Grand Theft Auto IV - Anand's Thoughts
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 30, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Software
Controversy: I Has It
The GTA series has always done a good job of poking fun at, well, everything. One thing that I did appreciate in GTA4 is that the game does do a good job of providing loud, but non-confrontational commentary on a lot of social and political issues. Everything from gun control to race relations, and my personal favorite: criticism of our mainstream media.
The use of satire in GTA4 is quite possibly the single most impressive thing about the game; it is done so pervasively that if half the people that GTA4 makes fun of realized what was going on, we might find ourselves in the midst of a civil war. It feels strange to say this, but despite how in-your-face the satirical commentary is, it’s all so subtle since there is so much more going on in the game. I was driving down a road headed to a mission when I heard the first commercial for Weazel News, it left me with a smile on my face.
The commentary isn't the focus of the game, but keep a few of the talk radio stations on or pay attention to more than just the story and you'll easily pick up on it. While I wouldn't compare the "acting" in GTA4 to a movie, the writers have clearly put in enough social dialogue to rival, if not best, Hollywood.
That's just plain funny
I was blown away by how much negative coverage Mass Effect got in the non-gaming press and I'm curious to see how, and when, GTA4 will ruffle feathers. I hope for Rockstar's sake, GTA4 doesn't become the punching bag that San Andreas or Mass Effect were, but I somehow don't believe we've gotten beyond all of that yet.
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StormEffect - Thursday, May 1, 2008 - link
Wow, someone actually pointed out what WASNT perfect with this game. That's refreshing.Anyway, the whole thing was good except where you used the word 'addicting'.
'Addicting' is not a word. Please don't use it. I get enough of that stupid, nonexistent word in my mainstream media, bunch of idiots. But I like you, Anand, so you can use it this time.
If I ever get on a news program, I'll open by saying, "Thanks for letting me on your show, it's really gooding," just to keep it all consistent.
bigben - Friday, May 2, 2008 - link
Actually, this is a point for debate. Some would say that addicting is not a word, but others argue that it is either a transitive verb or a participial adjective from the verb "to addict."If it is the first case, the transitive verb, than Anand is just missing the subsequent clause in his sentence. So, he would have to round out "GTA IV is addicting" with the phrase "me unto itself."
Addicting might also, however, be an adjective in which case his usage was A-OK.
Addictive is a safer term, but addicting is not necessarily wrong (especially since its the Oxford English Dictionary which includes it as a part. adj.)
FITCamaro - Thursday, May 1, 2008 - link
While I love the game, I will agree with some of what he said. The controls can be a bit slow. I just don't think any of the things he mentioned really detract from the games overall experience.ultimatex - Thursday, May 1, 2008 - link
Great , your not like those gaming mags that just give it a 10ranking just because of hype. This company will make million on little retarted buyers that fall for it.you should give it a rank though .I thought it was like a 7.0 all around and im being kind. Fan boys will never like nagative things said about their little games because of the way their undeveloped brain works ,
point being they dont deserve make money because of hype . the game is ok but other games should have been super hyped rather than this one.
goku - Thursday, May 1, 2008 - link
Every time the GTA series comes onto the PC, it looks exactly like the console it was ported from. What is worse is that not only do you get poor graphics quality, but some how the system requirements continue to go up. GTA III Requires a PII 450, 16MB, Vice City requires 800mhz 32MB T&L, and San Andreas "requires" 1GHZ 64MB video card.Yet just as San Andreas for the PS2 looked worse than Vice city for the PS2, the PC versions of all the GTA games manage to look nearly the same as from which they were ported from which is really a shame. I totally understand why San Andreas looked worse than vice city for the PS2, but for the PC? Unacceptable, which is why I didn't bother buying the PC version since you needed a high end system at the time in order to play it smoothly.
So, do I think things will be different with the PC version this time? Well judging by the article, I'd say not. Unless the PC version removes all the console limitations and looks better than the console version, I think I'll wait until it goes into the bargain bin.
coreyb - Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - link
Horrible review. I disagree with almost everything this guy said. boo!ultimatex - Thursday, May 1, 2008 - link
no one gives a shit what you think you retarted pos. go agre with the 10's hyped reviewers gave it.picklebill - Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - link
Off subject but can't shop to get a video card to play the game when the RTPE has been broke for so long.araczynski - Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - link
i played for 20 minutes and just wasn't all that into it. the graphics were definitely improved over the previous stuff though.i guess i'm too excited about Age of Conan to even want to get into GTA at the moment...
martinchnz1 - Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - link
Don't worry about it, as with all previous GTA versions the PC version always seems to come out a few months after the console, also the Graphics are usually updated quite well and you'll get the difference from say Bioshock on XBOX 360 to Bioshock on a PC! The results are amazing, and I won't be able to wait for it to come out on PC.