Grand Theft Auto IV - Anand's Thoughts
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 30, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Software
Final Words
Recommending GTA4 is pretty easy: if you liked the previous games, you'll like this one - and if you didn't, chances are that nothing has changed. If you've never played a Grand Theft Auto game then it's worth giving a shot, simply because it's one of those games, like Oblivion, that is open ended enough to have something for just about everyone.
The scale of GTA4 is tremendous, the streets are individually named, the populace is genuinely diverse (although you will still see the same character model dressed in different clothes) and Rockstar has done a tremendous job of making you feel like a single person living in a very big city. For some, the scale and attention to detail are enough to keep you occupied in GTA4, but be warned, despite all of the relationship-management you can do in game, this is not a clone of the Sims.
The scale of GTA4 is without a doubt impressive.
One of these is not like the others
The main story is good enough for those who need a story to enjoy a game. You have to take a divide and conquer approach to completing the missions, which after you get started really come at you from multiple sources at the same time, but if you enjoy a game with a purpose GTA4 can fulfill that need.
Then there are the side missions, achievements and random acts of violence. There are enough things for you to do, unrelated to the main story, to please the havoc-seekers. In this sense I don't believe GTA4 succeeds nearly as well as a game like Oblivion (you could call me an obsessive fruit-stealer), but it's definitely got more to offer here than 90% of the titles out.
The social commentary is honestly my favorite part of the game, not because it somehow adds more enjoyment to the game, but because Rockstar managed to express some pretty un-PC viewpoints in a form that will reach millions. GTA4 is expected to sell over 10 million copies this year alone and to be able to say some of the things that are said in GTA4, and still reach that many people, is impressive.
And I can't help but ask, where's the PC version? I get that consoles are far better sales platforms these days, but if we view the creators of a game like GTA4 as artists, then they should want their art on the best possible canvas. The draw distance and graphics issues could be alleviated (although probably not solved completely) on a PC; sure it would take a very high end PC to deliver the perfect experience, but with new and more powerful GPUs coming out every 6 - 12 months, the chances for making GTA4 look beautiful on a PC are pretty good.
In short, Grand Theft Auto 4 is an addicting game, fans of the series won't be disappointed but there's little chance that someone who hated the previous games will fall in love with this one. It's not what I would call perfect, but it's a decent evolutionary installment of an already good franchise.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
63 Comments
View All Comments
bigben - Friday, May 2, 2008 - link
Not that Anand needs defending, but you should know that the guy plays a lot of games. Far too many, really. Having just spent a weekend with 20+ hours of Rock Band and Kane's Wrath and having sat with him through Oblivion, Mass Effect, Gears, Halo 3, Zelda, Mario, Resident Evil 4 and a few others within the past few month, I can tell you that they guy plays more than his fair share of games and will play the good ones (the ones that really catch his attention) through to the end. 30+ games a year? Easily.theslug - Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - link
Although I agree that there are games with great stories, the same can be said about movies and shows. The reimagined Battlestar Galactica series comes to mind..it's sci-fi and it has an excellent storyline. How can you make a comment like this when you just admitted you don't even watch much tv or movies?aos007 - Thursday, May 1, 2008 - link
I can't really make a comment that movies nowdays "suck" - that's just my opinion based on a few occasional shows that I did get to see. One of them was BS Galactica, which is just that - BS. I watched 8 episodes before I had to stop. It has all depth of those naive, campy 60's sci-fi movies. It is very hard to suspend belief while watching it as there is so many things that are illogical if not impossible (the survival of humans under given circumstances and hence the continuation of the show itself being the big one, obviously). And even if it was possible to forgive illogical plot, based on political opinions the characters were overwhelmingly displaying I would've wanted Cylons to win anyway. Those "people" were a disgrace to humans.Yet I'm aware the show has a cult following. I'm guessing there is a generation gap at play here (I'm in the 30's and stuff I liked when I was in 20's is now "out"). The new generation has emphasis on different things than mine did. Which is probably the case with Anand and games he likes. Today it seems to be more about whether the way things are done is "cool" rather than "right". The story and the reasoning behind character's actions is less important than whether gameplay mechanics are good and presentation "cool".
At any rate the GTA IV (being the first one I played strangely enough) does seem to have a lot of depth and breadth (I spent a lot of time watching in-game TV). This is reminiscent of best games of yore and is refreshing to see. As such I think the game has a wider appeal than if it just had good gameplay mechanics and presentation. I am quite happy with it.
morose - Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - link
Everyone has likely heard all the gushing about the game done by the review sites, so it's nice to see someone focus on the negatives. A couple of things I wanted to comment about though.First, you mention the GPS and having to manually activate it from the map. That's not strictly true since (as an Option) it starts up automatically for missions. Just not for general driving about. I've never had to go to the map to get a route myself.
Secondly, the story. I certainly understand your point about animation. That's one of the problems I had with Vice City. Even though there was some good dialogue going on, the lack of expression by the characters kept it from being truly great. However, thus far in GTA4, I've been pleasantly surprised. There have even been a couple of times where the characters pulled off some "physical comedy" and I laughed out loud at the expressions they made through their animations. Brucie especially, but Little Jacob a time or two as well. :) The actual plot is better in GTA4 as well. I actually found myself playing "just one more mission" to keep unearthing more and more of Niko's backstory. That's a compelling sign in my book.
I agree with your take on a lot of things though. Especially the controls, which I still struggle with after 10 hours of gameplay. Someone please... what's the secret to keeping your car under control through corners at any kind of speed?! Completely different feel than Vice City (my only previous GTA experience) and a serious negative in my book.
DigitalFreak - Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - link
Turn BEFORE brakingFITCamaro - Thursday, May 1, 2008 - link
Typically you do the reverse, brake then turn. Unless you just want to powerslide. I think they kind of made the friction between the tires and the road a little too loose because you can't brake for shit. Past GTAs you've been able to slow down adequately to take a turn or had enough grip to power slide around a turn without slamming into everything. This time around its almost like they figured everyone would want to hit everything. I've gotten decent at taking turns in the game but it should be as easy as it is to pull the ebrake and flip a complete 360 without hardly slowing down.RMSe17 - Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - link
I hope the PC version comes out soon :) But until then, still plenty of games to play (Crysis, COD4, SupCom, X3-reunion) Though I do find it a minor annoyance that some games are delayed in their coming to PC (mass effect, gta..) since I don't own any console systems and dont plan on ever owning one... PC hard core gaming is where it's at :)michal1980 - Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - link
pc gaming is dieing, in no small part due to tefth.even though the 360 gtaiv is already on torrents. you still need to hack your 360 to do it.
a pc version would see about a 50% pirate rate, and we would all hear about how so and so stole it because they couldnt afford it, and what harm is it, since they were never going to buy it anyways etc etc.
mmntech - Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - link
The other 50% of the games not pirated end up being so riddled with DRM that it makes them unplayable for many people. Bioshock comes to mind. So much for "Games for Windows" revitalizing PC gaming. The market self-destructed. I was PC gaming only for many years but I must admit I like the fuss free experience of just popping the disc in and playing without having to worry about bugs, patches, hardware requirements, and DRM.The article was good. As the others said, it's nice to see a focus on the technical side. I think we see a lot of franchise fanboys out there who are quick to give any GTA instalment a good score. I've never been a fan of the GTA series myself but I might have to rent this one. Gotta love that "warm coffee".
SerratedDrums - Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - link
You will still have bugs and games that need to be patched on 360/PS3. Take GTA IV for example.