Welcome to Thunderdome

Posted: **Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:51 pm**

If you're a parent who purchased this game for your under 17 child, you're a fucking idiot. If you're a member of the MSM and you're writing stories about how this game is corrupting our children, you're a fucking idiot. This game is for adults, is rated as such, and requires ID to purchase. This game belongs in the hands of a minor as much as your average porno or R rated film. So wake up, realize that the MAJORITY of people who play games are over 18 and most of them don't want to play Sonic the Hedgehog. End of story.

With that out of the way, I've played a few hours of GTA IV and here are my early impressions:

1. The graphics are unbelievable. It's like playing Who killed Roger Rabbit? in that most of it looks damn near real, while the "cartoony" elements are still there...

2. The story seems much deeper than the last version's flimsy excuse for violence.

3. The atmosphere is right on so far. On my first launch of the game before I even left the apartment you go to initially, I got so caught up in a TV show in game that I spent the first 10 minutes watching that.

4. The control scheme, which was easily the best in gaming "free roaming" gameplay, has been redone. Just a horrible, horrible decision IMHO. Controls are no longer intuitive and only a notch above terrible so far. Any review you read giving GTA IV glowing reviews and doesn't mention the controls...well, they've been paid off. I'm sure I'll get used to it, but I don't know that I'll ever love this game as much as I liked Vice City because the control scheme is just shitty. I think the problem is that they tried to add too much. WAY too much. There's now multiple fight moves, including a dodge. You can answer your phone or not. Use said phone like a real one in scrolling through your phone book, texts, etc. Hide behind cover. Turn on your car's brights. and the list goes on with everything having it's own button.

-Adding to the control issues are camera issues. Most of the handful of views are worthless. The camera is a MAJOR problem when driving. I cannot remember a single corner I turned where the camera actually showed me what was in the direction I turned. My car actually had to get up to speed while my camera slowly moved from it's previous position to behind the car where it should be. Alos, the developers must've taken advice from the Command & Conquer people on camera placement: "Stick it up your character's asses. We think players don't like to actually see the world they're playing in." If you don't get my point, the camera is WAY too close. Again, a major problem when driving.

-Speaking of driving, so far...and maybe it's just the shitty cars I have access to early on...driving any car feels like driving on ice. Hitting the normal brake makes the car brake HARD cutting off any chance of a sliding turn. Hitting the handbrake has the opposite effect. Sure, it starts a sliding turn, but the car usually over slides pointing you in the wrong direction quite often. Again, I'm sure it's just something I need to get used to.

So far, despite these criticisms, I'm enjoying the game.

That being said, I really think the developers fucked up after Vice City. The vast majority of folks think Vice City was the pinnacle of GTA style gameplay. Rockstar should've kept that gameplay with those controls and simply added to it every year. Just add new features, new details, new graphics, and a new story. After all, it's been working for FPS developers...

Posted: **Fri May 02, 2008 12:05 am**

Leisher wrote:So wake up, realize that the MAJORITY of people who play games are over 18 and most of them don't want to play Sonic the Hedgehog. End of story.

B-but...

Posted: **Fri May 02, 2008 10:52 am**

The part about Vice is that I got into that after playing San Andreas. So, my brain was initially wired to those controls. I didn't have a tremendous difficulty going from SA to Vice, so I guess the controls couldn't've been that much different. In addition, the skill system in SA, primitive as it was (no joke -- all skills increased at set intervals, easily deducible from cross-checking your skills w\ the appropriate attribute, all such things being recorded for your convenient in your profile), at least it was something. But it always puzzled me how I could engage in a Ramboesque one man army of retribution assault on most of a major urban city, single-handedly wiping out two other gangs in their entirety, but wasn't bad-ass enough to take out three crooked cops?

That being said, the atmosphere, story, and just general setting of Vice made it umpteen millions times more enjoyable than San Andreas. Vice was too short, the map utility didn't've near as many bells & whistles as SA, and water = death? C'mon. Even I know Ray Liotta can swim.

Posted: **Sat May 03, 2008 3:20 am**

Rampage in the Sea Sparrow. Best part.

That chaingun was retardedly awesome. Who the hell installed that damn thing?

Posted: **Sat May 03, 2008 12:34 pm**

I dunno. I can't tell you how many times I'd drove a speed daemon car to the top of the mountain in SA, floor it, & jump off the ramp at the peak. Hell, I even survived it a couple times w\o jumping out of the car.

Posted: **Mon May 05, 2008 11:56 pm**

I'm getting the hang of the controls and they're starting to feel better. Definitely not intuitive, but they work.

The storyline so far has been very good. I actually might stop and play back through the initial parts again as I feel I missed some opportunities due to sticking to the story. More so than any other GTA game, this one is more about the story and less about the random violence.

The cops are dealt with better here. They're everywhere, but they're slower to respond and, so far, haven't been perfect drivers who have instant acceleration to be on top of you in seconds. To balance this, the developers took away the instant forgiveness of the Pay and Spray. It's still there, but the cops can't see you go in. Instead, there is a circle that surrounds you and that represents the active area where the cops are looking for you. If you escape it, you lose them and the stars. You can help your cause by switching outfits, cars, etc. It's much more realistic and fun to actually escape rather than just run through a glorified car wash in full view of your pursuers.

Posted: **Wed May 07, 2008 10:13 am**

I wanted to address the cop thing again, it is extremely well done in this version of the game.

I was goofing off a bit last night and got my wanted level up to 4 stars, yet the cops didn't insta-kill me or come after me with such aggressiveness that I had no chance of escape like the previous versions of GTA.

I was actually able to hold off the police for a long while and then attempt an escape on foot. I didn't make it as I had to shut the game off, but the point is that the police weren't hounding me every step. There weren't cop cars flying at me from every direction kamikaze style.

I think this might be the area where they've made the best improvement in terms of gameplay.

Posted: **Wed May 07, 2008 12:22 pm**

I was able to hold off the cops even at 5 stars for extended periods of time in SA.

Least the wardrobes can be put to decent use.

Posted: **Wed May 07, 2008 1:29 pm**

You'll like this. It's different. They've made everything a shade more realistic instead of cartoony.

I still say Vice City was the greatest GTA game of them all.

Posted: **Wed May 07, 2008 2:14 pm**

Vice City would have been a good bit too easy if all these later improvements were in it, come to think.

Five stars? Go for a swim in the ocean, come up where the dumbed-down cops aren't, catch a shower and a nap at your pad, problem solved.

Posted: **Wed May 07, 2008 2:29 pm**

True, Vice City's gameplay worked with the higher paced, cartoony style.

Vice City also has such a good feel and atmosphere. Here the realism is notched way up and the city feels a lot more alive.

I like that they're growing the franchise. They've sat back and milked the cow, but they're making it better.

Except for the radio. I think the radio this time around has sucked.

Posted: **Wed May 07, 2008 7:05 pm**

Well yeah, it's radio...

Posted: **Wed May 07, 2008 8:05 pm**

Leisher wrote:True, Vice City's gameplay worked with the higher paced, cartoony style.

Vice City also has such a good feel and atmosphere. Here the realism is notched way up and the city feels a lot more alive.

I like that they're growing the franchise. They've sat back and milked the cow, but they're making it better.

Except for the radio. I think the radio this time around has sucked.

Damn. There were some classics in SA.

"K-DST. If the cops can't stop you, you must be on the dust."

"K-DST. We've been playing songs about doing drugs and abusing women for the past thirty years."

Posted: **Fri May 09, 2008 10:10 pm**

Minor spoiler:

When you're on a date (this happened to me on the second date...oh yeah, you go on dates in this game) your character will ask "Are you going to invite me up for some "hot coffee"?

Posted: **Sat May 10, 2008 3:05 am**

Had a chance to try this thing tonight.

First impressions : looks damn pretty, but the cars fishtail a shitload more than I remember.

Posted: **Mon May 12, 2008 8:34 am**

First impressions : looks damn pretty, but the cars fishtail a shitload more than I remember.

That's pretty much the exact thoughts I had when I started it up the first time.

I believe the difference is in the hand brake and the overall brake operations.

The handbrake is what makes the cars fishtail badly. However, the primary brake is not much better as with any speed you skid forever. The cars handle very well, but once you brake it's like you're driving on ice covered with oil.

Posted: **Mon May 12, 2008 12:27 pm**

I hit the e-brake, the normal brake, & the alt. brake when I tried to slide around corners. It worked correctly maybe 25% of the time.

Posted: **Mon May 12, 2008 1:15 pm**

Exactly. I was going to mention that I've made great turns, but not every time.

Sometimes I can make a turn at a certain speed, sometimes not. (For those curious, yes I'm aware of the ways different cars handle and I'm referring to the same turn in the same type of vehicle.)

Posted: **Mon May 12, 2008 2:16 pm**

I consider myself to be a better than average GTA driver, too. I was god of SA.

Posted: **Mon May 12, 2008 2:31 pm**

I considered myself pretty good in Vice City.