GTA4

[quest55720]

I am only 6 hours in but the game has been excellent so far. I love the graphics for such large scale it looks pretty damn good. Compared to other console sand box games it destroys them graphically. The gun play is much improved over past GTA games on the consoles a step in the right direction. The storyline so far has been very good. Well worth the wait. I am playing the 360 version. I will give multiplayer a shot once I complete the story mode.

 

[StefanS]

Rating game solely on what I have seen up to this point. By far a final judgement. Comparing soley to what my expectations were. This game is NOT a 10. Who ever said it was, they were paid to do so.

With that said, its GTA. If you are a GTA fan, then this game is a no brainer. If you aren't, this game won't make you one. If you have never played GTA, then this game has a lot of potential to entertain you.

I wouldn't rate it as a 10 either (6 hrs. in). It's good, but not perfect by any means.

Let's start with the issues:
* frame rate is fairly inconsistent - but that's a given with the scope of LC
* driving has improved, but it's still fairly bad - for a game where you spend considerable amount driving, Rockstar should give the game some decent handling. I don't expect too much, but a driver style handling would be nice.
* the auto camera is still a bit wonky - granted you have full control over it, but at times it can mess up your missions before you have time to adjust it.

good stuff:
* better story, more likeable characters - though there's still a bit of cheesyness to it
* more details - characters dropping the mocca latte if you cut a corner, etc.

 

[AlphaWolf]

This is my first time with a GTA game (maybe 1.5 hours in), but I'm finding it quite enjoyable. The camera certainly does take some getting used to. The visuals are excellent considering the scope. I was worried about pop in but after playing some I don't see a major problem on my 360. Mostly only after a cut scene do I even notice any, I've certainly seen nothing like a tree or other object appearing out of nowhere while I'm driving.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

Personally, I think Halo's method to drive the Warthog is the better implementation. A lot easier to control, and although there aren't many streets there it's also more precise for turns and such.

My friend playing on the PS3 has just suggested to try the in-car view for driving, though, he says it's much better... We'll see tonight.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

This pop in stuff is getting kinda ridiculous, most of the time it's actually a very gentle fade in

 

[desmond]

My friend playing on the PS3 has just suggested to try the in-car view for driving, though, he says it's much better... We'll see tonight.

i agree. easier to navigate.

 

[AntShaw]

In car view. Didn't know there was one?

Also, spent some time watchin some TV in the apartment. Some bona-fide true comedy there. It's the little things like this, that really bring the game to life.

I'm about done with Little Jacob. Wish I could just mute him.

I really like the new wanted system. Really gives you a sense of being in the hunt.

Heard this game got vertical, haven't seen that just yet.

 

[Scott_Arm]

I think the driving is pretty good. At first I REALLY sucked. But once I settled back into that GTA mode, I was pulling off some nice fish-tail slide turns. It really depends on the car too. I stole a Corvette and it handled really well. The motorcycles are also really great.

I'd like to put together a friends list (360) for messing around in the Free Mode multiplayer. You know, if you're interested in finding crazy stunts and general mayhem, or trying to find weird bugs that can be exploited, gimme a shout.

 

[patsu]

Personally, I think Halo's method to drive the Warthog is the better implementation. A lot easier to control, and although there aren't many streets there it's also more precise for turns and such.

My friend playing on the PS3 has just suggested to try the in-car view for driving, though, he says it's much better... We'll see tonight.

Yeah, GTA4 driving is harder than I thought/remembered. The camera is awkward.

This pop in stuff is getting kinda ridiculous, most of the time it's actually a very gentle fade in

As I rampaged through Liberty City, I did experience a pop-in once on the PS3. It was a complex construction structure (under the bridge, I think) and the beam came streaming in last. I think if you race through the city for fun, you'll see the artifacts more often on 360. However like the jaggies and even the blur filters, you'll get used to them like I did.

I don't think they matter much anymore (jaggies, pop-ins, blurs) once you found your mission in "life". For me, I am just experiencing the Matrix... looking for the lady in red, trying to wet myself in pools (It didn't wet my shirt or leave wet footprints), etc. So far, 8 or 8+ sounds more like the score. Once I get into the real game, perhaps the story and real game design will buy me over.

 

[Scott_Arm]

In car view. Didn't know there was one?

Also, spent some time watchin some TV in the apartment. Some bona-fide true comedy there. It's the little things like this, that really bring the game to life.

I'm about done with Little Jacob. Wish I could just mute him.

I really like the new wanted system. Really gives you a sense of being in the hunt.

Heard this game got vertical, haven't seen that just yet.

I also prefer the talk radio stations over the music stations. There are some tracks I like, but mostly I like the weird atmosphere the talk radio provides. Once I've heard it all, I'll probably switch back to the radio. It would be nice if you could get it to play your own mp3s in the car, and at that car radio distortion to make it seem more a part of the game, rather than playing mp3s through the dashboard.

 

[Anvil]

First time GTA gamer and so far about 2 hrs in I am finding it to be rather good. Not perfect 10 good but overall good.

Driving issues have been my biggest complaint so far as I find myself having to push my view up to see where I am going. Also find the mini map in the lower right corner to be rather small.

 

[valioso]

First time GTA gamer and so far about 2 hrs in I am finding it to be rather good. Not perfect 10 good but overall good.

Driving issues have been my biggest complaint so far as I find myself having to push my view up to see where I am going. Also find the mini map in the lower right corner to be rather small.

I would actually be more interested in your impressions about the game, I never bought a gta game and when I played gta 3 I was severly underwhelmed at a friends house. This one intrigues me.. but I am not sure

 

[inefficient]

I don't want to rate it untill I play a lot more of the game.

My initial impression so far is good though. Unfortunatly, the graphics are actually something that takes adjusting to. In the beginning all the flaws just really stand out and it's not that pleasing to look at. But after playing a few hours your eyes get accustom to the look of it. And it starts to get much more immersive. There are times when it looks really damn good. It depends on the time of day etc.

The dialog is blowing me away. The writing is so much better than my expectations. And I've played all other GTA games so I was already expecting a certain level. But this time they are out doing themselves. It actually seems to have real depth to it. I feel like I am watching some truely epic movie. Like the Godfather or Scarface.

The controls are taking a bit of time to get used to over the previous games. The cars certainly handle a lot more realistically. The brakes on most cars are very very bad and they feel like they have actual weight to them. Gun play so far is much better than the previous versions but certainly takes some getting used to.

I tried the sixaxis demo. It's not for me. At least I got to try out the helicopter very early in the game. Damn does the city look good from the air.

 

[RobertR1]

First of all, I haven't owned any prior GTA games. I've played around with GTA3 and its' variants at friends places but nothing serious.

After playing for about 3.5hours last night, I say I'm impressed by most of it. The game have a very cinematic feel to it. The City is very much alive and transforms from day to night beautifully. So much dialogue in the game, it's ridiculous. Compare that with Assassin's Creed which is completely the oppposite and you can see how much dialogue means in the sand box style game. The fluidity in the game progression is a thing of beauty. You really are running Niko's day to day life!

But all is not all. Graphically this game is maybe a 6 or at best 7. Yes, the lighting is good but blur effect is used to mask a lot of it's flaws. The frame rate is pretty good most of the time but a game like this need to look something like Mass Effect with the grain filter. Than it'd be downright amazing.

The driving seems fine to me. I got used to it pretty quick and it's good enough for such a game. The audio is great though but I had to turn down the music levels as they're way too high default.

I'll comment more on the gun play as I get deeper into it. Right now I haven't used it that much.

Overall, the game seems about a 9.5 so far. However, if Crackdown has this sort of story depth and flow, I'd rate it just as high as GTA4. This game reminded me how great Crackdown was and at a much smaller budget!

360 version.

 

[infinity4]

If I can stand too much blurring then I can give this game a 9. Makes my eyes really tired.

 

[ex0du5]

This game has some definite problems. I think the more serious problems are:

1) Depth of Field blurring. I can accept this however, since no other game has even come close to replicating the extreme scale seen in this game. I am very impressed how the basically managed infinite draw distance for the city. Being able to see the remaining city accross the bridge is pretty incredibly (and I can't wait to have access to a helicopter).

2) Aliasing. PS3 version is aliased to hell.

3) Dithering. While the 360 version is definitely less aliased than the PS3 version, it's got some real annoying dithering. I am more bothered by dithering than most people though, so it's probably not a problem for most.

4) Driving. While I think the driving is greatly improved over past GTAs (comon Rockstar...patch the game!), I think it has 1 major problem: braking. The handbrake works as expected...but the regular brake just sets you into a lock no matter how hard you brake. They really should have tried to simply replicate ABS braking. Otherwise, I enjoy the fact that you can actually drive normally and follow the rules of the road if you want to, since you have far more control over steering and acceleration now.

5) Camera. The problems here are very evident, but so easily fixable. First off, Niko's camera follows him too closely. It's very annoying trying to get a better view of the area and moving Niko ever so slightly and have the camera abruptly center over him again. The problem is the opposite for driving. The driving cam doesn't follow the vehicle closely enough, and takes far too long to center over the vehicle (you basically need to manually control the camera when making sharp turns). And then, the angle for the driving camera is not near high enough...I need to constantly keep it elevated so I can see ahead of me more clearly (especially on uphil terrain).

6) Framerate. The framerate is very poor and inconsistent. The game feels amazing at a smooth 30fps, but it never maintains it. The ones claiming the game only drops 2-3 frames now and then are not trained to spot the differences. I'd say the average framerate is likely around 22-25fps, though I've seen it drop to the teens on a few occasions. The framerate is forgivable, considering the scope of the game, and considering it's a huge improvement over past GTAs, but it definitely hurts the polished feeling.

Now, thankfully, all of these problems should pretty much be fixed for the PC release, so I anticipate it's arrival with great enthusiasm. Other than the few problems I've mentionned, I think the game is amazing. This is definitely the most immersive game world I've seen. I'm shocked at the variety and scale of the city. Characters are fantastic as well. I'm also impressed with the shooting mechanics...I absolutely hated the lock-on of past GTAs, but the way it's executed here I love it. Shooting just feels so real (frightningly so).

I just recently passed the (slight spoilers...but not really) "warehouse" section with Dimitry.

 

[betan]

Thanks for the thread Scott_Arm.
I was planning to give in to the media hype after things like "best game ever"s, "worth $300"s, etc.
Now I'll rent it first since I don't particularly like freestyle play of the GTA.

And I disagree that graphics should be 10 simply because it's the best looking game of its scale.
Pure BS.

 

[Antan]

"The game feels amazing at a smooth 30fps, but it never maintains it. The ones claiming the game only drops 2-3 frames now and then are not trained to spot the differences. I'd say the average framerate is likely around 22-25fps, though I've seen it drop to the teens on a few occasions. The framerate is forgivable, considering the scope of the game, and considering it's a huge improvement over past GTAs, but it definitely hurts the polished feeling."

My thoughts exactly.

Anyone else think the taxi ride is just amazing and eerily close to reality, yet in a game world? (WHAT AM I SAYING?!?!). The 1st person view is great and lets you really appreciate the game world and see just how alive it is (kind of feels like your actually there in the car!), its a moment ive not really felt while playing a game before. And the asking the driver to change the radio station is a touch of design genious!

 

[silhouette]

8.5 for me so far... Only 1.5 hours into game.. However, altough this is a sand-box game, I feel the game, at least the quests, are pretty linear.. You do not have much choice to shape a Nico to someone you want to be.. Rather, you have to play a Nico they created for you. No dialogue options.. No wonder you have only two endings!

Did not rate it currently as I wanna see how it will progress and how it will end.. But definitely, not a 10 for me!

 

[Juan Panson]

so im playing the 360 version now and its alot easier on the eyes. i had to start all over again but im not bothered since the gameplay and story is excellent.