Grand Theft Auto IV Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 27 April, 2008

Finding Niko.

Version tested: Xbox 360

Assuming they're not hiding until Q3, everyone else will be kicking themselves. Ever since GTA III, they've all been standing on Rockstar's shoulders and leaping off in new directions, like war and destruction in Mercenaries, super-heroics in Crackdown, and goblins and Jean-Luc Picard in Oblivion. But Rockstar kept its eye on the zeitgeist, and GTA IV's big innovations aren't amazing physics, spectacular graphics and epic environments - although it has all those - but convenience and multi-tasking. There is no longer any wasted time.

There have been hints of this before: listening to Lazlow while you chased down gangsters, using disguised ramps to outrun the mafia; doubling up the entertainment. But GTA IV doubles up the interaction. The mobile phone is central to this, allowing you to make phone calls and text-message people one-handed while you walk or drive; networking, socialising, organising, and listening to that ringtone you downloaded for America's Next Top Hooker. It's a tool for manoeuvring between GTA's activities and gameplay ideas quickly. It feeds you certain missions, and lets you phone in the results. When you hear a song on the radio that you don't recognise, you can dial 948-555-0100 and the game will text you the artist and song name. The phone's well-realised, too; you even hear that interference noise when it's about to ring. When you fail a mission, you can answer a text to teleport yourself back to wherever you spawn after the cut-scene briefing finishes.

'Grand Theft Auto IV' Screenshot 1

To replenish health, you eat food. Simple. You can also buy body armour.

You also keep your weapons when you die, so as long as you're never taken alive, you can do just that. When you succeed, the game auto-saves. Once you've wined and dined your friends and family, you can use the phone to order supplies - Little Jacob the arms-dealer will pull up in an alley nearby, Brucie will fly his chopper to a nearby heliport, Roman will send a cab. The cabs are very useful. Any cab you see can be whistled for, or leapt in front of, its customers ousted and thrown to the kerb and the driver instructed to take you to a waypoint, social venue, or any of those familiar little initials on the mini-map that initiate missions. Hit a button and you're teleported there via a short loading pause. It's pricier to do, but hey, convenience costs. If you drive yourself, GPS navigation uses the mini-map to guide you to your mission-specific destination or waypoints. However you travel, you can look around with a free-look right-stick camera, and a button for locking the camera onto targeted vehicles and individuals assists with pursuits.

Besides the phone, the second-best thing GTA IV does is realign the combat to match the Hollywood driving. A Gears of War-style cover mechanic slams your back up against most surfaces, even cars, so that you can creep up to the edge, hop to adjacent cover points without exposing yourself, and fire on your enemies with a flexible targeting system, which locks on but frees you to drag the reticule to a head, or kneecap, flick to other targets or go completely free, crouch to improve aiming or click to zoom slightly, all without tying your fingers in knots. As you approach an abandoned, rundown hospital packed with drug dealers, or tumble into cop-filled streets to affect a getaway, or jump out of an elevator in a goon-filled hotel corridor, your heart rises, where often it sank.

'Grand Theft Auto IV' Screenshot 2

Side missions include doing drug deals for Little Jacob and the usual taxi and vigilante stuff, although it's accessed differently.

There's also a sense of refinement in areas where GTA has always been strong, like driving and carnage. Now you can lean out of the window and fire in any direction, providing you can direct the right analogue stick at the same time as steering and managing the throttle - slightly awkward, but then it would be - and technical advances improve basic acts of destruction. Along with tumbling lamp-posts, there are fire hydrants to crash over, innumerable variations on smash-object-and-shower-street-in-debris, and some environmental damage; actual structures maintain their integrity, but you can chip away, they hang onto bullet holes, and anything you can see through is no sort of cover. The NPCs know this, too, and rarely stay in the driver's seat for long if you lock onto them with a gun - something else you can do now, with a matching blood-spray effect on the punctured windscreens to announce the truth of your aim.

Windscreens also take a battering from heads, because you can be thrown through them on violent impact. Explosions rock you and anything else in the world - try going up to a group of people with a live grenade - and it's possible to entertain yourself by walking into moving cars, or hitting bikes at speed to send their riders into the air. You have to look before you cross the road. The effects are comical at times, but GTA IV reserves the absurd for exceptional circumstances, like a man trying to cling onto his carjacked sedan as you accelerate away. Bodies can't be broken into pieces, despite the blood, so it's never disgusting either.

The world itself is smaller than the state-sized San Andreas, but locations have character. The kidney-shaped island that hosts Broker and Dukes - home to the airport in the east, a carnival, a fair amount of green-space and tree-lined avenues - is the aftermath of a collision of awkward terrain and an expanding population that scattered confusing sloped road junctions and incongruous architecture across its span, patrolled by the Russian mafia. The smaller Bohan, also accessible from the start, is a rougher northern relation, linked by massive bridges and home to an uneasy gathering of immigrant neighbourhoods and housing projects. Beginning the game in Broker, Dukes and Bohan allows for a diversity absent from the opening throes of San Andreas.

Heading west to Algonquin, there's an apparent bleakness, but only north of the game's equivalent of Central Park - a large green expanse, swollen and tunnelled through in places. Head south towards Star Junction, GTA IV's Times Square, and the streets and their occupants smarten, franchise shops and eateries cluster, framed by tall arches that climb above the mezzanine level where buildings start to form the skyscrapers that dominate the financial district beyond. There's a stronger police presence, too, because these people are worth protecting.

'Grand Theft Auto IV' Screenshot 3

You can pick up small objects and throw them, although you're not the Hulk or anything.

Star Junction itself fills your screen with neon - ads and outlets, like Pirate Music Store, Shark Credit Card ("Extortionate Value"), make-up billboards for Max Renda, spinning pharmacy signs and glitzier Cluckin' Bell restaurants, where you can quickly top up your health. It's clean, but dirty. It's a far cry from the decrepit Alderney to the west, a blue-collar spread of industrial buildings, housing projects, sagging telegraph poles and corrugated roofs pocked with holes, overgrown parks full of rusting cars, half-built houses overshadowed by the monstrous freeways and the skyline of Algonquin visible beyond, glistening with derision over the broken roads and the homeless shuffling along them. Wherever you are, incidental drama plays out all around you; fat cops chase bag-snatchers, and inattentive drivers bash into one another. It took us about 12 hours to unlock all the islands, by way of some mucking about, and as usual the rails are quietly oiled for you by long-standing strengths of GTA's design, like roads where there's just enough room to drive between columns of traffic without impediment.

Elsewhere, GTA had been doing joke websites for years (remember Kent Paul?), but GTA IV has an entire joke Internet, accessible through terminals and TW@ cafes, and home to email access, novelty sites and social portals like Love-Meet. You use the Internet to receive requests for exotic car thefts, and to entrap people. Similarly, you can dial 911 on your phone, so you can prank-call the cops and steal their cars, and search for people on their computers. Or you might be sent a photo on your phone to help ID a target. We don't feel guilty about imparting this, because GTA IV is rich enough that we can afford to fritter away a few of its very minor reveals.

'Grand Theft Auto IV' Screenshot 4

The fake Internet is updated regularly with new stuff, like bent news reports on your antics.

Theoretically, strong and innovative missions should coalesce from so much environmental variety, and the phone, web and physics innovations, but the best scenarios are down to the series' traditional strengths - solid driving controls and car handling, which encompasses a broader spectrum of grip and suspension, rather than relying on speed to do most of the differentiating - and the fact that you're more comfortable, manoeuvrable and secure in control of Niko than any of GTA's previous anti-heroes. By the time you unlock Algonquin, the game is in its stride; you rob a bank, assault entrenched mafioso and drug dealers in complex, multi-tiered environments, race to escape the police, and everything feels better for destructible scenery, variable weather and lighting conditions, detailed sight gags - like a precious coffin wiggling precariously out of the back of a hearse as you enact a bumpy escape - and the script variation when and if you have to try again.

The storyline that arcs from Broker to Alderney handles Niko's past and present with decent range and subtlety. The old mood-swing effect - relationships accelerating from cautious introductions to strong bonds and pivotal drama in just a few cut-scenes - is almost completely eradicated, and cut-scenes are improved by physical interaction and behavioural animation, and a clever script. Niko himself is quickly sympathetic - his moral latitude is rooted in horrible war stories, but he's warm-hearted - and imposing, and his influential relationships are with rounded individuals, albeit often in caricatures' clothing. Situations and developments are rarely contrived, as the dialogue lays the foundation for dramatic events and betrayal subtly, in a way that you can appreciate more when you see them a second time.

The moral awkwardness of Niko's situation is fed into a degree of decision-making on your part, too - take a life, save a life; choosing who to side with - and although it was difficult to discern the impact of this stuff on the first play-through, the game promises that it has repercussions. Thanks once again to technical advances, particularly graphically, Rockstar manages more drama, and interactive drama, in these significant showdowns, rather than resorting to bosses with large health bars.

This sort of attention to detail, which exceeds your expectations, is apparent throughout, with vast expanses of content tucked into areas that even thorough investigation might not uncover. The comedy club has been trailed pre-release, and features routines from Ricky Gervais and Katt Williams, but you can watch TV programmes too; police behaviour is reworked to rely on visual identification to keep the heat on you, allowing you to slip away if you can get out of sight of cars and choppers, whatever your wanted level (no mean feat, as the police will box you in and try all sorts now); you can't customise Niko's physical attributes or upgrade him, but you can change clothes, and buy anything you see in a clothes shop, and the women you date will notice if you dress poorly. They also nag.

'Grand Theft Auto IV' Screenshot 5

Cars no longer explode just because they've been flipped on their roof.

And the things you do with your friends are activities themselves. Bowling is based on speed of release and timed aftertouch; pool is fully-realised billiards, albeit with simplistic cuing and physics; drinking ends in falling around, and is funnier than it ought to be; and strip clubs are, er, unchristianly high-definition. If you get tired of other people, you can put your phone in sleep mode, take a slow cab ride and put on the radio - home to a pleasant variety of styles and some superstar DJs (Iggy Pop, Juliette Lewis, etc) with brilliant chat shows and radio ads. The hybrid car advert, the debates about medical insurance, the Ikea baiting, Dragonbrain. There are plenty of secrets to unearth, too; watch out for pigeons.

Then by pulling up your mobile phone, you can select multiplayer. Via a lobby system that allows you to form teams and check out other players' details, you set up games that apply old norms and GTA-skewed derivatives to the game's fabulous open world. In a world of lock-ons, with weapon spawn-points on the mini-map, regular and team deathmatch come down to knowledge of the terrain, which is only acquired through persistence, but the team-based Cops n' Crooks, where one team starts on foot, escorting a VIP to an escape point while the cops spawn in a police cruiser and try to chase them down, is an instant hit, and others like GTA Race are more than they sound. With guns and rocket launchers, bad losers make it more entertaining for the front of the pack. Then there is Free Mode, which lets you do whatever you want in Liberty City with up to 15 other people, and leaderboards for all. (Look out for more thorough commentary on GTA's multiplayer post-release.)

'Grand Theft Auto IV' Screenshot 6

360 Achievements are difficult to obtain. We played for 25 hours and got about 200 Gamerpoints.

Like the PS2 games before this, though, some of this comes at a cost. We've all read by now about the PS3 install time (look out for a special Face-Off feature next week), but the frame-rate also takes punishment throughout, polluted by Rockstar's unashamed ambition, with noticeable pop-in in places. It never once stopped me enjoying myself, though. The only things that did that were the occasional stickiness of cover points when trying to manoeuvre quickly, the continued absence of mid-mission checkpoints (itself only irritating when a mission begins with a long drive, which is rare), and some clunkiness in ladder-climbing and vaulting objects. And perhaps Niko's arsenal, which is quite basic, even though it's versatile.

Otherwise, GTA IV is the 10/10 you were expecting. Almost everything you do in Liberty City would be good enough to drive its own game, and the best parts would be good enough to outrun the competition, but the reason it works so well is that Rockstar has made a game that requires no patience to play. This, as much as its usual coherency and the best script in the series, is what makes GTA IV the best openworld game yet, and why it will take something miraculous to rob it of game of the year status.

10 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (840) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Kannan7 #1 4 years ago

    OMG! Niko is HOT!

  • ecureuil #2 4 years ago

    500 INTERNAL SERVER ERROR/10

  • Ryze #3 4 years ago

    Whoo!

  • Kannan7 #4 4 years ago

    Wow first!

  • shido #5 4 years ago

    Holy server crash batman!

  • monkie_king #6 4 years ago

    zomg teh 500 errors

  • WillyWanka #7 4 years ago

    OGC

  • c0dy #8 4 years ago

    10/10. Is anyone here really surprised? This game will revolutionise the industry - again. Congrats to Rockstar for being one step ahead of the others.
    Also, a big "HA-HA!" Nelson style to all the haters and negative bastards, mostly Nintendo fanboys I suspect - you should be happy that a masterpiece of such proportions is being released.

    /is off reading the review now :)

  • Ryze #9 4 years ago

    Epic. Anyone else struggling to view this?

  • monkie_king #10 4 years ago

    zomg teh double-posts
    Edited by 1 at 27/04/08 @ 17:14

  • MasterGrief #11 4 years ago

    7th

  • Zomoniac #12 4 years ago

    10 minutes of 500 Errors. Teh w00t.

  • Razz #13 4 years ago

    This site is getting HAMMERED!

  • Bloodloss #14 4 years ago

    :)

  • solidSnake04 #15 4 years ago

    looks like a EG test to see how many request their servers can handle.

    10/10 VIVA ROCKSTAR

  • macmurphy #16 4 years ago

    39th...

  • orakio #17 4 years ago

    eurogamer server stress test ^_^

  • Ryze #18 4 years ago

    Midnight at Asda it is. 10/10. Hopefully no influence from those huge adverts.

  • Physically_Insane #19 4 years ago

    "500 INTERNAL SERVER ERROR/10"

    Was getting this a lot too.

  • prolific8 #20 4 years ago

    That was tough! Nice review, definite purchase.

  • captainrentboy #21 4 years ago

    Well bugger me, quite clearly EG's servers can't handle the strain, I haven't seen fuck all of this review yet.
    I'll check back later when hopefully it'll have calmed down.
    Although thanks to the comments I have seen that it got 10/10, I don't think there was ever really any doubt.
    Edit- Seen the first review page now, is it just me or is this review worded and laid out quite terribly? It seems to be jumping from one random game feature to the next, with no real structure. :/
    Edited by 1 at 27/04/08 @ 17:20

  • Weezer #22 4 years ago

    Nice - if shorter than expected. But: PS3 or Xbox360 - which is best?

    Where's Harry Hill when you need him...

  • Santino #23 4 years ago

    not surprised by the score in the slightest, roll on tuesday (or not, i have it pre-ordered but won't play it until uni work is finished and handed in)

  • convercide #24 4 years ago

    Eurogamer must be using the XBL servers.

    We all kinda knew this was coming to be honest. Can't wait to get this.

  • TagemandBagem #25 4 years ago

    Nice review. Almost all the essentials covered.

  • Kryon #26 4 years ago

    Wow, so the PS3 version is worse eh?

  • darkphoenix #27 4 years ago

    Struggled to read the review thanks to "internal server error"...

    I really cannot wait for this game.

  • ilmaestro #28 4 years ago

    Believe the hype: EG already has.

  • ianegg #29 4 years ago

    Woo 4pm GMT, hour early! ;) Now I have that off my chest I can read it...

  • soviet_ #30 4 years ago

    Never expected anything less

  • GiantHaystax #31 4 years ago

    what happened to the controversial low score. BOO!
    Edited by 1 at 27/04/08 @ 21:18

  • HiddenPooh #32 4 years ago

    eurogamerwebserverlol

  • Dizzy #33 4 years ago

    "But: PS3 or Xbox360 - which is best? "

    Coming next week :0

    But lemme just say that one version has framerate problems and the other one has some pop in. So people will complain whatever the version.

  • Ihya #34 4 years ago

    Nice review, these impressive scores are making me want this game, when beforehand I was lukewarm to GTA.

  • NKSR #35 4 years ago

    so are they saying the 360 version is better

    IGN said there was more pop up in the 360, and from what i gather the ps3 version had less issues

    confused...

  • Gaol #36 4 years ago

    Can't believe a seven minute install is deemed a 'cost' of great gameplay. And why single out the PS3 when every 360 owner with a hard drive will be doing the same? Surely its a greater 'cost' on a system with non-HDD models.

    Can't wait for the face off to well and truly prove EG's 360 bias.

    Otherwise, nice review :)

  • Dizzy #37 4 years ago

    "Can't wait for the face off to well and truly prove EG's 360 bias. "

    Yea... most multiplatform stuff is better on Ps3. Damn EG!

  • bdaggers #38 4 years ago

    If this is the reaction to a respected REVIEW of the game, can you imagine what LIVE is going ot be like from tomorrow ? (cos Play have posted mine, I reckon Monday will be the first test)

    But 10/10, whodathunkit ?

  • Apostle #39 4 years ago

    woop woop! Awesome, I was a little tentative skipping to page 3 to quickly see the score, am glad to see it's as good as I was hoping. Sorry Tom, I didn't read the review, I just don't wanna spoil anything. I'm sure you understand

    ;)

  • OrgasmicMutton #40 4 years ago

    All I've learned from recent comments is that some people haven't yet learnt to tell the time.

    As for the review it's good to see that it's adding to the universal praise - I'm looking forward to playing this though I'll have to wait for ages for the PC release to enjoy it in all its glory since I'm currently relying on my flatmate's PS3.

    Enjoying the server errors; EG is getting popular these days!

    And good to see the fanboys are so impatient that they can't wait till the face off to start their bitching!
    Edited by 1 at 27/04/08 @ 17:26

  • lemonfist #41 4 years ago

    So, when's the waggle version out?

  • rauper Verified Managing Director, Eurogamer Network #42 4 years ago

    Sorry about that. All sorted now - site is getting absolutely hammered!

  • NotSoSlim #43 4 years ago

    360 version does not have an install option apparently hence that version having issues. Regardless of what EG say EVERY review has said the ps3 version has less issues due to the install.

    For the first time a 7 min wait is not a problem as the game benefits. If EG say otherwise they are showing total bias imo

    Tho both version will be great.

  • burns #44 4 years ago

    I have to agree with the wording of the review, made my brain hurt reading it.

    Anyway roll on Monday midnight w00t!!!

  • HyperShadow #45 4 years ago

    There is a part of me that wants to experience this game, just to find out what all the hype is about (I've only started playing San Andreas though). But I honestly think I can wait until the hype dies down and some honest views start to come out (ala Halo 3, 10/10 but that flood level near the end was one of the worst levels in gaming history)

  • Gaol #46 4 years ago

    @Dizzy

    Most multiplatform stuff IS better on 360, we just don't need told it once a month using shovelware as examples. It must help secure those nice big 360 ad deals on the home page though.

  • brinlarden #47 4 years ago

    awesome

  • Dizzy #48 4 years ago

    "EVERY review has said the ps3 version has less issues due to the install. "

    And by EVERY you mean IGN ofc.

  • el_pollo_diablo #49 4 years ago

    Either I'm a slow reader, which I'm not, or some people seem desperate to be first in posting a comment. I don't get it.

  • Phily50 #50 4 years ago

    "And by EVERY you mean IGN ofc."

    haha

  • NKSR #51 4 years ago

    at least we get it slightly before the yanks

  • squarepusher #52 4 years ago

    a Halo 3 10 or a Super Mario Galaxy 10?

  • NotSoSlim #53 4 years ago

    @ Dizzy

    Most multi plats are better on 360 but GTA4 is not one of them, Egm, IGN have all said otherwise. Every blog has said otherwise. Yea installation is annoying bu for GTA who would care? You really think if 360 had the optio everybody would not do it?

    Also 1up but what do i know i just read official reviews...lol
    Edited by 1 at 27/04/08 @ 17:35

  • Yaster #54 4 years ago

    Once again the Brits make the best games

    Dosnet matter which version I get, don't trust either of my friends lists to leave CoD4 alone for multiplayer.

  • rauper Verified Managing Director, Eurogamer Network #55 4 years ago

    DiamondIce: They had the exclusive online review so their embargo date was different to ours. Most games sign exclusive review deals either with IGN or Gamespot.

  • sirtacos #56 4 years ago

    No. Fucking. Way.

    Shit. Twat. Cunt.

    I was honestly expecting a 9 at most from Eurogamer.

    10/10 and it isn't a raving slobbering cock-up of a review.

    I guess this makes my pre-order a good move, although I can't help but wonder - after reading all these rave reviews - if I'll really enjoy the game THAT much. Time will tell, and I can't wait.
    Edited by 1 at 27/04/08 @ 17:34

  • grantc7 #57 4 years ago

    Took me ages too get on the site, but well worth it.

    Roll on, 29th

  • suicida #58 4 years ago

    Didn't expect anything less than a 10. I haven't even played it yet and I just know it's going to be GOTY.

  • Dizzy #59 4 years ago

    "It must help secure those nice big 360 ad deals on the home page though. "

    Now you are just Trolling.

    EG has given plenty of games with BIG ads bad scores.

    ANyway... I am outa here. I think some of you will be surprised the coming weeks with some of the "face-offs"

  • penhalion #60 4 years ago

    @rauper

    I wouldn't worry about that as most gamers trust neither IGN or Gamespot. They have been shown to inflate scores far too often.

    Been mucking about with this game most of the day in my local game on both PS3 and 360. Didn't really notice much pop-in on 360 or any framerate issues on PS3. Did notice that the colours on 360 are dark though (solved by calibrating TV).

  • GamesConnoisseur #61 4 years ago

    Man! Its 10/10 for X360 and also 10/10 for PS3 ARENT you satisified with just having great game shortly available on your system??!

    I think we need to keep cool head and wait for inevitable head to head in EG, ign.com and elsewhere but hey there will be just minute differences, you have to be total anal and perfectionist to buy new system just for the ever so slight advantage! Its ll play great on either.

    No tired comments of aircraft noises, pwer of teh cell etc will change the mind of people who know which platform they get it on. Loyalty to the brand is sad, both company deserves praises/criticisms.

    I thought EG would likely give out 9/10 for perhaps some faults but no, know that we have a masterpiece in our hands..well after Tuesday that is!

  • GitSomE_UK #62 4 years ago

    LOL! The EG servers couldn't cope with the demand for this review!

  • Gaol #63 4 years ago

    MMM ok maybe trolling a little, but wouldn't take too long, people who might actually get use outta the face off will probably want to know for Tuesday.

  • solidSnake04 #64 4 years ago

    GTA IV on PS3 10/10
    GTA IV on Xbox360 10/10

    for all you sad people that cant stop the "oh ps3 is better, oh xbox360 is better"

    enjoy the damn game.

  • Mugwum Verified Operations Director, Eurogamer Network #65 4 years ago

    "Seen the first review page now, is it just me or is this review worded and laid out quite terribly? It seems to be jumping from one random game feature to the next, with no real structure."

    The first half of page 1 talks about how Rockstar avoids wasted time, and the second half talks about where the game is most refined. Our "GTA IV review walkthrough" will go up when we've bought some more RAM for the server.

  • Dizzy #66 4 years ago

    I hope EG is going to do a review of the multiplayer part as well? In this version it is rather limited :)
    Edited by 1 at 27/04/08 @ 17:43

  • madcrazy #67 4 years ago

    if only I had a next-gen console...role on PC!

  • WillTheSecond #68 4 years ago

    Until I began reading reviews saying "GOTYFTW!" and "best game this generation" I was not interested. Now I am. I'm currently Wii-only but will be getting a good PC soon, so hopefully R* will do a PC version (they usually do) since I'm not spending money for either of the other consoles (360 has shite hardware and PS3 has a deficit of interesting games).

  • paulsaz #69 4 years ago

    not one of the most flowing reviews ever was it?

    would it have killed you to do the face off before launch so as you might have slightly useful to some of us with both machines. we know it bloody brilliant but an opinion on pros and cons of both systems would have helped.

  • Dizzy #70 4 years ago

    "so hopefully R* will do a PC version "

    I would say that is 90% sure... since GTA has always done well on PC.

  • monkie_king #71 4 years ago

    Regarding IGN's review, that's a bit bizarre that they think the PS3 has better antialiasing. It'd be a suprising enough if it even has antialiasing.

    Also, not better than Soul Calibur, then?

  • Gaol #72 4 years ago

    A PC version is a certainty eventually. The San Andreas version was ace.

  • Kiigan #73 4 years ago

    Nice review Tom.

  • NSFR #74 4 years ago

    Maybe they didn't feel the need to indulge the extravagant minority that has both machines...

  • yegon #75 4 years ago

    Pity the face off isn't till next week though, as by then I will have bought one or the other. I'm still very skeptical about how much truth there is in the 360/PS3 comparisons. Hmm, which to buy, which to buy.

  • septimus #76 4 years ago

    According to pretty much every other review, the PS3 is a little cleaner, though has some stutter when things get ridiculously busy. 360 pops in, but EG will say the 360 version is completely superior in every way... it's just what they do.

    Anyway, great game that deserves success, which ever platform.

  • solidSnake04 #77 4 years ago

    @monkie_king
    "Also, not better than Soul Calibur, then?"

    what a hell ?

  • dirigiblebill #78 4 years ago

    "Seen the first review page now, is it just me or is this review worded and laid out quite terribly? It seems to be jumping from one random game feature to the next, with no real structure."

    The first half of page 1 talks about how Rockstar avoids wasted time, and the second half talks about where the game is most refined. Our "GTA IV review walkthrough" will go up when we've bought some more RAM for the server

    I thought it was a great article- a hell of a lot better than the vacuous platitudes spouted by IGN. If it's difficult to follow, captrentboy, blame review deadlines and Rockstar for stuffing so much into the game :)

  • Nath4n #79 4 years ago

    Meta Critic has all the new reviews already up:

    http://ww w.metacritic.com/games/platform...

  • NotSoSlim #80 4 years ago

    I guess by EG's logic every reviw that said the PS3 version is slightly better are wrong???

    lol

    This seems to be the one game that truly benefits from instalation...but EG hate installations even if it is for the better.

  • woodnotes #81 4 years ago

    Apparently the retail copy of the 360 version does away with the pop-in issues.

  • Toonster #82 4 years ago

    Hush with your "X360 vs. PS3 GTA4!!!" arguments. At least you'll be playing the damn game. I want this on the Wii, damn it!

  • CitizenGeek #83 4 years ago

    Not surprised to see that 10/10 score and I don't doubt that GTAIV fully deserves it!

  • Bagpuss #84 4 years ago

    Do you think the Americans will ever 'get' what a piss take this is of American culture by us Brits?....:)

  • Ninja_Cop #85 4 years ago

    wow 25 hours and only 200 points, well harsh!

  • bdgr #86 4 years ago

    If I had a ps3 i don't think i'd mind waiting to install a game on it (do you have to do this with every game tho??) - reminds me of the glorious c64 days when I'd rush home with a new game, slam it in the tape player and read the instruction book (sheet!) while it was loading.

    You just can't do that anymore with the dvd's - who looks at the instruction manual and reads the story bit anymore when the game is right there in front of you, enticing you with 'press start' the minute you pop it into the drive??!

    (got the wii360 combo, and will probably get a ps3 at some stage for the blu-ray movies more than anything else - seems to be one of the best players for the amount of £ its selling for!)

  • HyperShadow #87 4 years ago

    Kotaku Compares

    Seems like if you can't decide, either pick which pad you'd prefer to use, which console you own, or which fanboy you have switched on....

  • Raziel #88 4 years ago

    O god, please stop the fanboi wars.

    Can't we all just agree on no matter what platform you're getting it, all of us are getting this years GotY in 2 days?

  • NSFR #89 4 years ago

    One thing that might swing it if you unsure is the DLC for the XBOX due out later this year.

  • Miths #90 4 years ago

    I'm gonna kill someone if I can't find a copy Tuesday :). I preordered in a local EB Games store two weeks ago, and I still got a call Friday saying they wouldn't have enough in the first batch.
    Guess I'll be running around town Tuesday morning when the stores open, praying they haven't all been taking preorders. I have seen a few times before where it was next to impossible to find a copy of a game on release day in game stores, because that's obviously typically where every gamer in town has preordered, but I could walk right into the closest electronics store and pick the game off the shelf.
    It does unfortunately sound like it could prove more difficult this time though.

  • DrKuK #91 4 years ago

    Must say by EG's usuall high standards this review was poorly written.

    Still a 10 is a 10, and while i disagree with Halo3 getting a 10 it was still a fun game and so was Super Mario galaxy. All in all with the few reviews out so far it looks like R* have delivered.

    I'm now gonna go watch the gametrailers video review
    Edited by 1 at 27/04/08 @ 18:07

  • sirtacos #92 4 years ago

    "I thought it was a great article- a hell of a lot better than the vacuous platitudes spouted by IGN."

    I could not agree more. Vacuous platitudes are a staple of mediocre critics. "Fantastic", "Amazing" and "Superb" doesn't really tell you anything you couldn't gather from the score itself. I appreciate Eurogamer's levelheadedness, even if it is only feigned.

  • JYM60 #93 4 years ago

    I declare anyone who comments on the face-off instead of playing the game a sad cunt.

    And not just because we already know the PS3 version is superior.

  • monkie_king #94 4 years ago

    @SolidSnake04:
    >@monkie_king
    >"Also, not better than Soul Calibur, then?"
    >
    >what a hell ?

    Oh, IGN said it's the first game they've given the full 10/10 to since Soul Calibur.

  • NKSR #95 4 years ago

    i dont really like reading the whole review. just scanning for issues between 360 n ps3. i'd rather discover the game for myself.

    still not sure which format to get it for...

  • doragor #96 4 years ago

    nice. all is good.

  • El_MUERkO #97 4 years ago

    boo, missed opportunity for internet kerplosion!

  • SAH1977 #98 4 years ago

    Dear me, EG and it's users have just re-afirmed why EG is no longer bookmarked on my PC.

    When are games sites going to grow up and cater for a mature audience rather than stirring up sad, little fanboys.

  • Paulanator #99 4 years ago

    Why are so many of the people in this comments section so sad?

    I came on here hoping to find people excitedely discussing their thoughts on the game and the review but instead find countless idiots deperate to uncover some difference between the two formats. It really is so sad.

    Even more annoying is the fact that virtually every review has claimed that they are identical already.

    Please give it up and just enjoy the game.

  • TheBiGW #100 4 years ago

    I'm about 2/3rds of the way through the single player campaign and can honestly say I've not had as much fun in a game for a very very long time. This review barely touches the half of it. It is an absolute masterpiece and has done for GTA on next gen what GTA3 did on the PS2. Game of the year without a doubt, and fully deserves to out-sell Iron Man and teach Hollywood a lesson on how to entertain people.

  • des #101 4 years ago

    Kotaku says that framerate is better on 360,oh and yes good review eurogamer

  • solidSnake04 #102 4 years ago

    as I said before:
    GTA IV PS3 10/10
    GTA IV Xbox360 10/10
    if it had came out on the Wii it would be 10/10

    Sad fanboys idiots. Enjoy the game in whichever system you have and shut up. If you have more than one system then buy for the other systems too then shut up.

  • bad09 #103 4 years ago

    good review. 10/10 was there really any doubt :)

  • Gaol #104 4 years ago

    'Fanboys' get a lot of stick, but brand loyalty and debate is a sign of healthy competition in any industry; be it videogames, pc hardware, mp3 players... whatever.

    More annoying than fanboys are those so far up their own arse that they feel the need to jump up and down about ps3/360 debates. Its just a bit of fun, the main forum is better for serious discussions.

  • NKSR #105 4 years ago

    if EG are doing a face off between 360 n ps3, then its up for discussion

    btw i have ps360, so fo

  • NSFR #106 4 years ago

    So, cars then. How many do people reckon? I think it is pretty cool that, unless I am mistaken, cars now come in different conditions. Which is very cool. That's even more variety to be had.

    Seen what looks like a Lambo in one of the vids. What else have people seen?

  • sirtacos #107 4 years ago

    I hope you're joking tirer, because my thoughts on your repeated comments are: so fucking what?

    You remind me of a Jewish mother, except that a Jewish mother is usually obsessed about jewelry, her son's dinner or her daughter getting married... things that, while seemingly insignificant and petty, are much more worthwhile than what you deem important enough to emphasize over and over again.

    While at first I was annoyed at the comments saying "I'm mature and as such I am above the pathetic and childish picayune niggling - now if you'll excuse me I'm off to the cigar room to have a sherry", I'm starting to agree with the people who wrote them.
    Edited by 2 at 27/04/08 @ 18:38

  • MrChallacombe #108 4 years ago

    From everything i've read PS3 - 360 differences are minimal.
    PS3 has quicker load times and less pop-in, 360 has better colours

    I have both so can choose either. I'm going for 360 because i prefer the on-line system, and have more friends on XBL.

    Oh and the downloadable episodes - which no-one seems to be mentioning.

  • Scimarad #109 4 years ago

    Excellent - You somehow managed to make it sound like the PS3 was one again getting the shite version without really mentioning how it compared to the 360 version at all...

  • NotSoSlim #110 4 years ago

    Who cares. Every single site has stated that the PS3 version has less issues i could do a list but wy bother. Search and you shall fnd.

    EG and Kotaku can say what they want to be honest its their site but when all the other sites say otherwise i will lean towards the majority.

  • TriggerHippie #111 4 years ago

    When they actually say wtf the downloadable episodes contain I might be interested. I'm not going to chose the 360 version simply because there is something coming later in the year.

  • Rash' #112 4 years ago

    des, Actually, Kotaku say the PS3 version has the "performance edge".

  • matrim83 #113 4 years ago

    The first two things I am looking forward to doing in GTA 4.

    1 Try the new physics by some traffic "accident"s.
    2 Listening to the radio stations.

    /Doesnt give a crap as to which version is superior.

  • byron_hinson #114 4 years ago

    @ Des - While the Kataku review states better framerate on 360 - overall it states performance is better on the PS3.

  • Scimarad #115 4 years ago

    As long as the PS3 version isn't inferior to 360 version I really couldn't give a crap.

  • Binglybob #116 4 years ago

    Buy GTA IV or get a degree? Hmmmm.....tricky one.

  • Rash' #117 4 years ago

    Why are people posting EG prefer the 360 version? I read nothing in the review to suggest that.

  • byron_hinson #118 4 years ago

    Me neither Rash - there was no mention the 360 version was better, it stated about framerate problems but although the review wasn't too well written, seemed to suggest it was on both versions.

  • WinterSnowblind #119 4 years ago

    Anyone trying to hype one version as being better than the others in terms of graphics is being slightly unrealisitc. All of the footage thus far has been from the 360 version and it looks excellent, I expect whatever differences there are to be minimal. The 360 version is said to have a better frame rate and colours, where as the PS3 version has less loading and less pop in. I doubt *any* of these things will be noticeable by the average gamer, or even a side by side comparsion.

    The fanboy comments are just sad.

  • byron_hinson #120 4 years ago

    If it helps - the Gamespy review also now states the PS3 suffers from less graphical issues.

  • NSFR #121 4 years ago

    @Binglybob

    Ah you to? I get all my 4 take home papers on the 29th. Final year, final exams and GTA4.

    Fantastic timing lol

  • Scimarad #122 4 years ago

    Well, from my own point of view I was just being a bit over-sensitive on the subject. The mention the PS3's mandatory instal and then starting talking about graphical issues. The way it was put sounds rather like they were singling out the PS3 version - especially if you have read a lot of the comparison articles:-)

  • Greebo #123 4 years ago


    "Buy GTA IV or get a degree? Hmmmm.....tricky one."

    LOL - It was Grand Turismo on PS1 that did that for me. I bought it and settled for a Desmond.

    Now I'm old and working, it wasn't a big decision to book a day off...

  • Binglybob #124 4 years ago

    I wouldn't worry about which one to buy.

    Apparently both have some framerate issues, with the 360 version having a little extra pop-in but nothing that would ruin the game.

    The 360 version is meant to be richer in colour but the PS3 version is arguably a bit sharper.

    Elsewhere, the 360 has the DLC coming which is an advantage if you're willing to fork out for it.

    I'm gonna get the 360 version because of the more comprehensive online network and the fact that I have a headset. Plus achievements are always nice.

    I'm sure all these differences (minus the DLC) will be negligible and the game will be amazing.

    By the way that info I got from IGN, probably not the most reliable source but it's their job to identify any flaws so I think it's probably reliable.

    See you online!!

  • Khanivor #125 4 years ago

    Fucking sad fanboi cunts, die in fires.

  • solidSnake04 #126 4 years ago

    @Greebo
    lol thats me...big mistake/luck getting gta 4 early... my degree is going out of the window surely
    Edited by 1 at 27/04/08 @ 19:00

  • NSFR #127 4 years ago

    I think I will get the XBOX 360 version to. I'm not sure if the Playstation version would work in my XBOX so better safe that sorry.

  • captainrentboy #128 4 years ago

    See? It wasn't just me that thought the review was worded poorly, there have been a few who have said the same now.
    It didn't get that much better past the first page either.
    It's not something I've picked up on with ANY EG reviews before now, but this one was a bit of a chore to get through.
    Will the multi player get its own feature? It was barely touched on here, and from the previews I've read it sounds amazing.

  • TheBiGW #129 4 years ago

    PS3 has 7 minute install time
    PS3 is slightly smoother

    360 has slight pop-up
    360 has achievements
    360 has DLC

    Horses for courses. Pays yer money and makes ya choice.

    Honestly - the pop-up and slow-downs have really only been mentioned because reviews generally have to have balance. Had this been *any other game* the pop-up and slow down would not have been mentioned at all as, in all honesty, it really isnt much of an issue. I can't think of a single instance in the game where popup or slowdown has taken away from the atmosphere or the immersion in the game world. And that is what this game is all about.

    Play it on tuesday, don't worry about popup or slowdowns and enjoy the game for what it is - a truly next gen title and the new benchmark which will likely stand until GTA5.

  • Scimarad #130 4 years ago

    One thing I've seen in both the reviews I've read is the thing about Niko being a more sympathetic and likeable character - I really like the idea of this as I'm a bit sick of playing bordeline sociapathic arseholes in these games.

    Anyway it sounds fantastic - I'm not sure quite how well the daft humour will fit with the more serious storyline, though.

  • NSFR #131 4 years ago

    "Anyway it sounds fantastic - I'm not sure quite how well the daft humour will fit with the more serious storyline, though"

    Seeing as the creators are British I am sure they will do just fine in weaving the absurd with the darker the stuff in keeping with much of comedy.
    Edited by 1 at 27/04/08 @ 19:04

  • dripping_brain #132 4 years ago

    Good review, wish I had a system to play the game on! I've a slight bone of contention with the start of the article though, although I'm probably being pedantic. I don't really think Oblivion was standing on Rockstar's shoulders, you see. I think that game had a lot more in common with the previous Elder Scrolls games, two of which were released before the original GTA. I doubt Bethesda would list GTA3 as one of their main influences either.

  • Rash' #133 4 years ago

    wintersnowblind and khanivor, that's a bit hypocrital. you two are the most aggressive 360 enthusiasts on these page. (Dizzy not withstanding of course)
    Edited by 1 at 27/04/08 @ 19:09

  • Razz #134 4 years ago

    Great live stream right <A href="here">http://www.justin.tv/gta 4eva">here</a>

  • Khanivor #135 4 years ago

    I ain't no 360 enthusiast, just take pleasure in winding up the PS3 fanbois.

    /makes another chalk mark

    Anyway, it was a general comment about the fanbois who are already focusing more on which version is better than on how much better the actual game is. Mentalists. Ya'll should have a real wank than this virtual stuff.

  • thefjk #136 4 years ago

    I hope this saves Take Two from the evil EA. I mean with every site giving this a 10/10 and without a doubt every hardcore gamer getting it, only the Wii playing casuals are left who need to pick up a 360 or PS3 now, to make GTAIV sales massive enough to kick EA in the crotch!

    Go GTAIV, Go!

  • Farfarer #137 4 years ago

    Good to see a 10/10 from a review site I trust, was a little wary of the gratuitous (and wholly expected) 10/10s from less reliable sources.

    I look forward to giving it a bash on Tuesday :)

  • Madlax #138 4 years ago

    Haha...eurogamer !!! you never cease to amaze me, 10/10 !! didnt we all know that by now. ;)

    I love it how you mention the PS3 install time yet speak absolutely nothing about the clear technical advantages the PS3 version has...i cant wait for the ps3 vs 360 article farce (Sponsored by our beloved Microsoft).

    Its amazing what can cash do to people, it molds them, shapes them, to something yielding.....but you are forgiven EG, for you are not the only one. ;)

    In the end, its up to each one of us to make the choice, and vote with our cash, and i hope that we would all vote for 'free online gaming', or so i hope. ;)

    Enjoy the read puppets, its a wonderfull age we are living in...after saddam hussein phenomenol elections in iraq where he gained an 'honest' vote result of 99.98% of the population, i never though anyone can break that record. for surely perfection is impossible...no ?

    But i was wrong....beloved Eurogamer just proved me wrong. ;)

    10/10 FTW !!!

  • Rash' #139 4 years ago

    khanivor, (looks at games collection) I believe you. Millions wouldn't. ;o)

  • Cataferal #140 4 years ago

    Madlax... what the bloomin' hell are you talking about?

  • bad09 #141 4 years ago

    madlax has some deep issues :)

  • solidSnake04 #142 4 years ago

    yeah. what was he on about ?

  • siksik6 #143 4 years ago

    A head to head next week?

    Unless by 'next week' you mean Monday then it's going to be too fricking late!!

  • bad09 #144 4 years ago

    I cannot wait for the head 2 head that thread will be like a car crash, you will want to look away but you can't. messy!

  • Darren #145 4 years ago

    Madlax - EG may not have mentioned differences between the games because they didn't see any or perhaps they only reviewed the Xbox 360 version?

    Whatever, most of the other reviews only mention that the PS3 version is slightly better because it has less noticeable pop-in not that it is massively superior so the differences are very minor and may not be noticed by everyone. Not that it really matters because both platforms have got a great game so everyone can enjoy it regardless of the console they own.

    Amen! :)

  • Khanivor #146 4 years ago

    Rash, it is possible for sane, grown adults to purchase something and enjoy it without foaming at the mouth whenever someone offers a differing opinion about it or its competition in the market place.

    Then you have people like Madlax.

    Besides, if you look at my game collection (and take it as gospel) then it's pretty obvious I'm a Civ enthusiast if I'm an enthusiast for any game, let alone gaming system. Although, to be fair to you, I am enthusiastic about my 360. In that it's the only console I own and I enjoy playing on it from time to time. But that's very, very different from being an aggressive enthusiast on a web page. I don't feel the need to trumpet any positives of the 360 - the entertainment comes from reading the insanity that spouts forth from the fingers of the fully-fledged fanbois. And as the PS3 camp seems to be occupied by those with the greatest inferiority complexes it is from that side that I get the most laughs and direct the most baiting venom.

    Anyway, kettle's boiled now.

  • SeesThroughAll #147 4 years ago

    It should be clear by now that we should expect BOTH versions suffer from framerate and pop-in issues here and there, although the PS3 also gets a mandatory install that reduces the pop-in. This is the idea I have coming from several reviews, not just Eurogamer's...

    Hardly anything worth getting fussed about...

    How about we all just enjoy the game come tuesday, eh?

  • IAmBatman #148 4 years ago

    And in Violition's offices on Tuesday ... crying and self doubt.

  • byron_hinson #149 4 years ago

    Swedish Gamereactor have just published their review (gamereactor.se). They were very suprised that 360 version is lacking so much technically. According to them PS3 version has better colours, framerate, less pop-in, loadtimes and texture resolution. Looking forward to the Eurogamer comparisons now.

  • Madlax #150 4 years ago

    I must get that GTAIV thingy, i want to see perfection with my own eyes.

    Or to be accurate, i wish to see 'perfection' in Eurogamers eyes. ;)



  • bad09 #151 4 years ago

    "I must get that GTAIV thingy, i want to see perfection with my own eyes.

    Or to be accurate, i wish to see 'perfection' in Eurogamers eyes. ;) "

    yes you do that madlax, you do that....

    / backs away slowly...

  • Gibroon #152 4 years ago

    Something is missing from the review.

    What, no tearing?!? \0/

    /looks for tears in the fabric of the space time continuum.

  • IronGiant #153 4 years ago

    Genuinely surprised the PS3 version has the edge in visuals and with free online play im glad i pre-ordered the PS3 version :)

  • KreyAtiv #154 4 years ago

    Well certainly seems worth 10/10. Online multiplayer is bound to be heaps of fun. :)

  • NKSR #155 4 years ago

    KHANIVOR

    this "fanboi" shit is so childish. i couldnt care less for the 360, ps3 or whatever. nobody in this thread is raving on about which console is better, aside from you

    grow up "boi"

  • Blackthorned #156 4 years ago

    Finally, and after the Assassins Creed debacle, something actually appears to have lived up to the hype.
    Amen to that and roll on Tuesday.

  • Xerx3s #157 4 years ago

    So when did IGN become a credible source of information? Not that EG's or any game site reviews carry much credibility. :/

  • elbutzo #158 4 years ago

    Alter Schwede! I'm looking forward to Tuesday. BTW, 1st of May is Holiday in Germanay! ;-P

  • Gaol #159 4 years ago

    "I ain't no 360 enthusiast"

    Only thing Khavinor gets enthusiastic about are spelling mistakes and the rising prices of trailers.

  • Kazzahdrane #160 4 years ago

    Guess I'll be picking this up once I'm finished my studies then!

  • seasidebaz #161 4 years ago

    ok, about the head2head, i hope it will be an informative article.

    no doubt we will still get the fanbois though.

    in all seriousness, if you are arguing about which console it is better on, then you are too young to purchase this game. it is there to be enjoyed on both consoles, and the two games will be pretty much identical.

    i know i, for one, am looking forward to playing it on my ps3. apart from that stupid "hold l1 in halfway" control.

  • the_sas_man #162 4 years ago

    While I do agree the PS3 version looks ever so sightly better, we are forgetting that come August Xbox owners are going to be enjoying DLC where the PS3 guys won't.

    Normally that's no big deal, but with a game of this stature, it could be absolutely huge.

  • seasidebaz #163 4 years ago

    oh, and fwiw, apparently the ps3 wins anyway. metareview

  • Dizzy #164 4 years ago

    "I love it how you mention the PS3 install time yet speak absolutely nothing about the clear technical advantages the PS3 version has...i cant wait for the ps3 vs 360 article farce (Sponsored by our beloved Microsoft). "

    You can already find some on the net.... sponsored by MS ofc.

    http://ko taku.com/384422/which-version-o...

  • Bulbatron #165 4 years ago

    185th!

    I managed to get to the review with no problems.

    It is a shame if you cannot install to the Xbox HDD to make the game run more easily. I wish there were save-points during the missions. It used to make me see red mist when I'd get through a large portion of a mission, make mistakes which were of course, NEVER my fault, and then find I had to then repeat the WHOLE thing all over again - but this time with added tension, making me screw up even more quickly. :-(

    I've always enjoyed just fannying around in GTA, more than the actual story, so I'd be interested to know how much of the stuff that begins locked in single-player mode, begins unlocked at the beginning of free-play mode.

    This does look great though. However, I didn't pre-order so I might have to wait for a bit before I can get a copy.
    Edited by 1 at 27/04/08 @ 20:24

  • Khanivor #166 4 years ago

    These threads all always an interesting look into the real-world application, (or not) of the concept of reading comprehension.

    The comparison thread ought to make educators weep :(

  • mattigan #167 4 years ago

    Looks like it's going to be good.

    Why does everyone on here spell 'boy' with an I instead of a Y, What is the point? Do you think it make's you look all hip and 'with it' because it doesn't you know?

  • elvenscroll #168 4 years ago

    @TheBiGW
    "PS3 has 7 minute install time
    PS3 is slightly smoother

    360 has slight pop-up
    360 has achievements
    360 has DLC"

    Out of interest, has it ever been said that the PS3 wouldnt get any DLC? I know that Microsoft paid for two exclusive parts, but what about afterwards?

    Anyone got any ideas?

  • Gaol #169 4 years ago

    "These threads all always an interesting look into the real-world application, (or not) of the concept of reading comprehension.

    The comparison thread ought to make educators weep :( "

    Like your grammar you mean?

  • TagemandBagem #170 4 years ago

    "I won't have a word said against kotaku."

    Kotaku, dango bana no kuma musume.

  • Khanivor #171 4 years ago

    That's a spelling mistake you spaz...

  • AOFanboi #172 4 years ago

    Re DLC: Microsoft paid $50 million for the 360-only content, and will probably charge for it, so it is no issue in the decision really. Other DLC for both platforms is bound to happen - even Folklore on PS3 gets tons of it. DLC is the new multiplayer, or something.

  • Rash' #173 4 years ago

    elvenscroll, if I was a betting man (which I'm not) I wouldn't bet against it happening.

  • strelok #174 4 years ago

    @swam:
    since when installation time is a big deal problem?
    spoilt console children :p

  • Gaol #175 4 years ago

    You made a spelling mistake too?

    BATTON DOWN THE HATCHES.

  • Khanivor #176 4 years ago

    There's a lot of sandy vaginas in here...

  • Gaol #177 4 years ago

    /bored

    Actually I'd better stop trolling now, that's quite a few.

  • elvenscroll #178 4 years ago

    @AOFanboi
    "Re DLC: Microsoft paid $50 million for the 360-only content, and will probably charge for it, so it is no issue in the decision really. Other DLC for both platforms is bound to happen - even Folklore on PS3 gets tons of it. DLC is the new multiplayer, or something. "

    So in theory Rockstar could release DLC for PS3 at the same time, as long as its different to the exclusive £50mil 360 one? Presumably then, all future DLC would end up on the 360, and all but two would be on the PS3.

    Unless i've missed something.

  • witchdrash #179 4 years ago

    Nice review, however when did Oblivion ever stand on GTA's shoulders? Surely it's standing on Arena's & Daggerfall's & Morrowind's shoulders as a logical progression for the series...

  • TheBiGW #180 4 years ago

    cthulhu_steev: I didn't mean it like that. I meant that, compared to other games where popup and slowdown really *are* issues, the popup and slowdown in GTA4 are so minor as to only really be pointed out in the aim of balance. After all, it is only a game and there must be some bad points :) Had similar amounts of slowdown/popup as are in GTA4 been apparent in other games then it would have been overlooked.

    Didn't mean it in a ps3 vs 360 fanboi way at all.

  • Calgon #181 4 years ago

    Whats that 360 has the best graphics you say? HAHA Im joking they are "virtually identical" as said by pretty much everybody, my god some of these Sonybots are desperate for a small victory though eh? :D... IGN dont know their ass from their elbow(better anti-aliasing on the PS3 version is he stupid or what? absolute rubbish) there are some MINOR differences which are:

    360 Version:
    Smoother/better framerate
    Richer Colours
    Slightly better anti-aliasing(shaper)

    PS3 Version:
    Faster Loading
    Less pop-in


    So personally Id take the 360 version since there could be patches for the pop-in for that version later down the road, framerate is harder to fix(but I take it they both have it anyway just the 360 version is a little smoother as expected), theres also the DLC down the road too if its any good.

    Turned out better than I was expecting then GTA:IV, I had a feeling it would be an 8-9 kind of reveiw, so I suppose thats good news. :D
    Edited by 2 at 27/04/08 @ 21:06

  • Razer #182 4 years ago

    Who gives a fuck which one is slightly better ?

    Is anyone really going to be sat there with it running on both PS3 and 360, on 2 TV's, at the same time ? Going through both with a fine toooth comb saying "whoa, there was 0.005% FPS difference there when I stuck the baseball bat in that drug dealer's head" ?

    I think not. Just buy the game, play the game, and fucking enjoy it.

  • PuppyFiddler #183 4 years ago

    Dull review, I almost fell asleep reading it.

    Other than that..10/10, wehhey!

  • Calgon #184 4 years ago

    Yeah true I'd rather hear EG's comparison anyway since we know they are fair and thorough with them(some reviewers dont know what they are talking about it has to be said too), the differences are minor which means they arent worth getting worked up about folks... relax there isnt a "best" version technically.
    Edited by 1 at 27/04/08 @ 21:09

  • stoopidgreg #185 4 years ago

    after reading all these comments, frankly i got pretty annoyed by all the bloody 360 vs PS3 fanboy nonsense. seriously, can we stop talking about it?

    the review was decent, if a little unstructured and lacking the usual charisma of EG reviews, but i'll let it slide because it did try to go over as many features as possible. i really don't think any reviews matter at this point because i know pretty much everyone with a 360 or PS3 is going to buy this game, and if not then they are complete JERKS!

    i don't know if i'm going to stay up to buy it at the stroke of midnight, because i know if i do i'll just end up playing it all night and feel like shit the next day at work. i could just wait til tuesday and play it on the 360 in work (i work at a games studio, it has its perks...)

    so if indeed i do decide to get it at midnight, does anyone know where it can be had for £40? i'm guessing game and gamestation will be asking £50. think tesco will be £40?

  • the_dudefather #186 4 years ago

    @stoopidgreg
    +1

  • PlugMonkey #187 4 years ago

    Or to be accurate, i wish to see 'perfection' in Eurogamers eyes. ;) "

    Or to be even more accurate, i wish to see a game Eurogamer see as being worthy the highest accolade they can bestow. A 10/10 review score does not mean the game is perfect, it simply means it's on a level with the best games ever made. Perfection is unatainable, so if you could only give 10/10 to a 'perfect' game there would be no point having a 10 point scale. You'd basically be rating every game out of 9, which would be a bit silly, frankly.

    Quite clearly this score was predetermined, and they just had to find a way of writing a review around it.

    Why are so many people so sure that they can give a more accurate appraisal of this game than the people who have actually played it? Is it really so desperately hard to believe that the flagship game of one of the world's best studios, which has had a mighty budget and plenty of time to polish it, might actually just be really good? Why not just be excited about it? I am.

  • PlugMonkey #188 4 years ago

    Who gives a fuck which one is slightly better ?

    People who own both systems.

    Is anyone really going to be sat there with it running on both PS3 and 360, on 2 TV's, at the same time ? Going through both with a fine toooth comb saying "whoa, there was 0.005% FPS difference there when I stuck the baseball bat in that drug dealer's head" ?

    No of course not, I'm only going to buy it once so I want the nicest version, even if it's only marginal.


    I think not. Just buy the game, play the game, and fucking enjoy it.

    Yes, but on which system? Am leaning towards 360 for DLC and a wider friends network, but if the loading times are much shorter on PS3 I might well swing back again.

  • White_Westie #189 4 years ago

    bugger... Not sure whether to get ps3 version too! I've ordered x360 version for dlc and xbox live multiplayer ( sorry Sony but your servers are shit for multiplayer despite what everyone says! Try and get on mgs online beta or ut3 capture flag times out).

    But on the flipside if ps3 has less pop in then it may be worth getting for single player.. Mind you didn't bother me too much with mass effect.... Oh sod it I will stick with just the 360 version and spend the rest at the pub:-)

  • BurningR #190 4 years ago

    #212st!!!

  • BurningR #191 4 years ago

    damnit, a bit too late

  • beastmaster #192 4 years ago

    Getting this on midnight from Game. Tuesday off. In the words of Sean Connery himself...Sphhlendid

  • kmittal82 #193 4 years ago

    What did I miss?

  • subtlesnake #194 4 years ago

    "No of course not, I'm only going to buy it once so I want the nicest version, even if it's only marginal. "

    But if you can't tell the difference anyway then what's the point?

  • thefishmonger #195 4 years ago

    The earlier GTA's had various object pop ups and even missing road textures at points - did it reduce the fun of the game? No.
    Edited by 1 at 27/04/08 @ 21:39

  • Blackthorned #196 4 years ago

    'Fanboi' - Hmmm, not keen on that. Seems like a forum term too far…

  • spookyzombie #197 4 years ago

    Being a PS360 owner I think I'm going to have to plump for the 360 version. Differences seem marginal, but I'm always going to prefer gaming with the 360 pad over the PS3 pad. I just find it a nicer controller to use. Looks like you can't lose with whichever version though : )

  • Meho #198 4 years ago

    Well, I am about 10 hours in on the 360 and... Well, the game is really... good. Yes, there is pop-up here and there, but that doesn't really affectr my gameplay.

    This is the most epic GTA game so far. The story is deeper, better written, funnier but also more serious than ever. The cutscenes are very well written and directed, with some excellent characterisation and perfect acting.

    The city looks really alive. You can tell this is a 'next-gen' GTA game not just because of the HDR lighting and soft body physics/ particle effects, but because the way people and cars act is new. The game is slower and more focused on the story than any of the previous GTAs and, even though I have invested several hours, there are no some of the usual things we know from the GTA III and its iterations: no health packages in the streets, no street races, no secret missions, no collectable items. Perhaps these things will come later in the game, I don't know, but so far the city is supposed to look more convincing and less 'gamey' then in the previous games. And so far this is a good thing. Even the police and taxi missions now have more sense to them.

    The radio is fantastic as ever, the telephone is very useful and the Internet, well it is an EXCELLENT addition, not to mention that it is funny as hell. But the TV, oh my stars, the TV... there's apparently HOURS of TV content and it is some of the most scathing satire R* have ever put into the game. I was sitting watching a show about rich people for about 15 minutes and crying from laughter yesterday.

    But on the other hand:

    all of the story missions I have done so far were trivial to say the least. I mean, initial missions in most GTAs are supposed to be easy but as I said, I have spent quite a lot of hours in the game already and compared to San Andreas, the missions here are just very simplistic. Drive to this destination. Shoot these people (and no, gunplay can not really compare to Gears of War, it's a simplified and less fluid model). Pick up this car and get it to here. I assume the future missions will become multitiered and deeper, but so far they have all been shallow and simple. I appreciate that I am probably still playing the tutorial, but I remember San Andreas being very impatient to show off its well designed, more complex missions rather early in the game. What saves the game so far from me is that it's so well rounded from the character/ story side: there's tons of dialogue in car, where people react to what you do, what you wear etc. It really pulls you in and makes you live in the world. I hope the missions open up soon so that the gameplay matches the depth of the environment. I don't know about you people but I loved territorial warfare in San Andreas and I hope to see something of that kind here. Also, since GTA IV has more than a few things already seen in Radical's Scarface, I also hope to see property playing a meaningful role later on.

    Anyway, with only having played about ten hours, my impressions are that this is a terrific environment that has yet to convince me with equally terrific missions gameplay. I hope I am not disappointed and that the 10 awarded by Tom is justified.

  • Killerbee #199 4 years ago

    Nice review. Imho it's exactly what was required for GTAIV - we all know what GTA is like; we just need a spoiler-free run down of what's changed to make it better / worse to play and whether the story is any good. In that respect, I think Tom's got this spot on. And the 10/10 tells enough of a story in itself.

    For the first time, I actually wish I had a 360 or PS3 to play this on, rather than dismissing it with a "later".

    I think if MGS4 gets a review anything near to this positive, it may finally be my tipping point... Is this an appropirate place to demand an 80GB, backwards compatible, Dualshock 3 bundle for the millionth time?

  • solidSnake04 #200 4 years ago

    @rdexter
    "If you all allow, I will get the PS3 version, simply because I don't own a 360.
    Is there a problem with you?"

    hahaha that was legend.

  • gerald #201 4 years ago

    (This comment thread is pathetic. If you feel the need to champion your buying decisions and persuade others to adopt your cult, please do it with some wit and finesse.)

    After reading the raving reviews in the enthusiast press, it will be interesting to see, if general media manages to go beyond the usual "but who protects the children"-reflex and recognize, that there is some compelling storytelling and satire in this game ... besides the fun of shooting people in the face.

  • Meho #202 4 years ago

    Re: shooting people in the face

    It's interesting to note that you don't see a handgun until pretty late in the game. Sure, you can probably punch a police officer and take their gun as soon as you see one, but story-wise, you only get it a lot later than expected. The first missions even see you just punching people and trying to scare them. This is, of course similar to the way GTA SA started but I can tell there was a conscious effort at work here to make the game gradually more and more violent, using the convincing storytelling techniques to ensure gratuitousness of it all is not readily visible.

  • DjFlex52 #203 4 years ago

    1

    2

    Omg wtf?

    @tirer

    You know what? If that's a game breaker for you then don't buy the fucking game, tirer, and stop wanking off like a spoiled brat.

  • Ghost_Dog #204 4 years ago

    @tirer

    Wow! Now thats what I call pop up.

    There's none of that on my Atari Jaguar version.

  • professor_mamet #205 4 years ago

    I don't know why I even read the comments pages, same arguments different game.

  • BTBAM #206 4 years ago

    Not sure how happy I am with the fact you can't save mid-mission, though I'll be sure to stick the game on 'easy' difficulty setting if it allows me.

    Life's hard enough without stressing through a game, and from previous GTA's I know how fucking infuriating it can be when you've got some fucking piece of shit helicopter to fly and it makes you restart every time.

    I might get this on launch day, and then play it a little bit, but I have 2nd year law exams to deal with, none of which I feel relaxed about, so it may be ill-judged to buy it on Tuesday.

  • solidSnake04 #207 4 years ago

    @DjFlex52
    "1

    2

    Omg wtf?

    @tirer

    You know what? If that's a game breaker for you then don't buy the fucking game, tirer, and stop wanking off like a spoiled brat. "

    Don't worry, I have played the game and its nothing like that. Probably some crappy capture device tirer used

  • dimkost1980 #208 4 years ago

    havent seen any of the 2 versions, i am getting the PS3 one though. I liked all GTAs and this is the one i am most eager to get.
    I never liked that the idea that franchise got multiplatform since i think 360 is really a bottleneck in overall game developement so far, mostly regarding disk storage. Sure, compression does miracles and MS knows how to use it well. however BR (or any format better than DVD) is a psycological advantage for gamers(the hardcore kind tbh, like me) who like to see the industry to expand possibilities. Making an AAA studio like R* to develop its flagship game by worrying how to make compromises in GTA's features just to fit in a DVD(that just might be the case) is kind of disturbing in my opinion. Noone knows what R* could have done if there was more space to fill. In the other hand, space doesnt guarantee game quality, but some studios could have the potential to make really rich games when the leap from last to new generation was more substancial than cpu and ramclocks.Putting HDD could make amends of this 360 flaw, but still MS tries to sell arcade bundles without it while keeping HDD prices up(while sony's take for HDD is far less costly), stating the companiy's unwillingness to move on more versatile storage options. GTA4 is a game that really shows that the lowest standard in modern game development is 360 platform and developers must take its flaws in consideration before getting creative. Even DLC in that matter is a joke as R* hasnt bothered with that yet. I am not implying that GTA4 plays better on PS3 as I havent seen it yet,in fact both version should be comparable. I just think that 360 must take its place in gaming history if no radical changes happen in how MS treats gaming, it seems it peaked too soon. I am an avid gamer and I love to see evolution in my favorite hobby. I know that my position here feels a lot like fanboyism, it might be, as loving my hobby makes me pick a side.
    Rockstar delivered a diamond, and since it may not be a 10, i am sure i will enjoy this game to the bone for what it is and not grieving for what it could have been...
    Edited by 2 at 27/04/08 @ 22:56

  • FarFromSane #209 4 years ago

    Since i own a ps3 i'll be getting a version for it..

    if it's better or worse than the 360 version i don't care.. I just want to play it.. I've always loved the GTA games

  • Tuffty #210 4 years ago

    All this talk of superior versions just makes me laugh, it really does. Can I just suggest to all, don't let a thing like framerates or pop-ups prevent you from getting what is likely to be one of, if not the, finest game of this generation.

    Roll on Tuesday! Can't wait.

  • stoopidgreg #211 4 years ago

    @ tirer

    those clips are no doubt from a pirated copy.

    @ kmittal82 "What did I miss?"

    a load of irritating PS3/360 fanboy arguments. in other words nothing.

  • BBIAJ #212 4 years ago

    @ dimkost1980:

    plentier space!?

    WTF is that!?

  • TagemandBagem #213 4 years ago

    "Well, 5hrs in on the PS3 version... it is fricken spiffing, yet to see any pop up at all (maybe when I get my chopper out!)"

    Can you change the control scheme so trigger is not accelerate?

  • Rash' #214 4 years ago

    Calgon, Hate to have rain on your under informed parade, but most agree that if push came to shove then it'd be the PS3 version that has the technical edge.
    Edited by 1 at 27/04/08 @ 23:31

  • Skooch #215 4 years ago

    Regardless of format this game will be great. In general, the difference between multiformat games is marginal and often not noticeable. It sounds to me as though the difference is so small as to be negligible. And hey, if you are getting the 360 version like me then you have the DLC and benefits of XBL to look forward to. Now, smile people, it's only a game.... :0)

  • dirigiblebill #216 4 years ago

    This just in: my penis is a whole 0.1% longer than yours and I can get it up 0.45 seconds quicker.

  • Lionheart #217 4 years ago

    Haha

    Now i can actually load it

    10/10!!!! You nice people EG... canny wait!

  • UncleLou #218 4 years ago

    5 pages full of mostly bullcrap about PS3/360 version differences.



    Maybe videogames don't make people violent, but they sure make them stupid.

  • Gaol #219 4 years ago

    Its more like 5 pages of people complaining about ps3/360 'bullcrap' debate.

  • niteninja #220 4 years ago

    Has anyone noticed all these games that seem to get massive hype get perfect scores.
    This is a good game Ive played it,but its almost like every single magazine and website is ordered to give it top scores.
    Its same old gta with a facelift good not great.

  • Khanivor #221 4 years ago

    Well my penis might be 16 microns shorter than yours and have a noticable discoloration to it but because of the superior storage capacity of my balls I can hold back for almost 13 seconds longer and so have more sex in the long run.

  • NickN4ck #222 4 years ago

    So as good as Halo 3 then

  • Katsumoto #223 4 years ago

    The thing is, wiii is gimmick lol. DS version is blatantly the only one worth getting.

  • RESIDENT_nEVILe #224 4 years ago

    Looks crap

  • niteninja #225 4 years ago

    This is a good game for sure,I will spill a few beans for people now,inside source says you think gta4 is impressive you should see the ps3 game rockstar is working on.
    Sony paid them big money for that,look for it to steal E3 this year.

  • NSFR #226 4 years ago

    One thing which has surprised me about this thread is I didn't realise that a fair few people own both systems, something I thought would be a) stupidly expensive b) really pointless because of the amount of duplication in function between the two.

    Or is it a case that since they didn't come out at the same time there was less need to only pick one?

    I want to see a pic of the new FBI and cars. And also what the new tank looks like ( I assume there is a tank!?).

  • djed #227 4 years ago

    i think this comments-section requires at least one additional comment.

  • tgigreeny #228 4 years ago

    Play.com posted on Saturday. Here's hoping by some miracle it caught the ferry out of Jersey early enough to get here on Monday, but I seriously doubt it. Three days off work. New 40in HD telly. Dolby Digital amp. Big comfy gaming chair. Forty Marlboro Lights and three good bottles of wine.

    Not. Leaving. The. House.

  • Khanivor #229 4 years ago

    You not notice the list of exclusive titles for each machines that usually do the rounds in these threads?

    If you can afford it and aren't some pathetic spanner who can only get hard for the one machine it makes sense to get all three systems.

  • WinterSnowblind #230 4 years ago

    @NSFR

    Sorry, no tanks.

  • Moz #231 4 years ago

    I know this is way too far into comments to be noticed but i find it curiouse that EG are suggesting that the 360 version has less glitches when every other review says the PS3 version has the edge on the graphics and pop-in ect.

  • tgigreeny #232 4 years ago

    @ Paulanator

    Great point. Couldn't agree more. Who cares? If you only own one of the two platforms, just buy it for that one, and stop stressing. If you own both platforms, you clearly spend enough on games to be able to buy it for both and either sell or return the lesser of the two. This kind of pre-pubescent playground tribalism is why people over 30 assume every gamer is a socially maladjusted, spotty faced teenager who divides their free time between playing "computer games" and wanking furiously.

  • NSFR #233 4 years ago

    @WinterSnowblind

    Ah well. I guess they are a bit silly.

  • NSFR #234 4 years ago

    @Khanivor - I thought the number of exclusives was only and handful so I didn't really factor that in.

  • subtlesnake #235 4 years ago

    "Frankly the review reads like a 9/10 rather than a 10/10 for the simple reason that I've seen other games knocked down a peg or two for lesser reasons (than the popup, frame-rate, occasionally awkward control, poor checkpointing). "

    But how do you know how significant these niggles are? For example, the mere fact that GTA's control scheme isn't perfect, hardly demonstrates that what flaws are there have a large impact on the experience.

    "but I contest that they are so hyped about the game that they forgave them, whereas agame they would hae been less hyped about would not have been so lucky."

    Or that the issues weren't a big deal to begin with. Without playing the game, it's impossible to know. In any case, what if they're prepared to be forgiving, because the rest of the game is so good? Is that not a valid reason? After all, scores are meant to reflect the overall enjoyment a game provides - not to act as a precise technical measure of a game's merits in each respective area.

    "They did the same with Halo 3. The later levels were atrocious, and the last level laugh out loud bad. The multiplayer had it's flaws too, along with the graphics being anything fro blandly last gen in HD to above average - depending on yoru angle. "

    In your personal experience, which is not neccesarily reflective of everyone else's. Is it hard to understand that other people might appreciate the huge amount of value provided by the multiplayer modes: co-op, Forge, Theater, custom game types, etc? Or that they might enjoy combat with the Flood? The majority of thel the complaints I've seen are directed at a single level, Cortana, where as the later, large scale open levels have been heralded as some of the best in the series.

    I wish people would stop using their own preferences as the benchmark for everyone else should think.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 00:28

  • niteninja #236 4 years ago

    Sony stuff to be shown at e3.

    Crysis (unconfirmed).
    New drakes fortune (confirmed internally).
    Prince of persia (confirmed internally).
    Heavy rain or faranheit 2 (confirmed internally).
    New rockstar project (confirmed internally).
    Twisted metal (confirmed internally)
    New fighting game from sony (confirmed internally)
    New konami game (confirmed internally) z.o.e3?
    New shadow of collosus project(unconfirmed)
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 00:41

  • Moz #237 4 years ago

    personally i feel the reviews giving this around 9.8/10 are probably closer to the mark, as every review says that's there are little niggles with the graphcis and control. Which means the game can be improved if only slightly.

    Though i'm expecting this to beat mario galaixy for metascore.

  • Yossarian #238 4 years ago

    niteninja has some thoughts everybody.

    Read niteninja's thoughts above.

    (this post, above).

  • Slipstream #239 4 years ago

    Yay 10/10! I haven't even read the Review yet, yay!...I'll go read it now...what?

  • Chakitty #240 4 years ago

    @NSFR

    I own all three of the next consoles, yes was expensive but there was alot of time between buys and over 5 yrs or whatever a consoles lifespan is, doesnt work out too bad.

    You get the best of everything.
    All the exclusives.
    Blueray
    Xbox live
    Nintendo first party

    I'll be getting GTA4 on xbox purely for online and achievements, my friends have 360s

    Plus the controllers better.

  • niteninja #241 4 years ago

    GTA is a candidate for game of the year,however there are a lot of heavy hitters due out around christmas time.
    Keep a look out for heavy rain word is its mind blowing.

  • Moz #242 4 years ago

    @NSFR

    There is one very good reason to have both systems and that's exclusive titals.

    I got both systems on launch, was originally planning to let the PS3 pass me by but then saw the likes of little big planet and Rachet & Clank, Sing star and realised that there is nothing like them on 360, also a big wipeout fan.

    But kept 360 knowing that there would be Halo 3, Mass effect and Fable 2!

    My only issue at the moment is that there's been no brake in good release across the systems this year. Normally this time of year is good for finishing some games off.

  • Calgon #243 4 years ago

    Rash's "la la la"... hate to rain on yours cos that was with regards to texture pop-in alone(which it still has too, and load times are faster too I guess)... the 360 version has a slightly better picture(colour and proper anti-aliasing) and a slightly better framerate... in the end you could give the edge either way and you know it, theres so little between them that its not even worth trying to give the edge. Like I said though if a patch comes along for the pop-in(which it could) then it would just about be worth giving the technical edge to the 360 version(well maybe not, it depends on how much smoother the framerate is really).

  • Rash' #244 4 years ago

    Calgon, well, la dee da! You're blinded by your love of your preferred system. Go read any number of reviews and the majority say the same as I'm saying to you. There's not a lot in it but based of the reviews, $ony's console edges it technically. Oh, and a patch isn't exclusively available to 360...
    Edited by 3 at 28/04/08 @ 02:50

  • Calgon #245 4 years ago

    Rash' my god you are desperate arent you("any number of"??? theres bearly any reviews... IGN can be dismissed, I would hope you arent that desperate)... I dont own either of the consoles, theres just virtually no difference get over it. They both have pop-in PS3s is slightly less noticable, which is why that author gave it the technical edge in his/her opinion.. do you get it now? If framerate or colour/image quality was more important to them, then geuss what? The 360 would have the "slight edge".

    Again read what I said carefully and stop assuming you know better, you were quoting "edges it technically" and I was clarifying in what way = pop-in(no confirmation of anything else other than load times has been mentioned from any respectable source, so incase you are confused here, no you arent getting better graphics infact its said the 360 version looks slightly better sorry), the 360 edges it in otherways(from the same source) which I noted, yes PS3 could have the patch too and hopefully there would be two versions with little to no pop-in right? That last point I made was because framerate is rarely patchable for obvious reasons, so expect that to remain the same which 360 apparently has the edge in funnily enough.
    Edited by 3 at 28/04/08 @ 03:12

  • Calgon #246 4 years ago

    Thanks for the laugh though Rash' but thats all I'm saying on the matter.

    As for this little gem:

    You're blinded by your love of your preferred system.

    Pot meet kettle perhaps? ;)

  • 8bitMofo #247 4 years ago

    This should hold me over until MGS4
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 03:41

  • Foat1 #248 4 years ago

    10/10

  • Foat1 #249 4 years ago

    evryone buy!!!!!!

  • Khanivor #250 4 years ago

    niteninja, how come you can find the shift key when posting in the comments threads, unlike your 'contributions' to the forum?

    And how comes you don't come across as totally and frighteningly batshit insane here either?

  • ElNino9 #251 4 years ago

    The PS3 version has a better frame rate and less pop up, but the 360 version has a better colour palette and DLC...


    ... Oh wait, I forgot, I don't give a flying fuck.

    I'll end up getting both, so I can play with friends on XBL and PSN anyway. :)

  • Vice.Destroyer #252 4 years ago

    I'll end up getting both, so I can play with friends on XBL and PSN anyway. :)

    That, ladies and gents, is the true definition of hardcore.

  • Charlie_Miso #253 4 years ago

    i have nothing to add

  • 3william56 #254 4 years ago

    In other news, the governments behind the Large Hadron Collider are kicking themselves this morning, after it was demonstrated that a Higgs Boson could be easily identified for nothing. Xbots and SDF amateurs used the combined forces of ignorance, bile and insecurity to split matter to it's most fundamental level. The hair split between the 360 and PS3 versions of popular violence franchise GTA IV was subdivided so thinly that, once the divisions got past the quark level, a Higgs Boson spontaeously manifested in the comments section of Eurogamer.

    Unfortunately, the appearance of the fabled Boson was also accompanied by the formation of a planet destroying black hole, meaning that the world will in fact end before any copies of GTA IV are delivered.


    If EG had any sense, they'd have give it a 7, watched the hit count reach infinity, sold the domain off for a billion bucks and retired to a private island in the carribean.

  • Khanivor #255 4 years ago

    Gives that man a jaffa

  • seasidebaz #256 4 years ago

    @calgon:

    read the metareviews. the ps3 version has the edge. not that it matters.

    and if you don't have either console, go get one of them. otherwise don't comment on a game you CAN'T PLAY. plus you will have a great console to play other great games on too.

  • Andy247 #257 4 years ago

    Wow, 10/10, what a shock.

  • Mindstorm #258 4 years ago

    wow mr Bramwell, that was probably the dulllest, flattest and most uninspired review you ever wrote. It almost made me think of something done out of pure boredom and/or frustration...

  • PlugMonkey #259 4 years ago

    tgigreeny: "If you own both platforms, you clearly spend enough on games to be able to buy it for both and either sell or return the lesser of the two."

    Don't talk total shit. Just because I own two consoles doesn't mean I can afford to spend £80 on every game I buy, not to mention that I really don't have enough spare time to spend it fucking about playing the same game through twice to see which version is better. That is the most irrational, inane, bizarre, brainless and useless solution anyone has suggested to the whole 'dilemma' of which version to buy as it doesn't actually provide a solution. If you had told me to just toss a fucking coin I might be able to retain a fragment of respect.

    swam: "Yet they gave it 10/10 because they were swept up in the hype like all the other 10/1 outlets.


    That is all. "

    And you can tell all this about a game that THEY have played and YOU have not. Thankyou Mystic fucking Meg! I think the deranged conspiracy theorists are actually starting to piss me off even more than the electrical appliance flame wars.

  • Vice.Destroyer #260 4 years ago

    @BBIAJ

    I suspect that you're just having a dig because you're bored. But just in case you missed it, my post was dripping with sarcasm. Bearing your setup in mind, your post was dripping with irony.

  • muscleblade #261 4 years ago

    GOTY? No way. Gears of war 2 will be GOTY.


    Ive got GTA4 today and im taking a day off work tomorrow to play it. I also have birthday tomorrow so it will be a good day.

  • ctrl-k #262 4 years ago

    what's the price on AH for a copy? or is it BoP.

  • seasidebaz #263 4 years ago

    to everyone who has it already:

    r* were very clear about the street date not being broken. play it today and i bet you get banned from the r* social club ;)

  • seasidebaz #264 4 years ago

    ok then, to further my statement, they might ban you until you tell them exactly who sold it to you, and prosecution has taken place ;)

  • Prodigy_BE #265 4 years ago

    Read it!

    Must say, the Gametrailers review at least mentioned that under all the fancy stuff, the missions are plain and simple. Somebody contacts you, tells you to go to a location, you go there, kill all enemies, and a new objective enters the scene.

    I'm not saying its good or bad (have to play it first), but I AM saying that every review should at least point this out. And if the reviewer has any balls, they'd actually give an opinion on how the mission gameplay hold up. But no, everyone is to scared to do that, because if their opinion differs from the majority, they'll be getting heat they can't handle.

    Up until now, every review is just a list of side-shit you can do.

  • Widge #266 4 years ago

    Tried to persuade local shops to sell it.

    FAIL.

  • chudders #267 4 years ago

    Oh, I didn't know this was coming out?

  • X201 #268 4 years ago

    500+ posts by the end of the day.

  • Widge #269 4 years ago

    I'm purposely avoiding all reviews so that I discover every joy and facet for myself.

  • DjFlex52 #270 4 years ago

    Must say, the Gametrailers review at least mentioned that under all the fancy stuff, the missions are plain and simple. Somebody contacts you, tells you to go to a location, you go there, kill all enemies, and a new objective enters the scene.

    Up until now, every review is just a list of side-shit you can do.

    @Prodigy_BE

    And you needed Gametrailers to tell you that? LOL...What did you think GTA IV was all about....cooking recipes?
    And of course, most reviews just list side shit to do...did you want story spoilers? I didn't ;)

  • DjFlex52 #271 4 years ago

    500+ posts by the end of the day.

    @X201

    And 90% of them are bitching, moaning, complaining, griping about the game & reviews and also arguing over which version is better.
    Are you mofos ever happy? jeez!

  • Carlo #272 4 years ago

    Only 10/10!

    /cancels order ;)

  • Dizzy #273 4 years ago

    "GOTY? No way. Gears of war 2 will be GOTY. "

    :)

    My bet is on Left4Dead.

  • seasidebaz #274 4 years ago

    i think you'll find monster hunter freedom 2nd g will be goty. it's already sold more copies than there are people in japan ;)

  • penhalion #275 4 years ago

    Thread seems to be slowing down....er...what to say....what to say!?!?

    I know....

    Did any muppets order the special edition and spend 70 quid to get a bunch of stuff they can't use and will look like pillocks when they show their friends?

  • dom6918 #276 4 years ago

    Anyone who ordered from Play.com recieve their copies this morning?

  • muscleblade #277 4 years ago

    @Dizzy

    Shit! i had forgot about that one. Damn. Yes Left4Dead will be fantastic. GOTY candidate for sure.

    My personal GOTY will be Ninja Gaiden 2. Dont think its stand a chance as GOTY by the press though.

  • Lemming81 #278 4 years ago

    Nice. I look forward to the PC release.

  • muscleblade #279 4 years ago

    @seasidebaz

    I got it from a friend that works in a gamestore. People that works in gamestores and gamedistributers naturally get to play games before release. Thats not very strange is it?

    And about Monster Hunter. Thats a game that will do very well there but not so much elsewhere. I can promise you it wont even be a candidate for GOTY.
    Edited by 2 at 28/04/08 @ 09:42

  • Buztafen #280 4 years ago

    @penhalion

    One muppet right here, though it was £60 and ive more money than sense :)

    Actually lookin forward to the soundtrack CD, plus ive got uses for the bag (bank robberies, drug smuggling, baby kidnapping...)

  • Kryon #281 4 years ago

    Grand Meh Auto.... I'd rather watch Jeremy Kyle tbh.

  • gamerbunny #282 4 years ago

    10/10. Well done Rockstar.

    And now to read the review....

  • PlugMonkey #283 4 years ago

    "But no, everyone is to scared to do that, because if their opinion differs from the majority, they'll be getting heat they can't handle. "

    Absolutely. I bet EuroGamer were literally quaking with fear at the thought of all that 'heat'. Just imagine if they game it 7/10 and their website got even more hits? Good Lord, it doesn't bear thinking about. The heat! It haunts my dreams!

    Wait...you don't suppose it might just be...a really good game?

    No. What am I thinking. It could only be a mass conspiracy. Obviously.

  • Mindstorm #284 4 years ago

    I don't think there is any external pressure on reviewers when big games like this come out. The pressure is more "internal": every once in a while the industry as a whole needs this type of hyped hysteria everyone seems to agree on. The benefits are for all.

  • bad09 #285 4 years ago

    Eurogamer made the big time...a mention from the BBC along with the NY Times :)

    http://ne ws.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/73...
    Edited by 2 at 28/04/08 @ 10:07

  • Moz #286 4 years ago

    @ warzin Bet they don't. It's not against the law to buy a game early, just to SELL it early.

    It's not even that, once someone has sold you something you are entitled to sell it, how ever good luck getting take2 to supply you anymore.

  • penhalion #287 4 years ago

    @Buztafen

    finally someone on these forums who isn't taking this stuff too seriously. :)

    I thought the bag was cool but, realised that using it in public was like tatooing a sign on my forehead saying "Candidate for most uncool guy in hstory"

  • Der_tolle_Emil #288 4 years ago

    I didn't really enjoy GTA III when I tried it but I have to admit this sounds quite good. I also enjoyed Crackdown which isn't exactly the same but I'm pretty sure that I could use another sandbox game like this.

  • ps3owner #289 4 years ago

    spoke to my local blockbuster on saturday and they just said "pay for the game + £50 on top and you can have your copy"... I didn't buy it. I am a master of self control + it was at least 22 degrees.

  • NickN4ck #290 4 years ago

    I agree with the dull review comments, what happened?, girl dumped you as the credits were rolling or something?. Worst GTA4 review on the web. I guess you were to busy making all those Wii fit articles were you tried to make Ellie look like Jade Redmond.

  • NickN4ck #291 4 years ago

    And who cares if you get the game a day early, what are you like 7 years old?

  • SeesThroughAll #292 4 years ago

    Comparison video done by IGN, and one designed to shut up fanboys.
    Both versions are graphically nearly identical and equally good.

    sixaxis controls are available on the PS3, but unsurprisingly don't add much to the experience (as always).
    Online is probably better on the 360 (Live).

    Like the guy says, it comes down which controller you like the most, and which version most of your friends will be getting.

    Sorry, I couldn't help it.

  • muscleblade #293 4 years ago

    @ps3owner

    Yeah right

  • penhalion #294 4 years ago

    @Moz

    Can you imagine take 2, microsoft, sony or nintendo actually stopping any major retailer from buying their products because of a broken street date?

    It's like saying "I know you can sell through 1 million copies of the game but, because you broke date last time we'll take the hit of a million less sales to teach you a lesson".

    Yea like that's going to happen!

  • muscleblade #295 4 years ago

    Nice to see that PS3 owners finally get a fantastic game thats singleplayer wise is at least as good as the 360 version.
    The 360 version is better online for sure thanks to xbox live and achievements though.

    Both versions are great no matter what. PS3 owners deserve a great game for their very expensive console, no doubth.

  • miiiguel #296 4 years ago

    seasidebaz, what's that "metareviews", lol! link?

  • Moz #297 4 years ago

    @SeesThroughAll

    Damb you that head2head make me want to buy the game!!!! Have been resisting so well.
    Also from the looks of things the multiplayer could lay waist to MGO!! (Which insedently rocks once you get into the sneaking around)

    Still the which version to get dilema still remains! Still hopefully Lovefilm will send it me tomorrow (PS3 version) so can play around for a couple of months find out who else i know who's playing it and then buy if i'm still liking the game

  • Widge #298 4 years ago

    I still need to get into MGO, I played 2 games before defecting back to Warhawk... but based on the opinion of the avforums players, there is plenty of joy to be hand in it! I suppose I really need to sit down and get used to the mechanics of it using the tutorials....

  • Moz #299 4 years ago

    @penhalion, this is true for the really big companies I guess, though I know GAME for one tend to negotiate a cheaper price for the games because they are so big, but if they start breaking street they're going to loose those deals at least.

  • tinners #300 4 years ago

    people getting a PC for this game lol yeah so much cheaper than a £150 360......

    and people who are annoyed it didnt get a 9 when they aint even come close to playing it lol......ive played it and its a 10 sorry it just is, and i know for some strange reason that annoys certain people, very odd indeed. luckily i love games....especially good ones :)

  • miiiguel #301 4 years ago

    "people getting a PC for this game"
    err... can you play GTA 4 (four, as in, this last one!, and shit...) on a PC ?

  • Moz #302 4 years ago

    @Widge, for your skills take, pistal master, enhanced aim, and fast, plus master of which ever weapon you like to use, once going press square (i think, the one on the left anyway) to turn on auto aim, and walk around with L1 held down. I very quickly gave up trying to aim manually the game doesn't seem to be about your own accuracy.

  • Katsumoto #303 4 years ago

    "people getting a PC for this game lol yeah so much cheaper than a £150 360...... "

    Well, considering I have a PC and I don't have a 360, it would cost say 25 quid to play this on PC and 190 on Xbox, so I know which is cheaper for me!

    Moot point, as there is no PC version announced yet. Gutted.

  • space_ace #304 4 years ago

    omg nothing is doomed!

  • Moz #305 4 years ago

    @tinners, I love games too, but if there is room for improvement and every game suggests there is then you can't give it 10, gametrailers are spot on giving it 9.8. The only time I'd consider giving something a 10 that isn't perfect is if it does something truly ground breaking and new (eg Mario 64)

    This also highlights why a decimal or out of 100 score is better then out of 10 because you can differentiate between AAA games. - Out of 10 just tells you if it's worth bothering with or not

  • BiscuitBase #306 4 years ago

    But is it as good as HAZE?

  • tinners #307 4 years ago

    @miiguel

    "people getting a PC for this game"
    err... can you play GTA 4 (four, as in, this last one!, and shit...) on a PC ?

    Yeah i had it, and my pc was old back then, but that was just the PS2 version in high res. This is a next gen version and im sure it pushes the 360 and PS3 quite hard, of course im just assuming but surely upgrading your PC to play GTA (once its finally out on PC) wont be cheap in comparison to buying a 360 or even PS3.

    High end pc's are pricey which is why i have stopped upgrading since HL2 came out. each to their own i spose.

  • PlugMonkey #308 4 years ago

    Moz: "but if there is room for improvement and every game suggests there is then you can't give it 10"

    As I said earlier in the thread, 10/10 does NOT mean that a game is perfect. It means it is worthy of the highest accolade EG can bestow. It means it stands among the greatest games ever made. NO game can ever be perfect, so if you can't ever give a 10 to anything you're effectively using a 9 point scale, which is daft.

    And personally, I think doing it in % points is equally daft. WTF does 9.8 mean? Can you really quantify how that is better than a 9.7? It's moving to a level of fidelity that doesn't exist!

    And because Gametrailers gave it a 9.8, EG have to round down to a 9??

    And no, a 10 does NOT mean it's 'worth bothering'. 10 means essential, 9 means excellent, 8 means worth bothering, 7 means worth a look , 6 means maybe if I see it cheap. I don't need any more fidelity in the scoring than that, that's about the limit of my responses!

    Do you really react differently to a 9.8 than a 9.7?

  • tinners #309 4 years ago

    "Well, considering I have a PC and I don't have a 360, it would cost say 25 quid to play this on PC and 190 on Xbox, so I know which is cheaper for me!"

    "Moot point, as there is no PC version announced yet. Gutted"

    I think they will do a PC version it makes sesne and all GTA before this have eventually come out on PC. Fair enough if you have a good rig already like i said in another post my PC just wont do the game justice. Think i was aiming it at people likely to spend more on an upgrade than they will on a console etc, as long as your PC runs it as well as the consoles or better even its worth waiting for. Not to mention all the cool mods people do for the PC versions of GTA. ;)

  • DjFlex52 #310 4 years ago

    ^ ^
    ++ @PlugMonkey

  • Moz #311 4 years ago

    @PlugMonkey

    While all scores are an individual oppinion anyway it is interesting to looking a things like metacritic and see out of the top 20 games of all times which is seen as better then other and the only way to do that is with higher fidelity.

  • orakio #312 4 years ago

    Despite Tom being a fab reviewer et all,
    It's a missed opportunity to show the readers that there are different types of reviewers amongst the EG crew. They've done more takes on a single game with 2 different scores by two different reviews. I think they should've done the same by letting someone else review the game as well. Heck, with the embargo the time was there, or am I wrong?

    Alas, a pity, but there's another day tomorrow no? ;-)

  • DjFlex52 #313 4 years ago

    @Moz

    When sites & magazines rank best 20 movies of all time, they are all 4 star movies...none are 3.8. The order is subjective anyways....same with videogames :)

  • PlugMonkey #314 4 years ago

    Moz - No, metacritic works just as well regardless. The more other scores get merged in, the less and less difference it makes that Gametrailers gave it 9.8 instead of 10.

    And I think you can only get to that kind of fidelity by factoring in dozens of different scores. My point being that someone sitting in Gametrailers offices thinking "Well, my first feeling was a 9.7, but now I reckon it might be worth a 9.8." is fairly ridiculous.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 10:55

  • layleeloo #315 4 years ago

    I've been playing this since Friday, and for someone whom this wasnt an essential purchase, I must say im rather impressed. I loved vice city on the PS2, it was just very me as i love the 80's and the music. I thought San An was pretty pants (just not my thing) and to be honest, i've become bored of this type of game. However, I had it from my mate as an early birthday gift on the PS3, bless and have been playing it moderatly for about 7-8 hours over the weekend.

    I have only done about 10 missions, like debt collecting etc. Done smaller tasks like taking your girlfriend on a date - going bowling etc, hanging out with your cousin playing pool and just walking around. I found a rollercoaster and walked to the top to get a good view of the city. I guess the only thing to note this early in, is just how polished it is. even the interiors of the cars etc. Its great on the internal view when you run people over and they boune off the bonet etc. But to be honest, most exploring has been done on foot so I can see how much detail has gone into it.

    All in all, its a good game - I cant give it a rating like all the mags giving it 10's etc as like i say, only bneen playing for about 8-10 hours (if it wasnt my girlfriends bithday on saturday it would have been double the time! haha). Only thing to note is how awful the cars handle early on in the game, as for breaking - anticipate the corner half a mile in advance!! haha. Its like they have marshmallow for suspension cos ive seen ferry's roll less when cornering in rough seas! haha. All in all, im rather enjoying it - and for someone who isnt a die hard GTA fan, im sure all you who are will be in heaven with it.

    And for all you who like presentation, the embossed lettering on the box is very plush.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 11:06

  • Widge #316 4 years ago

    @Moz

    I see a few people have different tactics. Some people are liking auto aim off and taking people out in FPS view with the pistols, naturally the smgs are good auto aim fodder. Apparently some bloke has been terrorising with a knife, the choice quote being:

    "he likes to play with his victim, stunning and then dragging me around the place stealing all my items and patting me suspiciously - he's sick I tell ya"

    I like the idea you can disarm someone using CQC and effectively get a full quotient of weapons to your name. Some people have been using 'feign death' tactics to win capture points, by lying down looking dead like. I think I'm certainly going to have to get into it and find a style. I found Warhawk the same.... it came online and everyone flew about like headless chickens, now there is a bit of tactics and flair to it.

  • tinners #317 4 years ago

    @tinners, I love games too, but if there is room for improvement and every game suggests there is then you can't give it 10, gametrailers are spot on giving it 9.8. The only time I'd consider giving something a 10 that isn't perfect is if it does something truly ground breaking and new (eg Mario 64)

    @Moz - I guess it comes down to the individual reviewing this game and what experience they get/got out of it, on average most people i think will give it around the 9.8 mark etc. Im not fussed about EG giving it a 10, like i said i think it deserves a 10, i was lucky enough to play it being in the industry etc and i really cant see how many other games can even stand up to this at present.

    People get too bogged down on what 10 out of 10 means these days, its just a number and once you play the game yourself you gotta ask yourself what other games have you played (in your lifetime of gaming) that matches this, oblivion, mario 64, maybe the first Halo...its really up there with a small number of games for me that utterly destroys most of the competition, which lets be honest for most of the year is just a production line of shit with copycat games or something rushed out there to be sold to stupid gamers in mass.

    This is a game you will look back at and still be playing come christmas, in this day and age i cant think of many games that keep my whithering attention span going for that long. So what if it got 0.2 decimal places more than it should have the game is fucking amazing, and is the reason i LOVE games ;)
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 11:02

  • anomagnus #318 4 years ago

    man, i just cant wait for the flame fest once the comparison reviews are up!!!!

  • NSFR #319 4 years ago

    I like the 1 to 10 scale because it specifically avoids the kind of nit picking seen here and actually makes you use your brain with regards to reading the review.

    There is far, far too much emphasis being placed on a number. If we all only played games 9 and above, or A grade games or 90%+ we'd be missing out on so much. That is not what being a real lover of games is about in my opinion. That's like only watching films which are this years blockbusters.

    GTA in the past has managed to do both: be a blockbuster but also have depth. And that is what it seems it has done again.

  • syphaa #320 4 years ago

    No point in blabbering on...this is going to be an amazing experience. I am equally looking forward to the MP aspect. Its gonna be a riot with friends thats for sure!

  • Clive_Dunn #321 4 years ago

    This better not be another Bioshock / Halo 2 / Halo 3 type 10 review.

  • tgigreeny #322 4 years ago

    @ Plugmonkey

    Chill the fuck out dude. I wa only suggesting getting both (then returning one for a refund) as a means of settling to your own satisfaction your, clearly agonising, dilemma over which version is better. I own both consoles but will get the 360 version as my mates all have 360s. I will play it quite happily, not giving two figs whehter or not I could be playing a PS3 version with a slightly better draw distance or not. You on the other hand seem to be agonising over which to get. Which is, of course, fine. As none of the reviews I've so far read (including this one) give a definitive answer as to which version is better, I can only surmise that there really isn't that much difference. As you, and many others seem to be desperate to know, I merely suggested a temporary outlay of £80, with the promise of half of that returned and the knowledge that in your opinion, whichever version you kept was definitely the better.

    Quite a reasonable suggestion in fact. And hey, if you've not got £80 why not buy one version, play it, return it, then buy the other to compare. If the first was better, return the second nad re-buy the first. It's the only way you'll know for sure which is better.

  • NSFR #323 4 years ago

    Oh come on Bioshock was excellent.

  • Moz #324 4 years ago

    @ KILLA,, nah 9.849

  • tinners #325 4 years ago

    "This better not be another Bioshock / Halo 2 / Halo 3 type 10 review"

    erm try reading it first ;)

  • Moz #326 4 years ago

    @ tgigreeny & Plugmonkey

    Another option assuming you have friends who have the game, rent the version your most likely to want and try the other at a friends house,

  • Grayvern #327 4 years ago

    Yeah but if you never liked gta cause you didn't like playing basically an amoral asshole this wont change that. And if fallout 3 is released on time gta better have the good grace to wet itself.

    Although since I enjoy fallout ill rephrase the first bit the amoral gangsta asshole.
    Edited by 2 at 28/04/08 @ 11:31

  • Moz #328 4 years ago

    Yeah but if you never liked gta cause you didn't like playing basically an amoral asshole this wont change that.

    You say that but from what I've read and seen they do seem to have tried to give the main character a little more purpose, with some reviews saying it's the first time you actually feel something for the main charter.

    Though I too am expecting Fallout 3 to be better

  • Transcendent #329 4 years ago

    Not a very informative review. Many previews told me more about the game.
    But at least we now know that the framerate is below average, which makes me want to wait for a PC version that runs at a constant 60+ fps.

    But I'd wanted more information on the driving and the combat, the two things you spend most of your time doing. It was obvious that the cover mechanics wouldn't be as good as in Gears of War, but I'd atleast like to know if it's better or worse than in R6: Vegas.
    And the same applies to the driving part. It couldn't be as good as Forza 2, but it could be alot better than the previous games.

  • Greebo #330 4 years ago


    360 comments eh?

    Right, I'll use that as my basis for going with the 360 version!

    Decision made.

  • muscleblade #331 4 years ago

    @miiiguel

    http://www.metacritic.com/

  • PlugMonkey #332 4 years ago

    tgigreenyChill the fuck out dude. I wa only suggesting getting both (then returning one for a refund) as a means of settling to your own satisfaction your, clearly agonising, dilemma over which version is better.

    I've had coffee now. Everything is looking a lot more zen.

    The point is it's not a particularly agonising dilemma. Certainly not agonising enough for me to fuck around doing something completely ridiculous like buying both versions and wasting my time analysing them when I could just do something sensible, like toss a coin. Or something even MORE sensible, like finding someone who has done the testing for me and seeing what they say.

    But for some inexplicable reason anybody discussing the point is being shouted down by people like you.

    And where do you go where you can return opened and playd games for a full refund?

  • penhalion #333 4 years ago

    @thinner

    My argument for not giving a 10/10 to anything was that it's misleading. reviewers always end up explaining that they didn't mean it was perfect, just different in a good way. To which I always go "WTF?!?"

    The reality (as I see it) is that a 10/10 or perfect score should only ever go to something that is exceptional and NEVER going to be repeated again or simply can't be bettered. For instance nature gets 10/10 for me as it's a constantly evolving system that can't be bettered (future proof built in, in the form of evolution and context sensitive genetic mutation).

    stupid reasoning mode on

    When I buy a game that evolves to get better the longer own it and have it running, then I'll consider a 10/10

    stupid reasoning mode off

  • Moz #334 4 years ago

    I like IGN AU's reason for not giving max marks, that they reckon that the next GTA will be even better.

  • miiiguel #335 4 years ago

    Thx, muscle, but..., what I'd like to read is something in the lines of what PlugMonkey said. I mean, I didn't see anywhere a review or a comparision saying this version is better because of "this and that" (measurable facts).

  • muscleblade #336 4 years ago

    @DiamondIce

    On a scale to 100 i agree no game should get 100. On a scale to 10. the best games should get a 10.

  • Moz #337 4 years ago

    awww on metacritic score the PS3 version currently has the edge 99 average on 360 100 average on PS3 lol.

    If i end up buying the game, i'm temped to walk up to the counter with both copies held behind my back and get the shop assistant to pick a hand!!

  • PapaSmurf630 #338 4 years ago

    I'd give nature a 9/10
    GTA a 10/10

  • miiiguel #339 4 years ago

    Hummm..., I don't agree with the not beeing possible to give the highest rate, otherwise the scale would be up to 9 (or whatever minus something). The scale could be however "open", like the ones to measure earthquakes, because, you never know if a bigger will come. (hope not, though...)

  • moggsy #340 4 years ago

    @ PlugMonkey

    Here ya go:

    Kotaku GTA IV version comparison

  • muscleblade #341 4 years ago

    You cant compare the metacritic total score to see wich version is better. Only a complete fool would think that.
    Ign wrote that the PS3 version performed slightly better but things like achievements only was available on the 360 obviously.
    The 360 have the best online service wich is also important.

  • peteb #342 4 years ago

    @moggsy

    Yea Kotaku did a nice job of comparing the two. Funny that the AA differences are not in the Retail Build, IGN must have had an earlier build then.

  • Moz #343 4 years ago

    The 360 have the best online service wich is also important.

    Well that depends, are they refering to XBL being better then PSN, or does the online multiplayer run better on 360 (e.g. less lag, faster automatching time etc)

    Cos if the online mode in the game is identicle in performance then XBL vs PSN should come into the score.

  • r3n #344 4 years ago

    the biggest problem with this game is that unless I go out at midnight tonight I'll have trouble buying it for ages. guess that'll learn me to pre-order in future

  • Moz #345 4 years ago

    humm well that's more votes towards the 360 version and me buying the game tonight!!! *sigh* Just had friends in shop saying they're going to GAME at midnight.

    WHY AM I SUCH A SUCKER FOR HYPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Rash' #346 4 years ago

    The only thing lacking on PSN is in game features, which will be resolved this year with in game XMB. PSN is free with dedicated servers, so better online is a moot point comparatively speaking. IGN's head to head summed it up perfectly- get the version which works best with your friends.

  • Moz #347 4 years ago

    @rash, that still doesn't help have friends getting it on both systems!!

  • SeesThroughAll #348 4 years ago

    that still doesn't help have friends getting it on both systems!!

    Get both versions then? :/

  • Rash' #349 4 years ago

    Moz, ^ What he said ^
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 12:20

  • Moz #350 4 years ago

    It's tempting, though may start with just the 360 version, going to have MGO, Socom, and wipeout on PS3

  • Rash' #351 4 years ago

    SeeThroughAll, even in you head to head post they agreed that PS3 version has the graphical edge. It's moot, but not enough to prevent you from wanting to make the "equally as good" assertion. They are where it matters most, but not in graphics.

  • tinners #352 4 years ago

    @thinner

    My argument for not giving a 10/10 to anything was that it's misleading. reviewers always end up explaining that they didn't mean it was perfect, just different in a good way. To which I always go "WTF?!?"

    The reality (as I see it) is that a 10/10 or perfect score should only ever go to something that is exceptional and NEVER going to be repeated again or simply can't be bettered. For instance nature gets 10/10 for me as it's a constantly evolving system that can't be bettered (future proof built in, in the form of evolution and context sensitive genetic mutation).

    @penhalion - Either im not supposed to reply to you because my name isnt thinner or you must type too fast, anyways before i bust into a slim shady song, thats fine.... but one important question

    - HAVE YOU PLAYED THE GAME???
    what are you saying that nothing deserves a 10 in its entirety....ever??

    Nature which is either that XNA game or you mean real life which games are not, im sure you have seen nature as you put it but again go back to my first question? nature is out now GTA is out tonight at midnight, come back then and give it your own decimal point score ;) rgds fatter!
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 12:30

  • PlugMonkey #353 4 years ago

    @moggsy

    \o/

    Thanks dude!

  • PlugMonkey #354 4 years ago

    STKD - Yeah, you'll need a gold account to play online multiplayer. A silver account would only let you download the DLC and upload your achievements.

  • layleeloo #355 4 years ago

    who gives a flying fuck about scores? It seems all the people debating scores here havnt even played it yet?!?! I've had it since friday, and been playin it over the weekend and wouldnt score it yet, as i havnt even scratched the surface - so stop goin on about scores and reviews until you have seen most of the game, and not just the first 10 minutes and giving it 10's cos it looks very swish. Which it does. My only thought was when the opening scene of a woman in thigh boots whipping a guy - it could only go downhill from there!! hahaha. But it doesnt. So lay off the scoreing hey until you have at least played the game a LOT.

  • Rash' #356 4 years ago

    STKD, You'll need a gold account I'm sorry to say.

  • Moz #357 4 years ago

    @STKD
    I guess your situation highlights the trouble with having to pay for a gold account, if there's only one game you want to play online then £40 a year is a big ask.

    May MS could do Gold Lite where you register to player certain games online for a reduced cost. So for 1 game £10, 2 Games £20, 3 Games £30 then full Gold.

    EDIT:/ Another thought is maybe MS have it backwards, and that playing games online should be free, but to have the advanced feature like chat and video chat being what you pay the subscription for
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 12:39

  • peteb #358 4 years ago

    @STKD

    The game comes with a 1 month Xbox Live Gold trial

  • Moz #359 4 years ago

    While were talking about the multiplayer, is there any kind of split screen so 2 of you can play online on the same console? I'm guessing not but thought it worth asking.

  • Wendelius #360 4 years ago

    Moz,

    I just paid £23 for 13 months on Live. Less than £2 per month. Ebay is your friend. No need to pay UK retail prices or quote that as an online play requirement.

    Wendelius

  • dr_faulk #361 4 years ago

    Meh.

    I'm playing No More Heroes at the moment, which obviously isn't a patch on GTAIV, but it's originality in terms of style, presentation, and story makes me happy to keep playing it until all the GTAIV hype dies down.

    I'm beginning to dodge franchise games.

  • daithi90 #362 4 years ago

    Was it ever going to get any other score!

  • Moz #363 4 years ago

    Let just hope that if something truely revolutionary comes along that EG will give it an 11.

  • layleeloo #364 4 years ago

    scores bloody scores. Who cares?! Its a laugh - I know. The end. Numbers mean fuck all.

  • Moz #365 4 years ago

    @daithi90, yes it should have got the 9 it deserves, and no i've not played the game before people start, but all the reviews state that it has flaws, and if it has flaws it doesn't deserve a 10/10.

    Which is why I like reviews that break down the score so you could say:
    E.G.
    Gameplay : 10
    Sound/Music: 10
    Graphics: 8
    Multiplayer: 9
    OVERALL: 9

  • ps3owner #366 4 years ago

    I know this is off topic, however I feel this is relevant to the 10/10 score. Has anyone actually played the game yet, apart from the reviewer? exactly. within 2 weeks the 10/10 will be changed to a 9/10 ... maybe less. I can't tell. haven't played it yet.

    just to underline it... the iphone (remember this is just to prove a point here) scored a 5/5 from mobile review. then the backlash hit and they even admitted that they had fallen for the hype. dejavue?



  • Moz #367 4 years ago

    @layleeloo, I guess the issues regarding review score despite them not being that important is that is site start handing out 10s left right and center then the score becomes even more meaningless you may as well not bother at all. This to me is highlighted by this and Halo 3 both getting 10s, i'm expecting that GTA4 is noticable better then then Halo3 on most aspects, story, graphics, sound, music (i'm guessing not multiplayer). This is wear the decimal system comes in with the bit after the point ranking the game in relation to other games that have the "same" score. hell you could even have games getting 10.1, 10.5 which makes it even clearer that the decimal is ranking the game against other games with the "same" score

  • rhinoxious #368 4 years ago

    Scores, Yawn.

    Who cares, read the words he's written, appreciate his personal and subjective opinion on the game. Then decide whether to buy it, or maybe just read the review for your entertainment, or for information.

    But please leave off the tired old perfect score debate, its been done to death.

  • UncleLou #369 4 years ago

    For those who erroneously think that 10 means perfect: just imagine the scale goes to 11. It's as easy as that.

  • Rich72 #370 4 years ago

    i've got a 360! this game sounds good. played some of the other ones and enjoyed them. got a universally good score. guess what..... i'm going to buy it.

  • ps3owner #371 4 years ago

    @UncleLou

    but it's 10/10
    not 10/11

    so your imagination is pointless. EG claims this to be perfect. read the score description.

  • Moz #372 4 years ago

    Here's an easier option just stop scoreing games at all. It's all an opinion anyway.
    You could always just award a game with a bronze silver or gold recommendation, with games that the reviewer doesn't think are worth a look not getting anything. Is more or less what the current system boils down to anyway. 1-5 nothing, 6-7 Bronze, 8 Silver, 9-10 Gold

  • bitesize #373 4 years ago

    EG claims this to be perfect. read the score description.

    fuck's sake! i've read this so many times in this comment thread - 10/10 DOES NOT MEAN A PERFECT GAME!!! try reading the scoring policy on this site, specifically the bit headed "The Perfect 10?":

    Let us make absolutely clear that a 10 is not and probably never will be "the perfect game".

    read it again, and digest. clearer now?

  • Apologie #374 4 years ago

    Ps3 version is superior... good.

  • ps3owner #375 4 years ago

    @bitesize

    you got me there, shame on me. So what happens if there is a better game. still 10/10?

    or just "no score needed, it's perfect"

    btw, I didn't bother reading 400 comments first. sorry

  • muscleblade #376 4 years ago

    About comparison the platforms:

    The funny thing is: Everybody thouth that the PS3 was going to be the strongest and best console this generation with the best graphics including myself. It came out a year after the 360 so it would have made sense that it would be better.
    People now know that this was not the case. I remember buying my PS3 with resistance and motorstorm right after playing gears of war. The difference was huge in the opposite way that i would have imagined a year before. The 360 isnt alot better than the PS3 when it comes to crossplatform games. But shouldnt it be much better? Its still the most expensive console hands down. The best console not at all.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 13:30

  • Rich72 #377 4 years ago

    no cut and paste apologie? you feeling ok? bless

  • NSFR #378 4 years ago

    "and if it has flaws it doesn't deserve a 10/10"

    By that reasoning no game should ever get 10/10.


  • BM #379 4 years ago

    @Moz

    I've got an even easier way of dealing with the 10/10 debate. Don't put any scores / marks on any games, and make people read the fucking review instead :)
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 13:31

  • bitesize #380 4 years ago


    @ps3owner: it's not just you, about 390 of those 400 comments are saying the same thing...

    and yes, if there's a better game, it'll still be 10/10, why should it not be? games with the same mark out of ten aren't necessarily exactly the same quality are they?
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 13:32

  • NickN4ck #381 4 years ago

    360 version has more content, better online community where everyone has a mic, custom soundtracks, sharper graphics = really good.

    And there are to many Eurogamer 10/10 scores so I no longer care about their reviews

    Halo 3
    Shadow of the collossus
    Bioshock
    FF12
    Orange Box
    GTA IV

    Gametrailers has better reviews, and never hand out perfect scores.

  • UncleLou #382 4 years ago

    @UncleLou

    but it's 10/10
    not 10/11

    so your imagination is pointless. EG claims this to be perfect. read the score description.

    It's not pointless at all. Imagining the scale goes to 11 is exactly what you obviously need to do. Surely you can replace the "out of 10" with an "out of 11" in your head?

    EG claims this to be perfect

    Heh, you couldn't be more wrong. I suggest you read the scoring policy.

  • ps3owner #383 4 years ago

    @kelly's_h

    no point to debate the version. if you own a 360 then you'll get the 360 version, if you own the ps3, you'll get the ps3 version. if you own both you'll get the PS3 version, of course. ;)

    @bitesize

    I see. 10/10 makes sense now. still. there is an element of hype involved here, especially after re-reading the review. I think somebody mentioned it before. the review concentrates on everything but the main missions. So could be that they are just monotonic and everthing else makes the game stand out. (including the story)

    I am sure we'll find out once we've played the game.

  • Apologie #384 4 years ago

    With a huge, seamless streaming world, data must be constantly read from the disc. The PS3 version, with its required HDD install, loads missions seconds faster and decreases pop-in. The Xbox 360 version can suffer from some very noticeable texture loading, as things like trees, vehicles and building signs will regularly pop-in as one tools about town. It can be distracting, especially during high speed chases... if this were a personal decision, I'd have chosen the PlayStation 3 edition, mostly based on my preference for the DualShock controller and the performance edge.

    Ps3 version is better...
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 13:40

  • Kill_Crazy #385 4 years ago

    Why take the link out? ^^^

  • Kanselier #386 4 years ago

    Quote taken from the scoring policy

    A 10 will inspire the reviewer because it gets so many things correct. It will be something truly groundbreaking and aesthetically successful, be consistently enjoyable, get the balance right in difficulty terms, be technically very impressive, and be polished to a shine. It will leave the player in no doubt that they're playing something special right from the word go and will continue to inspire and amaze throughout. As we've said, this doesn't mean it's perfect, and we'll be sure to say where it goes wrong too, but maybe those niggles are just so minor that you can let it off. Look at anything under a microscope for long enough and you'll see the flaws. But would you kick a supermodel out of bed for farting?

    This!
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 13:43

  • Kill_Crazy #387 4 years ago

    Yes, especially if she's vegetarian - fucking spicy-bean-smelling-bitch.

  • Widge #388 4 years ago

    a 10 is an indication of its GOODNESS not its perfection value, for this particular phase in time
    I'm sure there was a point where there were some frankly amazing Amiga games that were absolute 10 material, for its time... have they been bettered now? Yeah. Should the marking be pro-active in case a better game comes out in the future? I don't think so.

  • Moz #389 4 years ago

    just watched vid, genious

  • NSFR #390 4 years ago

    I was half expecting Duke Nukem to pop up in that vid.

  • Miths #391 4 years ago

    I'm wondering who Apologie is quoting this time? As usual without the faintest hint of a courtesy nod towards the source.
    I really wish certain people would learn that using a quote without indicating that that's what it is - and mentioning the source - is equivalent to trying to pass this off as your own writing. That's content theft.

  • stoopidgreg #392 4 years ago

    this is bloody ridiculous. we've gone from a console fanboy war to a ratings war.

    it goes like this... 10/10 doesn't mean 100%, it doesn't mean a perfect game either. if a game gets, say, 8/10 that doesn't mean it's exactly equivilent of 80%, it means it's somewhere between 75% and 85%. with a 10/10 score that means it's between 95% and 100%. i simply cannot for the life of me understand why people are arguing that GT's score of 98% is much more apt than EG's 10/10. do they not understand simple mathematics?

    you know that no game is ever perfect, and don't use mario 64 as an example because that's just your personal opinion. Eurogamer have to give some games a 10/10 because these games set the bar for what can be achieved in videogames currently. i haven't played GTA 4 yet but from all that i've read and all the videos i've watched the game looks utterly sublime and well deserving of the highest accolade. i'll say again to people who don't understand the "out of 10" system. a game that gets a 10 ISN'T PERFECT. it just means it is seriously good, and in percentage terms is somewhere between 95% and 100%. i seriously doubt you would complain nearly as much if it got 5/5.

    @ Moz

    you say you translated the review as an 8/10 for graphics? you don't know what the hell you're talking about. yes the graphics aren't of the same visual quality as games such as gears of war, but it's a completely different type of game. GTA 4 is free roaming and models an entire frickin CITY seamlessly. of course it's not going to be the same quality as a linear shooter. anyone who has ever worked on games or knows anything about game engine technology knows this. the sheer variety of models, textures, billboards, buildings, cars and characters more than makes up for the slight lack in fidelity, which is a result of the sheer vastness of the city.

    so, can we all stop talking about the score please?

  • Widge #393 4 years ago

    I don't really care if the PS3 is or isn't better... if I bought the 360 version, it would get very far if I stuck it in my PS3.

  • Moz #394 4 years ago

    @stoopidgreg it was an example, not an opinion.

    edit: later you'll notice i've also suggested that bronze, silver gold rating would be even better, cos how good a game is can't be quantified so why bother at all. with bronze, silver Gold, or Good, Very good, Excellent you are being suitably abstract for the subject matter.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 13:56

  • ps3owner #395 4 years ago

    Apologie is quoting the following...

    PS3 VERSUS 360

    and I agree. PS3 is better. unless you own the 360. then the 360 is better... just read the last sentence in that comparisson ;)

  • Paulanator #396 4 years ago

    @Miths

    He's copied and pasted it from the Kotaku comparison.

    Not really that much of a suprise, I've yet to see a post from Apologie that is actually formed from his own thoughts : )

  • NSFR #397 4 years ago

    Actually one I thing I think we should be grateful for is that GTA IV hasn't generated mass hysteria among the nation's press or public. Yes there articles out there condemning it, but it the wider scheme of things is is a long way from the 'Video Nasty' silliness of the '80s.

    We really have reached a turning point I think.

  • Miths #398 4 years ago

    @muscleblade
    "... The 360 isnt alot better than the PS3 when it comes to crossplatform games. But shouldnt it be much better? Its still the most expensive console hands down. The best console not at all."

    I'm assuming you mean the PS3 is "the most expensive console hands down" (the quote above sort of makes it sound like you're saying the opposite)?
    If that is what you're saying, I'm not entirely inclined to agree. The price I paid for my 360 in September last year, plus a much needed - and overpriced - wireless network adapter, was pretty much the same as I paid for my PS3 in January this year.
    I just took a quick look at the currently cheapest prices here in Denmark. If you do need that wireless adapter - and I bet quite a lot of people do - you pretty much end up paying the same for a 360 Premium as a 40 GB PS3.
    The PS3 certainly was extremely expensive at launch, but not anymore.

  • des #399 4 years ago

    Well people i am kinda bored so here comes the megaton(drums...)

    From beyond3d forums(quaz51)

    PS3 version resolution is 1120x630 aka 630p

    360 version is 720p

    1000 more pages incoming

  • PlugMonkey #400 4 years ago

    Well people i am kinda bored so here comes the megaton(drums...)

    From beyond3d forums(quaz51)

    PS3 version resolution is 1120x630 aka 630p

    360 version is 720p

    1000 more pages incoming

    Oh, Jesus what have you done! Incoming!

    GET DOWN! GET DOWN! TAKE COVER!

  • ps3owner #401 4 years ago

    @des

    if that's true than no wonder the PS3 version runs smoother... this sucks. then again, i have to sit 3 foot away from my 32" TV in order to play COD4, otherwise I can't see anything.

  • LeD #402 4 years ago

    How come nobody likes to smell poo, yet everybody enjoys the smell of their own farts?

  • monkie_king #403 4 years ago

    That would explain how the PS3 manages to have antialiasing too ... downsampling.

    Link for that?

    edit: ahem ... upsampling, that is.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 14:10

  • kestral #404 4 years ago

    solution: hold your finger over the score. gone.
    alternatively boot up your linux box and code a greasemonkey extension that removes scores from all games sites.
    finally, print the page and fold the paper

  • Moz #405 4 years ago

    If that's true then that's rather interesting, but then again if reviewers can see a big difference (though i'm guessing most reviewer user smallish 26" screen as they're in an office) then why didn't they do the same trick with the 360 version it would then have run properly smoothly.

    But then it's rumoured the COD4 is 630p on both systems.

  • des #406 4 years ago

    Linky
    [link url=http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?t=46242&page=21
    ]http://fo rum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php...[/link]

    upscaling makes images look more blurry,since there is no new pixel information

  • Nithron #407 4 years ago

    The problem I have with 10/10 reviews is that there's always at least one glaring flaw with the game that the reviewer completely neglects to mention.

    Every single time I go out and buy a universally acclaimed game, in which all the reviews essentially just went on and on about how great it was, it inevitably turns out to have some serious problems that really irritate me, which basically every review refused to even touch upon.

    Example: Dead Rising and the absolutely ridiculously bad AI on the survivors, and respawning bosses. Big problems. Nobody mentioned them. What's up with that? Just because a game is good, doesn't mean you have to pretend it's damn well perfect.

    See: Zero Punctuation, a reviewer who actually explains how bad a game is rather than pretending it's God in a Box.

  • ps3owner #408 4 years ago

    @des

    so what you are really saying is that the "true" resolution of GTA4 is 630p. But the 360 is "upscaling" it to 720p and therefore the PS3 version is far superior, since it's sharper and less blurry...

    I need to be rewared with a medal I think.

  • Moonprince #409 4 years ago

    The thing about 10/10 scores is that by giving the highest possible mark the implication is that the game cannot be faulted.

    No, it really isn't.

  • Apostle #410 4 years ago

    360 version clearly better.

    /stirs

  • Widge #411 4 years ago

    yes but with Zero Punctuation its totally the other way, a humourous slant on things that are wrong with games... so everything then ends up sounding terrible

  • Widge #412 4 years ago

    Oh my GOD at the lengths people are going into that forum... comments about dithering processing, 400% image blowups!

  • fantabulo #413 4 years ago

    God I hate this name, why oh why did I choose it?

  • SeesThroughAll #414 4 years ago

    "Since both version of GTA had the same rendering res, the same level of AA, IGN review comments like 'more AA on PS3, or PS3 version smoother' are probably related to dither in 360 version."

    From the beyond3d thread posted above.
    Both versions are upscaled from 630p, it seems. And the same actual level of AA.

  • JohnnyGee2008 #415 4 years ago

    I Just Walked into my Local Blockbuster Store.....They Had A Few Extra Copies For Pre-Order...It Was Only A Fiver Deposit....And Here's Me Thinking I Would Have To Queue At Game Tonight.....It's Gonny Be A Good Day When I Finish Work 2moro.

    Get Down To Blockbuster Now With Your Sky-Diver

  • fantabulo #416 4 years ago

    I read every single comment

  • chrisjm #417 4 years ago

    '360 version clearly better.

    /stirs '

    at almost 500 comments long thats like stirring the sea with a toothpick ;)

  • byron_hinson #418 4 years ago

    God damn they have been queing at our local game since this morning. I thought I was sad going to tesco at 11. Game have already said they are only selling pre-orders at 12 tonight!

  • Moz #419 4 years ago

    Arbiter, that has lead me to one concern, if you have anything other then the BenQ DVD drive in your 360 then you might want avoid GTA4 expecting reports of disk unreadable in the middle of fights or driving to start in the next few days.

    Have 2 360 in our house, one nice and new with a Falcon ship set and BenQ DVD drive and an older one, tried playing Mass Effect on the older one and just gave up cos it kept screwing the pooch when streaming off the disk.

  • Moz #420 4 years ago

    @byron_hinson you sure, game in reading have said they're selling pre-order and regular.

  • byron_hinson #421 4 years ago

    Cambridge game (both of them) told me they were only doing pre-orders as there were not enough for more. Doesn't mean its true but my brother called them too and they said the same.

  • Decap #422 4 years ago

    Damn, I really wanted to but just could not make myself read that all at once, pretty heavy text. D:

    Score is what I thought it would be but the review itself is not very pleasing -> not fun to read. (I felt like I was reading some school-book cos it felt like work)

  • Moz #423 4 years ago

    any news on if the 360 version does any kind HDD buffering if one is present?
    If so how does it play on a core system without a HDD

  • ps3owner #424 4 years ago

    hey moz, according to Arbiter your Xbox arcade will blow up in due time due to the high stress levels... I wonder if it mentions that in the manual to the game

    *Dear Xbox 360 owner. unless you have the latest hardware, i.e. falcon chip so on, your xbox is likely to suffer from the RROD.

    but cheer up, you can always start playing it from £159.99 (isn't that the price?)

    to be honest the game should come with a free Xbox Arcade ;)

  • penhalion #425 4 years ago

    @tinner

    Sorry man you are right (I type too fast sometimes).

    I guess I view scores for games more abstractly. At the end of the day it's a reviewers opinion. I've long since stopped taking any real notice of those opinions. I look at previews, gameplay footage and demos to tell me what I may or may not like to be playing in 3 months time. I had pre-ordered GTA 4 long before the reviews but, wasn't ever convinced it would be perfect in any way. The fact that ALL reviewers are making excuses for the glitches, dull missions etc. etc. is proof that GTA 4 is anything but perfect.

    While the fanboys fight over the reviews and which version is apparently better, I simply removed another trust notch from my faith in reviewers to remain impartial and honest about the games they review. No skin off my nose at the end of the day, just another lost reader to some magazine out there. Trouble with this is that a lot of magazines have gone out of business because one by one readers have simply been burned too many times by trusting their reviewers opinions.

    I state my views but, you'll notice that I don't get into arguments with other forum posters, even if they disagree or insult me. At the end of the day I've seen the way magazines go under due to this stuff, heck Gamespot are trying to recover from their over rating of games even now and I doubt anyone here trusts a single word in an IGN review (even the GTA 4 10/10 one!) these days. They still get advertising revenue because like many here, I still visit their site to watch the trailers and look at the screenshots. This keeps their hits high and so they are able to convince games companies they have a voice to the gamers.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 15:22

  • Moz #426 4 years ago

    You have to wander if the option hard drive install is missing from the 360 cos MS asked them not to put it in.
    All the 360/GTA4 advertising is pushing the fact that you can get a console from £159.99, if buying the arcade addition was known to give a lesser GTA4 experience then people might kick up a fuss.

  • liverpoolfc #427 4 years ago

    Tuesday.....

    day of the year

  • liverpoolfc #428 4 years ago

    Tuesday.....

    day of the year

  • Moz #429 4 years ago

    as in THE day of the year or it's just a day of the year?

  • Calgon #430 4 years ago

    What did I tell you about IGN and the other reviewers who have no place discussing technical differences?

    Again...

    The ONLY edge PS3 has are in slightly less texture pop-in(this is your only visual/technical edge or however they want to describe it and its because of the install) and faster load times(again because of the install) the former could be addressed on the 360 via a patch.

    360 has a steadier framerate apparently and better colours.

    I think EG should hurry up and get the comparison over with because most of these other sources dont use fair/accurate methods for their comparisons and dont seem to know what they are looking at either in some cases.

    Seasidebaz pipe down Ive just as much right to discuss as anyone else here especially since theres innacuracies floating around, I will get a 360 later this year me thinks, might aswell hold out for Jasper now though.
    Edited by 4 at 28/04/08 @ 15:34

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #431 4 years ago

    ITs not quite bigger than Christmas as Day of the Year, Bigger than Lent tho

  • jetsetdemo #432 4 years ago

    Why don’t they just invent some hybrid dvd/bluray magic disc, and then they could put the 360 version on one side and the PS3 version on the other thus putting all the indecisive-money-wasting-multi-console-owning fools out of there, boo hoo did I buy the right version misery. Though I guess we would all start arguing over which format was on the A/B side of the disk.
    On the subject of scoring I think we should abolish numbers and use some kind of form of hieroglyphics containing, say pictures of a Lama or dancing nuns, what do you think eh!
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 15:37

  • TDS #433 4 years ago

    Any idea where I might be able to pick this up tmrw(!)? Or am I too late?

    Is Asda likely to have some instore copies?

    Cheers.

  • Moz #434 4 years ago

    @TDS i'm sure there will be shops on the highstreet that have copies left in the morning it's just thinking of places other people wont have thought of.

  • Rash' #435 4 years ago

    I'm looking forward to the comparison article.

  • des #436 4 years ago

    @SeesThroughAll

    360 version is native 720p 2xaa it has been known for ages,rockstar only released screenshots and videos from 360 version before the reviews hit(no suprise).
    Ati and nvidia have different ways for doing aa so it easy to determine witch version is shown

  • Moz #437 4 years ago

    I wounder how quickly they'd get a copy of the game to you if you stood on top of a building and threatened to jump unless you were able to buy a copy of GTA4 with in the next 30 minutes.

    edit: typo
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 15:53

  • Moonprince #438 4 years ago

    I think EG should hurry up and get the comparison over with because most of these other sources dont use fair/accurate methods for their comparisons and dont seem to know what they are looking at either in some cases.

    lol!

  • Moz #439 4 years ago

    not sad just bored!!!! Had 2 customers today!!!!!!

  • tgigreeny #440 4 years ago

    @ PlugMonkey

    Sorry, my (original) comment was NOT intended to be aimed at people like you who own both consoles and simply want to work out which one is bet. It was aimed at some of the posters here who just sit there trolling about the 360 being crap, or the PS3 being crap etc. That's the pre-pubescent tribalism to which I was referring (you know who you are).

    There IS a valid discussion to be had over which version is better, but far, far too often such debates descend into pointless my-console's-better-than-yours slanging matches.

    In no way would I imagine you to be a pre-pubescent, tribalist with poor social skills or a worrying masturbation habit, and I'm sorry you felt I wa insulting people like you! ;)

  • ps3owner #441 4 years ago

    The Beeb is probably reading this ;), at least they have read the review. good spin.

    game of the year

  • Calgon #442 4 years ago

    Right I see were the confusion is... there are slight visual differences but its a bit unfair to give the edge to the PS3 version IMO not just because its rendering at 630p(at a less stable framerate too) but because different doesnt always equal better.

    From the devs:

    "The 360 games have a certain look to them; PS3 games have a certain look to them. I like the way [the PS3] renders. There's a certain kind of softness without being blurry -- some warmth to it -- and then there's a certain more clinical element to how the 360 looks."

    One difference noted is what I assume is one of the post-processing/filters/effects Rockstar applied(which they usually do with their games), that being the dither and since 360s version is slightly sharper this is more noticable/pronounced on the 360(with the PS3 version softening/bluring the effect ). Now this was obviously how the devs intended it to look if not they should have toned it down on the 360 version, which would have been doable.

    I realise the Sonybots were banking on a small victory here with the PS3 getting the better version of a multi-platform game for once... but it wasnt to be sorry. Atleast theres no reason for either side to feel hard done by though right? Well on second thoughts get working on a patch for that pop-in Rockstar. ;)
    Edited by 5 at 28/04/08 @ 16:22

  • Azazel #443 4 years ago

    zomg HYPEGASM

  • The_Pope #444 4 years ago

    I don't really believe the scaremongering about this "killing" your Xbox. And even if it does RROD (mine's a launch console) I can just have it fixed / replaced under warranty.

  • layleeloo #445 4 years ago

    Well, as ive been at work all day listening to people debate scores, im at least home now - So i can continue playing it for a fourth day to at least offer some real opinion in stead of speculation hahaha. IM sure a lot of you will be getting it tonight, and play it for like - 10 hours in one night haha. SO no doubt by tomorrow you will be further than I, who has only played it about 2 hours a day since friday - but to you all - ENJOY it later tonight, and who cares what scores games get - play them, enjoy them, make your own mind up, and dont try and convince people tomorrow its the best game that has ever been made, when someone may obviosuly be dissapointed about something. Everybody;'s taste is different - O thought Halo 3 was the biggest pile of shit to grace the 360 - but try telling a fanboy that. I do have this on my PS3 and I do run it at 1080p (although you do have to force it by the way - it does pick up 720p automatically so adjust your settings etc).

    Enjoy people - enjoy.

  • Dizzy #446 4 years ago

    "PS3 version resolution is 1120x630 aka 630p

    360 version is 720p "

    Oh god no.... now the whole internet will melt the next few weeks. R* could have least made the resolutions the same.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 16:33

  • Calgon #447 4 years ago

    "The Xbox 360 version seemed capable of achieving a smoother frame rate, peaking higher in certain circumstances, such as in confined spaces or during light traffic, but both versions seemed to regularly run at a similar clip."

    Also prior to launch the devs themselves were saying 360s version had the better framerate so it shouldnt be suprising.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 16:35

  • ps3owner #448 4 years ago

    No so sure what the numbers are, but according to the top 100 order chart on amazon uk the PS3 title is in the lead ;)

    Amazon top 100

  • anomagnus #449 4 years ago

    Any prizes for post 500?

  • McLovin85 #450 4 years ago

    I don't care about which one is better, I just want Tuesday to arrive so that I can go to GAME and buy a copy.

  • Rash' #451 4 years ago

    Out of interest where in the beyond3d link does it state the resolutions are different for the two versions? I couldn't spot it?

  • stoopidgreg #452 4 years ago

    http://fo rum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php...

  • stoopidgreg #453 4 years ago

    500 get it round ye!

  • anomagnus #454 4 years ago

    nearly 500

  • anomagnus #455 4 years ago

    wee 500!

  • anomagnus #456 4 years ago

    arghhhhhh

    nice job stopidgreg
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 16:52

  • stoopidgreg #457 4 years ago

    huh, it says i got 500. here's me thinking i had the superior F5 skills

  • Calgon #458 4 years ago

    Arbiter bullshit the operative word is "smoother"(means consistant or stable) here stop clutching at straws. It may peak higher but its also smoother you cant call something that dips and rises MORE - smoother can you? You were also mistaken on "when nothing is on screen" where you should have said "less"(which is pretty much a given) something tells me you are only going to hear what you want to.

    Ive pretty much said already the differences are slight to begin with, neither version is worse than the other overall, so relax and enjoy the game.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 16:59

  • Dizzy #459 4 years ago

    "Out of interest where in the beyond3d link does it state the resolutions are different for the two versions? I couldn't spot it? "

    Since I am active on Beyond3D here it is:

    [link url=http ://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?t=46242
    ]http://fo rum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php...[/link]

    Please take note that Beyond is very sensitive to trolling, so DON'T try it. We like our discussion technical and peaceful over there.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 16:59

  • ps3owner #460 4 years ago

    the ps3 version is the better version. there I've said it. don't ask me why... I can feel it. the force is strong with the ps3 version. that's enough proof.

    oh yeah + I own a ps3. so it is the best version, for me :)

    by the time the bloody thing is on sale (7 hours from now) this thread will be on post 800 or something and we will still not be any closer to the truth. if it ever comes out. (by truth I mean which version is better).

  • Darren #461 4 years ago

    God this thread has suddenly gotten tedious in the last 24 hours with all the discussions about which version looks the best then the score and now the rendering resolutions of each game. C'mon, who really cares? I'm just so glad I'm getting both versions so I don't have to worry about such trivialities! :p

  • Rich72 #462 4 years ago

    anyways...... what's the chances of asda selling to me at 12? my tesco won't do it and i know the dvd section of asda gets closed at night!

  • gooners2006 #463 4 years ago

    fingers crossed mine should be arriving tomorrow

  • Rash' #464 4 years ago

    I've seen that link and still I don't see it clearly stated. What page and how far down? Most have linked 21, so maybe I'm blind but I've not seen anything there. Dizzy, yes I'm familiar with the site thanks I know how they operate.
    Edited by 2 at 28/04/08 @ 17:28

  • kincaide #465 4 years ago

    "This, as much as its usual coherency and the best script in the series, is what makes GTA IV the best openworld game yet, and why it will take something miraculous to rob it of game of the year status."

    Other than Wii Fit of course





    ;-)

  • byron_hinson #466 4 years ago

    It's on page 21, 22 and 23 - though there has been no surefire confirmation on the PS3 resolution - most of the thread seems to be complaining about the dithering on the 360 version though which looks poor.

  • Rash' #467 4 years ago

    byron_hinson, That's what I thought. Lets wait for Eurogamer's comparison and see what they have to say.

  • monkie_king #468 4 years ago

    @ps3owner: "oh yeah + I own a ps3."

    You don't say?

  • dylman #469 4 years ago

    @Rich72:

    My local ASDA is selling them at midnight, from the cigarette kiosk of all places.

    I'll most likely be popping in on my way to work (at 5:30AM), hopefully they'll have copies left...

  • TagemandBagem #470 4 years ago

    Gamespot still don't have a review up. That site really went into freefall.

  • DrDamn #471 4 years ago

    Wow, so 500 comments and still banging on about minor differences and not the actual game then? Well done everyone.

  • Calgon #472 4 years ago

    @ Arbiter
    Being CAPABLE of PEAKING at a SMOOTHER frame-rate does not make it more stable it makes it more VARIABLE.

    Oh nice use of caps there but you are wrong...

    YOU are the one misinterpreting what the author said... SMOOTHER means STABLE not more VARIABLE at all you ARE CLUTCHING AT STRAWS. I cant beleive someone can equate smoother with more variable in the first place use a dictionary my friend and notice that the peaking higher was as seperate issue hence the comma. The use of capable is because they both suffer from slight slowdown in places its just apparently not as bad on the 360.

    Here it is again:

    "The Xbox 360 version seemed capable of achieving a smoother frame rate, peaking higher in certain circumstances, such as in confined spaces or during light traffic, but both versions seemed to regularly run at a similar clip."

    Seems pretty clear to me if he meant higher framerate he would have said so, smooth means smooth/steady/stable - high means high and again the differences arent that great as they noted so its not worth getting worked up about but dont correct me where its not warranted!
    Edited by 2 at 28/04/08 @ 18:16

  • krenzler #473 4 years ago

    Sorry for my ignorance but:

    Any plans for a PC version in the future?

  • Darren #474 4 years ago

    I can't wait til tomorrow... not just because it's release day but because we can actually discuss the GAME not the bloody graphics!!! LOL

  • Scimarad #475 4 years ago

    I was just about to say the same, DrDamn!

    FFS just give it a rest! All that matters is that both versions great...

  • TagemandBagem #476 4 years ago

    @krenzler

    Nothing confirmed yet but I don't see why not. Sam Houser has already said working with the 360 was comfortable given the PC experience so I'm sure we'll get a PC version in a couple of months especially given the previous games.

  • monkie_king #477 4 years ago

    Calgon: I'm not going to read back through the last 5 pages of that argument, but it seems pretty clear that "smoother" == "more FPS" in that context.

    Looks to me like they are saying both frame rates vary, but the 360 gets a higher maximum FPS than the PS3. If that's true then it must mean the 360 occasionally hits 60fps, which seems a bit unlikely. Most devs would rather lock at 30fps MAX, rather than have it peak to 60fps, since the 30~60fps shift is so jarring (much moreso than the 20~30 transition). The other possibility would be that 360 peaks to 30fps while PS3 peaks to 20fps, but there's no way the PS3 version is going to be that chuggy.

    Basically, I'd take that statement about smoothness with a pinch of salt, because it seems very subjective and not terribly reliable either way.

  • TheBoyChris #478 4 years ago

    CLOWNS CLOWNS CLOWNS WITH CAKE AND PENGUINS

    Just seeing if anyone is actually reading this far.

  • Calgon #479 4 years ago

    Monkey_King I'll repeat it once more smooth means smooth - high means high the two are different terms and I beleive its what the author intended read the whole paragraph back its like a short list.

    Basically, I'd take that statement about smoothness with a pinch of salt, because it seems very subjective and not terribly reliable either way.

    True but I do have the strongest case for how it should be interpreted theres no arguing with the proper use for those terms and that last part contradicts your opening... "ist quite clear" "but its not clear"... whatever this is getting tedious now, one thing is for sure Sonybots really want to beleive in this "edge" in the face of all the findings so far, which arent being taken to well. I dont care either way I just like to get to the bottom of things when they dont add up and its not the "xbots" who are getting worked up about it either from what I can see, its the Sonybots who feel like they are having "victory" pulled away from them at the last minute.

    Come on both versions are fine in the end, Im sure they are both every bit as good whichever format you play.
    Edited by 5 at 28/04/08 @ 18:45

  • monkie_king #480 4 years ago

    Please don't bring CLOWNS into this. Framerates is serious business.

  • Drpwnage #481 4 years ago

    525 comments in, does this mean you have all got the pointless 'fanboi' comparisons and score rantings out of your system and next week the EG comparison article will actually be full of comments on the game itself?

    Or is that wishful thinking.....

  • monkie_king #482 4 years ago

    Calgon, the use of "smooth" is unambiguously synonymous with "high framerate". Always has been. To talk about an unvarying framerate people say "stable", but never "smooth".

    So a framerate can be stable without being smooth, or it can be stable and smooth. In GTA4's case, it seems like that writer is trying to say it's unstable, but smoother when it peaks, which seems contradictory but kind of makes sense. You're trying to play with semantics to twist this around somehow, but it's pretty clear what the writer means. They're saying the 360 framerate is a bit better on the whole.

    However, as I said, that article seems completely sketchy.


    edit: agree on the tedious.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 18:46

  • Calgon #483 4 years ago

    monkie_king no no no it really isnt dont condescend me boy... the flaw in your reasoning is a framerate can be high without being smooth because they are different things(but they are usually used together so perhaps high and stable?)... smooth is synonymous with stable use a dictionary.

    Heres how I see it a framerate cant be considered smooth if:

    The framerate is too low in the first place,
    The framerate fluctuates too often(stable),
    The renderer drops frames noticably.

    Now can we move on?
    Edited by 3 at 28/04/08 @ 18:53

  • Vic #484 4 years ago

    According to the reviews I've seen on IGN, Kotaku and Gametrailers, the PS3 version has better AA, better load times, less pop-up, better controls for the driving parts (though that could be subjective). 360 gets more vibrant colours (though maybe you can calibrate your TV), and DLC.

    The AA aspect is surprising considering many people were critical of PS3's ability to handle this. Obviously that was hogwash.

  • NickN4ck #485 4 years ago

    This is the game to you lot isn't it, screw the actual game, arguing over frames per second, pop in, resolutions is all you lot care about. No wonder games developers said the hardcore gamers don't matter, all you do is talk shit and complain, do any of you even like playing games?. With all the bitching you all do I don't think you can actually enjoy a game anymore. All you see is flaws everytime you boot a game up.

    Sad cunts

  • Redeye #486 4 years ago

    It's good. Bloody good. On both formats.

    Just pick one.

    What's so hard?

    O_o

    /common sense off

  • Calgon #487 4 years ago

    Its not actually the AA that they are noticing though, its just the 360 version is sharper(theres beleived to be a post processing effect or filter thats causing confusion it seems), in part to the way 360 renders sharper/cleaner anyway and second perhaps the native res being 720p on the 360 wheras the PS3 version is scaled from 630p. Ive already explained here so I wont repeat it go further back and see it, theres a quote from the devs in there too.
    Edited by 2 at 28/04/08 @ 19:05

  • Bangaioh #488 4 years ago

    Damn, how about waiting for the release tomorrow, buying the game and enjoying it without any of this fanboy / useless anal tech nonsense? C'mon guys, wait for it and enjoy once it's available... and if any comment has to be made, at least make it once tried.
    Honestly, this is starting to sound stupid...

  • Jheronimus #489 4 years ago

    Damn, it's a graveyard in here... Play send it to me yesterday, but it still has to get from Britain to Holland :( Hoping to get it thursday so I can game away my Queen's Day hangover :p

    BTW, Amazon.co.uk now has the 360 version in the 1st position ;)
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 19:09

  • Rash' #490 4 years ago

    Calgon, Where's the dev quote for res difference??? There's isn't one and there isn't any evidence to support that theory yet so please stop spouting bull. Link or SU.

  • Calgon #491 4 years ago

    Rash' you are right theres no dev quote but the source is the very same source that discovered Halo3's native resolution and countless others, I'd say theyve earned a trustworthy status by now because theyve been accurate in the past.

  • Rash' #492 4 years ago

    Calgon, You'll be able to offer a linkto the source then, because that beyond3d link doesn't state it catagorically.
    Edited by 4 at 28/04/08 @ 19:29

  • captainrentboy #493 4 years ago

    Played some more in work again today.
    'The Mens Room' Television show is pretty much the funniest thing I've ever seen in a game.
    I was pissing myself, at that and the Poker Tournament.
    Does anyone know how much programming there is on the ingame TV?

  • Calgon #494 4 years ago

    Rash' well Im not going to waste to much time on it but Im sure you can find out by checking beyond3d and they were correct in the past because I remember both Halo3 and COD4 discussions originating from there.

    [link url=http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?t=46242&page=23
    ]http://fo rum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php...[/link]

    Post from the moderator when someone asked a similar question on this very subject today:

    The facts come from research by our own Quaz51, so you're not going to find lnks anywhere. Quaz51 is the source that everyone else references! By looking at the framegrabs and analysing patterns of intensity around polygon edges, when you know what to look for it's possible to determine AA and upscaling amounts. If you really want to know the science of it, it'll be in one or other of these threads. In fact do a member search for Quaz51 and find his earliest posts, I think. And whether you care to know how it's done or not, the science and methods are accepted here as legitimate. It would be nice to have corroborating investigators, but even without that you can place your faith in the research and its findings

  • Blackthorned #495 4 years ago

    I'm hoping it's as good as Pit Fighter - but so many have failed before.

  • Darren #496 4 years ago

    Well I'll be able to hopefully see the differences between the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions for myself tomorrow when both games arrive in the post (fingers crossed).

    However, I've seen loads of HD footage from both versions, especially the Xbox 360, and it doesn't looks 720p native with 2X AA to me. It reminds me a lot of PGR 3 which, of course, was also sub-720p but using 2X AA. Edges look a bit rough and flickery, especially in the distance, and not as sharp looking as Saints Row for example, which *is* 720p + 2X AA. Could be the filter I guess but either way both games look bloody good so whatever the resolution the games still looks mighty grand and I'm sure play as good as they look! :)

  • Rash' #497 4 years ago

    Calgon, that quote and link was far more useful. Thanks. It does seem credible, though I'll still look forward to EG to confirm this.
    Edited by 2 at 28/04/08 @ 19:51

  • Rash' #498 4 years ago

    Darren, I do find it strange that the issue is solely related to the PS3 version.

  • Darren #499 4 years ago

    I didn't buy them for comparison though... I bought both versions because, like Oblivion before it, I suspect it's a game that's so good that it's unfair to just play it on one system. Besides which I really couldn't decide which version to buy so I opted for both! LOL

  • Darren #500 4 years ago

    @Rash' - The sub-720p resolution for the PS3 could well be true, after all it's wouldn't be the first game to do so where the 360 version has been 720p. Army of Two runs at 720p on the 360 but sub-720p on the PS3 and this was confirmed by EG.

  • onyxbox #501 4 years ago

    I've trawled the Internets and the impression I'm getting is that the PS3 version is marginally better graphics than 360 (whatever the reasons) but both versions are stellar!

    The wording used in Tom's review seems almost intentionally ambiguous bordering on misleading and I have no idea if EG's wording was this way because of the good relationship they have with the people at MS or Tom's just f'ing with all the fanboys out there.

    EG will do the Face off at some point... but by then no one will care (just like all the other face-offs) because anyone who wants the game wont hold out for EG's Face Off and anyone with both consoles will have already made a decision based on who they want to run riot in Liberty City with (XML mates or PSN mates).

  • onyxbox #502 4 years ago

    p.s.

    IGN do the best head-to-head features IMO. They always seem balanced and in my experience absolutley spot on.

  • smurphs #503 4 years ago

    Great review. Not too waffly with plenty of detail on the new stuff. This will be the first (and very probably last) game I'll spend the full 50 (ish) quid on.

  • Calgon #504 4 years ago

    // Doesnt rate IGN for anything other than media blowouts, they cant be taken seriously IMO, EG and Kotaku(granted not a brilliant source but easily better than IGN) are the way to go so far, aswell as the usuals on Beyond3d too.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 20:21

  • penhalion #505 4 years ago

    Well almost time to hop in the car, collect a few friends and go get our copies of GTA 4. I'll be playing the online most of the week (after the day job). Probably explore the single player as much as I am able to before I get bored of it. Thursday is iron man movie day.

    later days!

  • stoopidgreg #506 4 years ago

    dammit, i just went to my local mega tesco and they only have 16 copies of the 360 version! so i went to my not-so-local more-mega-tesco and they only have 15! somehow i think more than 30 people are going to want this game come midnight. i bet half the copies will be snatched by employees as well.

    i think unless i go there an hour early i won't have much hope...

  • NSFR #507 4 years ago

    Me thinks far too many people have more money than sense...

  • warbo #508 4 years ago

    Hey, where are those comparison screens?

    With the PS3 version being 630p, you'd think it'd be significantly blurrier. There are a few reviews about that seem to suggest the opposite though.

  • Rash' #509 4 years ago

    Darren, I'd just be surprised if that was true of GTAIV, what $ony's in house devs lending their support to the project.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 20:57

  • onyxbox #510 4 years ago

    ^^^^

    Yeah I reckon Sony had a part in the GTA4 development. You can just imagine the phone call:

    R*: Sony... we have a problem... GTA runs like shit on PS3 and we can't fix it by october
    Sony: Did you lead on PC / 360?
    R*: Of course we did, so what can you do for us.
    Sony: Delay the game and we'll have some new tools and some help on tap by next year.
    R*: so what's in it for us?
    Sony: We'll pay for the next game to be exclusive.
    R*: righto'

  • Rash' #511 4 years ago

    onyxbox, wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. as has been documented, if devs lead on 360, converting to PS3 is an absolute headache. they should have done a Criterion and lend on PS3. better for everyone.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 21:30

  • Calgon #512 4 years ago

    I don't see why every other platform should come second to PS3 simply because Sony showed lack of consideration when designing the console, 360 to PC and everywhere else is really quite painless, PS3 developement is a headache full stop dont blame it on 360 or the devs for that matter its the smartest choice for them to lead on the 360 at the moment. I want devs exploiting 360s hardware further too, not just settling for good enough when theyve exausted themselves getting the PS3 to perform.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 21:37

  • canIdoyabombsforya #513 4 years ago

    "Whatever, most of the other reviews only mention that the PS3 version is slightly better because it has less noticeable pop-in not that it is massively superior so the differences are very minor and may not be noticed by everyone. Not that it really matters because both platforms have got a great game so everyone can enjoy it regardless of the console they own.

    Amen! :) "

    True, but Sony shouldn't have told us the PS3 would be xxx times more powerful than the Xbox 360, £425 FFS.

  • Rash' #514 4 years ago

    Calgon, calm down. it's not about blame. it's about efficient use of resources and it's well known leading on PS3 would prove less problematic in the long run. after all as you yourself pointed out, 360 is a known architecture, so converting to it and taking advantages of it's strengths later would be a simpler task than doing it the other way around.

    furthermore, why the assumption leading on PS3 will undermine the quality of the game on 360? other than the unified ram and GPU, the 360 lacks decent next gen storage media and standard HDD. the latter being one of the distinguishing features of the previous Xbox.
    Edited by 2 at 28/04/08 @ 21:51

  • onyxbox #515 4 years ago

    Calgon,

    I hear what you're saying but I like the fact that Sony try and make somthing different.

  • Calgon #516 4 years ago

    Rash' you are being rather pedantic there, the hardware if far from fully exploited yet just like the PS3 is my point, easier doesnt equal easy and there comes a point where that learning curve steepens as you need more from the hardware. As I said why should PS3 get special treatment? I think the needs of the larger 360 userbase and the benifit of the easier 360 to PC conversion outweigh your hopes of developers leading on PS3... theres only so long you can go on using the difficult to program for excuses, by now 360 to PS3 should be getting familiar so I see no reason to change. I think you want to beleive PS3 is the more capable machine but time and time again the facts point to that not being the case. Dont be blinded by your love for your preffered platform.

  • onyxbox #517 4 years ago

    another example of the same thing...

    Psion made the best PDA's, then Sony/Palm made the next best and the eventually MS took the market with a cheap and easy to develop for os and framework Mobile Windows and .Net Compact Framwork (or whatever they call it these days) and now we have boring software that's unreliable and virtually no innovation.

    I bought a DELL Axim all singing and dancing PDA with tons of ram, a vga screen and a ridiculous clock speed CPU for a PDA and guess what it runs Windows Pocket PC something or other and it's been in the drawer collecting dust for months.... it's rubbish and I keep thinking Why? How did MS do this to the PDA market... they ruined it.

    But hey... at least it's easy to develop for eh?

    (that makes it alright does it?)

  • Rash' #518 4 years ago

    Calgon, you believe the opposite do you not, so I could level the blind rebuttal at you. but returning to the point, my believing that leading on PS3 is a more efficient way to handle multiplat development isn't going to make it so. you are correct in your reading that presently it doesn't make economic sense to the devs or publishers to follow that model. doesn't change the fact that if you want to reach the market on both consoles leading on PS3 is the most efficient way to do it.
    Edited by 2 at 28/04/08 @ 22:21

  • Calgon #519 4 years ago

    Ony: Thats like you beleive the PS3 is the superior machine where it isnt, storage and a hard drive doesnt equal innovation. I beleive devs will go further with the 360s hardware, if the only excuse you have is storage for devs not being innovative enough then the industry is in trouble because you can have all the space you need and still not innovate, oh and I think Nintendo have basically destroyed your arguements already.

    Rash' I see that some devs have struggled with converting to PS3(from any platform) but my main point is that in most cases theyd probably struggle leading on the PS3 too, my other point is that we are getting to the point now that it shouldnt be as difficult because theyve encountered most of these problems before and should be better equiped for them in future(first hand experience and Sony's new tools) so it might not be necessary to switch to leading on the PS3 in the end.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 22:20

  • Widge #520 4 years ago

    Does the Eurogamer comment thread have Anti-Stropping Filtering on it?

  • Rash' #521 4 years ago

    Calgon, alright mate. you stick with your ignorant attitude. we'll have this conversation again when M$ release the next xbox with a standard HDD.

  • Dizzy #522 4 years ago

    "Calgon, alright mate. you stick with your ignorant attitude. we'll have this conversation again when M$ release the next xbox with a standard HDD. "

    The next consoles will probably have solid state memory games. No more spinning disks. That is old gen in 3 years time. The circle is complete?
    Edited by 2 at 28/04/08 @ 22:25

  • onyxbox #523 4 years ago

    i think we should all get some shut eye now... lets face it, whatever console you prefer it's gonna' be a late one tomorrow night.

  • Rash' #524 4 years ago

    Dizzy, you think discs will be gone by next gen? i still don't know if i would agree with that yet. seems a tad romantic to me.

  • monkie_king #525 4 years ago

    ... Xbox ... standard HDD ... hmm ...

    Why didn't MS think of that?

  • Rash' #526 4 years ago

    onyxbox, not for me. my play order was sent off today, so likely to get it wed. :o(
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 22:32

  • Dizzy #527 4 years ago

    "Dizzy, you think discs will be gone by next gen? i still don't know if i would agree with that yet. seems a tad romantic to me. "

    Depends on the price. Last week I saw a 2GB SD card for 8 quid. 5 years ago that was 200 quid.

    There are a lot of advantages. Much faster, custom size and nice and small (and hard to copy ;). I am sure console hardware people are thinking about it at the moment.

  • VMerken #528 4 years ago

    I'd love to pick this game up tomorrow (a little less hyperbole in the review would be nice, but this is reviewland and GTA). Silly thing is... by the time I'm through my current backlog of games, and by the time I get PS3+MGS4, I'll probably be looking at this from the bargain bin/greatest hits price perspective, so - pass for now, get cheaper later to pass the time while waiting for RE5.
    Edited by 1 at 28/04/08 @ 22:33

  • bonker #529 4 years ago

    "but the PS3 has better anti-aliasing"

    Surely not??!!

  • stoopidgreg #530 4 years ago

    "i think we should all get some shut eye now... lets face it, whatever console you prefer it's gonna' be a late one tomorrow night. "

    it's gonna be a late one tonight hopefully. i'm going to tesco in an hour to see if i can get a copy, and if so i'm staying up all night to play it :D then i'll play it some more at work tomorrow. if i'm tired i'm sure they'll understand, being game devs themselves :D

  • Rash' #531 4 years ago

    Dizzy, i'm not the only one that uses his/her PS3 for all their entertainment needs. before the next gen arrives people will have a larger physical media library they will want to revisit. besides there are far too many DRM issues to start looking so positively into the future. i don't believe it's a simple matter of cost.

  • monkie_king #532 4 years ago

    well, it was to get the headline price down by 50 quid, whilst still offering some capability for DLC and digital content.

    /was only being sarcastic

  • rawburger #533 4 years ago

    Take a chill pill and enjoy. This is the reason Microsoft paid 50 million for extra content because they were getting the (slightly) inferior game.

  • monkie_king #534 4 years ago

    bonker: it looks like that anti-aliasing is actually because of upscaling from a sub-720p framebuffer. So it might have less jaggies, but will be more blurred overall.

    It seems like the only people who can actually tell the difference are the pixel-counting nerds over at Beyond3D, examining screengrabs at 4x zoom. In other words, they're the same.

  • omerga #535 4 years ago

    last!

  • Calgon #536 4 years ago

    I agree I say the sooner we are rid of optical technology the better, its unreliable for one but that probably suits the manufacturers better right? I hope the next consoles are solid state but I doubt they will be personally, cost reasons only but maybe they would beable to justify it as a way of tackling piracy?

    As for hard drives yes MS should have had it standard but its semi standard right? Its nice but its hardly a vital component holding anyone back lets be fair.

  • onyxbox #537 4 years ago

    Calgon:

    oh and I think Nintendo have basically destroyed your arguements already.

    Nah not really. Sony inovate by making something different like CELL and making developers think a little differently whilst expanding on existing tech by pushing forward with Blue Ray and standard HDD.

    The quote about Nintendo IMO stengthens the argument... Nintendo knew Wii controls weren't going to be easy but it would push inovation. MS on the other hand just made a great console that was SAFE in every respect.

    :-) sorry I can't resist...

    I think the only risky thing MS did was rush the hardware out and remove the HDD as standard and we all know where that desition eneded up. (BTW: so far my 360 hasn't RROD'd).

    :-) ah... well... really must go now.... thanks for the debate Calgon, Rash.

    laters.

  • belziah #538 4 years ago

    calgon and rash

    STFU

    Play the game.

    Enjoy it for what is.

    Move the fuck on.

    you sound like a pair of jilted fanbitch's on a heavy period

  • evo2424 #539 4 years ago

    Just a quick question guys.. does anyone have a definite time that GTA is being put out at tesco stores? i was told 1am at my local Tesco in Cardiff. any infos apreciated.... cheers guys

  • mkreku #540 4 years ago

    I must admit that I think adding Blu-Ray to the PS3 was a pretty gutsy move by Sony. But I still won't be getting one for.. at least a year. If ever.

  • Calgon #541 4 years ago

    Onyxbox: CELL is different but it isnt actually a step forward for the tech/console industry or helping developers do more(if by think differently you mean do twice as much for the same results then you're not far off ;) ) if you like I could tell you just why it was a selfish decision with only Sony's best interests in mind(kind of like Blu-Ray too or how about I explain why 360 could well have more of this "untapped potential" Sony marketing rams down your throat?)... and they didnt even deliver on that.

    :-) sorry couldnt resist... Sony innovate? HA my ass . ;) Yeah thanks for the laugh, laters.
    Edited by 3 at 28/04/08 @ 23:08

  • Dizzy #542 4 years ago

    "Nah not really. Sony inovate by making something different like CELL "

    ROFL

    "Dizzy, i'm not the only one that uses his/her PS3 for all their entertainment needs. "

    Well maybe you will not use a console to store your media? I have a networked HDD that does all that. Much bigger than a PS3/360, cheaper and works better ;)

    For games... solid state makes sense. I am sure Nintendo is ready to go back to solid state with Wii 2.

  • Rash' #543 4 years ago

    belziah, WTF! Who the fuck are you? who the fucks talking to you? no one. so get the fuck out of my face and don't make assumptions you know fuck all about!

  • Rash' #544 4 years ago

    Dizzy, it would alleviate all the load issues with discs so I hope so too, but lets see. To soon call.

  • stoopidgreg #545 4 years ago

    evo2424 - i asked in both my local tescos and they said a minute after midnight

  • Calgon #546 4 years ago

    Rash' woah calm down there dont bite his head off, I think I need to clarify again Im not vested(dont own) in either console but I do favour 360 because I prefer the design(on a technical level) and I enjoyed the Xbox, I dont see why every 360vsPS3 comparison has to be like this though, missinformation is my main quarrel when the subject comes up more often than not, but Im not about to try and tell people which system they should prefer or avoid like some try to...

    Anyway thats enough of this sillyness lets all calm down and have a cup of tea or somethin :D

    Btw its going to be hard holding out till August with everyone going on about how good it is. :/
    Edited by 3 at 28/04/08 @ 23:21

  • belziah #547 4 years ago

    Rash

    I've read your post's, I dont need to assume a damn thing.

    Besides which every one knows the n-Gage vII edition will put both consoles to shame graphically and interface wise. Its obviously a great game. Isnt that enough?

  • evo2424 #548 4 years ago

    stoopidgreg - Cheers... im not sure if i should go there or just wait for the morning!! :\

  • onyxbox #549 4 years ago

    Anyway thats enough of this sillyness lets all calm down and have a cup of tea or somethin :D

    here, here.

    (I can't beleive I'm still here :-D)

    Let's just hope it's as good as they all say it is.



  • Vic #550 4 years ago

    Calgon = 360 damage control.

    He always tries to come up with these long-winded, sophisticated rambles about how the 360 is superior to the PS3. He has it against Sony because he thinks PS3 was too expensive when it launched and has concentrated on Blu-ray too much. Hence why he has nothing positive to say about the console.

  • Gaol #551 4 years ago

    "Im not vested(dont own) in either console"

    Crikey

  • Calgon #552 4 years ago

    Vic oh do shut up... was that necessary?

    Vic = overly defensive Sonybot

    There we are even, and damage control for what exactly? As I said I just dont like all the missinformation seen often in these discussions.

  • dk_rare #553 4 years ago

    Bin playing the game for 9 hours now and I have to say that... I am sort of underwhelmed :( It's pretty much just more GTA, which is a good thing, but I expected to be blown away by the graphics, to be moved by story and acting that would rival Spielberg, state of the art physics and new and innovative ideas.

    But it's just more GTA. It is the GTA formula all over again, just this time on a newer console.

    Flame me if you like, this is just how I feel. I bought into the hyperbole and was let down because of it.

  • eldarko #554 4 years ago

    Does anybody know which high street stores will be selling it tomorrow without the need for a pre-order? I was thinking about Woolworths...

    Already been burned by my local Asda, which had promised it wasn't doing pre-orders when I rang them this afternoon. Got down there at 11.45pm only to find a bunch of chavs with their 'tickets' after the store changed its mind at about 9pm. It has sold out - and now I'm getting desperate...

    Any help would be cool.

  • beastmaster #555 4 years ago

    Just bought the game now and thought I'd check to see what's going on in this thread. Looks like yet another PS3 vs 360 (jumped straight to last page and kind of guessed the rest).

    This will never ever die. Used to be C64 vs Spectrum, ST vs Amiga and now 360 vs Ps3.

    By the way, Game was stuffed top the brim with copies and apparently there's plenty of them out there. So anyone after it should be able to pick it up easy.


    Edited by 1 at 29/04/08 @ 01:04

  • Rash' #556 4 years ago

    belziah, what I don't appreciate is posters like you dropping their unwanted rants into conversations that don't interest them. Posters can converse in whatever topics that they see fit. If you don't like them, fine. Don't get involved, but don't pop in and start telling people to shut up because the conversation is of no interest to you. Talk about self involved.
    Edited by 2 at 29/04/08 @ 02:01

  • IneptPercy #557 4 years ago

    Loving the post count, I ordered it for the 360 for 2 reasons:

    1, I don't own a PS3
    2, HMV gave me 1000 marketplace points for preordering.

    It will come tomorrow and I will play it then I will probably end up messing with the multiplayer with a few mates.

    At no point am I going to worry about how many pixels the 360 may have and how beautifully rendered each one is and how different it could look on the PS3.

    As for not owning a PS3, my pc already plays bluray films so the PS3 has nothing better than the 360 to me, will buy one when its cheaper with a few more games. :-)

  • stoopidgreg #558 4 years ago

    jesus i've been playing this game for almost 3 hours now and holy shit it's fucking incredible. i just had the most intense chase there using the bonnet cam. words cannot describe how freakin cool that was.

  • MyPointIs #559 4 years ago

    @dk_rare

    Do you know how it sounds? ...Launchday, midnight, 'I´ve been playing for 9 hours' ... 'feeling underwhelmed'

    :-)

    I can´t remember the last time a game underwhelmed me that way.

    I've also been playing a few hours and I f*cking love it.

    Take your time when playing, go out of the missions and you´ll be rewarded.

    Gotta see 'Republican Space Rangers' on GTA TV :-D

  • 3william56 #560 4 years ago

    There's interesting things going on down under.

    JB HiFi Perth Australia, 27/4/08: Preorder GTA IV: $114 standard edition (no, not the one with the bags etc - just the disk).
    JB HiFi Perth Australia, 29/4/08: Walk in at lunchtime, pick up GTA IV standard edition off the shelf, $85, which is less than a tenner more than import.

    Local pre-order folk just got pwned for $30.
    Wonder how many sales staff get shanked today.
    (Wonder if it's an apology for the censored Aussie version for delicate antipdean sensibilities)

    Oh, and frame rate, resolution, antiwhatever blah blah. Shut up and go play already, geek boys!




  • TDS #561 4 years ago

    Bought today at ASDA (Cribbs Causeway).
    Gotta wait til this evening to play tho...

  • stoopidgreg #562 4 years ago

    thanks to GTA i only had 4 hours sleep before i start work this morning, but hopefully i can play it some more at work. i don't even feel tired because i'm still buzzing that i get to play GTA and don't have to worry about the shops being sold out. buying it at tesco last night was hilarious (not). after serving a mass of people one by one it took them 20 minutes to realise the obvious that they should open another till. and some ned guy at the back shouted "whit, there's tickets?? ye didna tell us ye needed a ticket! ahv been stondin here like a right melon and noo you're tellin me ah canny get GTA???!". funny thing is he was acting so outraged but he had only been standing there less than 5 minutes.

    i had an intense police chase last night, stole a police car (which is a feat unto itself, the cops are much harder to knock off now), drove all across town, almost made it out the circle then someone spotted me, got chased to a bridge but of course it was blocked off - dead end! i did a u-turn and tried to go back but they rammed me in, so i bailed out my car (with some spectacular euphoria animation) while it was burning and it assploded into 3 other cop cars. i had a little shootout with them in a real confined space with my shotty, tried to steal one of their cars but was shot at the last second. the bonnet came made the chase all the more exciting. it's the first GTA where the bonnet cam has actually felt "right". it just feels like a driving game now with really solid feeling car physics.

  • Prodigy_BE #563 4 years ago

    Been playing GTA for more than fiv hours now, and I must say:
    Basic missions
    Kinda awkward punching controls
    Lame bowling and pool minigames
    Sub standard dialogue writing

    Beautiful and vibrant, good voice acting, all that is in place. And its a mighty fine game too.
    But please, journalists, grow some balls and tell the world that GTA has his faults too, and this fourth installment is NOT the major leap forward that they would want you to believe.

    And yes, they will probably take away the budget they put aside for adverts, but you supposed to be on the side of the GAMERS, not the industry.

  • pompeystallion #564 4 years ago

    DONE! Just got a copy without pre-order at GAME on Oxford Street..... run down boys and girls..... I LOVE HAVING A PS3 AT WORK!!!

  • Kryon #565 4 years ago

    @swam (Sock of Headbog)

    "Calgon is the reverse of me it seems. "

    If by that you mean that you're as thick as shit and Calgon in contrast seems quite intelligent, then I would wholeheartedly agree. Plus, as we all know, washing machines live longer with Calgon.

  • stephenb #566 4 years ago

    Well I never Eurogamer mentioned on the BBC news for your review. We are going up in the world aren't we.

  • neuroniky #567 4 years ago

    To whoever has already got the game...

    I still have GTA San Andreas waiting for me on my collection. Do I really need to take GTA4 or I will be served well enough by the massive San Andreas?

    I gave it a spin yesterday night and it looks dated now, but its still fun as the other GTA3 games.

  • japstersam #568 4 years ago

    never been as bored of a comments thread as this one, its like a broken record, sad bastards

  • Prodigy_BE #569 4 years ago

    @ Neuroniky

    Been playing it for more than five hours now, and apart from the graphical update, not that much has changed.
    Its still: talk to one guy, go to some marker, shoot some guys, autosave, repeat.

  • bad09 #570 4 years ago

    "Plus, as we all know, washing machines live longer with Calgon."

    Thank you Kyron, post of the week right there! :)


    @ Swam

    "It seems all one needs to be is a XBOT in here and you are immediately considered more intelligent."

    Well of course, they got an xbox, anyone with more intelligence would :)

    / runs from an angry swam!



  • FaceOmeter #571 4 years ago

    first!

  • DjFlex52 #572 4 years ago

    Been playing it for more than five hours now, and apart from the graphical update, not that much has changed.
    Its still: talk to one guy, go to some marker, shoot some guys, autosave, repeat.

    @Prodigy_BE

    Again....and your point? What a stupid comment!
    You can say that about every genre, Prodigy_BE.

    So RPGs suck..all you do is fight enemies, take their loot and repeat.
    And puzzle games suck...all you do is move shapes around, score points and repeat.
    Shooters suck...all you do is move through corridors, kill enemies and repeat.
    Music games suck...all you do is hit notes, continue hitting notes and then repeat.
    Platform games suck...all you do is jump around, collect things and repeat.

    If you don't like the genre of GTA games, don't buy the fucking game but PLEASE...stop whining!
    It's a 10 game...live with it :)

  • Kanselier #573 4 years ago

    @Prodigy_BE

    It is called GTA for a (that) reason. Gran Turimso 5 will be the same as every previous part, Halo 4 will be the same as every previous part. Etc etc.

  • Kanselier #574 4 years ago

    @DJflex52

    Posting here suck, all you do is getting angry at people you don't even know in real life ;)

  • NSFR #575 4 years ago

    "I still have GTA San Andreas waiting for me on my collection. Do I really need to take GTA4 or I will be served well enough by the massive San Andreas?"

    In my opinion SA just feels spread to thin. You got VC? That is the best of the 3D games so far I reckon (excluding IV which I haven't played).

  • stoopidgreg #576 4 years ago

    agreed, DjFlex52. there's no point complaining about how it's "go somewhere, get a mission, complete mission, repeat". that's how ALL sandbox games and RPGs play. can you think of a better system?

    there are some flaws i've noticed in my few hours of play, including the lock on not being very effective at picking out the biggest threat and the melee is a bit hit and miss, although come to think of it maybe it's because i wasn't locking onto people. i tried to think of anything else i spotted and i really can't. i've not used the cover system a lot but it feels alright and i think it will just take a while to get used to. there is some popup but it seems to be only with small destructible objects like when you drive along that board walk near the start, the benches and bins fade in just 50 meters infront of you which feels a bit odd for a next gen game. but to be honest i've only ever noticed it a couple of times, and it seems to be in places you're less likely to drive along (like the board walk).

  • ps3owner #577 4 years ago

    @ pompeystallion
    "DONE! Just got a copy without pre-order at GAME on Oxford Street..... run down boys and girls..... I LOVE HAVING A PS3 AT WORK!!! "

    where do you work? I want to apply for a job ;)

    chief PS3 player ;)



  • Prodigy_BE #578 4 years ago

    @ Kanselier

    Yes, I know, and quite frankly, I don't see why games that do the same thing over and over can be looked upon as new milestones. Shouldn't milestones be innovative, instead of more of the same (even if it is a very good game, which I think GTA IV is)

    Journalists where hand pickes by Rockstar (they pick the ones they know are GTA fanboys and easy to influence), they where flown to NY, spent 5 days in an expensive hotel, were taken out every night (with R* paying the bills) and got to play GTA all day on a big screen tv in a comfy chair.

    Do you really believe ANYONE can write an unbiased review in those circumstances?

    The gaming press should be on the side of the gamers, now its just another marketing tool. You do realize that, do you?

  • layleeloo #579 4 years ago

    People saying they'ev bene playing for 4 hours etc - I think you are in the honeymoon peroid. I've been playing it for 5 days, and aside from it being pretty, TO ME it is similar to a halo 3, just prettier but nothing new. Although Halo 3 was wank, I do like this GTA, but after a few days play im still waiting to see something new and stunning, apart from pretty pixels. Great game certainly - worth the hype and all the 10's, probably not. I can't remeber a single thing which was worth the hype in muvies, music or especially in gaming... People built expectations too high, thats why with things like Haze etc I turn the TV off, or dont read the net articles, but cos this is so big, there was no getting away from GTA. Enjoyable for now certainly, will it last as long as GTA 3, I doubt it - cos GTA 3 was something new, this is just another version but incredible looking.

  • japstersam #580 4 years ago

    "thanks to GTA i only had 4 hours sleep before i start work this morning,"

    LOL tell me about it
    i've only had about an hour and a half on it, but i'm well impressed.
    police are tougher this time round. if i saw them on any previous GTAs, i wouldnt think twice about ramming them cause i could just pop round the corner or kill them nice and quick, i find myself actually trying to stick to the law when i see them this time round, which is good.
    found myself running away from police this morning, eventually got out of their vision and ditched my car (that was on fire), then ran to hide at the side of the road...instead of disappearing, the cops followed up and had a peek at my ditched car, got blown up by it, then got ran over by a civilian
    man i love GTA

    EDIT - typo
    Edited by 1 at 29/04/08 @ 09:57

  • DjFlex52 #581 4 years ago

    there are some flaws i've noticed in my few hours of play, including the lock on not being very effective at picking out the biggest threat and the melee is a bit hit and miss, although come to think of it maybe it's because i wasn't locking onto people. i tried to think of anything else i spotted and i really can't. i've not used the cover system a lot but it feels alright and i think it will just take a while to get used to. there is some popup but it seems to be only with small destructible objects like when you drive along that board walk near the start, the benches and bins fade in just 50 meters infront of you which feels a bit odd for a next gen game. but to be honest i've only ever noticed it a couple of times, and it seems to be in places you're less likely to drive along (like the board walk).

    @stoopidgreg

    And if Prodigy had written comments like yours, I wouldn't have had to scold him..lol
    What makes me laugh is that he making a final judgment after 5 hours on a game that's about 50 hours of play. GTAIV isn't a COD4 or Halo 3 six hours of singleplayer game. There's so much content in GTA games.

    Oh, I agree with you, Kanselier. But it's still better than commenting on swam/headbog's ridiculous posts. He's on some psycho crusade to label everyone online an xbot and then proceed to make them suffer ;)

  • Kryon #582 4 years ago

    @swam

    "Kryon (sock of Calgon)
    (see how easy that is?) "

    Hmm, no not really my dim witted chum, you see, the difference is that you actually are the sock of headbog and everyone knows it, you've been accused of sockism by numerous different people on here and you don't even have the conviction to deny it because you know it'll just make you look imbecilic. You only created 'swam' in the first place because 99.9% of us had put 'headbog' on ignore.

  • hula hoops #583 4 years ago

    @ Prodigy_BE

    I agree with you. I think GTA IV should be made as a 2D puzzle game to really make it different than all its previous iterations. That would make the game really a MILESTONE.


  • NSFR #584 4 years ago

    "I agree with you. I think GTA IV should be made as a 2D puzzle game to really make it different than all its previous iterations. That would make the game really a MILESTONE"

    Or make it cross-genre tie in game: "Grand Theft of the Rings", "Grand Hammer Theft 40,000".

  • McLovin85 #585 4 years ago

    Some people just don't realise all the little things that R* have done for GTA 4 that make it an innovation.

    - It's one of the first games to implement Euphoria and pull it off well
    - The depth of interactivity such as comedy store stand-up acts, 'fake' internet, tv programs etc
    - Multiplayer modes that are new and fresh such as cops and crooks
    - New wanted level system (with circle being reset around you when you are seen).

    It's all these things and more that make it such a joy to play through and i just can't believe all the bitching and moaning about 'oh it didn't live up to the hype', 'it's just the same as before' etc. The best way to show your 'disgust' at the game would be to simply not buy it therefore sending R* an indication that the game sucked and you want a change. But let's be honest that isn't going to happen now is it??

  • layleeloo #586 4 years ago

    McLovin85

    Those people who say its just the same as the rest are not saying it becasue they hate it - they are stating the blind obvious. If you read my post, dont I say the game is great, do I not like it - ive bene playing it more than most over the last 5 days. So why would I take it back. Its just most things never live up to the hype. Whehter little quirks are added like going to cabaret with your missus, or having a lapdance etc. They arnt gameplay, theyre just in game movies so nothing to shout greatly about. However, o the flipside of that there is the pool and things you actually can play and to be honest, when I got bored of doing missions a fair while ago -i spend most my time doing the mundane things now which I find more of a laugh, like pool and darts haha. Strange we buy a game for its complexity but are more dum founded by the simplistic things in it. So once again, yes, great game - no i wont be taking it back. Worth all the 10's. Surely not.

  • NSFR #587 4 years ago

    For those interested in the journalistic ethics regarding reviews: http://gamepolitics.com/

  • NSFR #588 4 years ago

    and for a more humorous take, the lovely Tom Francis has this to say: http://ww w.computerandvideogames.com/art...

  • ps3owner #589 4 years ago

    @layleeloo

    "Strange we buy a game for its complexity but are more dum founded by the simplistic things in it."

    maybe that's the success of the Wii

    little big planet should be a blast then.

  • DjFlex52 #590 4 years ago

    @layleeloo

    Are you playing it on 360 or PS3?
    The PS3 is having freezing problems with GTA IV like Bully SE did on the 360...oops

    /exits in a flash

  • layleeloo #591 4 years ago

    @ ps3owner

    haha Very true mate! Very true! I have had a couple of wii's I must admit, but always end up selling them when I get bored, although the No More Heroes does look a laugh.

    As for Little Big Planet - defo. Its my most aniticipated game of any including GTA and Metal Gear. I think just becasue its something new ehere the others are just pretty re hash's. LBP - can't wait.

  • layleeloo #592 4 years ago

    DjFlex52

    Im playing it on the PS3. Im no fanboy either as I have most consoles on the market, but have noticed no Freezing at all aftyer 5 days play? Perhaps it comes later on I don't know, but I havnt seen any.

  • Blackthorned #593 4 years ago

    But seriously - is it as good as Pit Fighter on the Megadrive?

  • McLovin85 #594 4 years ago

    Fair enough layleeloo, as long as it's still a great game in your eyes I'm happy :)

    You bring up an interesting point though, with hype flying about all over the place the whole time, what has actually lived up to 'the hype'?

  • Kanselier #595 4 years ago

    Prodigy_BE

    I know what you are talking about, I have been a ' journalist' for several years myself. But going on trips and playing/reviwing the game on location does not make me a reviewer a biased cunt. Of course there are reviewers vulnerable for trips like this but that is human nature.

    When a game is crap, it is crap. When a game is good, it is good. All the strippers, free vodka and pocketmoney cannot make a boatload of reviewers lie.

  • hula hoops #596 4 years ago

    Im playing it on the PS3. Im no fanboy either as I have most consoles on the market, but have noticed no Freezing at all aftyer 5 days play? Perhaps it comes later on I don't know, but I havnt seen any.

    5 days of play ... man, do you work in games retail or something and can take the game home when the boss not looking?

  • Kanselier #597 4 years ago

    Pah, 5 days. U R LAEM

    I am playing the DLC right now!! It is amazing, best DLC ever!!*
    *may not be true

  • layleeloo #598 4 years ago

    @ Blackthorned

    hahahah - I don't think anything is as good as that. But then, if we played it now it could be a classic case of "time distorts memory" so i think i'll leave it in the cherished thoughts cabinet rathert than try it now and think "god its pants" like happened with road rash! hahaha. PF was just class :-)

  • smoothpete #599 4 years ago

    "But seriously - is it as good as Pit Fighter on the Megadrive?"

    lol, I remember that piece of dogshit. One of the worst games ever made!

  • layleeloo #600 4 years ago

    @ hula hoops

    haha unfortunately not no - but my best mate does own an independant games shop so as we know, a lot of them put games out a couple of days early when the delivery arrives. Although with this one he didnt put it on the shelves, he did bring it home for me the day it came into store as an early birthday gift on friday. Star man!! If only it wasnt my girlfriend bithday on the saturday I would have sat playing it all day probably. Damn commitments! haha
    Edited by 1 at 29/04/08 @ 10:50

  • bad09 #601 4 years ago

    Postie just delivered my copy (360) YAY!!!!!! See you guys in a month! :)

  • layleeloo #602 4 years ago

    @ DiamondIce

    Is that more interesting that real TV - or the whole game in general? hahaha. Cant say ive watched it yet, may have to later now you've said that

  • dan2313 #603 4 years ago

    Yay my Play.com preorder just turned up, whilst i was ranting about never ordering from them again! ( i hope they didn't hear)

  • Prodigy_BE #604 4 years ago

    @ Prodigy_BE
    I agree with you. I think GTA IV should be made as a 2D puzzle game to really make it different than all its previous iterations. That would make the game really a MILESTONE.

    Hm... You don't get it. If the press keeps being blinded by all the fancy shit they get thrown at them, the whole market will move towards even more sequels that just bring more of the same. And thats leaving a lot of creativity unused, because its the publisher that orders the developer on what game to make. Believe me, developers want to make new and exiting games, gamers want new and exiting games, but the publisher says: NO WAY, doing sequels eliminates risks and brings more $$$.

    I like GTA a lot, but this whole "highest score ever" thing is getting out of hand. And will eventually come back to bite us gamers in the ass.

  • [menace] #605 4 years ago

    666

  • TONYgr #606 4 years ago

    666 lol

  • Kanselier #607 4 years ago

    "gamers want new and exiting games"

    How wrong you are. Gamers say they want 'original' games like Rez/Shox/Flipnic yet they buy the next FIFA/Singstar/Halo.

    Plus Triple AAA titles generate money, money generates means to create original content, original contant generate financial risc.
    Edited by 1 at 29/04/08 @ 12:03

  • Vice.Destroyer #608 4 years ago

    I thought about going to a midnight launch or even pre-ordering my copy of GTA. I was too lazy to do both and had a mini adventure. It wasn't very exciting, but I walked into Gamestation and picked up GTA IV. Walked out and will play it later. To be fair, I don't think that I have ever seen as many copies of a game in a shop before.

    I'll be glad when Man U play later tonight. That will force me to take a break when I get home.

  • mischief #609 4 years ago

    just bought this from Zavvi for £45.
    Another chap in my office paid £50 from the same shop this morning.
    I would have waited till the autumn to get this, but I just had to rub his nose in it.
    good bye summer outdoors

  • hula hoops #610 4 years ago

    just bought this from Zavvi for £45.
    Another chap in my office paid £50 from the same shop this morning.
    I would have waited till the autumn to get this, but I just had to rub his nose in it.
    good bye summer outdoors

    I bought mine from Argos for £39.99 ... can I rub it on your nose? :p

  • BobsUncle #611 4 years ago

    I think I'll order it from Play-asia for 30 quid.

    http://ww w.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-dw-4...
    Edited by 1 at 29/04/08 @ 12:42

  • stoopidgreg #612 4 years ago

    damn i wish i knew about play-asia now. got scalped £45 at tesco. but i guess that's the price you pay to be one of the first :D

  • layleeloo #613 4 years ago

    Mine cost, oooh, s0d all. Early B'day pressie from my mate! Hurrah. Personally I think he's a cheap bastard as he wont even be paying for it as he owns the shop! haha. I had even saved the cash for it too - so I just had more beer money instead! Wud still have happily paid the 30-35 notes for it though

  • Prodigy_BE #614 4 years ago

    @ Kanselier.

    Nope, physical sportsgames (not racing games) is a different ballpark (no pun intended). In these kind of games, slight adjustments have a big impact, because it is all centered around one set of rules.

    As with other games, check your stats.
    The sales of Splinter Cell have gone down as we got more sequels. As is the case with Tomb Raider, Metal Gear, Resident Evil (up intill RE4, which was... you guessed it, innovating the whole RE gameplay) Gran Turismo, The Sims and lots of others.

    The problem is that Publishers put their best teams on sequels, and the majority of their marketing budget goes to sequels. And you need BOTH to focus on innovative stuff, otherwise, its not gonna work (Okami had a great team, but no marketing budget, and look how that turned out).

    As an ex-journalist (and not regretting it one single second), I can only say that most of them would be well to turn back to just being a consumer for a few months. Because the world of videogames has clouded their vision.

  • mischief #615 4 years ago

    nicely put hula hoops
    but the extra money was worth it just to abuse my workmate.
    When i cam back from the shop another 3 of my colleagues went out to buy it from the same shop just so they could also gloat over him. That kind of thing is priceless.
    He has just abandoned his lunch to go and get a refund now poor twat.

  • stoopidgreg #616 4 years ago

    @ Prodigy_BE - i'm pretty sure the sims 2 far outsold the first sims. as for the other games you listed, i don't think the sequels did badly at all, in fact i bet some of them outsold the first game in the series.

  • Kanselier #617 4 years ago

    I don't understand the 'clouded' bit.

    I know for a fact during my time as a 'journalist' (such a horrid word) I did not put myself in the role of the consumer who can buy one game every other month. Getting games for free made me a tad too easy on the scores. In other words, I recommended people to buy like 6 or 7 games every month (generally speaking, of course everybody has their likes and dislikes for genres).

    But my vision was not clouded because of money or publisher-friends. I am not going to mention any titles (to avoid off-topic chat) but I have been on excellent trips for lousy games. Excellent trip = 10, lousy game = 4. Review score = 4. Period.

    Gah, not enough space to say everything I wanted...
    Edited by 1 at 29/04/08 @ 13:10

  • Prodigy_BE #618 4 years ago

    Nope, the sales curve is going down. Not by much, but down nonetheless.

    But publishers see a slightly downward curve as a smaller risk than investing in a new IP, that even with a lot of talent, can fail in a big way.

    The point I'm trying to make is that the influence publishers have on press is not a healthy thing, and will eventually backfire. The guys calling the shots don't care, because they will have made tons of money by then. But we, the gamers, will be cheated out of some grade A games.

    In the music and filmbiz, you can easily create high end things with small budgets. That doesn't work for the gaming biz. When I worked as a journalist, I got a lot of heat for putting games like Okami and Farenheit on the cover, because they didn"t have marketing budgets to back them up. They where the best games, but my bosses didn't care for that. Do what the publisher likes, shut up, and enjoy the ride of free stuff and playing games for a living, is their message.

    It should be: do what's best for the consumers, imo. Because without consumers, there would be no sites or magazines. But hey, that's just me.
    Edited by 1 at 29/04/08 @ 13:14

  • Kanselier #619 4 years ago

    Best for consumers = what we buy = 90% 'sequels'.

    In other words, we the consumer do not know what we want and/or what is best for us. We the consumer buy what is available, what we know, what is popular and what other people play.

  • Ghost_Dog #620 4 years ago

    Is this game based on the Ron Howard film?

    If it is, does Ron Howard voice the main Character?

  • Meho #621 4 years ago

    Is this the start of the shitstorm:

    [link url=http://uk.news.yahoo. com/pressass/20080429/tuk-police-hunt-video-game-attacker-63 23e80.html
    ]http://uk .news.yahoo.com/pressass/200804...[/link]

    Bizarre shit out there:

    "Press Assoc. - 37 minutes ago

    Police are hunting a hooded man who stabbed a passer-by as he waited to buy a new edition of a notoriously violent computer game.

    Up to 100 people witnessed the knife attack as they queued ahead of the midnight release of Grand Theft Auto IV.

    The 23-year-old victim was attacked as he passed the queue outside Gamestation, in George Street, Croydon, at about 11pm.

    Police said he did not call for help but a witness informed police who found him a short distance away.

    He was taken to a south London hospital for treatment to several stab wounds, a spokeswoman said. He has since been discharged.

    The creators of the hugely successful Grand Theft Auto series have come under fire for their depiction of casual violence, drug dealing and prostitution.

    More than 70 million copies in the series have already been sold and the 18 certificate fourth instalment is expected to rake in more than £200 million.

    Detective Inspector Liz Baker, of Croydon CID, said: "We are looking at CCTV from the area and believe there were in the region of 50 to 100 people in the queue. We are sure many of them will have seen what happened.

    "I urge them to make contact with police as they may hold vital information to help us track down the suspect.

    "He is described as a light skinned black man aged about 21 years old, 6ft 5ins tall, of medium build wearing a light grey hooded top with his hood up."

    "

  • Ghost_Dog #622 4 years ago

    Ban this sick filth

  • slivir #623 4 years ago

    The writing in this review was absolute garbage. The 10/10 is probably deserved but Jesus Christ Tom, learn how to write.

  • Dizz #624 4 years ago

    Quite honestly, I don't get it AT ALL why so many sites give it a 10. Great graphics, physics and stuff, but it's just another GTA: drive around, kill shit, go back etc. Perhaps it's just me...I loved the first GTA, but the other ones were just more of the same on newer consoles/platforms. Perhaps I'm just bored of the genre, I dunno.

    Bully had its flaws, but at least they tried something new.

    Christ I'm getting old I'm afraid. :>
    Edited by 2 at 29/04/08 @ 14:56

  • layleeloo #625 4 years ago

    @ meho

    Indeed it will be. It wont focus on the FUCKWIT who did it - that he is a fucked up coward. They will fail to realsie if there was the same que for a barbie doll at that time and place it would have still happened - but no, it will be seen that it happened cos the game has violence in it. Shock horror. Bunch of idiots. However, as always - the media frenzy will only sell more copies - as per usual their complaining and scare mongering actuially does more good for the product. Sooner they realise that the better!

  • sonmi451 #626 4 years ago

    ah bollocks, Play or the Royal Mail have let me down. no copy arrived today. have to play cup'n'ball instead.

    incidently who is best for getting games to you on launch date - not that i'm totally impatient and want everything yesterday ;)

  • levis #627 4 years ago

    shopto. Sent yesterday, arrived today.

  • layleeloo #628 4 years ago

    @ sonmi451

    Every company is different. You will never get one to do it 100% of the time. Ive spent over £3500 on play.com and the majority has come on time, or a day or two early, but then a couple of times things have gone lost, but then got refunded. Out of about 3-400 items ordered off them its not a bad average. Same with Amazon, sometimes good - sometimes terrible. Its just the luck of the drawer. Some people may say they have never been let down by a company - but its all dependant on numbers. If someones only ordered 30 or 40 things form somewhere and received them all - then great - a 100% average, but only on few items. My 3-400 from play, I think they only messed up 4 orders so its a bloody good average really. Just pick one and hope for the best I reckon

  • anomagnus #629 4 years ago

    @ PRODIGY_BE

    You say the sales curve is going down.

    Do you think that GTA4 will represent a fall in sales?

    Personally, i've never agreed with notion that 'innovative' and 'orginal' games are what gamers want.

    What we want are games that work, that are fun, and take the basic concepts of a game and improve on them.

    Any game that is built in ingenuity alone, is an almighty risk, that rarely pans out. Ico, Okami, etc failed, because they took an idea, made it great, but it was not what the gaming public had asked for or wanted.

    On the opposite end of the scale, take gears of war, for example. It wasn't innovative, it took each single aspect of a 3rd person shooter, and made them as good as they could be.

    To say its the gaming companies fault is unfair and erroneous. They react to what sells. While they have a limited latitude in shaping that, it is ultimately the customer who buys the product, and it is that forms the market.

    I consider myself a gamers gamer, i love games, but i failed to enjoy Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, okami, etc, because they were not my type of game.

    Your original assertation that Res4 was revolutionary is inaccurate as well. Rather, Capcom looked at what worked, what didnt, improved what did, and got rid of what didnt. I would consider that evolution, not revolution .

    You say sequels see declining sales. I find this hard to believe, but i dont have access to any statistics to prove otherwise. But i would be surprised of GTA4 was outsold by its predecessors, likewise, Halo 3, Sims2, etc.

    What you say sounds like a common argument from what i call the 'artties', those people that believe only 'art house' titles are truly pushing the envelope . Without commercial success, those games are not revolutionary, because they have not had an impact on the wider scene. They have not impacted on the status quo at all. Far from revolutionary, they are an evolutionary deadend.

    A TRULY revolutionary game is one that introduces an idea into the MASS market, which is then seized upon, and used in all future games for a beneficial gain. For example, how often have we heard a 'gears of war style cover system'. Or the idea of stealth, so capably introduced in to MGS.

  • sonmi451 #630 4 years ago

    @LayLeeLoo

    aye, to be honest Play are pretty reliable.

    i'd just be a little frustrated if it's due to arrive tomorrow, but then the earth spun out of orbit tonight and plunged into the sun. then i'd never get to play it ;)

  • layleeloo #631 4 years ago

    @ sonmi451

    Well, I had never thought of that! God help us! hahahahaha

  • Lionheart #632 4 years ago

    @ Vice.Destroyer

    Agreed being a Liverpool fan I'm deafo going to be watching the game... but I'm worried i wont be able to drag myself away from this peice of art!! AHHHH!!

    Roll on half 5 (still at work =[ )

  • TriggerHippie #633 4 years ago

    Have they removed the taxi missions? Used to be a great way to learn the city and make a little starting cash :(

  • TRACTORBOY1971 #634 4 years ago

    Why is everyone always having a go at anyone who owns a 360. I have all the new consoles so I have the best of all worlds. For multi format releases I always go for the 360 version, the reason for this is the following

    1. Mulitplayer is better, I know it works, I can have CMB, I can talk privatly to a friend without hassel.
    2. Achievement points ( I love them, my kids love them)
    3. I have rumble on my controller.

    The only multi format game I have purchased on the PS3 was the darkness, and that was because my xbox 360 had the ring of death. And the only multi format game I have purchased on the WII was PES2008, because it is fantastic and the controls are awsome.

    I think the PS3 could have the potential to be an awsome machine, but until they sort out on-line gaming, xbox always wins on the multi-format front.

    Great games on the PS3 though, rachet and glank, Uncharted & Motorstorm.

    So stop having a go and people who love the 360, I love all my game consoles for different reasons, but at the moment, 360 wins hands down.

  • WinterSnowblind #635 4 years ago

    @Kanselier

    More Halo bashing? There have only been three games in the main Halo series, and there are no plans to make any more. I'm not sure what game you were playing but Halo was an extremely original FPS, it may not have done anything completely revoultionary, but it did include a lot of new features, and you may have noticed every FPS since Halo has followed the exact same formula it set up. Or was that a massive coincidence? The two sequels were of course less original, but two sequels hardly warrants listing it amongst the likes of Fifa and Singstar. By that logic MGS2 and 3 were both merely rehashes of the same old tired formula, that gamers keep swallowing up cause they don't care about originality, right?

    @TriggerHippie

    You can still do Taxi missions, just not in the same way. You can call up Roman and ask for some work, then he'll tell you to pick someone up and deliver them to their destination. Not sure if you can continue doing them right up until the end of the game though.

  • JohnnyGee2008 #636 4 years ago

    If You Havent Had The Pleasure Of Seeing Bas Rutten On The Men's Room On The TV.....Make Sure U Check It Out...Comedy Genius

  • Nikanoru #637 4 years ago

    Halo was an extremely original FPS


    LOL!!!

    No games after Halo copied Halo. They merely copied the same shit that Halo also copied before them. Your game was and is just another FPS. Get over it.

  • TriggerHippie #638 4 years ago

    Shouldn't Belic be pronounced Belich? Sounds weird them not even saying their own name properly :p

  • EmiliasHorse #639 4 years ago

    A bloke in Gamestation tried to sell me the Official guide for only £11.99, stating that without this book I would not be able to obtain all the achievements. Wonder what his sales pitch would have been if I has bought the PS3 version.

    Great game.

  • oupe #640 4 years ago

    Wow... The only thing so far GTA managed to do for me is throwing my controller against the wall out of frustration. Something that Ikaruga and Ninja Gaiden could not achieve. Since this pisses me off:
    - Framerate is crappy
    - Pop-up is annoying
    - Camera still not as nice as GTA3 and sluggish
    - HUD/map thingy is way too small, objects on it are hard to see (32" lcd)
    - Sometimes a translucent black bar appears during cutscenes on top of the screen

    /mourns for loss of elite controller, gets old white one. restarts game.
    Edited by 1 at 29/04/08 @ 21:56

  • Chufty #641 4 years ago

    Erm. 704th?

  • TriggerHippie #642 4 years ago

    The only feature of the game i've had serious problems with so far is Ricky Gervais lol

  • Blackthorned #643 4 years ago

    Boo to Gameplay! Pre-ordered a month ago and they didn't deliver it on release day.
    I feel like the odd one out. Again.

  • TheJuriel #644 4 years ago

    The game is good, but it's 'just' more of the same regular GTA, only with a new coat of paint. And the game is full of little nuisances - the rare vanishing objects, the rare levitating above the box you climbed onto, the way you need to cramp your hand pressing/tapping the run button all the time instead of adjusting Niko's speed with the analog stick like every other game does, the camera still being clumsy indoors, how it managed to freeze up on me when I tried to play Qub3d at the strip club...

    It's an 8/10, perhaps a 9/10 if the story improves later on and the missions become more developed. But seriously, hype is so strong in this that no site dares to give it a score lower than 10? And Eurogamer too? Halo 3 all over again...

  • FladgeMangle #645 4 years ago

    I got this. Wasn't going to but then thought It's like being part of a gaming event. Everyone is so excited and there's so much anticipation about whether they nerfed the PS3 version again. They haven't, it plays brilliantly.

    "Where were you when they released GTA4 daddy?"
    "I was there day one, kid"
    "You're such a geek, old man"
    "Thanks love"

    So far it reminds me of what was so great about the original GTA3, although so far I've mostly just hung around the apartment and watched the telly (the history channel is hilarious), or taken a stroll on the beach. I might get around to a few missions tomorrow, right now just I'm enjoying the atmosphere.

  • captain-future #646 4 years ago

    Some old GTA greatness and shortcomings... but Niko has great humor, is a great character.

  • paulf #647 4 years ago

    'It's an 8/10, perhaps a 9/10 if the story improves later on and the missions become more developed. But seriously, hype is so strong in this that no site dares to give it a score lower than 10? And Eurogamer too? Halo 3 all over again...'

    you sir are intitled to an opinion but you are so so wrong, sometimes hype is justified and i think in the case of gta 4 rightly so, so please people stop moaning about tiny glitches - if you cant enjoy this game then maybe you should get a new hobby ...

  • TheJuriel #648 4 years ago

    It's curious how 'deserves an 8/10, is nowhere near perfect' translates to some as 'I am not able to enjoy this game in the least'.

  • NSFR #649 4 years ago

    Ah fantastic it has a Range Rover Sport (named Huntley Sport in it. Proper gangster car in black that is.
    Edited by 1 at 29/04/08 @ 23:54

  • axman303 #650 4 years ago

    My experience so far:

    * Superb scale of graphics engine. City looks far more unique and realistic than ever before. Excellent lighting.
    * Terrible jerky frame-rate, 18-25 FPS. Ruins immersion factor.
    * Car control behavior looks comically bad in the new more semi-realistic graphics style. All cars control like sofas. It's not arcade control style, just bad control.

    Oh, gosh, why all the 10/10 reviews? This game has promise, but unplayable due to AWFUL frame-rate on the PS3.

    Will try it again tomorrow night, when I've cooled down a bit. Looks like it's heading towards eBay fast. PS3 may follow suit.



  • bad09 #651 4 years ago

    Well having played it now (FINALLY, it's seemed like forever!) I have to say 10/10 VERY WELL deserved. Sure it's still GTA but this game is amazing and the detail in the city is unbelievable, taking your first cab ride makes you appreciate the size of the sandbox!! The humour is intact and the TV is another great addition. This is GTA we all love but with a better on foot experience. One criticism though, (only small) I really loved the in car view which they changed slightly so you now look around outside the car, I was hoping they'd finally put a dashboard in the front, never mind :(

    And still got the multiplayer to try! Thank you Rockstar, for another class experience, a job very well done! Now when we going back to Vice city...........

  • NSFR #652 4 years ago

    The city is amazing, really amazing. It makes it even clearer to me why I didn't like SA. In this you feel closed in, the city dominating you. It feels packed, dense, like urban environments should. Real quality I think. It suits the character of GTA perfectly.

  • Gaol #653 4 years ago

    "Some old GTA greatness and shortcomings... but Niko has great humor, is a great character. "

    +1

    The lead character is actually one of the best things about this game. First GTA I've played where the characters and plot seem central to enjoyment.

  • foamy #654 4 years ago

    don't know if this got mentioned already.

    [link url=http://www.videogamer.com/features/article/29-04-2 008-389.html
    ]http://ww w.videogamer.com/features/artic...[/link]

    sorry about bringing the graphics shitty war back, but there may be some people still interested in other opinions to make their choice.

  • Fab4 #655 4 years ago

    Playing Cops & Crooks with friends is so effing hilarious. Its what gaming is all about.

  • TriggerHippie #656 4 years ago

    @axman303

    Can't say I've had any issuses on the PS3 after playing it all day yesterday. Certainly not the crippling frame rates you've suffered.

  • PlugMonkey #657 4 years ago

    The game is good, but it's 'just' more of the same regular GTA, only with a new coat of paint.

    + another 1

    I'm a bit underwhelmed really. The city really is genuinely fantastic. World artists, take a massive bow. Everything else is the same. The car handlings still shit, the bikes feel worse than I remember from previous games. The missions are formulaic, repetitive and completely linear. The shooting's a bit ropey. The only really noticeable gameplay change is the fucking tedious girlfriend side missions from SA have been expanded to include every character in the game. Last night I took a Rastafarian to the worst cabaret act I've ever sat through. To what end? I have no idea.

    It's still good, but I was expecting a generational leap forward, and it's just not. It's exactly the same game with exactly the same flaws. Maybe it'll kick off when the plot gets moving, but so far it's not really shown anything remotely new.

  • S.J.Rogers #658 4 years ago

    Hello fellow EG people, i have a quick question.

    I picked GTA4 up yesterday and have been taking my time with it and played for about 3 hours.

    I have just done the Vlad, Car wash mission.

    What i would like to know is, how long does it take to open the bridges?

    Thanks:

    SJR.

  • shido #659 4 years ago

    mr. S.J Rogers.

    I'm about 10 hours in and no word on bridges opening....there have been a few hours of dossing about tho....well i say a few i have no idea how many......

  • dk_rare #660 4 years ago

    @ S.J.Rogers

    You can cross the bridge right now if you want. You will have a 6 star wanted level, but you can still roam the other island for a little while before you are killed.

  • S.J.Rogers #661 4 years ago

    Thanks guys, i read on another site that it takes about 12 hours..!

    I have ALOT of work to do.

    :-)

  • anomagnus #662 4 years ago

    anyone know what radio station lazlo is on?

    watched republican space cowboys thing, UNREAL. Felt bad for americans though.

  • Prodigy_BE #663 4 years ago

    'It's an 8/10, perhaps a 9/10 if the story improves later on and the missions become more developed. But seriously, hype is so strong in this that no site dares to give it a score lower than 10? And Eurogamer too? Halo 3 all over again...'

    you sir are intitled to an opinion but you are so so wrong, sometimes hype is justified and i think in the case of gta 4 rightly so, so please people stop moaning about tiny glitches - if you cant enjoy this game then maybe you should get a new hobby ...

    @paulf
    He's not moaning about tiny glitches. GTA 4 is just more of the same, but Take 2 are kings in putting pressure on the press (example: they managed to get the editor in chief of EDGE fired, and most of the rest leave also). Reviews should just have said: Great game, but nothing new and lots of stuff that was't perfect in the past, still isn't perfect now. Just one paragraph with that stuff in their 3 pages of good critique would have been suffice.

    The reason for R* to be such hard-asses is simple: Scores ranging from 85 to 95, instead of 95 to 100, could mean a million less copy's sold. And the whole 'God Mode' status off the game could come down. That will cost them millions of dollars.

  • HarryPalmer #664 4 years ago

    What is wrong with people? I've got the PS3 version and I honestly cant find any fault with it, it's smooth as silk - even the guy in the shop said the PS3 version was much smoother than the 360. Even online it doesnt drop. I think some people are lying.

  • onyxbox #665 4 years ago

    ^^^^

    I'm not lying, the game froze on me twice last night and I couldn't get online at all.

    PS3 version (60GB).

  • rotmm #666 4 years ago

    @HarryPalmer,

    Yea, you and the guy in the shop ;)

  • Kaparen #667 4 years ago

    11/10 on the PC then

  • paulf #668 4 years ago

    @ TheJuriel - sorry if i was abrupt in my comment last night, was tired after playing too much gta4 - i do take your points, however in my short time with the game i can see no other game in its genre that has the depth and breadth that gta4 has (crackdown is the closest I would argue) maybe Im not as picky but i havent noticed any framerate issues, and only the occasional pop up neither of which have spoiled the game for me.

    @Prodigy_BE - regardless of how much bullying has been going on the game is still great if not perfect, you could argue that its getting such high scores cause rockstar threatened to send Nico round to anyone who didnt type 10 or you could say its getting great scores simply for the fact its a great game

    I mean when it comes down to it they have put new york in your living room and that to me is fucking amazing regardless of minimal drops in framerate and popup, its worth a 10 for that alone (and will probably win rockstar another d&ad award)

    (i do not work for either rockstar or take two btw ;) )

  • Prodigy_BE #669 4 years ago

    @ Paulf

    Everybody has their own oppinion, I guess. I too think the city is amazing. But the gameplay is same old, same old. And gameplay is king in my book. So yes, as it stands now, GTA4 dangles between an 8 and a 9 for me. If they can ramp up the mission fun (pretty boring stuff up until now) and do some amazing story stuff, it'll be a 9 for sure. But no ten. Mario 64 was a 10, and A link to the Past on SNES. Or MGS1 on PSX. But this... Nah.

  • PlugMonkey #670 4 years ago

    He's not moaning about tiny glitches. GTA 4 is just more of the same,

    Precisely. If you'd never played GTA before I can see you loving this, but I'm playing it thinking 'I've done this three times before'. Five if you count Saints Row and The Godfather. It looks pretty, but it's exactly the same damn game. I've just done a mission where I deliver a truck with a bomb in it, for god's sake!

    I don't know. It's only my first impressions, but at the moment I can't help feeling that in terms of gameplay they've done absolutely the barest minimum they could get away with, and I was expecting more.

  • Bangaioh #671 4 years ago

    Re: PlugMonkey
    I totally agree! I generally don't even think about how much a company has spent in articles and reviews but I must say that this time (as with Halo3) I have a strong feeling that 10 out of 10 isn't justified... for fucks sake, this ain't a fuckin 10/10 game! In single mode this is just more GTA with updated gfx... I'd say that an 8/10 is fair but 10/10!? No fuckin way!! Ok, you have multiplater, great... but in my opinion this still doesn't make up a 10/10. I'm actually quite pissed off and happy I didn't buy a limited edition.
    If you gave 10/10 what should Orange Box get!?
    If EG continues like this I'll have to move over to other webistes, I'm fed up of reading bullshit and also spending money on it.

  • paulf #672 4 years ago

    @ Prodigy_BE - fair point about the take a car here, go pick up such and such gameplay of the early missions, tbh i spent more time mucking about in the free roam with my brother than in the single player game, i do have a feeling though that its one of those games that the more you put in the more you get out of it.

    check out the multiplayer stuff if you are after good gameplay though, had some great random fun there last night

    on another note I agree with Mario 64, link to the past and mgs1 being 10's, it's good to know what basis you are forming your judgement on

  • Prodigy_BE #673 4 years ago

    @ Paulf

    I've tried the multiplayer for 1 minutes, but I can clearly see it being ace.
    Have to wait for tomorrow to play it with the mates from my clan (TKZ), as up until now, I've played GTA when the rest of them didn't have the game yet, where sleeping, or of to work.

    But still, I'm kinda worried that developers today are way to focused on graphics, and too scared to try and innovate on the gameplay side. Assassin's Creed being the best example.

  • tinners #674 4 years ago

    "If EG continues like this I'll have to move over to other webistes, I'm fed up of reading bullshit and also spending money on it"

    LOL good! bye then off you go to all the other sites that have given it 10, best start your own online review site and give everything shit reviews just to call yourself different, or that could just be stupid!

    people playing the game for 10 mins and giving a score should GTFO! ive been going for 26 hours, have all the islands open and still i feel ive barely scratched the surface..jesus some people will just never be content...go boil an egg!

  • paulf #675 4 years ago

    don't get me started on assasins creed !!! I agree with you on your point about graphics over gameplay too, what I do like about the taxi missions in gta4 though is that they set the story up nicely without having you hang about and twiddle your thumbs (a la the afformentioned ac)

    what was also cool is i failed a mission and took the same npc on the same drive but the dialogue was different the second time around, also the way the game forces you to make decisions (dont wanna put spoilers in) but how quite early on you have to choose to something for your own pleasure or something that helps someone else out - these arent revolutionary steps but nice touches I thought

  • ChromeMud #676 4 years ago

    If you want something different to shooting,stealing cars,driving and blowing things up in GTA then why buy it in the first place?
    I'd recommend you get your money back so that some real gamer can buy your copy.
    This game is the mutts nutz whichever version you buy and I havn't touched the online game yet!
    I'm looking forward to :-

    mad-as-a-box-of-frogs two-up scooter race deathmatches with friends 'n' guns 'n' stuff

    some insane sniping moments camped out on a scyscraper waiting for the perfect time time to plug a mate

    then I'd like to join a mass suicide cult so me and 15 others can blow ourselves or jump off a bridge and then send a vid to utube.

    Man this game is SICK...........thanx Rockstar your game has turned me into a sociopath for all the right reasons ;)))))

    --edit--- I mean Blow ourselves up after a mass rim job......what was I thinking!!! :p
    Edited by 1 at 30/04/08 @ 11:14

  • Prodigy_BE #677 4 years ago

    @paulf

    Yep, I noticed too, as I'm way beyond that point in the game. Still, from the guys with an unlimited budget and no timing constraints, I expected more than a branching storyline. Fahrenheit did that years ago, and better, might I add (giving you limited time to make dialog choices).

  • tinners #678 4 years ago

    It's gonna be interesting going throught the game again once completed, seeing if these decisons shape the rest of the game. I hope it does but thats a long way off.

  • DjFlex52 #679 4 years ago

    It boggles the mind why the same people (cough...Prodigy_BE..cough) are back again today STILL bitching why a game called Grand Theft Auto IV is STILL a sandbox game about stealing cars & going on missions.

    What did you think it would be about? Why did you buy it?

  • paulf #680 4 years ago

    trouble is prodigy_be that we might be reaching a point where everything has been done before, its maybe now the way that its done and the context its done in that is more important.

    What I liked about it though is that I actually questioned my choice of action in a game (choosing pleasure over duty) and even though the character involved is an irritating git I still felt bad for not helping him out - and his chastisement of me for taking said choice was hilarious.

    In kotor for example the choice is more obvious - light or dark side, in deus ex the multiple endings again were distinct choices between factions (havent played Fahrenheit so I cant comment on that) that decision in gta 4 seemed a little greyer, more organic maybe

  • Lionheart #681 4 years ago

    @ HarryPalmer


    THE GUY IN THE SHOP SAID IT!!???

    I have every faith now :p

  • PlugMonkey #682 4 years ago

    If you want something different to shooting,stealing cars,driving and blowing things up in GTA then why buy it in the first place?

    That's exactly what I want to do, but you can still innovate on that. Wanting "shooting,stealing cars,driving and blowing things up" doesn't necessarily mean I want exactly the same gameplay as I played seven years ago. Why the completely linear missions? That's OK in 2001, but nowadays I kind of expect to have a little bit of freedom in my actions. Especially from a game which is supposed to be revolutionary.

    Lets take one mission in particular. I'm sent by my paranoid boss to kill a man who's done nothing wrong. Other games I've played since 2001 have given me a choice what to do. Kill him or scare him out of town (a classic gangster movie staple plot device used in every film from Miller's Crossing to Eastern Promises). In GTAIV I just have to do what I'm told and it feels very tired to me.

    I'd recommend you get your money back so that some real gamer can buy your copy.

    Ahhahahahaha! Real gamer? Have you any clue what a tit you sound? Yeah, mate. 'Real' gamers love GTA without question...

  • PlugMonkey #683 4 years ago

    It boggles the mind why the same people (cough...Prodigy_BE..cough) are back again today STILL bitching why a game called Grand Theft Auto IV is STILL a sandbox game about stealing cars & going on missions.

    What did you think it would be about? Why did you buy it?

    Oh, FFS! One more try and then I'm giving up. Nobody is bitching about GTAIV STILL being a sandbox game about stealing cars & going on missions. A select few of us are bitching about GTAIV still being the EXACT SAME sandbox game about stealing cars & going on the EXACT SAME missions as seven years ago.

    Why did I buy it? Because I was told it would be a dramatic evolution of the series. So far (and as I've said, I can only give my early impressions) it is not that.

  • Rictor001 #684 4 years ago

    to: everyone who is feeling underwhelmed

    I'm so glad someone else is feeling the same way - please, if anyone is like 15 hours in, can you tell us whether or not the missions step up at all?

    I've played GTA since the original top-down games all the way through to SA and the PSP editions (gave up on SA after a while - hated the RPG-light elelments) but I'm finding it really hard to get excited about anything I've seen in GTA IV so far - I'm 5 hours in and I've already resorted to sitting in the safe-house watching TV.
    On a positive I have to say that I've only noticed pop-up on litter bins and post boxes (of all things) and the city really is amazing - just goes to show what a truely epic engine can do for a game - so I'd like to ad my kudos to the design team responsible for the environments.

    8.5 for the game + 0.5/1 for the hype - you have to admit R* are the kings of spin! hats off to you, good sirs!

  • ChromeMud #685 4 years ago

    I'd just like to say that the GTAIV world feels so weighty!!!
    The Euphoria physics engine in GTA's world adds to the comedy.The vehicles are hilarious when pushed to the max.
    I managed to make a getaway with several stars showing,barely in control but in a good way because it felt right plowing through traffic at full speed in a Hummer,the car shredded in bullet holes and saddly...ped blood all over the bonnet.
    Can we all have a moment of silence please for those poor unfortunate victims who despite having a crack addiction had to lay down their life and their collection of cans for the good of capitalism and the American way.....AMEN!

  • Widge #686 4 years ago

    @foamy!

    hmmmm, I'm not so sure about that site as a source, it does come across rather biased in its approach, especially when it provides 2 shots of the city scape here:

    [link url=http://www.videogamer.com/features/article/29-04 -2008-389-5.html
    ]http://ww w.videogamer.com/features/artic...[/link]

    I'm sorry but ONE of those version on there looks a hell of alot more natural and city like than the other, and its not the top one. Also notice the greater array of visible buildings on show.

    ha, have scanned through the comments, not the only person to notice the somewhat dismissive approach of the writer.

    Anyway, we all know what the best version is. Its the one that you have at home, sitting in your machine, which you're playing, regardless of platform.

  • tinners #687 4 years ago

    Sounds like your more into films than games :p

    Amazing idea as it first was i dont see the need to reinvent something that originally had the vision but not the power to run it.
    Also name a sequel to an already existing franchise that innovates the game massively? seriously i cant think of anything other than a new IP with sequels of the same vein.

    Crazy idea that is is to think of an amazing game, finally release it, then try and make everything that people loved in the first iteration better....instead lets make an amazing game and then innovate it by changing all the mechanics in the sequel, alienating the existing user base and turning it into something thats been done before by every other games company. GTA fps maybe?

    APB will be shit obviously cos its an MMO and thats been done before, quick think of something new and shit, that should feed the needs of some people. :)

  • tinners #688 4 years ago

    "I'm so glad someone else is feeling the same way - please, if anyone is like 15 hours in, can you tell us whether or not the missions step up at all?"

    Yep they do, ahh the power of self discovery....holds little weight these days....wanna know how it ends also?

    15 hours in btw means nothing in GTA....try 150!

  • paulf #689 4 years ago

    on a different note - anyone know if its possible to play darts/pool/bowling in free mode (or any other online multiplayer) tried going to the bar with the pool table last night but someone had nicked the queues and balls :(

    btw i love that the multiplayer group lobby is the gameworld itself so you can muck around whilst waiting for your mates

  • Wendelius #690 4 years ago

    GTAIV is my first GTA game. To all you who feel underwhelmed, I say: try entering the world of GTA for the first time with this game. It's mind blowing. I realy really love it.

    I've been splitting my time yesterday between doing some missions and just driving around, listening to the radio and soaking in the city sights in various... borrowed cars. What strikes me is how immersive and alive the world is. All those passer nys seem to be leading their own life. The streets are busy. The city looks lived in. I love it.

    Trying to drive when drunk was an experience too. :)

    For me, GTAIV is a 10/10. The whole experience deserves it, niggles with the game or not.

    Wendelius

  • Widge #691 4 years ago

    Oh yeah, I know about the RGB Full thing. Having the menu state Full and Limited implies that Full is better, this isn't the case though. The AV bods discovered that RGB Full applies to ancient LCDs that require it to get a good picture, modern LCDs don't use Full RGB and it crushes the brightness and colour if you have it on that. Basically, if you have any TV that has been bought since the HD revolution, then you're sorted!

    Don't ask me the science behind it as it was explained by people with way more knowledge than me, but even a layman can tell that sticking RGB Full on makes the picture dark and dreadful.

    The hues I would say were perhaps down to time of day? 360 shot looks like clear day to me, where the PS3 ons is looking more like sunset type times. Perhaps this also contributes to the haze? People have noticed that weather and lighting conditions have an impact. I remember Los Santos in San Andreas used to get very orange and blurry as the sun sets. Liked the artistic direction on that.

    Anyway! I got home, played it, thought it was the mutts nuts really.... so am most likely going to be ploughing through this happy as larry!

  • Prodigy_BE #692 4 years ago

    It boggles the mind why the same people (cough...Prodigy_BE..cough) are back again today STILL bitching why a game called Grand Theft Auto IV is STILL a sandbox game about stealing cars & going on missions.

    What did you think it would be about? Why did you buy it?
    @ DJFlex52
    I'm not here to discus whether GTA4 is a good game or not (readmy posts, I'm clearly stating its a very good game), I'm here to discus the 10/10 and similar ratings the game gets. As an ex-journalist who was once threatened by a bunch of New York R* lawyers because I pulled the lid of their "95% or your not getting a review copy, and we never advertise in your mag again" rule.
    Yes, its a great game. But the ratings have been pushed up by smart PR. And R*isn't the only one doing that kind of stuff. Ubisoft has done it with Assassin's, and Activision does is with a lot of titles.

  • Bangaioh #693 4 years ago

    Ok, could everyone express there opinion with a vote on the GTAIV EG page
    [link url=http:/ /www.eurogamer.net/game.php?game_id=6125
    ]http://ww w.eurogamer.net/game.php?game_i...[/link]
    This would help other readers choose with a more objective point of view and avoid underwhelming many other potential buyers.
    In my opinion GTAIV doesn't deserve more than 8/10.

    * Sorry for the edits, my english is crap :)
    Edited by 3 at 30/04/08 @ 12:40

  • paulf #694 4 years ago

    @ Prodigy_BE

    'As an ex-journalist who was once threatened by a bunch of New York R* lawyers because I pulled the lid of their "95% or your not getting a review copy, and we never advertise in your mag again" rule. '

    sounds like they had been effected by playing the game after all (acting like a bunch of thugs) - good on you for exposing them though - journalistic integrity ftw :)

  • japstersam #695 4 years ago

    "Zooming in on those screenshots reveals more:"
    etcetcetc
    half the people on eurogamer take themselves for like independent detectives
    who really cares about which is slightly better? if they released exactly the same game on PS2 it would still be a 10/10 game.
    loooooosers
    its an amazing game :)

  • hula hoops #696 4 years ago

    Must say I'm underwhelmed with the graphics. During the day it has this terrible blurry filter - the 'shadows' for example, are laughable. (and this is on a 50" 1080p HD telly...!)

    GTA games have never ever been a pinnacle in terms of graphics. If you expect it as such then you are buying the wrong game.

  • bad09 #697 4 years ago

    "Must say I'm underwhelmed with the graphics"

    Sorry but I just cannot take comments like this seriously, are we playing the same game? This game looks beautiful, the new liberty city has blown me away, the detail is unbelievable! Some people are never satisfied I guess!

  • tgigreeny #698 4 years ago

    After a day and a half of solid play..

    PROS
    Graphics are great, pop-in is barely noticeable.
    Cover system / combat is really good
    Plot, voice acting etc great
    City detail is wonderful

    CONS
    Camera angle (esp when driving) is crap (all of them)
    Car handling sucks - brakes are not effective enough

  • dk_rare #699 4 years ago

    @ bad09

    The game blurs everything to try and make it run properly, it's got a really jagged and grainy feel to it. When you get up close to something, like the wheels on the cars it looks great! But the blurriness and jaggies just don't let you see that detail unless you force the camera up to it. It needs to be on a more powerful console, so it can run in true HD resolutions and doesn't need to blur itself to all hell.

  • TriggerHippie #700 4 years ago

    @Diamondice

    Regarding those comments on the Sky news page. Ever heard of irony?

  • bad09 #701 4 years ago

    @ dk_rare

    I dunno I can't say I've noticed any blurring or jaggies really (360 version). To be honest I've seen no pop in yet either. All I've seen is graphics which far outperform the old games. Even my girlfriend (thankfully she is putting up with my GTA fever) commented on how much more real the graphics are now. like I said earlier in the thread my only gripe is no in car view now.

    Maybe it's me, I've been wetting my whistle for this with the old games so maybe my eyes are more forgiving! :)

  • Rich72 #702 4 years ago

    i would agree about the blur and i was somewhat underwhelmed..... at first. change the graphic options and increase the contrast and the saturation. made everything quite a bit sharper and lost that soft focus glow everything had. i find the focus blur in the distance ever so slightly off putting but nothing at all that has diminished my enjoyment of the game. is the draw distance and longer on ps3?

  • neuroniky #703 4 years ago

    Got it even if I had GTA SA waiting to be played on my shelf... what can I say?

    Well, first of all, it kept me awake til almost 2 a.m., and this mostly because I enjoyed the story and the atmosphere of the game. And this is no mean feat. The game plays exactly just like the predecessors, the controls are the usual mix of good and bad (but, I've to admit, that now that the graphics are better, the driving control feel a little bit too "comical" and sluggy for its own good), and even if the on foot controls have got a little better, they are still far from perfect. The phone is the only true innovation of the game, and this says a lot on how much this is all about evolution and not innovation.

    That said, what actually makes the game are the graphics and the atmosphere, and the two things are really intermingled together. The engine used for the cutscenes is simple but really effective, and all the characters are a variety of facial and body expressions yet to be seen in another game. The city is living and chock full of things to do, and its really easy to get yourself (positively) lost in the tons of content the game has to offer. The mission fells same-y if you have already played to death the predecessors, but then I've just played the first missions so this is expected.

    In the end, for what I've seen up to this point, it is a great game. It doesn't feel as innovative as GTA3, it doesn't feel "fresh", but it is great. I would be very undecided about the final score though if I was a reviewer because I think some thing should have been fixed given that this is the 4th game in the same series (GTA3, VC, SA, and now GTA4). But the final result is so good it looks like it could deserve a 10 just because everything is so well thought and designed.

    9.5?

  • bad09 #704 4 years ago

    Yeah maybe Rich72 is right because I did mess with the graphic set up as well. So maybe that helps a great deal.

    Does anyone think I'm weird because I love that if I run someone over their blood is still on the car, evil I know, but I laughed hard at that the first time :)

  • jamscones #705 4 years ago

    @ BAD09

    "Sorry but I just cannot take comments like this seriously, are we playing the same game? This game looks beautiful, the new liberty city has blown me away, the detail is unbelievable! Some people are never satisfied I guess!"

    I'd put your question back to you. I'm playing 360 on an LCD monitor over the official VGA cable @ 1280*1024. It's quite obvious that the screen is SATURATED with bloom and depth-of-field post-processing effects. You really cannot see clearly further than 30 feet in front of you because the DoF effect "threshold" is reached. It looks really tacky.

    And "unbelievable" detail? Stand next to a shop door and say hello to 1998 quality textures.

    The game is great, but they made some really odd decisions. Look at screenshots from late last year, the DoF effect is MUCH less pronounced.

  • HarryPalmer #706 4 years ago

    To all those doubting the credentials of "the guy in the shop", he was wearing a black t shirt that said "i hate microsoft" on the front, I'm not even joking.

  • Widge #707 4 years ago

    yes but what game are you benchmarking your comments against? with GTA, you have to benchmark it against other sandbox style games with open environments, Oblivion, Test Drive Unlimited and Burnout Paradise... GTA absolutely eclipses them in the detail stakes. Plus we're not talking texture detail, its content detail... the actual graphical population of the world.

  • Rich72 #708 4 years ago

    well said Widge old boy. detail is not the highest resolution you can find but all the incidental stuff that is going on every second. it is stunning. the focal length is my only (very slight) gripe as said before.

  • paulf #709 4 years ago

    talking about test drive unlimited - the car handling is alot better in gta, and to the people who are moaning about the handling in gta, the cheap cars handle poorly and the more expensive ones handle better, I prefer that all the cars have a more realistic breaking distance when going at a fast speed (compared to previous gtas)

  • Prodigy_BE #710 4 years ago

    Blah blah Blah, graphics this, graphics that.
    Yes, for an open world game, this is one mayor step up. Only Assassin's Creed can compete.

    But what about the gameplay?
    Surely 3 years of dev-time and an unlimited budget should amount to more than 'same old, same old' missions.

  • Bangaioh #711 4 years ago


    Blimey!
    From gamerankings.com:

    1. Grand Theft Auto IV X360 Rockstar Games 26 7.7 98.538%


  • robertster #712 4 years ago

    Grand Theft Auto IV PS3 99.6%

    Well, that PROVES which version is better.

  • Widge #713 4 years ago

    The gameplay has stepped up, I'm finding myself checking before crossing roads, because I blundered out yesterday, San Andreas style, only to have a car smack right into my hip and floor Niko. Nice real world touch there, and a gameplay element. Also finding myself walking about rather than the continual X button hammering sprint of the previous games, and the game suits this so well, this style of play immerses you in the world. The sheer volume of whats going on around you makes you feel a bit more hesitant about nicking a car. Smashed a window of one, alarm goes off and I pelt it away for fear of stirring up trouble. The way the world is played out around you is part of the gameplay and it is a hell of alot more immersive and impressive than before.

    The core mechanic is undeniably Grand Theft Auto through and through, as it has been since the beginning... expecting anything else is like expecting the latest iteration of Metal Gear Solid to be themed around unicycling via sixaxis balancing skills as a new direction. You're getting it for the same old wonderful Snake action that you know and love... but beefed up to take advantage of the new tech.

  • neuroniky #714 4 years ago

    @Widge: " unicycling via sixaxis balancing skills as a new direction"

    Uniracers. On the SNES. My goodness, that was such a GREAT game.

    Thank you for the good memories :D.

  • japstersam #715 4 years ago

    i want a unicycling MGS game now :(

  • ryan_isthisit #716 4 years ago

    I can't say I am in any way disappointed with GTA. The graphics may not be Crysis standard but they are beautifully stylised to that extent that I think to call them an attempt at realism is a bit dubious. I don't think Rockstar wanted anything like photo-realism.

  • ruckus #717 4 years ago

    I just wish I could use the seats, park benches etc. and sit down for once in a while and observe the world around me. I also agree that a cockpit view would be nice but miss not being able to chill on a park bench (when I'm not pushing over joggers) more.

  • gman7714 #718 4 years ago

    Played it for 30mins last night and for what its worth I like it a LOT.

    Same old GTA humour and better graphics than San An makes me a happy chappy.

    Nuff respect to R*North. Enjoy your 5 weeks off.

  • stoopidgreg #719 4 years ago

    DiamondIce that skynews site is hilarious. check out this choice comment:

    "I am i parent and i find the whole game disgraceful. I went and bought this for timmy my 10 yr old son and when i saw the game i quickly realised the makers are to blame for all the famine and violence in the world. Its hard to believe that there is a market out there for this obvious reach from the dark underworld of society to the youth of today. This has been going on for thousands of years. I doubt wed be around if gta iv was released in the dark ages."

    i don't know if it's real or not... i mean who calls their kid timmy??

  • stoopidgreg #720 4 years ago

    "i ran over 17 people on the way to work today. where can i buy this game to improve my score?"

  • rotmm #721 4 years ago

    @Arbiter: "particularly for PS3, which is a lot closer sales-wise to 360 than the install base would suggest."

    True. However, you have to place this in the context of being the first game on the PS3 that the general user base has been truly excited about.

  • Calgon #722 4 years ago

    You also have to remember they've sold out of the 360 version in alot of places, infact theyve probably sold out of both versions in some circumstances so its hard to compare fairly really.
    Edited by 2 at 30/04/08 @ 18:51

  • Vic #723 4 years ago

    The PS3 version has sold 44% of the overall total in the UK, so we can probably assume that the machine is catching up with 360 relatively quickly here.

    Having said that, many sites have said the PS3 version is superior, so this may have swayed the decision of some gamers who own both consoles.

  • MrsPacMan #724 4 years ago

    http://ww w.videogamer.com/features/artic...

  • SeesThroughAll #725 4 years ago

    Fanboys with penis complexes will simply never stop.

  • Kryon #726 4 years ago

    "people moaning about framerate and the like"

    To be fair, what do you expect? A game as high profile as GTA IV that basically gets 10/10 scores across the board which does have quite a few niggles is obviously going to cause controversy, and when I say "niggles" things like poorly realised camera angels and really quite choppy frame rates (especially with the PS3 version) are something imo that should count against a game. I don't believe GTA IV is a 10/10 game. I'd give it an 8, good game but too many faults to give a top score to.

  • TravisTouchdown #727 4 years ago

    I can only hope that a comments thread quite this deplorable doesn't reach 800 posts.

  • captainrentboy #728 4 years ago

    Fuck me, the fanboy wankers are STILL going on about which version sold what, and which is the best overall. :/
    You'd think being gamers they'd be enjoying the game, rather than going on and on like bickering old bitches.
    Around 8 hrs in now, I'm bloody loving it, it's true what one of the guys above said about particular graphical effects though, the shadows underneath the 'train' service thingymajig are distractingly awful in the daylight.
    But hey, that's a small comprimise for a game this size that's overloaded with soo much detail in other areas.

  • NSFR #729 4 years ago



    Can anyone help identify a song for me? It is on Vladivostok, lyrics are (phonetically) "Ines, Swie, Drie" (which I can guess). Got quite a beat, chorus is a woman singing.

    Hard thing is sticking the lyrics into google as it doesn't originate in a Western alphabet.

  • kebab #730 4 years ago

    the frame rate on this game is terrible - im guessing it runs at 25fps max, how this this score a 10?

  • TheNinkyNonk #731 4 years ago

    Has all the console wanking stopped yet?

  • evilboo #732 4 years ago

    i just watched something for 10 minutes and then got a cab somewhere. kind of feels a bit too much like real life.

  • MrDurandPierre #733 4 years ago

    I'm woefully dissapointed by this game. I didn't like what I played of San Andreas, but I thought Tom was spot on about why Crackdown was great and why Assassin's Creed was not so great, so his review really got me excited about this one. But I'm not feeling it.

    The game is mostly comprised of dirving, shooting, and cutscenes, and none of these things are done particularly well. The controls both on foot and in car are rather clunky and I think the voice-acting and script is cheesy as well (it's better than previous GTAs, but that's not saying much). Possibly the worst offender is the check-point system. You can restart missions, but all missions begin with you driving several minutes to where the mission REALLY begins. Sometimes you can skip this if Roman sends you a cab or if you can flag one down, but even that takes time and doesn't always work. Even worse, is that most of the action bits begin with a cutscene and when it ends you're immediately plopped down in the middle of a battle and asked to take cover or chase somebody without any chance to get your bearings. I kept getting machine-gunned to death in one mission because I'd get ambushed before I could even tell where I was being shot from. In another mission I kept losing my target. And it was a long drive just to get the chance to retry these again. And it gets worse... In Crackdown you kept your stat increases after you died, so play time was never in vain. But here I'll go on a killing spree or fail a mission and get killed and paying the hospital bill puts me in a worse position than I was in a half-hour ago at the last auto-save. It's really horribly frustrating.

    I can admit that the game has more content and detail than any other game I've ever seen and I'd commend Rockstar for that, but somewhere along the line they forgot to make a game that was actually fun to play.

  • WinterSnowblind #734 4 years ago

    Your link doesn't work, and I'm not sure what you're talking about. The instal base for the PS3 is larger than the 360 in the UK, so of course that version is going to sell more copies. But personally, I don't expect the DLC to make much of an impact until it's properly announced and for sale, I very much doubt the majority of casual GTA players have a clue about it, but when it's announced the the 360 version has new weapons, vehicles, missions and perhaps even new areas or entire new islands? Then I think we can expect to see the figures shift.

    But I have to ask, are you really such a fanboy that you care so much about this? Honestly, just look at your posts, this is down right cretinous. Have you even played the game yet, or are you happy enough telling us why the PS3 version is better?

  • Eighthours #735 4 years ago

    The instal base for the PS3 is larger than the 360 in the UK, so of course that version is going to sell more copies.

    No it isn't.

  • MrsPacMan #736 4 years ago

    Eurogamer - Cop_Killa - miiiguel - Pac - sirtacos - Darren - captainrentboy - penhalion - swam = a much better place (sorry if i left any of you assholes out). Feel free to let me know if you wish to be added to the list

    I'm keeping this list because it's right. Wherever I see injustice!!! (or small animals being hurt, you know what I mean Darren)
    Edited by 5 at 01/05/08 @ 00:02

  • Xerx3s #737 4 years ago

    Oh jesus wept. And I thought the H3 and GoW sections where a sad place.

  • MAX99 #738 4 years ago

    im also firmly in the "this dosent deserve a 10/10 camp"

    the atmosphere and personality of liberty city is an astonishing achievment but this game still suffers from the same flaws as its predicessors.

    playing it feels a bit like going into one of those eat all you want chinese buffets. initially you're like "wow, look at all this food i can eat" until you realize none of its particularly well cooked or sits well together.

    same with gta4....there's loads to do but it begins to feel pretty pointless after a while. not to mention the plot and main character are morally bankrupt. being given the choice to kill is ok, but the missions in gta force you into the role of a psychopathic errand boy. it leaves me not really caring what happens to the main character.

    i'll be trading this one in.

  • marco.antonio.costa #739 4 years ago

    Like I'm ever gonna trust a 10 from Eurogamer after Bioshock. You know what they say, credibility and virginity are much alike. Lose it once...

  • apan #740 4 years ago

    I guess it is too late to warn anyone interested in buying the game, but here is another weak voice saying "it's an 8". Maybe. When a game is slighltly boring, it doesn't matter if it's 8 or 5 or 1. Back in 1977 playing pong was more fun. Being 42 and more picky I'm disappointed. These threads often give better information about games than reviews do. The stuff mentioned in previous posts about framerate, graphic crappiness and annoying control might be subjective, but I agree 100%. Being able to control your character in a game must be the single most important thing. In CoD4 I get my ass kicked all the time, but I can't blame the controls for it. Yeah. Well. Whatever. At least I bought GTA4 from Elgiganten for 399:- kronor...

  • Yaz #741 4 years ago

    swam wrote: "One can only conclude that the Ps3 has benefited considerably more than the 360 based on Amazon stats."

    Actually, 'one' cannot arrive at such a conclusion based upon a snapshot only swam.

    What did these charts show prior to GTA4's release? We need those figures (preferably several days leading up to 29th April) to compare the CHANGES to the chart positions of the various 360 and PS3 models. Only then can you conclude which console has benefitted the most from GTA4 on those sites. :|

    Of course, it may turn out to be true that the PS3 benefits more, but my point is, your charts do not show this because we don't know where the consoles were in those charts before GTA4 was released.

    Finally, we need *far* more than day 1 sales to make any comparison, since those percentages are likely to change over the coming weeks. Hence we'll have to wait a bit longer for a clearer picture of a) how well GTA4 is selling for 360 and PS3, and b) how much it has effected console sales.
    Edited by 2 at 01/05/08 @ 07:11

  • Prodigy_BE #742 4 years ago

    playing it feels a bit like going into one of those eat all you want chinese buffets. initially you're like "wow, look at all this food i can eat" until you realize none of its particularly well cooked or sits well together.

    +1

    Played it until 3 o clock in the night last night, in the gameplay up until now was a prelude to amazing & innovative missions later on. But no such luck.

    Oh, and Mr Houserhire a scriptwriter and a dialog writer for GTA5, because Niko is about as one dimensional as my doormat.


    Said it before, and I'll say it again, Take 2 PR fooled tons of journalists again with a combination of ad money and controlled reviewing.

  • Prodigy_BE #743 4 years ago

    Look, if we want to do something about this questionable journalism, we have to unify

    All who agree that GTA IV's 10/10 score (and all the other high press scores) is just wrong, join this group.
    [link url=h ttp://gamers.eurogamer.net/groups.php?group_id=989
    ]http://ga mers.eurogamer.net/groups.php?g...[/link]

    The fantastic GTA IV is not perfect group!

    Fight the Power!

  • FladgeMangle #744 4 years ago

    @ NSFR Can't you call the in-game song ID mobile number 555 0100?

    The only song I know that starts "eins, swei, drei..." and has a womans voice is "Sonne" by Ramstein. It might be that if it's mad heavy.

    *edit "me" becomes "be". Kind of philosophical really...
    Edited by 1 at 01/05/08 @ 09:19

  • paulf #745 4 years ago

    to all of you flashing around the it's only an 8 - have you played the multiplayer yet? it is lots of fun.

    At the end of the day I suppose you rate a game on how much fun you have with it and for me I'm really enjoying gta4, tbh I've mostly been mucking around with my mates in freeroam or racing ice cream vans (I guess the single player hasnt grabbed my attention that much)

    sure it's flawed and not revolutionary but how many games are, in the context of sandbox games I think it's one of the best (along with crackdown)

    I'm totally with Prodigy for his campaign against underhand tactics by publishers to get better reviews, but regardless of that gta4 is still a great game for me

  • stoopidgreg #746 4 years ago

    these people who say the game isn't worth a 10, i think they're just not playing it right. with a sandbox game you get out of it what you put in, so if you just look for criticism in things like the mission structure, the camera angles and the lockon then sure, there are some problems. but they're not big problems and they don't take away from the core game. GTA is the type of game where some people, like myself, will just fall in love with the atmosphere and the "go anywhere, do anything you want" mechanic that simply has not been done better in any other game. the police chases are intense almost every time you get 3 stars or more, the driving physics are sublime once you get used to them (and use the bonnet cam, because the cars are a LOT more controllable in this view). for me the driving is as good as, if not better than, games like need for speed most wanted which got pretty good reviews at the time. and that's just one part of the game. GTA is a game of quantity and variety, and when you have a game which isn't focused on just one gaming experience (such as gears is focused on shooting, burnout - driving) then not all the elements are going to be perfect. there's just no way they could be with a game this huge. but the game is better than the sum of its parts, and when you factor in the countless features such as hours of fake telly, 19 albums worth of quality music, the craploads of incidental chatter from people, the comedy clubs, nevermind the 30 hour main story, there's no way this game could have been anything less than a 10.

  • Yaz #747 4 years ago

    swam wrote: "Did you not spot the cavats and disclaimers. Oh dear."

    It's rather difficult to spot them when you post in a big block of text. The only one I can see in that post is "Just a small sample I know", but then you say "but Amazon has been used before as a barometer as to where trends in the larger market are going". And that's the point you seem to be pretending you don't understand, which is that trends are a measure over a period of TIME, not from a single snapshot in time.

    "Another example of someone trying too hard to dismis somthing that they dont want to see."

    I guess you missed it when I said "Of course, it may turn out to be true that the PS3 benefits more, but my point is, your charts do not show this because we don't know where the consoles were in those charts before GTA4 was released."

    So quit playing the game you love to play as your alter ego Headbog. I have no problem with GTA4 being more of a boost for PS3 sales than the 360, or selling to a higher proportion of PS3 owners than 360 owners, but unlike yourself, I like to see REAL evidence for that first, and your charts and figures do not show that...YET!
    Edited by 1 at 01/05/08 @ 09:56

  • Yaz #748 4 years ago

    Prodigy_BE wrote: "The fantastic GTA IV is not perfect group!"

    10/10 doesn't mean perfect. :)

  • Grayvern #749 4 years ago

    Its not questionable journalism its professional opinion, an opinion of a man whos probably played many many times the games any of these i don't approve of any 10's policy.

    Although the tracklist for the rock channels in this is a lot weaker, all im saying is a bit of system would have gone a long way, and they could have got rage against the machine again because thats always relevant whereas the tracklist in gta 4 just seems to contain meaningless metal that may as well be Sweedish.

    As a side note we should be proud of GTA 4 as Rockstar north is based in Scotland, and I wonder if they're Frankie Boyle fans.

    Edited by 1 at 01/05/08 @ 10:00

  • Widge #750 4 years ago

    10/10 is an indication that this is a bloody good game
    San Andreas had its faults, its quirks, it chugged along on the platform.... worth a 10/10? Completely and absolutely. Even today. Not a statement of perfection but at statement of a fantastic game.

    GTA4 is great, its the best game since God Of War in my mind and I've ploughed through Final Fantasy XII, Drakes Fortune, Warhawk, Oblivion GOTY for example since then.

  • sharpfish #751 4 years ago

    8/10 for me. If there were no MAJOR technical issues it would prob be a 10/10. Cut n Paste from my other rant and then that's it, i'll have said my piece and it's just my opinion. 8/10 (considering how I can barely play the game due to it making me feel like my eyeballs are in wrong and i'm playing slo motion) is some going! that shows how awesome the game is, but those damn technical issues that are worse to some than others. I can not have full on fun when i'm fighting the frame rate, the aliasing, the blurring and sometimes the controls... lesser (much lesser) games that have those areas spot on have felt more 'fun' to play because they get the interaction right.

    GTAIV is a beautiful flawed game, simply ahead of it's time and just too big a concept for either console (and most PCs) to pull off. Maybe in 5 years this full living breathing city can be done justice with a good frame rate and 'proper' visuals and not blur-o-scale-o-vision and aliasing through the roof.

    -----------------------------

    after spending hours in GTAIV (PS3 version) I'm going to sell it and buy something else. I've tried to get past the visuals but just can't. Call me a graphics whore if you like (you are wrong) but I can't take the blurred vision, it feels like I need to put on some glasses at all times. That in itself is one thing, but factor in the amazingly slow frame rate and it's completely horrible to play from a 'feel' point of view.

    I know the whole world is in love with GTAIV and I too was blown away at the start by the story and the depth of detail they've put in, it's truely stunning in that regard. Also I loved Vice City (PC) and even replayed it a few months back so it's nothing to do with the level of graphics per se. I can take 'lesser graphics' but what I can't take is 'Swimming pixles' (Aliasing on textures), Blurred Vision (Scaled up from non native resolutions and absolute KILLER to my eyes; i'd rather play it at 640p non scaled in a little box in the centre of the screen - I NEED SHARPNESS OF VISION or it makes me TIRED. And Certainly anything less than 30fps is pushing things and this game easily drops to half that a lot of the time. It just feels horrible to interact with.

    Now aside from those technicalities I find the entire premise and detail of the environment amazing, I love NYC and have been looking forward to this game for months just so I can drive around (even if it didn't have any gameplay). I just can't get past the feeling it gives me, it's tiring and makes me blink all the time as I try to get a clear focus on objects, the frame rate induces near motion sickness and the aliasing may or may not be better than the 360 version but it's still very bad. Objects (like phone wires) completely disintergrate from view sometimes it's that bad.

    This messes with your head and Induces a feeling of poor focus/depth that in real life would actually fuck your eyes up.

    In breif, I applaud Rockstar for what they reached for but to put it bluntly, the technology simply isn't up to it yet (not consoles anyway). I'm praying they release a PC version and I'll rebuy it and ramp up the resolution and AA and hope for at least a constant 30fps (prefer nearer 60). I don't want to play through it on PS3 and ruin it/experience it like this when the only thing stopping my enjoyment is that scaled up look and the damn slow frame rate (even aliasing I can deal with if the game moves slickly).

    To see if I was imagining it I played for an hour then put the Burnout Paradise demo on, now while I'd admit Burnout Paradise isn't trying to do even half of what GTA is (in scope/size/detail/life) straight away, even with minor jaggies, it felt slick and clear. It was like I'd just had my vision corrected.

    And in case anyone thinks i'm a 360 owner bashing the PS3 i'm not, I'm certain the same and worse applies to the 360 version, maybe the lack of scaling (ie it being non scaled 720p) would help my specific hate of the blurryness, but I know it would still be aliased (more so perhaps) and worse it would have the erratic frame rate and Pop In... again, it's a trade off as to which is better. My 360 has been dead for months (3rd one; I gave up sending them back and bought a PS3 instead), but I know neither console is actually up to delivering this stunning game how it should be delivered.

    On the PS3 I think I could take 'most anything other than sub par frame rate and scaling blur, I'd easily prefer them to ramp down the detail/amount of objects/people/cars/lights if it meant it was fun to interact with.

    As it stands now I feel sick just buying a hotdog and moving the camera around becuase it's so jerky, Actually attempting critical missions and precise gun use/driving would be even worse.

    So, it's been massively overhyped (again) but in fairness, this time I do believe the underlying game itself does deserve all the 10/10s it got, the scope is huge and the detail that went into it is mind blowing. The characters/TV/etc are genuinely funny and very well written.

    All of that however had to be shoehorned into 2 consoles, neither of which could deliver the vision properly, I even have doubts that a top spec PC (8800gtx) could fully deliver it without fault.

    Now while most people may see me as nitpicking trivial faults it's really not. games have always FELT better when they are slick and fun to interact with on an intrinsic level, get that right (visual clarity/Frame rates) and THEN put in features which are the added bonus. It seems they started out with the grand vision and rather than cut back on that vision decided to give low performance and poor visuals instead.

    And when I say poor visuals I mean technical graphics not artistry. The art direction is gorgeous, some of the scenes in game look almost photorealistic and really try to immerse you, the fault doesn't lie with the level desigeners or artists the fault lays firmly with optimisation and the lack of power on the PS3 and Xbox360. There's specs simply are not up to the task of delivering a fully living city without all these technical anomolies.

    And please understand I KNOW the majority of people will think i'm talking crap as they don't mind these issues but really, I think a game should only be delivered when the tech is ready. Even Crysis (which on my PC ran at over 30fps on very high @ 1440x900), which is 'slow' by other PC game standards didn't feel anywhere near as treacle like as GTAIV does. And above all the resolution was crisp and you could visually 'breathe'.

    And that's what it comes down to, I can't visually 'breathe' in GTAIV as it feels visually constrained, draw distance (on PS3) isn't a problem, it's the blurriness that comes with it and the aliasing in the immediate area of the player again, exaggerated by the very poor frame rate.

    I just hope anyone who reads this can understand it's a valid technical opinion and i'm not just moaning for the sake of it, I love the game underneath and I've really enjoyed ALL 3D GTAs (on PC) even when they've had silly polygon people and much much less detail than what is in IV and it's come down to have a decent frame rate and a crisp resolution. Something neither current top Console seems able to deliver.

    I'm dissapointed but hopeful for a PC version that may go some way to fixing those seemingly minor but VERY important problems (to me).

    If you are enjoying it then great, have fun I don't want to dampen your spirits, I just want a 'living breathing city' to blow me away and this failed to because of the over reaching concept. I would still give the game 8/10 in this state if you can put up with the graphical flaws and more importantly the treacle like feel.

    I would love to test in 360 to see if it feels better but I doubt it considering how most reviews said the PS3 had the technical edge, if so I can only imagine the 360 version must feel very bad to play (rather than to look at statically).


    Final Score 8/10 for the game hidden under the weight of it's technical burden.
    2/10 for technical slickness and ultimately it's achilles heel and failing for many who can see past the scope of the game.
    10/10 for scope and artistry (non technical graphics - the city is awesome and far more than any other dev has tried to do).

  • paulf #752 4 years ago

    @ sharpfish - that's one hell of a post - I salute you

    trying not to cause a fanboy war here - I think you might prefer the graphics on the 360 as they do seem sharper (I have both versions btw) - but hopefully you can enjoy it properly on the pc version
    Edited by 1 at 01/05/08 @ 10:24

  • sharpfish #753 4 years ago

    Oh and I think if you (those of you who can't/won't listen to my kind of opinion) could actually sit down and talk to the tech people in the industry and at rockstar, you'd probably find that while they are rightfully proud at what they have done with GTAIV that they also are probably just as bitter as some of us players are about the still not enough technical power of the leading consoles (and most PCs).

    It's obvious that Rockstar really want to deliver this massive immersive world and they go above and beyond what they need to do to reach that (all the little details, the fake adverts, the hours of speech, the animations etc) but they know their imaginations are far in advance of what is technically viable with todays technology (at least to do it real justice). Where perhaps they should have scaled down their over-ambitious concept and set a performance/visual clarity standard and then worked up to it, they have simply lowered performance, resolution, anti aliasing, whatever to get that vision up and running but to the detriment of the feel and interaction.

    In other words, before attacking my opinion, realise that many rockstar employees probably think the same - that it's an amazing game hampered by technology that just isn't up to it. Absolute gold mine is what GTA is on these 'now gen' Consoles so that had to deliver.

    Personally i'm starting to think it may have been better FOR GAMERS that they give this gen a miss and hit us with a new GTA on the next gen, these incremental updates, always running like treacle are not a way to blow a gamers mind, hold back until the tech is ready and then level the world of games with this awesome stunning vision (at 60fps with full antialiasing and sharp resolutions).

    Edited by 1 at 01/05/08 @ 10:43

  • TheJuriel #754 4 years ago

    "Therefore, pretty much conclusive proof that people still associate GTAIV with the Playstation."

    Or the fact that 360 owners actually have other good games to choose from and to be playing at the moment? :)

  • sharpfish #755 4 years ago

    @paulf "trying not to cause a fanboy war here - I think you might prefer the graphics on the 360 as they do seem sharper (I have both versions btw) - but hopefully you can enjoy it properly on the pc version"

    Maybe you are right, part of me says I would if I don't have to stare at scale-o-vision, but for starters my 360 is dead (scalar chip not covered by MS for free) and giving MS any more cash right now would be akin to chopping off my foot and sticking the bloody end in bucket of salt... for no reason.

    Secondly it would also have the low-low-frame rate problem, higher peaks perhaps but more erratic which is just as bad I guess. Either way I'm going to give it one more shot after a rest and see if i'm just being too fussy (I have a lot of playing experience and something tells me i'm bang on the money with my own feelings here) but if not I'll just sell it on amazon and hope/pray for a PC version (which again I hope is not a shitty port as seems to be the current trend in PC games lately - Bioshock i'm looking at you).

  • paulf #756 4 years ago

    @ sharpfish - I take your point about them waiting for the technology, but some times you just have to work with what you have available, and all things considered it's still an amazing technical achievement.

    Im not overly bothered about framerates (as long as the game is playable) but loading screens do annoy me and Im glad these are at a minimum with gta4.

    The good thing is with all the money that they make from this franchise that one day the gta that you are talking about will be made (xbox 720 or ps4) ;)

  • foamy #757 4 years ago

    Probably they'll send out patches to correct pop-ins and framerate issues. Still buying this no matter what \o\

  • Moonprince #758 4 years ago

    scaling (ie it being non scaled 720p) would help my specific hate of the blurryness

    Scaling does not cause the 'blurryness'.

    The rest of your post I disagree with also :(

    I also have not noticed the frame rate drop like you seem to have. Its strange that we can play the same game and have such different views :)

  • bigbadbeasty #759 4 years ago

    I find it interesting that when people were saying around launch (or just after) that is is not a 10/10 title they all got shot down in flames. Now people have got there teeth into the title, they also see this as a 8 or 9 out of 10 title now.

  • japstersam #760 4 years ago

    i got glasses yesterday for the first time ever and the graphics look even better
    yaaay

  • japstersam #761 4 years ago

    i got glasses yesterday for the first time ever and the graphics look even better
    yaaay

  • AJUK #762 4 years ago

    Looking at both version running side-by-side, there is no difference. Can't we just forget about all the fanboi bullshit and get on with enjoying the game?

    It seems like every time a game is released we need to get into the tiniest details of this version has better antialiasing, or that version has higher res or whatever. They both look and play exactly the same, anyone who is worried about the PS3 having lower resolution or the 360 having more DLC should just take a step back and chill out.

    Fantastic game, waaaay too addictive, and definitely worth the £40 on whatever system. If anything, there should be some thought for the poor sods who don't have a 360 or a PS3 and can only wish there was a wii version!

  • sharpfish #763 4 years ago

    I know PaulF, I think it's an amazing achievement they pulled off with GTA, I will be going back in and having a damn good go of it but my point was never 'this game sucks' it was purely that they over reached (for some of us) which is evident in the fact they had to scale up the res on the PS3 and the low (sub par - lower than I really enjoy) framerate. I can put up with it but man does it destroy the fun.

    As I said the hardware isn't up to it (either system), nor will most PCs be up to it if it comes out for PC. I applauded Crytek for pushing tech but this is different, they are not pushing tech they are pushing scope which has brought down the performance on a fixed hardware system which they could have worked around/scaled back on to just give us just that little extra performance to keep it above the magical 30fps and pref @ a non scaled res.

    Ok peace to all, i'm out enjoy this great game.

  • Yaz #764 4 years ago

    swam wrote: "So have PS3 owners"

    Touché :)

  • anomagnus #765 4 years ago

    @ swam

    Seriously, thats your worst argument yet.

    You are assuming that everyone that has an XBOX actually wants GTA 4.

    Thats a total error, you have nothing to back it up with, and as the saying goes, its making an ass out of u and me.

    What those figures are more accurately showing is that the PS3 fanbase has NOT penetrated a broader causal base yet. That 25% of the user base of the PS3 are gamers gamers.

    More to the point, crowing about the impact on hardware sales is a moot point at this stage. OF COURSE there will be a more positive effect for sony, its the lagging competitor at this stage, of course hardware sales are going to go up.

    all you're doing is showing how figures can be twisted to prove any argument
    Edited by 1 at 01/05/08 @ 12:46

  • anomagnus #766 4 years ago

    @swam

    as always swam, you're keen to use big long arguements to prove your point, but as soon as someone points out a hole, you have no comeback or counter

    while i use the figures only once, and that is to put forward the idea that xbox has a broader install base, that fact is indisputable.

    it is also no great jump at all to imagine that , with a great install base, it is more likely to have found is way into the hands of more casual gamers

    i make no great leaps with the figures, or attempt to twist anything with response
    Edited by 1 at 01/05/08 @ 13:17

  • ps3owner #767 4 years ago

    Trusted Review gives it a 9/10 but claims that it may change it to a 10/10 once the "multiplayer" aspect is tested...

    anyway... at least they say that the 10/10 = perfect game.

    Trusted Reviews GTAIV

  • longtimer #768 4 years ago

    So how much did rockstar pay you to give it 10/10 exactly?

    Don't get me wrong, it's a great fucking game, BUT, there are still a tonne of bugs carried over from previous installments. Such as pop ins. Also the driving is rediculous. It's like driving on greased up oily buutter. One thing i always disliked about gta was the driving and I though maybe this time they'll have got it right and go a bit more realistic. Instead they went the complete opposite direction.

    When niko climbes stairs it just doesnt look right. His feet land half way through steps etc.

    It is a fantastic game yes but a completely undeserved 10/10 seeing as they delayed it for so long and still released a seriously buggy game.

    10/10 my arse.

  • Prodigy_BE #769 4 years ago

    if we want to do something about this questionable journalism, we have to unify

    All who agree that GTA IV's 10/10 score (and all the other high press scores) is just wrong, join this group.
    [link url=http://ga mers.eurogamer.net/groups.php?g...
    ]http://ga mers.eurogamer.net/groups.php?g...[/link]

    The fantastic GTA IV is not perfect group!

    Fight the Power!

  • Widge #770 4 years ago

    Perhaps people will be interested in this:

    [link url=http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=752946
    ]http://ww w.avforums.com/forums/showthrea...[/link]

    its a comparison thread comparing the visuals of GTA4 to other applicable next gen sandbox games. With the exception of Assassins Creed, I think GTA4 on the surface beats them all. Of course we should all know that there is much more going on in the world of Liberty City than that of Assassins Creed.

    Plus I'm sure none of us care about the odd pop in, glitch or bug. None of that detracts from what is an astounding game. If you DO care about that, I'm sure gaming must prove to be a rather disappointing experience for you.

  • japstersam #771 4 years ago

    'there are still a tonne of bugs carried over from previous installments. Such as pop ins.'

    'pop ins' aren't bugs, they're just a compromise for having the most amazing, living, city that is still enormous despite the level of detail.
    if you wanted to remove all the pop ups and have a longer depth of field etc, they'd have to make LC so much smaller and lose the epic feel of it.
    who cares about some textures, or some pop up etc, its a great game and NONE of these even come close to changing that

  • BBIAJ #772 4 years ago

    @ Prodigy_BE:

    Are you a gamer or a wannabe political activist, because your repeated posts of the same thing lead me to believe you'd be best off abandoning your soap box...

  • Prodigy_BE #773 4 years ago

    @ BBIAJ

    Okay, then don't fight the power.

    No, seriously, publishers with a tight grip on press is a bad thing for all gamers.

  • ps3owner #774 4 years ago

    I think (pray) that this thread is finally dying... or will we reach the 1000 mark yet?

    go on... you know you want to... GTAIV on PS3 is at least a 10/10 whereas on Xbox it's only a 9/10 (flamebate)

  • WinterSnowblind #775 4 years ago

    @Swam

    I did read your post, I was refering to all of them in general, not that one in particular. Your "facts" are highly quesiontionable and your bias towards Sony is embarrasing even to most of the PS3 fanboys on this site. At least Headbog was amusing.

  • Keza #776 4 years ago

    @Prodigy

    Are we ever going to be able to give any game a good score without people saying it's because of the publishers? Sometimes - often, in fact - a highly anticipated game from a respected developer and a rich publisher comes out, and it happens to be really, really good. That's why it gets a high score.

  • bad09 #777 4 years ago

    ellie gave it 10 on games night, start arguing again guys......

    eurogamer staff in sleazy bribery scandal (or maybe it's just a great game)
    Edited by 1 at 01/05/08 @ 23:44

  • PlugMonkey #778 4 years ago

    eurogamer staff in sleazy bribery scandal (or maybe it's just a great game)

    Something I've still not ruled out. I, like a lot of people on here, have only been posting my first impressions. Not much else I can do when the game only came out on Tuesday. It wouldn't be very interesting if we all had to sit in silence until we'd finished it.

    Maybe that's the reason for the review embargo? To make sure reviewers gave it more than their customary 90 mins before giving it a score, in the knowledge the opening exchanges in the game aren't particularly thrilling?

    Playing it last night things were definitely picking up.
    Edited by 1 at 02/05/08 @ 08:22

  • bad09 #779 4 years ago

    @ DiamondIce

    Very suspicious, these eurogamer scores are more suss than a Zimbabwe election :)

  • Foat1 #780 4 years ago

    still cant get MP working!!!

  • sergeantdisco #781 4 years ago

    Buying this at lunch time, I predict a long afternoon at work.

  • ps3owner #782 4 years ago

    @bad09

    I demand a re-count. Then score the game again and if it's still a 10/10 then we'll have to wait for the next election... in exile.

  • sergeantdisco #783 4 years ago

    ...or be beaten to a pulp by the Eurogamer Militia (tm)

  • gman7714 #784 4 years ago

    I'll spam to help get up to a 1000 posts :)

    Played my first multiplayer games last night for about an hour. It was TOPS, it was GREAT. Not COD4 great, but probably more fun.

    All you haters, whingers and fanboys. Get a fucking grip.

    As my motto says on my XBL profile. "It's only a game bruv!"

    Regards the 10/10 - You was either gonna buy GTA4 or you weren't, I seriously doubt many people where actually swayed by the review to part with their hard earned, except on maybe which platform you chose so what does it matter what score it got. Jeez

    Edited by 1 at 02/05/08 @ 11:01

  • Xerx3s #785 4 years ago

    You fail for using 'bruv' in your vocabulary.

  • TriggerHippie #786 4 years ago

    And also for quoting yourself. Critical fail!

  • barrylyndon #787 4 years ago

    sorry to bring this old topic up again but...
    gametrailers have posted a hidef video comparison of gta4 on 360 and ps3.
    It shows that the 360 version is a lot cleaner and sharper due of course to the higher res.
    This raises the question of has there been damage control on rockstars part? Sam houser said he prefers the ps3 version, the 360 one being too clinical. Clinical? it simply looks sharper which suggests he is simply explaining away the differences as a matter of preference due to anticipating another ps3 performance battering. Looking at both versions I'll admit I was relieved as it confirmed my suspicions that the stories about ps3 haqving better anti aliasing etc were (based on past experience) bollocks.

  • Widge #788 4 years ago

    I see what you mean:

    [link url=http://static.videogamer.com/videoga mer/images/pub/large/vsapril29small1.jpg
    ]http://st atic.videogamer.com/videogamer/...[/link]

    the 360 version looks sharper, but I think that works in a detrimental fashion for this kind of look. They skyline is very sharp, but its very easy to see that you're looking at basically a mass of polygons. Straight visible sharp lines.

    The haze of the PS3 version, to my eyes, makes the skyline look that more realistic, if more from a cinematic perspective.

    I remember on GTA3 you had the ability to play the game with that kind of look on it, or a sharper unaffected look. I always went for the mode with the more stylstic approach because it always felt more atmospheric. As a result, I love the way the PS3 version looks, there are some who don't... so it all goes down to preference.

    EDIT:

    and basically, in essence, I think those two shots highlight exactly what Houser was driving at. One shot looks clinical, one shot artistic (for lack of a better word)
    Edited by 2 at 02/05/08 @ 15:27

  • Madafunkola #789 4 years ago

    I still can't believe one review gave it 98% (i think is was IGN or something) - the 2% deduction was because they think the next one will be better... hmmmmm-oooookaaaaayyyy....

  • m0thr4 #790 4 years ago

    Meh. I'm sure it deserves 10/10 for its genre. I loved the original GTA, and played GTA III and Vice City through to the end. I didn't like San Andreas at all though - it took itself far too seriously and was actually quite dull.

    Not sure I can be bothered with this, but maybe I'm getting too old... I actually find violence in videogames quite unpleasant these days.

  • Blackthorned #791 4 years ago

    Questionable graphics aside (woeful shadows under trees), What the hell is going on with the car handling? Am I the only one who thinks they've messed up here. Driving just isn't that fun anymore.

  • AJUK #792 4 years ago

    @Widge

    Those two shots are hardly representative of any difference between formats though? they are from different positions in the world and different times of day.

    If you compare the exact same position and time of day in both versions of the game you won't see any difference at all.

    Also there is nothing to say that those screenshots are actually from two different formats. It is easy to get screenshots out of the 360 Neighborhood screengrab function, the PS3 doesn't have that option, so many times ALL of the screenshots on the internet are actually 360, even if they state otherwise. It doesn't matter if both versions are identical anyway, who cares?

  • Widge #793 4 years ago

    I found the driving wasn't quite as fun in GTA3 because of the confines of the city, San Andreas was much better because you had rampant countryside to belt through... I need to adjust to shoulder accelleration and X for handbrake, instinctively reach for Circle for that.

    Its not as easy to pelt through the city at high speed without coming a cropper, but I would expect that anyway from driving at speed round a major city. Certainly not many areas to do that in original GTA3 Liberty City, bar the bridge connecting the first two islands and one straight on the middle island.

  • Blackthorned #794 4 years ago

    @Widge

    I take your point about space in the city. But I just find the chase missions frustrating - the handling is almost like driving a jelly at times. I don't know why they messed with that when hand to hand combat was the area that really needed addressing. It's as bad as it ever was.

  • Widge #795 4 years ago

    AJUK, I see where you're coming from, and people shouldn't really care. The Xbox San Andreas looked better than the PS2 version, but I didn't care, I thought all the versions were awesome!

    At the end of the day, there are people who care and they will express opinion x, which will then get people coming in (like I did) saying but I think y. It goes round and round. End result is, got a great game, loving playing it!

    Oh and that site I got the comparison pic from, I wouldn't really put much faith in the comparison. Thought it was guff. ;)

    RE: driving, I had a nightmare on my first chase, but I've only had one chase to do... we'll see how it goes as I play, I'll come back to that! Also read that different vehicles = different performance... I need to have a go in something a bit more swish than the mobile cupboards that I've been picking up so far.
    Edited by 2 at 02/05/08 @ 16:33

  • TurboBailey #796 4 years ago

    This game is sick. Ive not left the house in 2 days. Need a shower too.... dam you Niko

  • crazy-play #797 4 years ago

    It is certainly GRAND THEFT AUTO IV!!!!

  • TheNinkyNonk #798 4 years ago

    I'm a little baffled by those claiming this is not a 10 game. Sure, I'm not completely sucked into it yet, or thoroughly convinced by all it has to offer, but the clear degree of passion, ingenuity and commitment of the developers oozes out of it's every pore. This is what makes a 10 game: not so much what you think of it, but what the developers clearly thought of it.

  • TRUTH #799 4 years ago

    Having waited to see which console to get GTA on (I have both PS3 & 360)...I have now decided to get the 360 version. The reason better frame rate.

    http://ww w.videogamer.com/features/artic...

  • Prodigy_BE #800 4 years ago

    Almost finished it now.
    The story really sucks.
    (small spoiler alert, only read if you've opened the whole map)
    You arive in Liberty City, soon find out that Niko is there to find some people from his past, but then just go on a brainless killing spree for a series of groups and persons that are all single layered and I have no feeling for.

    Seriously, mr Sam Houser, if you're gonna make the most expensive game ever, don't think "I'm gonna write the story myself", but hire professional hollywood writers. Not only do they do WAY better dialog, they also get the structure and the build up right.

    Take Uncharted for example: that's a great and engrossing story. This could have been the Pulp Fiction of the videogames industry, but now its just a technically great game, with lots of mood, the same old gameplay (which is fine by me, but more like 9/10 fine, not 10/10 fine), a hit and miss line-up of characters and a mediocre story.

  • patchbox360 #801 4 years ago

    seat belts

  • DjFlex52 #802 4 years ago

    Take Uncharted for example: that's a great and engrossing story.

    @Prodigy_BE

    you've GOT to be kidding me.
    Your Sony bias is shining thru bigtime.

  • bad09 #803 4 years ago

    @ DjFlex52

    To be fair, while I don't agree with Prodigy_BE on his view of GTA4 (a hit and miss line-up of characters and a mediocre story, WTF???), Uncharted is a very good game I'd say the best exclusive title PS3 has.

  • DjFlex52 #804 4 years ago

    To be fair, while I don't agree with Prodigy_BE on his view of GTA4 (a hit and miss line-up of characters and a mediocre story, WTF???), Uncharted is a very good game I'd say the best exclusive title PS3 has.

    @bad09

    I'm fair too and i'll say Uncharted was a great game for the PS3 but Prodigy_BE said it was a great and engrossing story which is overly generous (or as I said earlier he has a strong "Sony-anything is great" bias). Was there anything in that story we haven't seen before a dozen times and done better?

  • bad09 #805 4 years ago

    @ DjFlex52

    Well I have to say I'm finding it pretty engrossing (only about 30% in). I don't think it's overly generous but I do think he's being overly harsh on GTA :)

  • Prodigy_BE #806 4 years ago

    Euhn, nope.
    Naughty Dog is one of the first developers who actually hired professional dialog writers for Uncharted. And used scriptdoctors and stuff for their story structure. And it shows. Maybe the "indiana jones" kinda story wasn't your cup of thee, but everyone with knowledge of scriptwriting will tell you that that was top action/adventure story quality.

    GTA4 just isn't. Some characters are one-dimensional, separate storylines are not connected as they should be and the dialog writing varies from being good to sometimes being very poor. That's what you get when the boss of the company, with no technical knowledge of scriptwriting, decides to write the story and the dialog.

    Go out and buy "the Scriptwriters Bible", by David Trottier, or some of the work of Michael Hauge (both international script doctors), and you'll see that this could have been so much better.

  • bad09 #807 4 years ago

    @Prodigy_BE

    Does it matter? the story is always secondary to the fun in GTA anyway and I don't think the story or characters are any worse than any other GTA games and a hell of a lot better than most games.

    Why not just enjoy the fun to be had in Liberty City, that's what most people are doing...

  • DjFlex52 #808 4 years ago

    Why not just enjoy the fun to be had in Liberty City, that's what most people are doing...

    @bad09

    I don't think that ever crossed his mind, bad09.

    And please Prodigy_BE, do not compare Uncharted to Raiders or Temple of Doom story since their stories were secondary to the cliffhanger action and comedy throughout. And I loved both of those movies and Raiders is a 10 even with the not so great story.

  • bad09 #809 4 years ago

    "Oh for the love of sanity. Climb out of your rectum."

    LOL!!!

  • BathiBoi #810 4 years ago

    ok, here's my spam comment

  • bigduke6 #811 4 years ago

    game gets boring quick. just like assassins creed. same missions over and over again. graphically it's ok considering how big the playable area is but the gameplay just gets old real fast.

  • Apologie #812 4 years ago

    Great Game

  • Dr_Lobster #813 4 years ago

    Ya'll need to stop treating review scores like they're legislation, or something. Read the review's text. It supports a high recommendation.

  • canIdoyabombsforya #814 4 years ago

    Sony need to upgrade the PS3 GPU, what an embarrassment, they were too busy wanking off over 'Africa'.
    Plan B, rip off the Wiimote LOL.

  • DjFlex52 #815 4 years ago

    Ya'll need to stop treating review scores like they're legislation, or something. Read the review's text. It supports a high recommendation.

    @Dr_Lobster

    You are right but I don't think they will. They complain about how repetitive GTA IV missions are, not realizing they are just as repetitve in their complaints about GTA IV like we didn't hear them the first/second/third times.
    OK, already, it's not a 10...we all hear you....now MOVE ON please!

    Oh wow...for the first time, I'm agreeing with Apologie :)

  • Rchrd874 #816 4 years ago

    fools, for all of u that are wondering how to get 1080p on Call of Duty 4 or Grand Theft Auto 4 on the PS3 just simply go to settings, then find display settings, go to video output settings, HDMI, custom then uncheck all other besides 1080p then there u go 1080p settings on COD4 and GTA IV

  • DjFlex52 #817 4 years ago

    GTA4 should have been a nine in my opinion, which last time I checked I was entitled to.

    @MattDamon

    Why are you defensive, MattDamon? Your opinion is yours. Noone said opinions were banned. Hopefully you actually played and finished the whole game...not like others who argue about review scores without finishing a game.

    It's like watching the movie "The Godfather" for 30 minutes, turn it off and then argue that the movie wasn't great. Only gamers think they are entitled to do this. Of course, there are quite a few who watched the whole movie and disagreed that it is a great movie. That still doesn't take away from the consensus view that the movie is a masterpiece.

  • DjFlex52 #818 4 years ago

    I wouldn't pass on any game Eurogamer rate 10/10, I might pass on a 9/10 though.

    I've played a significant portion of the game - been on it for 15 hours or so. Yes it's good. But a masterpiece it's not. Far too many signigicant flaws - control being one of them. You can't tell me that gets any better after 15 hours does it??

    @MattDamon

    You might pass on 9/10 games? Man, you are pretty selective then. You don't play many games, do you?

    In answer to your question -- Of course, it gets better after 15 hours...it's a 60 hour game. For #1, the cars drive much smoother when you get to the other boroughs. BTW, does The Godfather get better after a half hour?

  • DjFlex52 #819 4 years ago

    Flex, who gives a rat's ass about the Godfather?? Nobody had to invest 60 hours in that to get to the really good bits. It's a total non comparison. GTA is not the Godfather!!! It's not even a B movie.

    @MattDamon

    You're not making much sense. Last time I looked, GTA IV has a 99 rating for both PS3 (over 30 reviews) and Xbox 360 (over 45 reviews). To me that's an A+.
    The reference to movies is to show how up-the-ass gamers judge their games compared to movie goers...you've proved my point!
    I assume you only like 6 hours games. Why did you buy a sandbox game in the first place then?

  • DjFlex52 #820 4 years ago

    @MattDamon

    I'm ignorant??? LOL
    You usually say something stupid and rash and then when someone calls you out on your stupid statements you run and hide.

    Here's a few conflicting posts from you....first you said:

    "I've played a significant portion of the game - been on it for 15 hours or so. Yes it's good. But a masterpiece it's not. Far too many signigicant flaws - control being one of them. You can't tell me that gets any better after 15 hours does it?? "

    "What I've said is that I don't like a 60 hour game that takes more than 15 hours to get really good. Not that I don't like 60 hour games."

    ----You contradicted yourself...as usual. Well, is the game good after 15 hours or not?

    Secondly, how can GTAIV be "vastly overrated" as you first said but then later "it's a great game". That's vastly?
    You do this all the time (wishy washy)...you never lose an argument because you choose both sides by the end of the argument ;)





  • Blackthorned #821 4 years ago

    I just don't get the fixation on the score that keeps coming up on here - it's an opinion. Again, why is it wrong?

  • Madafunkola #822 4 years ago

    Come on people - only 80 til we break the 1000 barrier!
    How about some fuel for the fire:
    I hear that the PS3 has sex with goats, whereas the Xbox360 spreads pestulance in 3rd world countries!

  • sanduixe #823 4 years ago

    Great review!

  • djed #824 4 years ago

    you can run this on a ps2, you just have to overclock the gpu. also, when's the wii version coming out?

  • wattoo #825 4 years ago

    After looking forward to this for ages, I've just finished it and I have to say I feel a bit deflated. I think the world they created was great, definitely a 10/10, but the game? Not so much. Many was the time it was 3 in the morning and I couldn't ring mates because they'd be in asleep (in game not real life) and I was stuck for something to do.

    Apart from a few one-off missions I don't think the amazing game world was exploited in the missions. I don't know if they're saving that for the fee-paying downloadable content or what, but I was disappointed.

    Yep it had more bad points and the world didn't have as much potential, but I think San Andreas had more good points over this. Once you've finished the story in GTA 4 there doesn't seem to be anything to do except look for pigeons and stunts.

    Here's hoping that now they have their engine, the next one will fulfil the potential.

  • 72Rimmer #826 4 years ago

    Just how much of the PS3's tiny 40gb does the 7min install steal tho? I mean if this is where the PS3 is going - mandatory installations, then we may as well just buy a good PC.

  • NSFR #827 4 years ago

    Can any of you help me? I am trying to find either an Infernus (Lambo) or a Super GT (Aston). There any specific locations I can find them? Or any areas of the city where they are cruising?

  • japstersam #828 4 years ago

    just finished this last night and have to say i was very impressed. it definately lived up to tye hype IMO, and (Warning - the next bit could be considered a spoiler) not many stories are so engrossing that they can make you choose a characters revenge over in-game money. :D

  • Feanor #829 4 years ago

    "Just how much of the PS3's tiny 40gb does the 7min install steal tho? I mean if this is where the PS3 is going - mandatory installations, then we may as well just buy a good PC."

    If you're not interested in PS3 exclusives, then you probably should.

  • Widge #830 4 years ago

    PCs are great though if aligned with a PS3. You get the benefit of all the PS3 exclusives, and then all the 360 ones! Plus if you have a decent laptop, you can go portable! Which is nice for business trips....

  • NickD7 #831 4 years ago

    This game is HIGHLY over rated, I'm sick of reviewers shooting their load over average games. Seems like every big budget game is a 10/10 these days, so fucking dumb.

  • zurc_27 #832 4 years ago

    Two Words: The Best

  • Les #833 4 years ago

    So it's not groundbreaking, has the same flaws as the previous gen installments so is basically yet again just an HD upgrade. No wonder it gets a 10/10...

  • DjFlex52 #834 4 years ago

    This game is HIGHLY over rated, I'm sick of reviewers shooting their load over average games. Seems like every big budget game is a 10/10 these days, so fucking dumb.

    @NickD7

    What a fucking dumb cookie cutter remark by you!
    So GTA IV is an average game? GTA IV cant even be compared to any other game made in this console generation. No other game has close to this much detail and content (cellphones, TV, Internet, radio stations, mini -games, diverse missions and an awesome multiplayer).
    Name one game and i'll shoot it down.....easily :)

    BTW...Assassin's Creed, RSV 2, Devil May Cry IV, Condemned 2, Lost Odyssey, Burnout Paradise, GT5 P, Uncharted, Ratchet & Clank, Mario Kart Wii, Wii Fit and Unreal Tournament 3 are all big budget games released in the last 8 months and none of them got a 10/10. You're talking out of your ass.

  • anomagnus #835 4 years ago

    finally finshed it

    great game, laughed my balls of, was shocked at a certain point, sad at the end

    great game, and truly deserved 10/10

  • Les #836 4 years ago

    "Does it matter? the story is always secondary to the fun in GTA anyway"

    You're kiddin' right!? 8|

    The only thing that made the last gen GTAs (OK, only Vice City) worth investing (a limited amount of) time in was their story and setting. They've never been about gameplay ever.

  • dcangel #837 4 years ago

    Managed to get a lend of this from a friend a week or so ago. Very impressive. The graphics in particular are marvellous and far better than I'd expected, realistically-rendered but at the same time everything looks vaguely unreal. The sound isn't noticeably better than Rockstar's last effort, but sound design has always been quite a strong point of GTA3 and its sequels,

    I can't really say much about the story as I didn't have a lot of time to get into it, what with work and having to give it back the next week ;) From the plethora of positive things I've read about the story, I choose to assume that it gets better later on.

    What does still annoy me a bit (this applies to the series as a whole though) is how much stuff seems to be locked to begin with. I've never liked the mission structure of the GTAs and prefer just randomly exploring the city, and frankly I'd rather not be limited by arbitrary barriers. I also found it a little irksome that there seems to be no indication which buildings you can enter and which you can't, which led to my spending a good half an hour walking into walls until I got bored and went to steal a car. The world, while massive and lovingly-crafted, still seems kinda dead. But these are minor details.

    Car controls seem a lot better this time around. Or maybe it's just because I actually drive now, so I have a better understanding of the forces involved. Anyway, driving is stil the most fun thing I came across during my short time with the game. Melee controls seemed rather unresponsive and generally I didn't find the melee fun, just annoying. Didn't manage to get my hands on a firearm, so no comment on the gunplay.

    Still have the irritation of having to restart missions right from the start - would it really be so difficult to give players the option to enable mid-mission checkpoints to make things less irksome? This is what galled me most about, well, every GTA game from III onwards, and knowing it's still the case is almost a deal-breaker this time around - while the missions I came across weren't too long, replaying them would still be a pain in the arse and I imagine missions get more complicated later.

    From what I saw, the gameplay as a whole doesn't seem to have progressed much compared to the technical aspects of the game, and little appears to have changed for the better since the previous instalments, which is a bit depressing for such a high-rated game, but everything works this time at least, and when it comes together it can be tremendously fun.

    Overall, though, I think I'll grab GTA IV for myself once the hype machine has died down a little and I can look at it a bit more objectively.

  • omerga #838 4 years ago

    last!

  • bitesize #839 4 years ago


    ^ denied!!!

  • Kannan7 #840 3 years ago

    Niko not hot... First and last!

  • JammyPez #841 3 years ago

    Oops!

  • Paukl #842 3 years ago

    Bee bop a looba

  • Kannan7 #843 3 years ago

    First... I knew the ignore list was good for something

  • CHAZBIGPOTATO #844 3 years ago

    Third from Last
    Edited by 1 at 28/01/10 @ 22:00

  • Futaba #845 2 years ago

    8 hours in, really enjoying this now. Took a while for me to enjoy it properly.

  • CHAZBIGPOTATO #846 2 years ago

    Last