even want to get into his car because he seriously drives while using a thigh master and it's no small wonder he hasn't wrecked yet.  it's a good thing he doesn't play videogames because he'd probably hump the tv when he sees brucie.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 02, 2008, 11:04:06 pm
On the Brucie note I just did the mission where you and it is really nice.

Is there a way to save cars, this early on? I am driving it everywhere, but I know eventually there will be a "get out of your car and onto a bike/run 40 miles on foot" mission and I will lose it :(​.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 03, 2008, 12:34:15 am
We really need to get together and play sometime soon. I just finished a game with Lars that lasted for nearly 2 hours (felt more like 45 minutes). After some less than successful chopper vs chopper combat we teamed up to take two other guys us with the choppers. That didn't work very well either so in the end we found various buildings that you could enter and barricaded ourselves in there while the cops and other players tried to get inside.

Tons of explosions, tons of fun! I think the most hilarious moment was when we crashed into each other with our choppers, I lost the main rotor and Lars lost hit entire tail. Both crashed in the middle of the city :(

The multiplayer is great!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tweaked_1551 on May 03, 2008, 03:28:34 am
On the Brucie note I just did the mission where you and it is really nice.

Is there a way to save cars, this early on? I am driving it everywhere, but I know eventually there will be a "get out of your car and onto a bike/run 40 miles on foot" mission and I will lose it :(​.

There should be a yellow rectangle labeled something like "Residential Parking Only" outside your safe house where you can save your car if you leave the car parked in it. I'm not sure if the 1st safe house has one but the 2nd and up should have them.

Also... has anyone else had this problem:

I've been playing the PS3 version of GTA IV without any major problems so far. I have saved like probably around 14+ hours of game play. I had to work like all day today, so my brother then decided to play GTA IV but for whatever reason he decided to start a new game on a new PS3 profile (I guess he didn't want to fuck with my save files). He plays up to and beats the mission "It's your call", my last game mission I beat was (and what should have been my game save file ) "A long way to fall". When I get home from work I turn the game on and it's already logged onto my PS3 profile and I loaded up GTA IV. I let the game get past all it's loading screens and stuff and when it gets to the part where it says "Loading - (your mission here)" it says on it "Loading - It's your call" instead of my file... It's basically trying to load my brother's profile save game which doesn't exist on my profile. Anyways it gets stuck at the loading screen so I hit the PS3 button and quit game. Restart the game and it loads the correct file this time but it's still stuck at the loading screen....

EDIT: oh snap I totally forgot I could copy the files from one profile to another. Anyways it works now, I just transferred all of my files from one profile to the next and it worked. Oh man I was totally freaking out lol.  :sweat:

EDIT #2: Okay it finally works 100% I think... I had to sign out of Playstation Network log into the game, let my file load up properly, then I quit the game, signed back into PSN and now it works while signed into PSN. Really bothersome... but whatever... I guess.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on May 03, 2008, 08:07:43 am
Yeah we don't get problems like that on xbox, sorry mate.

suck on that DS and cliff....
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DS on May 03, 2008, 08:11:19 am
i dont got any problem's sorry

and too bad rami got it on 360 too LOL

Also, I don't get what's up with the trigger hate. I love Dual Shock 3's R2/L2 triggers and they are so much better than using X for accelerating. 360's triggers aren't as good but I think they are good too. You just need to play for a bit with the triggers and you'll get used to them in no time.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 03, 2008, 08:31:14 am
how do you escape from the cops once they get helicopters on you?  two stars is easy for me, but 3-4 and i have absolutely no idea how to get away.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DS on May 03, 2008, 08:37:54 am
how do you escape from the cops once they get helicopters on you?  two stars is easy for me, but 3-4 and i have absolutely no idea how to get away.
Try leaving your car and finding some good spot where you can take cover and then find another vehichle. Narrow alleys, under bridges or somewhere in shadow. A really fast car can also do the trick, I believe.

Also, speaking of Brucie (he really is fucking awesome), the mission where is hilarious.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tweaked_1551 on May 03, 2008, 09:08:44 am
how do you escape from the cops once they get helicopters on you?  two stars is easy for me, but 3-4 and i have absolutely no idea how to get away.

Pay N' Spray as long as they don't see you go into it.

I've never gotten over 3 stars except on
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on May 03, 2008, 10:16:43 am
Ok so I found out I get my Playstation back in a week or so and since i gonna pick up my copy of GTAIV with it I decided to get my money back for the copy and now gonna just import one from Play Asia since PS3 is region free so no censored hookers and cutscenes for me! I'll post my PSN ID when I get it since my ps3 is going to be wiped anyways so I'm just gonna make a new account.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DS on May 03, 2008, 10:23:14 am
Wait, Play Asia? Is that even in English?

I suggest using Video Games Plus (http://www.videogamesplus.ca/product_info.php?products_id=12692&osCsid=78b62d20758e5359058d5858ae828543), I pretty much import all my games from there because the prices are nice and delivery is usually fast.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on May 03, 2008, 10:44:39 am
It's in English! here.. Grand Theft Auto IV (http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-bp-49-en-70-1vgg.html) at Play Asia. And Video Game Plus didn't have New Zealand.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 03, 2008, 12:49:57 pm
how do you escape from the cops once they get helicopters on you?  two stars is easy for me, but 3-4 and i have absolutely no idea how to get away.

Drive through alleyways between tall buildings or go under a bridge.  Like I said earlier, enemies in this game actually have to make sight contact with you so if you break line of sight with them it will throw them off.  You'll notice the little "x" of the helicoptor will change size when you break line of sight with it and it will start hovering in circles.  After that it's just a matter of dodging the rest of the cops.

Somehow I managed to dodge a 4 star rating and get the walking free or whatever achievement after I purposefully clicked on that pedophile website.  It was pretty cool because I never expected to pull it off.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Milkman on May 03, 2008, 03:12:32 pm
Yeah we don't get problems like that on xbox, sorry mate.

suck on that DS and cliff....
But we do get random disconnections when joining games. Its a game of luck when you try to join a friends game of freemode, 50% you will connect and 50% you wont.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: ryuudou on May 03, 2008, 03:20:07 pm
Try leaving your car and finding some good spot where you can take cover and then find another vehichle. Narrow alleys, under bridges or somewhere in shadow. A really fast car can also do the trick, I believe.

Also, speaking of Brucie (he really is fucking awesome), the mission where is hilarious.
After I completed the mission a random pedestrian decided to play hero and starting shooting at me and in the process hit another guy. Next thing I knew about eight people were in a full on gun fight, with cops joining in a few seconds later. It was an awesome end to a funny mission.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 03, 2008, 03:47:06 pm
I just found the Comedy Club and had a lovely skit by.... .

They have never put a real person in GTA, and out of all the humans on Earth they pick him? Gah.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on May 03, 2008, 05:03:16 pm
I KNOW he even got his own add gameplay thing for the game. I was actually hoping they would bring Samuel L Jackson back cause he was the fucken man in San Andreas.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sludgelord on May 03, 2008, 06:22:22 pm
BRUCIE
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 03, 2008, 07:47:09 pm
brucie has the best choices when you call him up to hang out
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Summoner on May 04, 2008, 03:39:50 am
I love it when you get drunk and try and call a cab

YELLOW CAR!!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Cheesy Doritos on May 04, 2008, 03:41:53 am
Anyone want to explain why Brucie is so awesome? I don't have the game but that's what everyone's been raving about, so...
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 04, 2008, 04:28:01 am
he's kind of a funny guy, is all.  just over the top and ridiculous, from what i've seen.  i'm not CRAZY about him so idk maybe i am missing something but he's just a humorous character.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on May 04, 2008, 06:22:02 am
Anyone want to explain why Brucie is so awesome? I don't have the game but that's what everyone's been raving about, so...
Brucie has to be experienced. There's no way to explain his awesomeness without sounding lame. If you try to describe him it will come out cliche and boring but when actually experiencing him and realising how great they pulled him off you realise how great he is. So... I for one won't explain his awesomeness sorry!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 04, 2008, 10:07:29 am
Dude that's dope I wanna see/hear that.

I also heard that Lazlow is making an appearance too though (don't know if it's actually true). That'd be kinda cool.
He's the DJ of one of the radio stations and it is pretty funny, but honestly there are so many radio stations it's kind of killied it for me. I don't even know the names of 3/4 of them.

THAT ONE WITH A SPIKY LOGO
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 04, 2008, 11:21:18 am
This game kicks ass. I just hopped onto a party game with my buddy, and we roamed the city in helocopters, jumping from tall buildings and exploring the land. It's such a huge, beautiful city. God damn. Love this game. It's on the top charts of my favourites. San Andreas was so massive and lush. This is tight and well planned. I love this new city, and everything about it. Hell, even using your cellphone to call up friends into your match, or to private convo with your friend in the match. That's sick. Love this shit! Too bad more of you aren't on PS3 side, we could party.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on May 04, 2008, 02:26:43 pm
But we do get random disconnections when joining games. Its a game of luck when you try to join a friends game of freemode, 50% you will connect and 50% you wont.

Nope you are on your own with this one, I have not had this problem either.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Fire Mage on May 04, 2008, 02:56:16 pm
He's the DJ of one of the radio stations and it is pretty funny, but honestly there are so many radio stations it's kind of killied it for me. I don't even know the names of 3/4 of them.

THAT ONE WITH A SPIKY LOGO
I've found myself listening to Liberty Rock and Vladivostok...that's about it. I never really checked out any others yet, haha.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Milkman on May 04, 2008, 03:58:36 pm
Nope you are on your own with this one, I have not had this problem either.
Ehh maybe its just my connection, but plenty of people had told me they had the exact same expiriences.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 04, 2008, 10:36:00 pm
Finally, finally I witnessed something hilarious in this game concerning the AI. It's during the mission "Smackdown" that you get later on. Not much of a spoiler, it's like any other mission.

The goal of the mission was to follow a guy to his house in order to kill him and his gang at the same time. This house looks really old and is located in bad neighbourhood. When I got there a bunch of gang members quickly began firing at me and I had to take cover. At that moment, I police car drove past, stopped and began fire back at the gang. Soon more cops arrived and they killed the three gang members on the porch. The remaining members ran inside. The cops (eight of them) ran after, busting the door open and fired with their shotguns. The shooting went on for about a minute and finally the cops came out, victorious, leaving one guy left on the second floor. After the cops had cleared I went inside and finished the job right after I heard the guy yell "I give up".


By the way, we need more 360 people online. So far I've played with Lars and Bunnymilk a bunch of times which have been great but it could be even better with more people that we "know".
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Cheesy Doritos on May 05, 2008, 01:44:56 am
I played at a friends house and I had 2-3 stars, so I accidentally drove through a fence and off a cliff. My car landed in the water, so I got out and started to swim, but as I looked behind myself I saw several cop cars drive off the cliff, land on the ground, and explode. I was cracking up.

Also has anyone noticed the cops can't drive? All the taxis and other cars can drive perfectly, but I was just cruising without any stars or anything and I just saw a cop car driving with two wheels up on the divider between two lanes. It was just... completely random! Also I love getting hookers and then running them over, it's great.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Beasley on May 05, 2008, 01:58:39 am
would you online fellas be interested in playing with me perhaps?

this game is fucking EXCELLENT p.s. I am trying to do everything on my first play through but it just feels like there is so much shit i am missing and i just do not have TIME TO DO IT ALL.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on May 05, 2008, 05:59:19 am
Does anyone have a 60gig PS3 because I heard Grand Theft Auto IV freezes a lot on it?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 05, 2008, 10:01:10 am
I've found myself listening to Liberty Rock and Vladivostok...that's about it. I never really checked out any others yet, haha.

Vladivostok has a bunch of songs from Roslana, the winner of the Eurovision Song contest a few years back, including her winning song. I thought that was pretty funny... until I realized that Rockstar is Scottish and takes part of the contest themselves (except they suck and always come last).

I find myself listening to Liberty Rock and Vladivostok as well plus The Journey which has some calm and nice songs.

By the way, do not read the following if you don't want parts of the plot ruined - I finally realized why .
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on May 05, 2008, 10:02:50 am
I thought they were Scottish?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 05, 2008, 10:04:31 am
I thought they were Scottish?

Oops, I meant scottish! They are still rubbish in the ESC so I won't change that comment :>
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sludgelord on May 05, 2008, 01:11:07 pm
Vladivostok has a bunch of songs from Roslana, the winner of the Eurovision Song contest a few years back, including her winning song. I thought that was pretty funny... until I realized that Rockstar is Scottish and takes part of the contest themselves (except they suck and always come last).

I find myself listening to Liberty Rock and Vladivostok as well plus The Journey which has some calm and nice songs.

By the way, do not read the following if you don't want parts of the plot ruined - I finally realized why .
yeah that's why
brucie
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Kaworu on May 05, 2008, 02:14:42 pm
haha I am loving the physics. my bigrig crashed to a stop and I flew out of the front window (and dropped my cap and shades :( ), so I went to steal some's car. He tried pulling me out, but got crushed between my open door and a wall.
More games need shit like this.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on May 05, 2008, 03:07:41 pm
Does anyone have a 60gig PS3 because I heard Grand Theft Auto IV freezes a lot on it?

I do and have encountered no technical problems whatsoever.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DDay on May 05, 2008, 03:28:11 pm
I do and have encountered no technical problems whatsoever.

I do too and it happen to me about 2 time and my bro about 2 times but I think it can happen to all PS3 Grand Theft Auto.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on May 05, 2008, 05:04:15 pm
i was driving past some street and i heard a woman yell out "haven't you read atlas shrugged!?" to someone. that was pretty funny.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on May 05, 2008, 09:29:06 pm
The funniest thing I saw happen with the AI was what looked to me like a building site worker dragging people out of a limosuine on the main road and beating them to death with what looked like an axe/hammer/baseball bat kind of melee weapon. I also saw a guy drag a cop out of a car, steal the cop car and steam off into the sunset.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 05, 2008, 09:45:09 pm
god damn i really wanna beat the story and start faux-spoiling it for everyone but THERE ARE SO MANY MISSIONS

i have literally done 1 billion story missions so far.

still, they've all been awesome. i'm kinda mad about how if you fail a mission where you HAVE to drive half way across the city to get to it, you.. have to.. drive back there each time. most arent so bad as you can take a cab then just steal a car when you get there, but chauffer ones are the worst.

oh well, still awesome.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 05, 2008, 11:24:11 pm
yeah failing missions are awful.  especially the ones where you've already driven for like 10 minutes and you need to go back and start all over and you almost just want to turn the game off.


also jester idk how you feel about this shit but the car's a comet and you can always just spawn one with a cheat code soooo idk.  it handles really really well though and yeah it's my favorite car thus far.  most of the other fast sports cars don't handle nearly as well, and also since the engine's in the back not in the font, and head-on collisions are the most common kind by far, it pretty much never dies or blows up like normal ones do.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 05, 2008, 11:27:23 pm
if you cheat you disable achievements forever on that save file, which sucks (if you save, of course)

i dont super care about achievements but for once i want to finish a gta without cheating

also even that wouldnt work for some of the ones ive failed, where you need to drive 3 people for 10 minutes in a car of THEIR choosing, which are the worst missions ever.

i never have a problem with crashing in cars, though, so thats np. it is just literally how some of the missions are cross-two-islands sort of thing, it's dumb.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 05, 2008, 11:29:20 pm
oh god i haven't even gotten to those yet.  that sounds much worse, though!  i was talking about ones where you just have to chase someone and you lose them and automatically go back to the starting point of the mission but it's just irritating to have to drive halfway across broker again.  ALL THE WAY ACROSS TWO ISLANDS would probably actually make me turn the game off.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 05, 2008, 11:40:44 pm
yeah it isnt too fun. its nice that they put two in-a-mission-car conversations for each mission, but even then some missions you have to (or i have to) do 4 or 5 times and thats just balls

on a brighter note, has anyone else done any internet dating yet? i dated sobohoe and i am very fucking impressed with how much unique dialogue she has. im assuming not every internet girl is dateable? it would be pretty insane to have this much unique shit for each girl. i would fine out myself but i am already going on dates/hanging out with the guys almost as often as doing story missions so i dont want any more dependants.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on May 06, 2008, 12:52:23 am
I tried dating two girls and one guy and they all turned me down. ;( And yeah, I am with you on the story missions, it's ridiculous. I've just finished the mission with Packy, but I've been trying to go out with Roman and Little Jacob and Brucie and Packie in the meantime to get them to like me. And Kate. It's crazy.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 06, 2008, 01:35:51 am
It's kind of weird how game companies improve on old concepts but at the same time remove the best features.  In San Andreas if there was a mission where you had to drive somewhere long and then do something else then the game let you skip the drive if you failed and played the mission over (but you still had to drive ALL THE WAY BACK to the mission spot and San Andreas was huuuuuge).  Now this game gives you taxi's and the ability to instantly replay failed missions but you can't skip the driving segments.

ffffffffffffffffff game developers
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on May 06, 2008, 02:06:51 am
i'm pretty far into this now. today i played vice city a little bit cos i wanted to see how much it had really improved and stuff, and actually the city is so much more lifelike so i take back what i said ealier. i don't know if i'd say i like it more than i liked vice city though, honestly, i mean yeah on pretty much every single level the gameplay is better but the whole game is so cold. like, i kind of feel bad all the time when i'm playing it cos every mission is go kill someone and i kind of like niko's character and i get depressed that we've got to go be murderers all the time. i'm not really into the story all that much, and since that's such a larger part of the game this time with less distractions, it makes me think worse of the game.

really though, the city is pretty amazing and what they've done to make it and the characters feel alive is pretty impressive. even going on the little dates with your buds and girlfriends feels alive (to an extent anyway, further than any game i've ever played has gone).

also, the missions are really samey. i think now that i'm in the second half of the game, they are putting in some more variety. i've got this mission to do where but there has been way too much go to this place, shoot nameless goon, drive back. i think the stripping down of extraneous nonsense has also revealed that the core of the game isn't that varied. it IS fun most of the time though, i'm not totally down on it. i think that, as polished as it is, it feels a little unfinished. i'm not saying put back in crap like stat building, but the purchasing of property and feeling of progression you got in the other games, because you were accumulating things other than emotional baggage and a worthless number in the top of the screen, is gone.

maybe that's kind of the point and i think i'm gonna end up appreciating what they tried to do with the immigrant getting disillusioned with the american dream and the kind of crime that happens today opposed to twenty years ago more. i don't feel like an idiot playing this game, at least, that's something. it just makes me feel a bit depressed. at least there is brucie and little jacob to lighten it up.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Ash on May 06, 2008, 02:31:46 am
I kind of don't like how the story is following the same formula as the other GTAs. Work for some guy, shit goes wrong, work for this other guy who saves your ass, shit goes wrong, work for some other guy. I hope they eventually make a GTA where there's some degree of freedom like to bypass certain story arcs or open up new ones.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 06, 2008, 02:38:50 am
yeah i'm kind of tired of the CLIMB THE CRIME LADDER OF SUCCESS thing too but niko seems more human than past main characters who were just hired thugs more or less imo (san andreas did it better, but i still didn't think much of whatever that guy's name was), so i tend to be more forgiving.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 06, 2008, 03:20:22 am
CJ was the shit. Niko's physical limitations make me miss CJ, and Vic for that matter.
Nothing against gta4 though. It's a unique feeling gta. As usual. also the internet is hilarious.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sludgelord on May 06, 2008, 03:37:53 am
well there have been two times so far where i've been given the choice to kill someone or let them go and i'm assuming those will eventually come back to help me out later. or fuck me over i don't know! but i think it's kind of funny how people just sort of walk all over niko. i was doing some elisabeta mission and i walked into her apartment and she and little jacob were arguing about something, and elisabeta volunteered me to fix her problem without even asking or anything. she just said "well niko's going to clean up your mess". and that's what half of the missions are like. niko walks into a house, people are discussing their problems, and someone says "niko will do it" without niko haven't having said or done anything.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Dyne on May 06, 2008, 05:41:32 am
brucie's website is fantastic. it's just more of his awesomeness.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 06, 2008, 10:43:10 am
My favorite moments when it comes to "It's your choice" is when you get to pick who to kill out of two guys like .
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on May 06, 2008, 11:30:51 am
My favorite moments when it comes to "It's your choice" is when you get to pick who to kill out of two guys like .
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: reko on May 06, 2008, 12:12:51 pm

If you don't kill him quick enough, he makes a run for it.

ps this is ds posting on ramis pc/account. :fogetshrug:
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 06, 2008, 12:20:22 pm


Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Warped655 on May 06, 2008, 04:10:50 pm
Beat the game. I just wanted to see the rest of the story so badly that I played through the last third of the story all in one sitting. Finally tried the multiplayer. Its pretty goddamn awesome... but it doesn't hold a candle to the single player experience IMHO. Also after playing GTA4 so frigging much since it came out I'm a tad burnt out on it. Same thing happened with gears of war for me. I played it so much when I first got it that I got a little sick of the game after the first week or so. but I always return later. I'm going to take a break from GTA4 for a little while.

Man, what a blast. This is seriously one of the best games I have ever played. Both in excellent gameplay AND an overwhelming amount of content to play through.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on May 06, 2008, 04:56:04 pm
Beat the game. I just wanted to see the rest of the story so badly that I played through the last third of the story all in one sitting. Finally tried the multiplayer. Its pretty goddamn awesome... but it doesn't hold a candle to the single player experience IMHO. Also after playing GTA4 so frigging much since it came out I'm a tad burnt out on it. Same thing happened with gears of war for me. I played it so much when I first got it that I got a little sick of the game after the first week or so. but I always return later. I'm going to take a break from GTA4 for a little while.

Man, what a blast. This is seriously one of the best games I have ever played. Both in excellent gameplay AND an overwhelming amount of content to play through.

I got GTA4 and Army of Two at the same time so I could play them both to prevent myself getting sick, but I haven't played Army of Two yet because I want to find a buddy to go through story mode with.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on May 06, 2008, 08:25:14 pm
but I haven't played Army of Two yet because I want to find a buddy to go through story mode with.
ya otherwise it would be army of you ho ho ho
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 06, 2008, 09:39:39 pm
i'm balls deep into Brucie missions. that guy is hilarious. he's like this slightly overblow guy i knew.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 06, 2008, 10:22:21 pm
god damn i still havent beat it

i am pretty sure i am reeeeeeeeeeeeally near the end, i only have one mission line left on the map (and just before i quit, 0 mission lines so i guess i get a phonecall next) so yeah i think i am nearly done hooray niko dies
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Farren on May 07, 2008, 12:00:52 am
did anyone notice that Nikolai is a merchant seamen?

thats right, we're badass.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 07, 2008, 01:09:12 am
did anyone notice that Nikolai is a merchant seamen?

thats right, we're badass.

And a red army soldier, smuggler, drug runner, and assassin.  He did it all.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 07, 2008, 06:26:05 am
Holy shit, I just learned the tattoo on Brucie's back means "transexual."  Either he thought it was cool thing to get or Brucie is actually a woman that went through a gender change and got real pumped up on 'roids.

Man, it's kind of sad to note that all of the old protagonists are dead.  One of the lead producers joked about this but there's random graffiti that has their names (Claude, Tommy, CJ, Tony, and Vic but we knew this already) with R.I.P. followed by them.  Also, the mansion you find Ray and Phil at is Salvatore's old place.

I always wondered why there's like no connections with previous GTA's but hell it seems like the world has forgotten all the old gangsters and mafia families and yet Liberty City still moves on.  This also explains why there are so few motorcycles as the Bike Ban from GTAIII was only lifted a few years ago.

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 07, 2008, 09:26:45 am
There's very, very little in common between the cities.  essentially the map is reversed (in GTA III you started on the other side first) and the island layouts are kind of similar but for the most part there's absolutely nothing in common except a few reference buildings.

Also, check out the golf course at that theme park.  All of the buildings and golf courses are from previous GTA games.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Kaworu on May 07, 2008, 10:32:03 am
in the australian version, you can't kill people. You knock them to the floor (and no blood) but they'll just get back up.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on May 07, 2008, 11:01:50 am
No, you can't even do that. All violence and weapons use has been removed from the game. It's basically just running around the city for a whole game (can't even steal vehicles)!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: local_dunce on May 07, 2008, 11:56:07 am
No, you can't even do that. All violence and weapons use has been removed from the game. It's basically just running around the city for a whole game (can't even steal vehicles)!

How does this even work?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Kaworu on May 07, 2008, 12:01:54 pm
call for taxies, play darts etc

also due to australian censorship the missions are like "deliver a box of chocolates to demitre"
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on May 07, 2008, 12:34:22 pm
Darts are a violent implement, none of that!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on May 07, 2008, 12:43:02 pm
If you even try to steal a car the game turns off your console.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on May 07, 2008, 12:51:41 pm
i hear they renamed it "grand hugs auto" and instead of killing all the time like a chump niko hugs it out with all of his american friends
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on May 07, 2008, 01:02:57 pm
i heard that if you're actually able to commit a crime in the australian version

you must face the legal consequences as if you comitted that crime in the real world
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 07, 2008, 01:10:27 pm
i heard that if you're actually able to commit a crime in the australian version

you must face the legal consequences as if you comitted that crime in the real world

i heard if you ran over a person in the aussie version then the real police would come to your house and charge you with virtual manslaughter
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on May 07, 2008, 01:11:02 pm
i hear they renamed it "grand hugs auto" and instead of killing all the time like a chump niko hugs it out with all of his american friends

*australian
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 07, 2008, 10:41:30 pm
finished, .

lame. hated them.

oh well.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Fire Mage on May 08, 2008, 01:18:15 am
What do I do for the Blood Brothers mission?

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Warped655 on May 08, 2008, 07:03:09 am
finished, .

lame. hated them.

oh well.
Ending spoiler:
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 08, 2008, 07:12:08 am
I was walking to Fauskin's place from the water, since I accidentally backed up over the cliff, and when I came around, this cop was leading a rich-looking man away with his hands behind his head. I had to laugh.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 08, 2008, 03:13:55 pm
What do I do for the Blood Brothers mission?


Answer:
.

Ending spoiler:

Now that you mention it... .
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 08, 2008, 05:30:35 pm
haha, jesus, i forgot all about him. wow. plot oversight or what?

oh wait, shit, arent they releasing downloadable content? oh god, please let the story continue. i have 0 motivation to get 100% because of how bad the ending was.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 08, 2008, 05:42:20 pm
He was such a unnecessary character in the game. When he appeared a second time I had no idea who it was until much later. It's very likely they are keeping him for the downloadable content. If not, good writing Rockstar ;)
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 08, 2008, 07:02:20 pm
haha, jesus, i forgot all about him. wow. plot oversight or what?

oh wait, shit, arent they releasing downloadable content? oh god, please let the story continue. i have 0 motivation to get 100% because of how bad the ending was.

I remember them saying that GTA4 will be episodic. So, don't get too depressed about the ending.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 08, 2008, 07:30:04 pm
eh, im still mad about it even if they do continue it. i wont be mad about it then, but i still am now. sa's ending and even bully's ending felt so complete, and this one just leaves you feeling .

oh well. roll on gta4: episode 1
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on May 08, 2008, 09:15:16 pm
I remember them saying that GTA4 will be episodic. So, don't get too depressed about the ending.

Are you sure it was described as episodic?  I remember that major expansions to the game were promised, but I don't recall ever reading that the game would be exactly episodic.  Unless they mean episodic in the same vein as Half-Life where the episodes really are just full sequels that use the same engine and reuse assets -- also like Vice City and San Andreas.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Finality on May 08, 2008, 10:37:13 pm
Basically, they're going to release 2 episodes, each adding at least 10 hours to the main storyline. The first episode is going to be released around August, so yeah, expect to see the story continue and they'll probably feature Mr. Bulgarian as a character. I wouldn't mind to see them release more episodes after the initial two, as long as they keep things entertaining. More clothes or different haircuts would be nice too.

Awesome game, even though I think they should have focused on the main storyline more. The game also slowed down as it drew to an end, Still gets a 10 from me, though.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Kaworu on May 08, 2008, 10:46:57 pm
but not for the losers who only own the PS3 version!!

(also there are rumours that the episodic content will also include new areas)
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 08, 2008, 10:54:05 pm
oh god i want to trash new jersey so bad.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 08, 2008, 11:53:00 pm
but not for the losers who only own the PS3 version!!

(also there are rumours that the episodic content will also include new areas)

Yep, Rockstar you sell-outs. Thanks for that kick in the balls to your fans. You're entire series rolls on Sony, and gets a port to Xshlocks, and yet you suddenly shift scenes. Fucking gay, man. Fucking gay.
Whatever. First Katamari, now Grand Theft. This gen is pissing me off, man.
But I'll forget about that for now. Having far too good a day to get angry over the lameness of this gen.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Finality on May 09, 2008, 12:01:49 am
Well, Microsoft did pay $50m for the two episodes.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on May 09, 2008, 02:56:44 am
Well, Microsoft did pay $50m for the two episodes.

ARGHSFJHASJKFHAKSJDFHASKDJ this isn't true.

It was deferred revenue which is basically a loan.  MS expected to make at least $50 million dollars from this game (a safe bet) so they lent Rockstar a bunch of money to fund development.  Jesus internet stop making things up this is the lamest rumor ever.

Yep, Rockstar you sell-outs. Thanks for that kick in the balls to your fans. You're entire series rolls on Sony, and gets a port to Xshlocks, and yet you suddenly shift scenes. Fucking gay, man. Fucking gay.
Whatever. First Katamari, now Grand Theft. This gen is pissing me off, man.

I don't know I don't really feel that strongly about it myself =\  I would bet hundreds of dollars tht PS3 gets the episodes after a few months or something.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DDay on May 09, 2008, 05:25:34 am
oh god i want to trash new jersey so bad.

Not wail I'm living here BTW one good thing about having the PS3 version, is that we got the fix for the game freezing since microsoft has not gotten with Take2 about the problem.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 09, 2008, 05:57:53 am
I don't know I don't really feel that strongly about it myself =\  I would bet hundreds of dollars tht PS3 gets the episodes after a few months or something.

Yeah, this is true. Like how Liberty City Stories hit PS2 months down the line.
I dunno man, sometimes this console silliness gets me angry and befuddled. Ugh. I'm surrounded irl with so many aggressively arrogant xboxers and it makes me growl, irl and on here.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 09, 2008, 06:54:37 am
Quote
It was deferred revenue which is basically a loan.  MS expected to make at least $50 million dollars from this game (a safe bet) so they lent Rockstar a bunch of money to fund development.  Jesus internet stop making things up this is the lamest rumor ever.

But the content is still exclusive.  MS loaned Take 2 (the publisher) for the episodes specifically to develop the games for the X-Box.  Chris Satchell and all the other big wigs confirmed that it would be for the 360 only and Microsoft games are always exclusive (you could say "lol PC release" but who do you think gets paid when you buy GAMES FOR WINDOWS??).

Microsoft made off like a bandit.  Not only will it be paid off but it'll mean an increase of sales for 360 hardware and xbox live (Rockstar heads admitted that they didn't like the idea because there wasn't enough online interest but it would make for a good "experiment" to test the waters).

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Carrion Crow on May 09, 2008, 10:44:03 am
I am buying a next-gen console to play GTA4. I am buying a PS3 HOWEVER I would like to play the episodes that are 360 exclusive.

Why am I still buying a PS3?

- It's a more powerful machine
- Cheapest blu-ray player on the market
- MGS4, GT5, Fallout 3 etc etc the list of new heavy-demand games goes on.
- I have a PC with a powerful graphics card and it's fairly common that microsoft games shimmy over from 360 to windows (think gears of war).
- I also have the sneaking suspicion that the episodes will be on PS3 eventually.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 09, 2008, 11:22:09 am
I am buying a next-gen console to play GTA4. I am buying a PS3 HOWEVER I would like to play the episodes that are 360 exclusive.

- I also have the sneaking suspicion that the episodes will be on PS3 eventually.

Maybe if it was Capcom behind the game you would see the previously exclusive stuff on the PS3. We're talking about Microsoft now. They'll never let this happen.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Kaworu on May 09, 2008, 11:41:12 am
I hate it when people pay money for stuff. Like when I go to the shops, I hate when they totally sell out and provide me with a service in exchange for my money. Fucking sellouts.
Just because I have money, they try and suck my dick and give me stuff for it. It's totally disgusting.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 10, 2008, 03:31:45 am
I miss your last avatar, Kaworu.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Izekeal on May 10, 2008, 04:07:24 pm
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 11, 2008, 09:17:28 am
"It's free cone day at baskin robins!"
"No thanks, I love my wife"
Good stuff, hahaha
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on May 11, 2008, 02:17:36 pm
Man, I've just about GTAed myself out, seriously. I'm currently doing the , and it all just seems so... familiar, I dunno. NEED SOME VARIATION. Currently on the map are , and my game completion's something like 43%. How far am I from finishing it, for those that have done so?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Fire Mage on May 11, 2008, 04:09:29 pm
Man, I've just about GTAed myself out, seriously. I'm currently doing the , and it all just seems so... familiar, I dunno. NEED SOME VARIATION. Currently on the map are , and my game completion's something like 43%. How far am I from finishing it, for those that have done so?
Beating the story missions gives you like 60% total or something, so you'll be around there (or higher if you've done a lot of side stuff).

Also, yeah, the game started to slow/lose me towards the end. Doing missions for

Oh and yeah, that one guy did just drop out for no reason. Way to look over a big plot hole.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 11, 2008, 05:07:24 pm
Oh and yeah, that one guy did just drop out for no reason. Way to look over a big plot hole.
read topic, will probably be appearing in expansions
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 11, 2008, 06:16:18 pm
For those who wonder when the story ends: 68% is pretty much the full story.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: pburn on May 11, 2008, 06:30:26 pm
I just ordered the PS3 version eBay. I cannot fucking wait at all god.

Are there even any notable actors in GTAIV like in SA?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Riddler on May 11, 2008, 06:55:42 pm
I just completed it last night. Got to say I agree with the ending. Disappointing. Missions were just used over. The first thing I wanted to do when I finished was start again because the start was so good. But I have resisted. I don't need another 30+ hours of that thing sucking up my life. I'm gonna do the 100% completion gradually over the coming months.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on May 11, 2008, 07:51:38 pm
i kind of gave the game a rest for a couple of days there cos i was getting tired of it, but i just played it there and done like 6 missions in a row and it was fun again. so i guess don't get burned out on it? cos it is pretty samey.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Fire Mage on May 11, 2008, 10:21:39 pm
Well, San Andreas is supposedly the first DLC!

http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/685328/GTA_IV_DLC_To_Be_In_San_Andreas.html

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: pburn on May 11, 2008, 10:57:54 pm
If it is, I am fucking pissed.

Fuck you Hideo Kojima. Fuck Metal Gear.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Leric on May 11, 2008, 11:11:35 pm
And here I was expected the DLC to be maybe a new area of Liberty City (or heck maybe even not that, just some new missions in the old city). if this is true then it sure blows my expectations completely out of the water.

Quote from: G4TV
The DLC is said to consist of entire cities, and if so, San Andreas is a logical choice.
So even if we don't get San Andreas we're still getting an ENTIRE new city (or cities as they put it)?
Damn... that's awesome.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 12, 2008, 01:50:16 am
I doubt it'll be the ENTIRE state and it'll probably be Los Santos (since that's where the major airport is although it could also be Las Venturas).
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 12, 2008, 08:44:44 am
Could always start at Los Santos (expanded like LC was, to look more like the city it's based off) and maybe keep adding cities through the episodes. I'd be down for poppin' in San Francisco again.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on May 12, 2008, 10:42:24 am
i dunno, i read the dlc's will contain "at least 10 hours of content", and at least usually means at the very most so i don't think there will actually be full cities coming. i'm more expecting something like a bumper pack of missions along with more interior locations.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Riddler on May 12, 2008, 01:27:24 pm
I know this is the internet and rumours are more often bullshit than true, but I'm pretty sure there was some sort of HARD FACT that the DLC was going to be to GTAIV what San Andreas and Vice City were to GTAIII, i.e. entire new cities or at least kinda big games.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on May 12, 2008, 05:58:36 pm
So sometimes I read comments on articles at video game sites (it's truly amazing how stupid they are) and I thought is one was hilarious.  Some at 1Up posted today:

Quote
bought this game [Boom Blox] yesterday after trading in crazy taxi with guns (the terrifyingly overrated GTA4)

Man Crazy Taxi With Guns.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on May 13, 2008, 02:46:41 pm
Yesssss, I finally Easily the worst part of the game.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Dale Gobbler on May 13, 2008, 02:54:38 pm
Are there male prostitutes? Can your guy be gay?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 13, 2008, 04:45:16 pm
Are there male prostitutes? Can your guy be gay?

I believe there are actual gay men you can date but I haven't figured out how the dating service works so I wouldn't know.  It seems EVERYONE either rejects me or doesn't reply back.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on May 13, 2008, 05:59:25 pm
i haven't tried the dating service but i'd be pretty impressed if you could date gay characters, even if it was HAHA I LIOKE COCKS PLEASE conversation.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on May 13, 2008, 06:19:00 pm
I believe there are actual gay men you can date but I haven't figured out how the dating service works so I wouldn't know.  It seems EVERYONE either rejects me or doesn't reply back.

Well only a small number of people apparently will reply positively (the profiles that don't seem like jokes) under any circumstance.  As far as I can tell no guy will ever accept a date request.

God are we seriously having this conversation.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Cheesy Doritos on May 13, 2008, 10:15:09 pm
I also believe there's 1 (one) male prostitute in the game, added as a joke but... Yeah/
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 14, 2008, 12:21:15 am
I've got three girlfriends. Michelle, Kiki and Carmen. All from the date site(minus Michelle obviously). After you you can start dating. It's actually worth it too. With Kiki, I can call her up if the cops are after me for something stupid, and she'll use her power as attorney to get rid of them. Carmen is a nurse, and I can get bonus health from her.
I'm planning on dating them all at the same time, to see how insane it gets. :) Currently working for
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Finality on May 14, 2008, 01:09:21 am
I hate it when people pay money for stuff. Like when I go to the shops, I hate when they totally sell out and provide me with a service in exchange for my money.
UGH! HOW DARE YOU PAY ME FOR AN ITEM WHICH ONLY YOU WANT?!

Edit: Also, what actually makes up the remaining ~40% of the game after the main storyline's complete? I need to do the races for Brucie, the cars for Stevie, the assassins missions, and the police missions. Besides that, it's the pigeon thing, but does that really constitute that big of a percentage?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on May 14, 2008, 06:03:35 am
Yeah, the pigeons does make up a big percentage.  You also need to get every friend's special ability (which means doing all of their side missions like lil jacob's packages; Roman is the only friend that doesn't require a side mission to be completed) and you need to meet up with every random person.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on May 14, 2008, 03:48:00 pm
Grand Theft Auto IV breaks into Guinness World Records?

Link! (http://www.sync-blog.com/sync/2008/05/grand-theft-a-1.html)

Quote
The latest in the bad boy of video games has achieved something other record-breaking franchises haven't pulled off, including Harry Potter books and blockbuster superhero movies like Spider-Man.

As we reported last week here at Sync, Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV generated about $500 million in revenue its first week.

Well, today, the folks behind the Guinness World Records made an announcement the game – which has also sold 3.6 million units its first day, generating $310 million in revenue – has now broken the record for "highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours."

This achievement far surpasses other video game, film and book releases. Specifically, this is how Grand Theft Auto IV's $310 million dollar day stacks up against its closest competition, according to Guinness World Records:

* Fastest-selling video game in 24 hours: Halo 3 at $170 million

* Fastest-selling theatrical movie in 24 hours: Spider-Man 3 at $60 million

* Fastest-selling book in 24 hours: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows at $220 million

Do you think the game deserve this monetary milestone?

This is amazing, seriously, almost DOUBLED Halo 3s opening day!?(Stolen from RMN, thanks Ken!)
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Dyne on May 15, 2008, 01:23:09 am
Hey, anyone wanna play online? I just got Xbox Live, gamertag is C NIG14, let me know! I just wanna mess around in the city, but yeah, lets play.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 15, 2008, 07:23:22 am
What does C NIG14 mean?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Dyne on May 15, 2008, 01:16:51 pm
it's derived from my actual name, plus 14 is my favorite number.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 15, 2008, 03:54:20 pm
Knowing is Half the Battle.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on May 15, 2008, 04:12:04 pm
Hey, anyone wanna play online? I just got Xbox Live, gamertag is C NIG14, let me know! I just wanna mess around in the city, but yeah, lets play.

Cool man, I'll add you later!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 16, 2008, 03:31:02 pm
Any of you PS3ers, you're probably already on my PSN friend list. Send me a txt anytime for some online.
If you're not on the list, or if I'm not for that matter:
Add "Dudesoft"
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: pburn on May 17, 2008, 03:26:34 am
I just got this on PS3, and really I've been having a really hard not sucking. I think I love it so far.

When I first got it, I had some major problems with the camera. The problem is the left and right and inverted, so every time I move or drive, my camera always spins out of control because I can't see anything.

During the mission when you first learned how to fight, it took me like 5 goddamn tries. First off I couldn't find the fucking guy. I thought it was all up on a high way, so I kept checking roads, train routes, etc. Eventually, when I did find the guy, I had like no health so I died. Then, I beat them but my car exploded during the chase. I got it the last time.

Than after that, when going on my first GTA4 date more shit happened. This one took like 6 tries, mostly due to that chick not following me well. I kept jumping over fences and whatnot, and she'd get trapped in these areas with me where there were no exits and she couldn't get out.

Yeah fuck
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: xanque on May 17, 2008, 04:18:19 am
I've been playing this on my brother's PS3 (he got one without telling me, and I just found out today, but he's still not home, so it's all MINE).  It's really impressive how much is packed into the game, but holy god I hate the driving.

I've been holding grenades until they explode, effectively making myself a suicide bomber.  This is fun to do in the hospital.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on May 21, 2008, 08:56:04 pm
Ok I have finally got my copy of GTAIV and it is fucken awesome, but somethings been bothering me, I go into a bar and I cant buy any drinks(Censored Version)so I'm asking anyone who has the censored version to tell me is their a way to buy drinks on your own or can you only get drunk through dates and shit?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Fire Mage on May 22, 2008, 02:19:12 am
Ok I have finally got my copy of GTAIV and it is fucken awesome, but somethings been bothering me, I go into a bar and I cant buy any drinks(Censored Version)so I'm asking anyone who has the censored version to tell me is their a way to buy drinks on your own or can you only get drunk through dates and shit?
What the hell...you can go into bars? The only thing I remember being able to go into were fast food places, apartment buildings/mission buildings, and the strip clubs.

You can't go into a bar and buy a drink...as far as I know.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Roman on May 22, 2008, 02:34:19 am
What the hell...you can go into bars? The only thing I remember being able to go into were fast food places, apartment buildings/mission buildings, and the strip clubs.

You can't go into a bar and buy a drink...as far as I know.

You can call your friends and invite them to go drinking.  Being drunk is so ridiculous man how can you have missed that?

As far as walking in and buying one for yourself I don't know if that's actually possible but then again I haven't tried.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: pburn on May 22, 2008, 03:10:26 am
You can call your friends and invite them to go drinking.  Being drunk is so ridiculous man how can you have missed that?

As far as walking in and buying one for yourself I don't know if that's actually possible but then again I haven't tried.
He has the censored australian version.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Roman on May 22, 2008, 03:21:56 am
oh that makes sense.

ps why would anyone ever live in australia what's wrong with you guys
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: KiLLMasTer on May 22, 2008, 04:38:55 am
Yup I got to say that this game is a most have for any gamer...
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DDay on May 22, 2008, 08:35:35 am
oh that makes sense.

ps why would anyone ever live in australia what's wrong with you guys

That's like saying why do people live in New Jersey because they tax the shit out the people that live there if you can call it living since allot people moved out since life here has become so hard since most job start you with shit wages normally and part time. property is expansive just for a Small apartment will cost you roughly 600 (these are hard to find) normally the going rate can be up but not limited too $800 (this is a Small apartment mind you just rent) hell I only make about  $1000 a month and that’s not including utilities and most people that have kids in NJ happen to still live at home even after there age 30. Hell lets just say it why dose anyone live in the USA.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on May 22, 2008, 09:25:33 am
oh that makes sense.

ps why would anyone ever live in australia what's wrong with you guys
I don't know the ridiculous amount of hot chicks, easy living and beaches!.. BUT I don't live in Australia, I live in New Zealand so.. yeah. So you cant just go into a bar and buy a drink like a hot dog or something, man that sucks haha, I can still invite people out to get drunk, was just wondering if you could do that in the US version is all.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on May 22, 2008, 10:34:41 am
Ok I have finally got my copy of GTAIV and it is fucken awesome, but somethings been bothering me, I go into a bar and I cant buy any drinks(Censored Version)so I'm asking anyone who has the censored version to tell me is their a way to buy drinks on your own or can you only get drunk through dates and shit?

I live in New Zealand.

My friend, you just got thoroughly boned. (http://digg.com/gaming_news/GTA_IV_Uncut_Hits_New_Zealand_Streets)

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on May 22, 2008, 11:27:57 am
Yup I got to say that this game is a most have for any gamer...

whew, thanks. wasn't sure if it it was until KiLLMasTer told me so.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 22, 2008, 01:15:12 pm
driving drunk is soooooooooo fuuuuuuuun youre missing out
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on May 22, 2008, 03:20:27 pm
That's like saying why do people live in New Jersey because they tax the shit out the people that live there if you can call it living since allot people moved out since life here has become so hard since most job start you with shit wages normally and part time. property is expansive just for a Small apartment will cost you roughly 600 (these are hard to find) normally the going rate can be up but not limited too $800 (this is a Small apartment mind you just rent) hell I only make about  $1000 a month and that’s not including utilities and most people that have kids in NJ happen to still live at home even after there age 30. Hell lets just say it why dose anyone live in the USA.

This is like 1000% off topic but

In Minneapolis a slum studio apartment goes for about $600, and for anything with a bedroom you will pay $800 or more.  A nice apartment is always well over $1000.  It's actually cheaper to buy a house then rent an apartment in the Twin Cities but since young people can't afford to buy into a mortgage well . . . (unless of course you get a no-money-down adjustable rate mortgage but let's not even get into *that*!)

Yeah seriously cost of rent/housing in the US is OUT-OF-CONTROL dude (at least where I live).
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 22, 2008, 03:53:39 pm
ahahahaha holy shit $600 for a shitty studio is nuts; they're like $375 max in cleveland!  i never knew minneapolis was so expensive.  i guess it's all relative because i'm sure places like nyc or santa barbara are more expensive still, but yeah.  i think the nicest/hippest/biggest places you can find here max out at maybe two grand, and that's even for 2-3 bedrooms.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Raimiette on May 22, 2008, 09:46:55 pm
huh, I didn't think that was so bad (800ish for an apartment).  I live in Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) and I pay 840/month for a 2 bedroom apartment here (not a huge one by any means) (utilities included) and all the apartments are pretty much on par with that.  Basement apartments are considerably cheaper though.

EDIT: Okay to stay a bit on topic.  I just got this game 2 days ago and haven't played too much of it but it seems pretty good.  I like the driving mechanics of this one and Little Jacob makes me laugh.

I have a question though, when do you get to go to the internet cafe to stick yourself on the dating site?  Right now I've got Michelle as a GF but I don't really like her too much.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: AdderallApocalypse on May 22, 2008, 11:54:29 pm
huh, I didn't think that was so bad (800ish for an apartment).  I live in Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) and I pay 840/month for a 2 bedroom apartment here (not a huge one by any means) (utilities included) and all the apartments are pretty much on par with that.  Basement apartments are considerably cheaper though.

EDIT: Okay to stay a bit on topic.  I just got this game 2 days ago and haven't played too much of it but it seems pretty good.  I like the driving mechanics of this one and Little Jacob makes me laugh.

I have a question though, when do you get to go to the internet cafe to stick yourself on the dating site?  Right now I've got Michelle as a GF but I don't really like her too much.
Personally, I don't think that is a bad price for what you are getting. Also, you are paying in Canadian denominations, so that would be a little bit cheaper if it were in the United States. By the way, you go to the dating site somewhat early on in the game, so keep doing missions and it shouldn't be too far away.
Quote from: Magical Negro
whew, thanks. wasn't sure if it it was until KiLLMasTer told me so.
:joned:
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on May 23, 2008, 12:49:57 am
This is like 1000% off topic but

In Minneapolis a slum studio apartment goes for about $600, and for anything with a bedroom you will pay $800 or more.  A nice apartment is always well over $1000.  It's actually cheaper to buy a house then rent an apartment in the Twin Cities but since young people can't afford to buy into a mortgage well . . . (unless of course you get a no-money-down adjustable rate mortgage but let's not even get into *that*!)

Yeah seriously cost of rent/housing in the US is OUT-OF-CONTROL dude (at least where I live).

holy shit are you kidding.

I'm moving there for law school noooooooo.

huh, I didn't think that was so bad (800ish for an apartment).  I live in Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) and I pay 840/month for a 2 bedroom apartment here (not a huge one by any means) (utilities included) and all the apartments are pretty much on par with that.  Basement apartments are considerably cheaper though.

840 is kind of pricey for two bedrooms, but the dude's talking about studio apartments for 600, that's pretty nuts and I hope there is some student housing shit!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 23, 2008, 12:52:54 am
huh, I didn't think that was so bad (800ish for an apartment).  I live in Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) and I pay 840/month for a 2 bedroom apartment here (not a huge one by any means) (utilities included) and all the apartments are pretty much on par with that.  Basement apartments are considerably cheaper though.

EDIT: Okay to stay a bit on topic.  I just got this game 2 days ago and haven't played too much of it but it seems pretty good.  I like the driving mechanics of this one and Little Jacob makes me laugh.

I have a question though, when do you get to go to the internet cafe to stick yourself on the dating site?  Right now I've got Michelle as a GF but I don't really like her too much.
well dude $850 for a two bedroom is pretty reasonable but $600 for a shitty studio is a whole other thing entirely! a decent two bedroom would probably be at least twice as much as a studio which would mean $1200 which is 50% more than what you're paying!  kind of a big difference


also, you might have to wait for an internet mission, because i didn't bother going to the internet cafe until it came up in a mission (very early on, anyway).  that sounds sort of like an odd thing for them to do, though, so i think you can probably do it whenever you like.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on May 23, 2008, 02:57:12 pm
My friend, you just got thoroughly boned. (http://digg.com/gaming_news/GTA_IV_Uncut_Hits_New_Zealand_Streets)
:crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

Your fucken kidding me aye.. maybe I can return it since I still have the receit and all. Oh and since Ive played it a bit more..

The combat system is actually a step back in some ways though, you kick, block, or punch and you can never change styles of fighting or get any stronger, plus the civilians can actually fight back now and kick your ass pretty good, I guess they wanted it more realistic instead of being this God like character where you can kill anyone with like 3 hits or something.

Driving can be annoying at first but you get used to it, the aiming and cover system are very handy, again take a bit of getting used to but once you have it under control you can just go around shooting people in the legs and shit and they start limping and what not.

The characters and voice acting, reactions, movements are absolutely amazing, some of or maybe THE best Ive seen in a video game, it's amazing how much detail Rockstar put into this game.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on May 23, 2008, 04:27:26 pm
Yeah, I still feel like for as many steps as they've taken forward they've taken quite a few back though. I'm yet to finish the game because now it feels a little UNDERWHELMING, I guess? More of a chore, I think, because it took me ages to get through the
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on May 23, 2008, 04:38:09 pm
you can still do that though, fortunately. turns out that when you go into a bar, it just fades to black and then you walk out drunk. so... they've censored the bar scene, but you automatically get drunk when you visit one.

AUTOMATICALLY DRUNK WITH NO OPTION TO HAVE JUST ONE DRINK

AHAHAHAHAHA
actually thats the way in the version I play as well i dont think any of the games have actual bar scenes for random drinking :(
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Grunthor on May 23, 2008, 07:44:38 pm
Gotta say I'm loving this game.  Though I hate those stupid chase missions where you have to shoot people while driving through the streets.  Anyone know a good way to get a turkey on the bowling game or is it just pure dumb luck?

holy shit are you kidding.

I'm moving there for law school noooooooo.


Cheapest is $615 on Rent.com. 

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on May 23, 2008, 08:06:07 pm
I hope there is some student housing shit!

No luck dude.  Dinkytown is the hippest, raddest place in town and rent is twice as expensive there if not more.  *Everyone* wants to live near the university.  I don't know how much the dormitories cost but I remember talking to one student and she told me that the housing fee was more expensive than my rent (DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE).  Your best bet is to buy a house in the suburbs and drive an hour to class (I am not kidding a lot of people do this) and then flip the house when you are done with your education (and the housing market is re-inflated).

Just so you know the rent in Minneapolis is the 3rd-highest in the country outside of New York City, which has laws that intentionally keep the rent high in order to prevent people from moving in and contributing to sprawl, and Los Angeles, which has Hollywood and is warm and sunny so

I'm telling you guys this country is no longer about hatred of minorities but rather hatred of those can't afford their extortionate fucking rent.

ABOUT GTA IV

I haven't really played this game in awhile.  It was one of my favorite games ever until I got to where it kind of drops off and gets boring and the story doesn't go anywhere.  It's just exposition exposition exposition which missions inbetween.  The first half is still excellent though!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 23, 2008, 11:23:22 pm
what kind of student has the money to buy a house man
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on May 23, 2008, 11:45:28 pm
Quote
I don't know how much the dormitories cost but I remember talking to one student and she told me that the housing fee was more expensive than my rent (DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE).

are you fucking kidding.

argh what the hell am I supposed to do!!!

hey guys I had a topic about this here: http://www.gamingw.net/forums/index.php?topic=5929.0 please help me find an apartment.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: baseball19225 on May 24, 2008, 12:50:18 am
actually thats the way in the version I play as well i dont think any of the games have actual bar scenes for random drinking :(
really. well now i'm confused and i don't know what we've got here!!

either way fuck youuu australia
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: xanque on May 24, 2008, 06:04:19 am
I just beat the game a little while ago.  Took me three days, and my total time came out to about 26 hours. 

That was one of the best games I've ever played. Niko Bellic is awesome, and the story was way more intense than any previous GTA game.  There were a few moments that left me sick to my stomach.  The worst was a particular scene where I shot a certain guy in the crotch and he fell over in a cutscene, screaming horribly, and then Niko shot him in the head, silencing him.

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on May 24, 2008, 07:04:58 am
26 hours, watttaafffaaaaaaack. I'm at like 40 and still got a bit to go.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 24, 2008, 08:52:15 pm
hey when you do that mission where you have to kidnap grace whoever and packie tells you she's got her car up on autoerotica.com, did anyone else just hear EROTICA.COM and think he was using what it turns out is the name of a car as a euphemism for vagina?  i didn't realize until i went to the website that her NICE PINK FUTZPA or whatever wasn't supposed to be porn.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on May 24, 2008, 09:14:46 pm
hey when you do that mission where you have to kidnap grace whoever and packie tells you she's got her car up on autoerotica.com, did anyone else just hear EROTICA.COM and think he was using what it turns out is the name of a car as a euphemism for vagina?  i didn't realize until i went to the website that her NICE PINK FUTZPA or whatever wasn't supposed to be porn.

this mission pretty much turned me off this game in the end. i dunno, it was just too much for old sime.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 24, 2008, 09:36:17 pm
i didn't feel too good about it, you know?  most missions are getting kind of gay in the GO HERE, KILL GOONS, ACCOMPLISH MISCELLANEOUS GOAL way and i'm kind of getting tired of the whole thing (to be fair it took like twice as long as with other gta games) but there've been a few missions i actually felt sort of BAD about doing, in contrast to most of them where i just don't give a fuck.  like, she was clearly sort of interested in you and then you had to fucking knock her out (SHUT UP YOU BITCH that's kind of not that great!) and then there was that other one where you had to spring that guy being transferred between prisons and kill him.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 24, 2008, 10:09:15 pm
dunno, i guess it takes a specific mindset, you know? or rather, takes a specific one to be turned off by it. most people probably get into the kind of REVENGE mindset, at least during the prisoner one, i didnt feel bad about it at all. the girl was a real bitch too, and like it was BUSINESS, you know?

i guess part of it is that i still just dont think of the computer characters as humans. i guess if i heard about it happening in real life id feel a lot worse than actually doing it myself in a virtual world.

i guess i kinda liked it because it showed you how shitty the lives of some people can be. niko didnt want to do any of this shit, its just how his circumstances turned out. if he didnt do it, eventually things would catch up with him and he'd be killed. obviously niko's virtual life is a dramatic exaggeration, but i wouldnt be surprised if stuff similar to what we saw has happened irl.

so yeah, looking back certain missions were kinda shitty, and i definitely wont be playing it again until the expansion comes out, but im kinda glad the shitty missions were there, even if it was just to remind you how pretty bad niko's life is.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on May 24, 2008, 10:20:31 pm
yeah headphonics

i think what got me was the whole possible girlfriend vibe turning into i'm going to murder you thing. it was really just creepy and i didn't want to finish that mission so i didn't. i wanted to take her home and let her live her life cos niko is written to be an interesting character and killing a woman who wants to date him turns him into pure evil. it was just too much for me, i didn't like it and it didn't even feel like, grimly realistic, it just felt misogynistic. especially with him calling her bitch over and over.

Quote
so yeah, looking back certain missions were kinda shitty, and i definitely wont be playing it again until the expansion comes out, but im kinda glad the shitty missions were there, even if it was just to remind you how pretty bad niko's life is.

yeah this is one thing. niko has a shitty shitty life and he obviously knows it. the thing is, he has no boundaries. he gets a little morally superior at times yet you aren't even given a choice to live up to these superiorities. and plus some of the things this game MAKES you do in order to continue the story - that is force - are awful and not just in a comic way. it turns polygons into real people for you then makes you execute them. it's not nice man and it kind of grosses me out, i've turned it off more than once just cos i didn't feel good about what the game just showed me.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on May 24, 2008, 10:22:46 pm
Rockstar really emphasized on Nikos personality, like how after you he starts talking about how the war effected him and his life afterwards, all the shit he'd been through, etc.

Man I cant get enough of the Euphoria physics and taking Roman out drinking haha, I like how if someone walks past when Romans wasted and he starts talking shit to people like "Hey what are you looking at, I know I'm handsome" or some shit. 
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on May 25, 2008, 02:14:16 pm
Wow, what an awesome string of final missions. I probably screwed up the "continuity" (or at least didn't hit STORYMISSION-STORYMISSION-STORYMISSION), because I did the mission before mission. Still, jesus. That was a great last mission, very cinematic. ;( Reminded me of SA's, but way better.

Anyway, I think I remember Jester mentioning that there were two endings? Where's the "change point"? 'cause I double-saved mission, and I'm thinkin' that's the major turning point. Anyone wanna correct me if I'm wrong?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: The Dude on May 25, 2008, 04:24:42 pm
driving drunk is soooooooooo fuuuuuuuun youre missing out

You know what's more fun? Trying to drive to a save point when you're irl exhausted. I kept passing out, and crashing my car, and when I woke up in a stupor, my driving skills were like Blaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhh. Ended up dying and turning it off..
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Jester on May 25, 2008, 05:18:02 pm
Anyway, I think I remember Jester mentioning that there were two endings? Where's the "change point"? 'cause I double-saved mission, and I'm thinkin' that's the major turning point. Anyone wanna correct me if I'm wrong?
yep, that's the only choice point in the game that actually affects anything.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Fire Mage on May 25, 2008, 08:03:30 pm
But alas, now I'm just finishing the and I guess I'm finding a little more enjoyable. I dunno, I just feel like there's still a lot missing from the game in some ways. Not that it's not amazing, but ehhhhh.
Did you miss missions? Because missions led up to the endgame...so...

Also, I kept getting into the mindset so I was never sickened, saddened whatever, except for ONCE.


At almost the end, where you choose whether to , I chose to just to see how it would turn out. It really made fucking hate Niko, because went ballistic...and I mean, he's a character and it was my choice, but the way they made it...was gross. He just kept and it made me sad, because he was such a pathetic being. For ...it was...sad and all the while the scene was just fucking horrid.

Then I reloaded and chose the other option.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sludgelord on May 25, 2008, 08:26:13 pm
i just killed and i feel kind of bad about it. is there a way where you don't have to choose between the two of them?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 25, 2008, 08:54:52 pm
nah but i killed him too!  dwayne's just..... he's too much like me i couldnt do it


pluuuuuuuus you get a nice pad after you off pbx so thats handy!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DDay on May 25, 2008, 09:11:31 pm
nah but i killed him too!  dwayne's just..... he's too much like me i couldnt do it


pluuuuuuuus you get a nice pad after you off pbx so thats handy!

Also if you befriend Dwayne you will get some thugs to roll with you and can help you in missions.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Fire Mage on May 25, 2008, 09:44:16 pm
i just killed and i feel kind of bad about it. is there a way where you don't have to choose between the two of them?
nope, but he never gives you anything anyway. he never becomes a friend, there's pretty much no interaction with him anymore.

dwayne is cooler.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: pburn on May 25, 2008, 09:54:24 pm
I killed him too. I felt really bad but it turns out he was the bigger asshole.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: TrickLobster on May 25, 2008, 11:47:09 pm
I thought I was the only person in the world who would choose Dwayne over Playboy X aka I killed Playboy. I didnt know Dwayne was cool like dat.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Niitaka on May 26, 2008, 01:28:00 am
i just killed and i feel kind of bad about it. is there a way where you don't have to choose between the two of them?

no, i tried to put it off buuuuut eventually the game wont let you do any missions and forces you to choose
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 26, 2008, 03:01:19 am
I thought I was the only person in the world who would choose Dwayne over Playboy X aka I killed Playboy. I didnt know Dwayne was cool like dat.
dwayne is like 10x more of a sympathetic character and playboyx is kind of a blowhard so i imagine it's a pretty common choice!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sludgelord on May 26, 2008, 03:04:53 am
i didn't really like playboy x from his introduction. the only thing that made me even consider not killing him was the fact that he wanted to build parks and schools and things (and apparently even looked into it by talking to yusuf amir, so he wasn't all talk like manny!) but aside from that, he really wasn't likable or interesting at all whereas dwayne was an actual human being and an interesting character.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on May 26, 2008, 11:46:35 am
i love how completely depressing dwayne is. like...i get it.

...i get it.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: ThugTears666 on May 26, 2008, 12:25:12 pm

Fuck youuu.

p.s. sorry to New Zealand for getting our version.


hay thanks again australia
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: baseball19225 on May 26, 2008, 01:13:12 pm
no problem afura we just LOVE to fuck everyone up =)
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: UPRC on May 26, 2008, 02:05:29 pm
Hey guys, at what point in the game do you get to actually cross the main bridges? I'm on the mission where .

I'm really itching to explore more of Liberty City since some of the current streets are getting old. I want new scenery, so how close am I to seeing it?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: bible_basher on May 26, 2008, 02:10:32 pm
Hey guys, at what point in the game do you get to actually cross the main bridges? I'm on the mission where .

I'm really itching to explore more of Liberty City since some of the current streets are getting old. I want new scenery, so how close am I to seeing it?
you are quite close, you get to bohan after you kill and im not sure when you get to algonquin(is it when you meet
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on May 26, 2008, 02:13:01 pm
you are quite close, you get to bohan after you kill and im not sure when you get to algonquin(is it when you meet
triggers algonquin
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: UPRC on May 26, 2008, 02:20:01 pm
you are quite close, you get to bohan after you kill and im not sure when you get to algonquin(is it when you meet

As a reply to my post, that was pretty spoilerific.. Although someone like would be certain to die anyway, since he's a huge dick like who deserved what he got.

I'm going to look forward to offing that guy.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on May 26, 2008, 02:51:00 pm
Oh wow, the Deal ending was pretty horrible. Revenge ending was way better.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on May 26, 2008, 03:15:51 pm
i didn't really like playboy x from his introduction. the only thing that made me even consider not killing him was the fact that he wanted to build parks and schools and things (and apparently even looked into it by talking to yusuf amir, so he wasn't all talk like manny!) but aside from that, he really wasn't likable or interesting at all whereas dwayne was an actual human being and an interesting character.
hahaha yeah that GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY thing was the exact same thing that gave me pause when choosing too!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Fire Mage on May 26, 2008, 05:55:57 pm
hahaha yeah that GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY thing was the exact same thing that gave me pause when choosing too!
that thing never crossed my mind because i pretty much figured playboy x was a dick and that he was saying shit to seem better to niko.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: pburn on May 26, 2008, 06:00:04 pm
Fuck you rockstar. Story should suck more.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: NightBlade on May 27, 2008, 03:09:45 am
Playboy's final conversation (The one before the choice) gave me little reason to believe Playboy would actually follow through with his supposed ambitions. It was an easy choice for me, at least to murder him and his goons.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: bible_basher on June 01, 2008, 11:10:12 am
triggers algonquin
man i am 100% sure than i was in algonquin before
Dwayne's house is in north algonquin man.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Dyne on June 01, 2008, 01:17:40 pm
it triggers alderney, not algonquin. he probably just forgot which was which
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Fire Mage on June 01, 2008, 02:20:51 pm
it triggers alderney, not algonquin. he probably just forgot which was which
Yeah.

I think meeting Dwayne or something triggers Algonquin, doesn't it?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on June 01, 2008, 02:48:45 pm
Nah, I think it's PlayboyX
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on June 01, 2008, 02:58:21 pm
No, the end of , isn't it? Or is that for Bohan? Man, it confuses me because I keep thinking there's only 3 "places" in this (Alderney, Algonquin and Bohan), but there's also Broker or w/e it is. Gah.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on June 01, 2008, 03:31:29 pm
Yeah I think that's Bohan!  You meet PlayboyX in that one fat hispanic woman's apartment, and he has you take him to Algonquin.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on June 01, 2008, 03:31:58 pm
bohan and broker are available from the begining. algonquin is unlocked when you give playboy x a lift over to his apartment at the end of one of elizabeta's missions. alderney is unlocked, as far as i could tell, when derrick mcreary is smacked out on a bench in a park near the south of that area.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Fire Mage on June 01, 2008, 05:08:01 pm
bohan and broker are available from the begining. algonquin is unlocked when you give playboy x a lift over to his apartment at the end of one of elizabeta's missions. alderney is unlocked, as far as i could tell, when derrick mcreary is smacked out on a bench in a park near the south of that area.
Nah, Alderney is after you do Three-Leaf Clover, where you with Packie.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sludgelord on June 01, 2008, 05:36:24 pm
hey speaking of packie, does anyone here besides me dislike him and his entire family?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on June 01, 2008, 05:55:51 pm
he's a huge asshole but i kind of like him more than fucking BRUCIE and kate's alright i guess.  the rest of the family are dicks.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on June 01, 2008, 05:59:25 pm
Nah, Alderney is after you do Three-Leaf Clover, where you with Packie.

i think you actually get the call that derrick is in alderney right after that mission so i think we're talking about the same point


also about the mcrearies - yeah they are all assholes except kate. she's just kind of irritating and weak but at least she's nice and not a raging prick. this game starts off with many strong characters which i liked to watch a lot - roman, jacob, mallorie, brucie, elizabeta -

seriously the drop off in quality is really disappointing. i have stopped playing this now but i was just skipping cutscenes for the last dozen or so missions.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Fire Mage on June 01, 2008, 06:58:03 pm
Yeah I agree and a lot of people do. The game gets SO disappointing at the end, it goes downhill. And all the great characters disappear pretty much after you complete their missions.

You don't interact with them at all pretty much once you move to a new island, etc.


Also, as for Packie, I do like him better than Brucie. I don't get all the BRUCIE IS THE BEST. I mean he's quite the character and insane, but I like Packie better.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on June 01, 2008, 07:23:13 pm
brucie is ridiculous because he calls like every two minutes at the worst times and i don't think i've taken a call of his in a very very long time.  also he emails you too much
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Niitaka on June 02, 2008, 02:11:15 am
i hate brucie too but he gives you access to helicopters if he likes you enough. also i'm a fan of the races so yeah!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: pburn on June 02, 2008, 02:14:56 am
Just finished GTA4, which would have to be the most time I've ever spent on a console game. Also pretty much the most fun I've ever had playing a open ended game or "Next-Gen" title in general. But now that I'm done, like with any game I beat my purpose is empty. I'm on PS3 so I won't get any episodic content, and no one ever plays online.

Sucks my GTA life is over. :(

I liked the McReary family in general, they had so much shit going on, their story played out to me like some sort of Irish mob movie. Thanks to Niko so much shit blows up in their faces. In one month their whole family is pretty much dead. Just curious, which

I went the REVENGE ending route and the whole thing where was fuckin crazy for me. Too bad I felt the ending was kinda empty.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Grunthor on June 03, 2008, 02:19:18 am


I went the REVENGE ending route and the whole thing where was fuckin crazy for me. Too bad I felt the ending was kinda empty.



I hated the ending.  It doesn't really matter if you chose Deal or Revenge, you still get fucked over in the end. 
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on June 03, 2008, 05:07:49 am
Is it just me or does having to constantly please your friends get on the annoying side, and if you choose not to go on a date or whatever their like or respect goes down heaps!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sludgelord on June 03, 2008, 05:25:01 am
if they ask you to do something with them, always accept. you can call back a second later and tell them you're busy and your respect points or whatever won't go down.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on June 03, 2008, 04:34:44 pm
man so OFFTOPIC but finally got san andreas and jesus fucking christ this game is huge.

seriously I have no idea how it fits on one disc it's like three times the size of vice city already and I just got into San Fierro.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on June 03, 2008, 06:56:31 pm
my favorite part of san andreas was just sort of going on scenic motorcycle rides through the mountain countryside
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Sludgelord on June 03, 2008, 07:18:17 pm
my favorite part of san andreas was just sort of going on scenic motorcycle rides through the mountain countryside
yeah this is the thing i miss the most from san andreas. the thing i liked best about it was being able to just hold down the drive button for like 3 minutes and not move your controller, you'd just go. it was fun to cruise around in huge open landscapes and not need to do hard brakes for 90 degree turns every 8 seconds.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: maladroithim on June 03, 2008, 08:08:39 pm
yeah this is the thing i miss the most from san andreas. the thing i liked best about it was being able to just hold down the drive button for like 3 minutes and not move your controller, you'd just go. it was fun to cruise around in huge open landscapes and not need to do hard brakes for 90 degree turns every 8 seconds.

It was nice to do that stuff and kind of a bummer that it was cut out when you consider how little work it takes to build vast countrysides full of hilly terrain.  Driving a speedboat into the sunset just doesn't have the same charm.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Fire Mage on June 04, 2008, 01:18:26 am
Driving a speedboat into the sunset just doesn't have the same charm.
Especially when there's Brucie in the back chatting it up.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on June 04, 2008, 01:40:15 am
Actually one of the main things I miss from San Andreas is the Gym and just riding a bicycle, it was cool as to just bike from one city to the country side then to another city.. OH and turf wars was great fun!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on June 04, 2008, 03:24:39 pm
Man this is what I have been saying all along. For all the steps forward it's taken, GTA4 has taken even more back. Yeah it's great and it's fun, but I think people have just FORGOTTEN how huge and great SA was. The whole fucking GANGSTA LIFE NIGZ pissed me off to no end, but there was so much to do in that game, and the scale felt so much bigger and real than in GTA4. Understandably, given that SA takes place on a COUNTRY SCALE and not a CITY SCALE but like... it just felt so much more complete.

I dunno what I'm trying to get at here.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on June 04, 2008, 04:44:43 pm
weren't you the guy who said GTA SA was too black.

think that's what you're getting at...
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on June 04, 2008, 04:54:43 pm
to be honest after 50 hours of playing san andreas the vast area felt like a gimmick and i prefer the compact nature of gta4. it removes a lot of the unnecessary gimmicks that didnt really add anything except DIMENSIONS or whatever (eating makes you fat)

i think the only really cool thing about SA was the THUG LIFE NGZ 4 LIFE thing that was going on, kinda reminded me of menace II society and boyz n da hood and shit like that and i really thought that was cool. but the game itself is pretty meh compared to gta4. and while thug life is cool setting, vice city's 80s gangster setting is still way above it imho. idk

they're all grrreat games but gta4 >>> gta SA.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: DS on June 04, 2008, 04:55:27 pm
Quote
Man this is what I have been saying all along. For all the steps forward it's taken, GTA4 has taken even more back. Yeah it's great and it's fun, but I think people have just FORGOTTEN how huge and great SA was. The whole fucking GANGSTA LIFE NIGZ pissed me off to no end, but there was so much to do in that game, and the scale felt so much bigger and real than in GTA4. Understandably, given that SA takes place on a COUNTRY SCALE and not a CITY SCALE but like... it just felt so much more complete.
I agree that GTA4 could have included some things which were in GTA:SA but I don't think you really remember just how much better GTA4's city is compared to whatever San Andreas or previous GTAs had to offer. GTA4 is already really huge and sure, while GTA:SA was even bigger, GTA4 is ten times more dynamic and impressive, so as to which one feels more real, I don't think there's any question about that, it's not San Andreas.

Maybe I should replay San Andreas as well and maybe I'm wrong and it's actually a lot better than I remember but like other previous GTAs, it couldn't really keep me interested for more than 5-10 hours.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on June 04, 2008, 05:33:29 pm
weren't you the guy who said GTA SA was too black.

think that's what you're getting at...

That is still in Sredni's sig after like a year. Jesus.

Plus yeah, GTA4 does the cities well, but it's not just that that's missing. It's the SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF and the NEED TO BE REAL. GTA4's great with its realism (well... not great, but you know), and certainly more realistic than any other GTA to date, but there's a definite trade-off in fun. I remember a mission in SA where you had to ride a motorbike up a fucking plane's landing ramp while it was dropping shit out the back, fight your way through the cargo bay to the cockpit, beat up the pilot, and take control of it. Then also where you went and burnt some dude's weed field with a flamethrower, oh AND AND AND when you stole a combine harvester. And swimming through to some ARMY SHIP and fighting your way through and stealing a STEALTH JET HARRIER VEHICLE, THEN BLOWING UP SOME THAT TRY TO CHASE YOU.

What does GTA4 have? GO <KILL, DESTROY> SOME <DUDE, VEHICLE, BUILDING>, THEN GET AWAY FROM THE SCENE. Admittedly some of the missions were really cool (the , and the spring to mind), but there's just not as much variety, you know? There's no doubt that what it does, it does damn well (some of the set pieces are great, like the warehouses you occasionally go kill dudes in), but GTA4 doesn't stray from familiarity too much. One thing it definitely has over any of the others is the characters, though. I love Roman, Jacob, Packie and Brucie (not Kate so much). I can't remember many of the characters from SA apart from SHIT RYDER NIGGER SHIT SWEET FUCK SMOKE SHIT CJ MOTHERFUCKER because that is basically what happened in 90% of the conversations.

Like yeah, like Lars said there was a little too much going on (eating and shit; haircuts was okay, but most of them looked ridiculous), but there was a lot in it that was also fun. :( Motorbiking through the vast countryside, FLAME THROWERS (where the fuck are these in GTA4), katanas, chainsaws, COP BIKES (I really really really want more bikes in the DLC, I love bikes), gang territories/wars, jetpacks (ok actually, the jetpack was really gay), planes (not that these were really all THAT good), parachutes (these were fucking handy), bicycles... I loved the bicycles, man. There was so much variety in colour too. Los Santos was pretty bland, but then you had the Badlands (was that the name of the COUNTRY-LIKE AREA?), and San Fierro which were bursting with colour, then the desert which was pretty... orange. Then Las Venturas was fuckin' BRIGHT VEGAS COLOURS EVERYWHERE. GTA4's kinda like "OK, here's Bohan/Broker... brown", "Here's Algonquin... bit of blue, occasional green", and "Alderney... hmm... back to brown/shit green", all mixed in with a little grey.

I kept playing San Andreas for, like, a good 9-12 months after I finished it, just going through the desert or San Fierro (favourite city) or forests on a motorbike, or playing with the CARS CAN FLY cheat (so much fun). I'll probably play GTA4 for the next 3 months to 100% it, and that will do me just fine. With GTA:SA there was always a new place to explore in the countryside or cities because it was just so huge and different and every place felt, yeah, DIFFERENT AND UNIQUE. With GTA4 it's like "oh... another city", "oh... another back alley", "oh... a new hill, cool". There's very little diversity in GTA4 and the city isn't really that interesting to me after having spent ~40 hours with it.

I mean I'm glad it's realistic, and I love the physics and character interaction and pedestrians and town construction and shit like that, but it seems that in becoming so realistic, it has lost a lot of fun that was present in SA. Not that GTA4 is BAD, it was a very fulfilling and wholesome GAMING EXPERIENCE, but IN MY OPINION it just lost a lot from previous games.

Whoo boy that post took a while to write. Dissect it, please!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on June 04, 2008, 05:37:28 pm
man you seriously hating on SA huh.

because I find this group of characters pretty entertaining but maybe that's because I'm WBB (wanna be black)...
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on June 04, 2008, 05:55:10 pm
I'm trying to decide whether I like SA more or not, because looking through that post I keep finding bits that go YAY SAN ANDREAS then SHIT SAN ANDREAS as well

must be coz i'm racist... damn blax

EDIT: Y'know, I think I'm just looking for reasons to fault GTA4 now, just to be a dick and whine about it.

HERE'S A LIST FROM GAMEFAQS THOUGH.

Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Leric on June 04, 2008, 06:50:06 pm
I played SA from its release day till the day GTAIV came out atleast once (usually more) a week, just going around doing crazy shit. I beat GTAIV last week and now I don't really have any reason to go back to it since I've done everything I want to do(I'm actually considering going back to SA). GTAIV isn't a bad game, in fact it's better than SA it's just that it has pretty much zero of that let's just go around and do crazy shit cause its funness of SA. I'm not sure if this is because of the more realistic feel Rockstar was going for or if it's simply because of the lack of insane codes like in previous GTAs. To tell you the truth I was sorta tired of GTAIV even before I beat it.

I agree that GTA4 could have included some things which were in GTA:SA but I don't think you really remember just how much better GTA4's city is compared to whatever San Andreas or previous GTAs had to offer. GTA4 is already really huge and sure, while GTA:SA was even bigger, GTA4 is ten times more dynamic and impressive, so as to which one feels more real, I don't think there's any question about that, it's not San Andreas.

Maybe I should replay San Andreas as well and maybe I'm wrong and it's actually a lot better than I remember but like other previous GTAs, it couldn't really keep me interested for more than 5-10 hours.
The main areas that are better in GTAIV imo are story and combat, the city... uh not so much. I mean I didn't really see any of that more living breathing city stuff they were talking about before the game was released. Really to me it just feels like a standard GTA city but much more bigger (well NPCs are better drivers now though). If someone can prove me wrong here please do so cause I'd like to know what it is that's so dynamic and impressive about this city over the previous ones.

EDIT:
Quote
I can't remember many of the characters from SA apart from SHIT RYDER NIGGER SHIT SWEET FUCK SMOKE SHIT CJ MOTHERFUCKER because that is basically what happened in 90% of the conversations.
I thought Woozie, Zero and The Truth were pretty cool and I was actually hoping to see them in GTAIV.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: headphonics on June 04, 2008, 07:08:33 pm
yeah, i agree that the city's pretty lifeless.  occasionally you come across random conversations, but mostly i just think it's that the GRAPHICS are better than previous gta games, which i guess adds to the level of realism.  it's still just a bunch of insignificant npcs you can't really interact with wandering around, though.


also things like parachuting off of mile-high plateaus made san andreas great.  i wish they would've added a rural area to gta4 with stuff like that!
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on June 14, 2008, 12:53:28 am
How could you forget Officer Tenpenny! Samuel L Jackson was the shit in San Andreas haha. The replay value of this game isn't nearly as good as previous versions, although I think the DLC will help out a lot with that but the version that's released now just doesn't give you much to do after the story mode finishes.

Anyone know of the rumor or something about one of the DLC being a fucken ZOMBIE OUTBREAK!! with the city in ruins and you being one of the survivors?
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Lars on June 14, 2008, 09:56:44 am
man you guys should try going back to one of the gta3 games after playing gta4. the changes that make the city more living might be pretty subtle, but if you think gta4 has a lifeless city you got another thing comin if u try going back to the previous games. gta4 is A LOT more vivid. its pretty insane to see how VIDEO GAME-ish the pedestrians in previous games suddenly appear after playin gta4


Anyone know of the rumor or something about one of the DLC being a fucken ZOMBIE OUTBREAK!! with the city in ruins and you being one of the survivors?
if this is true im gonna cream my pants

unless it's as ridiculously hard as DEAD RISING
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on June 14, 2008, 10:15:07 am
the amount of options you have in the city are really limited, and while that may have been true of the previous games, it was something this game was supposed to do differently. and i don't think it was so true of san andreas and maybe not even vice city. you just can't interact with this city, not even on a superficial OKAY YOU BUY THIS HOUSE level. you can bump into people and they will drop their drinks, okay, you can punch a car and they will get out and either a) fight ya or b) run. the buildings are all dead and usually empty. there is very little optional content - which wouldn't be a problem if the main thrust of the game wasn't the same exact shit over and over and over again all the way through. drive to mission, shoot up, drive away.

this game is too similar to the getaway.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on June 14, 2008, 10:48:27 am
this game is too similar to the getaway.
Isn't The Getaway just a rip off from GTA anyway? One thing I though this game would have was an improved version of the talking to the citizens from San Andreas. Y'know the push left or right for a good or bad answer. Also their STILL isn't any pedestrians or anything getting into much trouble with the cops or anything. Although you can go looking for that serial killer mentioned on that news website in the game.

I can't wait for Saint's Row 2 now, you should see the new trailer or it..  :laugh:
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Marcus on June 14, 2008, 11:31:21 am
I see cops arresting people all the time especially in the ghetto areas like south bohan (STREETS).

And The Getaway was an action game with driving segments.  Pretty much had nothing to do with GTA play style.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Liman on June 14, 2008, 06:39:32 pm
I did something terrible today... I let my feelings get in the way of my better judgement.

I needed some weapons, fast. I called Jacob but he told me he didn't have anything (bull, I've seen the trunk of his car). This forced me to take a cab to the nearest gunshop instead, which I hate. Yeah, Jacob had to pay for his lazy ways.

I decided to call Packie and ask him to give me a bomb. After picking up the bomb in the nearest park I phoned Jacob again. This time he claimed to have weapons, maybe he felt bad for last time, I dunno. He asked me to come and see him in some alley. I drove over there and checked his stash. I didn't buy anything because the lazy bastard already forced me to buy weapons at the gunshop. When I was done Jacob said good bye and started walking to his car. It was in this moment that I quickly attached the bomb underneath his car. I waved him good bye and got back into my car. Then I followed him for a while... and then I phoned Packie. One ring later and Jacob, his phony accent and his weapons went up into flames along with a giant "boom!".

Ah yes, I felt satisfied killing a NPC that had ignored my request. That'll teach 'em!

Oh yeah... it didn't take me long until I realized that the reason I called him in the first place was because I needed a rocket launcher... something he doesn't sell. Oops!

---

I killed a "Rockstar" last night too and got the achievement. That made me happy.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: jamie on June 15, 2008, 12:30:09 am
Quote
And The Getaway was an action game with driving segments.  Pretty much had nothing to do with GTA play style.

Quote
Isn't The Getaway just a rip off from GTA anyway?

these quotes are kind of what i meant. the game is really insular and the sandbox aspect - while there - is totally unsatisfying because there is just no incentive to go out, explore or try to interact. now i loved driving around the city looking at all the sights at first, i do like that part of sandbox games, but there has to be more to it or it gets old fast. but there isn't, because 90% of the game is just an action shooter with driving segments. it started off really well but the game doesn't evolve beyond the first dozen missions i'd say and when there is little else to occupy you with the focus being so solely on the repetitive and cumbersome core game, then i guess i am just not satisfied with what this game turned out to be.

i mean, if the story stayed interesting like it seemed it would at the start but hilariously it loses it's drive and focus entirely and starts to branch out to all these boring, ugly and undeveloped stock characters who i feel absolutely no impulse to do missions for and kind of feel bad doing some of them. it's like a conflict of intentions. this one is a lot more serious than the previous games in plot and atmosphere, but the things they make you do are still the same old horrible criminal shit. when it was all over the top and your character was less sad, relatable and likeable, then that was okay - it was even a lot of fun to go on shooting rampages on people who didn't deserve it for people you didn't like. but when niko is so lifelike it's just kind of depressing.

that stuff is just the plot, though, and i would be all right with a shitty plot cos it's a video game, if the gameplay made up for it. but really the plot makes the problems with the missions worse.


Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on June 15, 2008, 07:00:12 am
Awesome story!
Haha that was great man. Right now I'm doing those Assassination missions, these are pretty cool. Just off like 6 guys with a Rocket Launcher since they all had bikes and I really could be bothered chasing them all down :happy:

I can understand what your saying RJ, because the missions really don't reflect back on how Nikos character acts before hand.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: SupremeWarrior on June 15, 2008, 11:46:35 am
Can you play GTA4 online with other people? I don't know since I don't have the game but I have played it. I'm pretty certain the online mode offers some really cool shootouts, like they do in the action movies.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: baseball19225 on June 15, 2008, 11:48:33 am
I have still not played this darn game (don't even own PS3 or 360). I'd like to, though! This thread has made me want to play GTA:SA again anyway. Mike Toreno was the best character ever.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: `~congresman Ron paul~~ on June 16, 2008, 02:11:59 pm
I am getting this either tonight or this weekend (depending on how much of my moving is finished) along with a 360 and I am really excited.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on June 19, 2008, 01:22:09 pm
Holy Shit this cracked me up! (http://kotaku.com/5011147/grand-theft-auto-dui) Some writer at Kotaku decided to see if he could drive properly in this game better then when you drive drunk in the actual game, funny shit.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on February 17, 2009, 09:15:10 pm
The Lost & the Damned has been released, anyone try it out yet?

Also something weird happened when I updated my GTAIV this morning. Well I live in New Zealand and because of Australia's pathetic game rating system we got the censored version along with Australia. Since that happened some guy decided it was wrong and has the rights to sell the uncut version in New Zealand which is where  I bought mine. Anyways me having the uncut version went to update seeing as TL&TD came out but once I had updated I go back in to play it and everything was censored. No hookers, blood pools/stains, nothing.

I'm just wondering now if I  have to download like an American update for the game to keep my uncut version and play TL&TD.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: pburn on February 17, 2009, 09:17:41 pm
Fucking Sony bullshit playstation3  goddamit
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Ragnar on February 17, 2009, 10:34:18 pm
lol this has an aphex twin song in it

no I mean really it's pretty cool because it's like one of his songs most people wouldn't know and not just III WILL EAT YOUR SOUUULLL

although I still think Donkey Rhubarb would work really well with GTA
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Eltee on February 17, 2009, 11:28:46 pm
Fuck this. Fuck DLC. 360 exclusive piece of junk.

I want it on PC.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Farren on February 17, 2009, 11:50:52 pm
HUEAH EUAHEREHAUDHE

what is the lost and damned I might re rent this if its good
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: thejackyl on February 18, 2009, 08:07:09 pm
I almost beat GTA4...  If it wasn't for the last mission to

Everytime I manage to get to the helicopter, I instantly fail.  I hit the trigger to get a little altitude, and then begin chasing him and the message pops up "Your vehicle has been destroyed" (or whatever it says), but im still flying around fine.

Happened the last 3 or 4 times too.  First time I chased him to where he leaves the boat, but seconds before the cutscene I get hit by a rocket and die.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on February 18, 2009, 09:30:20 pm
Yeah that last mission is a bitch.

Also it seems Rockstar made a huge fuck up and gave New Zealand & Europe the censored patch for TL&TD and Australia the uncut one by accident.. So I basically can't play this til that fix it or I'll be censored forever.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Artis Leon Ivey Jr on February 19, 2009, 02:08:54 am
THERE IS A DIGITAL PENIS IN THIS GAME'S DLC

SOMEONE POST THE PICTURE.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: FrostyPink on February 19, 2009, 04:41:31 pm
the ballsack kept clipping through his legs.

im loving the DLC (and cock) though, good money spent, i think.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Grin Tree on February 20, 2009, 03:52:46 pm
This game got annoying when I kept repeatedly failing a mission and had to keep retrying. Once you spawn, you still have to drive to the location and the ammo you used in the previous attempt carries over. Not much of a "retry" if things like ammo aren't rolled back.

I'm on the mission where you have to kill Faustin's daughter's biker boyfriend and chase him down on a bike (which handles like shit) while he effortlessly weaves in and out of traffic at full speed, he's a hard target to hit and the XBOX controller has such a shitty analog stick. Blaaaah.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Eltee on February 21, 2009, 12:00:24 am
This game got annoying when I kept repeatedly failing a mission and had to keep retrying. Once you spawn, you still have to drive to the location and the ammo you used in the previous attempt carries over. Not much of a "retry" if things like ammo aren't rolled back.

I'm on the mission where you have to kill Faustin's daughter's biker boyfriend and chase him down on a bike (which handles like shit) while he effortlessly weaves in and out of traffic at full speed, he's a hard target to hit and the XBOX controller has such a shitty analog stick. Blaaaah.

idk if i'm just a pro *flex muscle* but I found the game to be pretty easy after like the 5 first missions, only getting rough when I was always running guns blazing in the gun intense missions.

Also, you DON'T, per-se, have to drive to your missions all the time. Money (unfortunately) means almost nothing in this game, so just hail a cab (there are a billion) or call one on your phone, choose the mission marker and press A.

Warp magic!

But yeah, I don't see why so many people had trouble with the handling. And the aiming.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Tau on February 22, 2009, 08:35:12 pm
Nah yeah you get used to it after a while. But for the mission your talking about just follow him until he gets to a park because it's a bitch to get him before hand. He'll have an ambush of Lost guys their with shotguns but it's not that hard to take care of them. The bikes have been fixed a lot in TLATD but they didn't carry that over to the original game sadly.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Grin Tree on February 23, 2009, 11:57:52 pm
I realized I didn't have to kill him while he was on his bike, so I just chased him to the park and it was pretty easy. I was just trying to focus on shooting him and dodging traffic at the same time and I couldn't do it - he wouldn't die and he was just weaving too much to be hit (without locking on).

Anyway, I still get annoyed at failing a mission and having to drive to the location again. I tried calling a cab, but then you have to wait for it to arrive and sometimes Roman doesn't have one available to use. I think I had to wait through some talking before I could press A. I don't see why R* didn't make checkpoints at the start of missions, or why used ammo carries over...sometimes I'll fail near the end of a mission and have no ammo to use for the next attempt, which means I have to load and then travel to the first location, then the next, etc. Just very annoying for some missions which can be failed easily if you don't know what you're doing.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Eltee on February 24, 2009, 12:51:43 pm
I realized I didn't have to kill him while he was on his bike, so I just chased him to the park and it was pretty easy. I was just trying to focus on shooting him and dodging traffic at the same time and I couldn't do it - he wouldn't die and he was just weaving too much to be hit (without locking on).

Anyway, I still get annoyed at failing a mission and having to drive to the location again. I tried calling a cab, but then you have to wait for it to arrive and sometimes Roman doesn't have one available to use. I think I had to wait through some talking before I could press A. I don't see why R* didn't make checkpoints at the start of missions, or why used ammo carries over...sometimes I'll fail near the end of a mission and have no ammo to use for the next attempt, which means I have to load and then travel to the first location, then the next, etc. Just very annoying for some missions which can be failed easily if you don't know what you're doing.

You don't have to wait to press A after choosing your destination, and anyway, you shouldn't have to call one most of the time. There are alot of cabs going around, and you're bound to almost always have one coming up from a corner after a loading screen/cutscene/whatever



....And anyway.... when you fail a mission... you get a text message giving you a choice to redo it, warping you right back to the mission start. Why didn't you ever do that?


It's true however there should've been checkpoints for certain missions. Like the final one.
Title: (The Lost & the Damned!)Grand Theft Auto IV Thread!
Post by: Christophomicus on March 02, 2009, 03:36:09 pm
I am really enjoying the Lost and Damned so far! The biggest complaint I've seen so far has been the BAD CHARACTERS, but jesus christ they are a lot more bearable than NEEKO, EETS YOUR COUSAHN ROMAHNNNN, LETS SEE SOME TEEETEEEESS and I'm actually finding myself liking main dude Johnny Klebitz more than I expected. The new expansion just feels FRESH, adds life to what was a very boring game when you finished the main campaign. I'm only a few hours in with a lot of fucking around thus far, but me likes!