Grand Theft Auto IV Comments by Tom Bramwell

What did I miss?

"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?

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.

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

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 : )

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.

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?

@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.

(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.

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.

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.

@tirer

Wow! Now thats what I call pop up.

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

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

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.

@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

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...

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

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.

@ 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.

@ dimkost1980:

plentier space!?

WTF is that!?

"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?

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.

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)

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

Haha

Now i can actually load it

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

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



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

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

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.

I think most people will just let these arguments go by like tumbleweed when the game is out. Till then i guess we all have to put up feeling bad about what console we invested our money in. I don't see why people should have to defend what they are buying and why. If it makes them happy. leave them alone!

Great review by the way i really enjoyed reading it. :)

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.

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

Looks crap

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.

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!?).

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

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.

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.

@NSFR

Sorry, no tanks.

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.

@ 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.

@WinterSnowblind

Ah well. I guess they are a bit silly.

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

"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.

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)

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.

niteninja has some thoughts everybody.

Read niteninja's thoughts above.

(this post, above).

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

@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.

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.

@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.