Grand Theft Auto IV Review

By Kieron Gillen Published 1 December, 2008

It's finally PC. But not very PC, natch.

Version tested: PC

I love Halo 3, you understand. But when it came out, and people asked me to describe it, my one-liner was, "Imagine if you had all the money in the world to spend on a game but couldn't change anything." Halo, conceptually, was as complete a thing as Mario Kart. To alter it too much, to push it in another direction, would be to destroy it. So we got flashes of user-generated content, multiplayer transparency, whatever. And, in the middle, Halo sitting there unchanged.

It's not a problem Rockstar ever has to face. The joy of GTA is that it isn't a complete thing. It's endless. If the devs had all the money in the world to spend it wouldn't be enough. There's always something else which could fit in there without changing its core values. But with GTA IV, with as much money as it's about possible for a videogame company to have, we saw what they could do. While it's a step away from certain features of San Andreas, this is as maximalist as a game's ever been, in terms of production values at least. The moment when you're replaying a mission and you realise it's got a completely different, brilliantly voiced conversation between the characters in the car is when you realise you're a long way from most games' occasional barks from whoever was passing through the studio at the time.

It's quite the thing. It's now on the PC. And it's fundamentally the same as the console versions. I'd go and read our console-version review to catch up on the basics, and return here to see how things have changed.

Go! Seriously, we won't steal your stuff while you're away.

Back? Good.

As conversions go, it's an odd one. On some levels, it's genuinely exemplary. Take the controls. Plug in an Xbox 360 pad and it works fine. Play with keyboard and mouse, and it's great too - with the possible exception of going bowling, which seemed a little over-tricky. More so, have both plugged in at the same time, and you can skip between them as you feel like it.

'Grand Theft Auto IV' Screenshot 1

Since moving to London, this stuff is normal to me.

When I've previously played PC GTAs, I've used a dual set-up to skip between the joypad's analogue controls for driving and revelling in the increased precision of the mouse for gunplay. I didn't really use it this time around, but the option was nice to have. In practice, I found the heavy-steering model of the game meant that I did far better on keyboard, with the mouse-look allowing me to take in as much of the views as possible. Point being, however you want to play it, you can. And they want you to - I was especially impressed by how the tutorial instructions change automatically to the last control device you touched, so if you change your mind, it changes with you. Which is so basic it seems odd to single it out for special praise - but it's a basic which isn't actually basic for most devs yet. So well done, guys.

But on other levels, it hasn't a clue. Like the vast majority of PC games, it auto-calculates its graphic settings. Unlike the vast majority of PC games, which generally underestimate what your PC can manage for the logical reason that a less-attractive game is less annoying than a less-playable one, its auto-calculation is more than a little optimistic. I had to knock down the default graphic options quite a bit on my PC (dual-core 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM, 640MB GeForce 8800) until I got an acceptable rate, and even then there was the occasional really nasty drop. While my experience was more pronounced than most, speaking to other reviewers via the secret review-grapevine lead to confirmation that fiddling to get it playable was universal.

'Grand Theft Auto IV' Screenshot 2

This is also pretty commonplace.

That said, it's worth noting that even turned down, Liberty City remains one of the most visually stunning places yet seen in videogames. And, in terms of future-proofing, there's a lot of sliders that can be turned wayyyy up. In five years' time, the PC version will be the definitive visual incarnation of Liberty City - playing with a draw-distance set around to 20 and traffic-density way low makes the prospect of those hitting the 100 exciting. But now... well, it probably still is the most attractive version, but it's annoyingly fiddly to get there.

That's the conversion aspects, but there's more to GTA IV PC than just making it work on the beautiful beige box. What's interesting is how it's expanded to the new format. The one which will be impossible to ignore for everyone - even the people who don't play the game - is the replay editor. It'll be impossible to ignore, as YouTube will soon be full of people lobbing up their machinma of simulated pixelated-anal-entry.

It's a powerful and flexible system, integrated like all of GTA's options into the in-game mobile-phone browser. Press F2 at any time and the last thirty-or-so seconds are stored to your hard-drive. Call up the replay editor, and you get to cut it, re-arrange angles on the action, caption it, soundtrack it and generally mess around. I especially like the ability to lob in filters over the action. And the word SEXY!!!! in capitals. That may just be me. The only real problem with it is the F2 aspect isn't as simple as "the last 30 seconds". It depends on how much your PC is having a little think right then. This unpredictability does lead to a little frustration when you think you've saved an action sequence which makes the end of John Woo's The Killer look like the Bridges of Madison County and you've only got half of it.

Also, there's the option of your own music in game. By lobbing music files into a set folder, you can play them on the new radio station, Independence FM. This can be used as a simple track player or - if you give the chance for the game to have a little think before playing - turned into a full radio station, complete with news bulletins and DJs insulting your choice in music. This is a not insignificant improvement to GTA IV. While the radio banter was all very well in the original and its use to forward the plot far more interesting than its traditional cut-scenes, if you just wanted to actually listen to a tune while you drove - which is always a sublime experience - you had to spin the dial far too often. Now, just load up a cross-genre selection of stuff you dig and you're away.

And immediately the delicious moments of game/music irony amp up. Yeah, the the first time LCD Soundsystem Get "Innocuous" dropped on the normal radio stations I had to drive around for its whole length to get my I-am-in-the-GTA-IV-advert-f***-yeah! thrill... but a moment of music/world immersion hit me pretty much every time I skipped to Independence FM. Accelerating away from a desperate cop fight as Iggy Pop's final scream in Death in Vegas' "Aisha" rocketed out of the speakers... Crystal Castle's remix of "Atlantis to Interzone" as I dodged traffic tearing over the bridges... Shellac's slaying-anthem "Prayer To God" or Miss Kittin's purring about taking a life as I'm on the way to a hit... Robyn's "Who's That Girl?" after a certain betrayal early in the plot. All magical. And hell, everything in GTA is always better when you've got Shampoo's "Trouble" yelping sarcastically in the background.

'Grand Theft Auto IV' Screenshot 3

This happens all the time when I go get the milk.

On a less surface level, the changes in multiplayer are inspired. And while the custom-game support to allow you to find appropriate games easier is a functional boon, its real appeal is as simple as crossing out one number and replacing it with another. That is, "16" swapped for "32". The possibility for mayhem of the best GTA game modes increases pretty much exponentially as you amp up the number of players. Until you've had 32 bikers line up on a starting line for a race around the centre of a city, you haven't really seen GTA IV at its most insane. That is, best. One of the general criticisms of GTA IV is that it's abandoned the dumb-but-fun ground to the dizzily stooopid Saint's Row while chasing other priorities. If you consider that true, 32-player chaos totally puts that idiocy back in. Any time I played, I honestly didn't care whether I won or lost. By playing, I'd totally won.

Any untotalling of the win happens outside the system. There's quite a lot of hoops you need to jump through outside the game. To play multiplayer, you have to have a (free, I stress) Games for Windows account plus another one for the Rockstar Social Club. You can skip the login of the latter (if you don't want multiplayer or uploading videos), but it does have to be running in the background. For Steam users, it's three processes in the background. It's not a lot of hassle, certainly, but it is a bit of hassle, and worth knowing if you're the sort who get angry when talking about DRM. While we're talking about that, there's online activation too.

Personally, that sort of transitory problem is the least of my reservations, and the reason that I'm gravitating towards a nine is elsewhere. It's not even the frame-rate issues. It's because, while the game's a genuine ground-breaking blockbuster in videogame history, there's a few more annoyances than I'd like for a ten. Primarily, a lack of mid-mission checkpoints is frustrating, especially in a game where failure is more often from a momentary high-speed crash accident on the way back from the actual bank raid rather than an actual failing of skill during a shoot out.

But seriously: a genuinely ground-breaking blockbuster in videogame history. There were moments playing GTA IV that I thought back to my initial experiences with games, and realised exactly how far we've come. There's never been anything quite like GTA IV in the world. That there makes me genuinely happy to be a gamer.

Also, beating up people and taking their money and stuff.

9 / 10

Grand Theft Auto IV is due out for PC on 3rd December.

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Kieron.

About Kieron Gillen

Kieron is one of the founders of the lovely Rock, Paper, Shotgun and nowadays writes comics for Marvel starring characters that even his mum has heard of.

Read more articles from Kieron by visiting the Kieron Gillen archive page.

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Comments (109) Latest comment 1 year ago

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

  • Benno #1 3 years ago

    Games are meant for consoles. PCs are meant for spreadsheets, word processing and porn.

    This is the proof.

  • DFawkes #2 3 years ago

    What time is this to put this up?

    I'm still not into GTA4, but the prospect of trying it out with 32-player sounds like this will be in my drive at Christmas :)

  • Peew971 #3 3 years ago

    Now Rockstar, get to work on that "Lost and Damned" DLC please...

  • ekko #4 3 years ago

    NDA passed I presume.

  • Law07 #5 3 years ago

    FLOP ONLY A 9 etc.

  • hahayou #6 3 years ago

    "functional boom," nice typo.

    Would this reviewer have given it a 9 on console too?

  • UncleLou #7 3 years ago

    " a few more annoyances than I'd like for a ten. Primarily, a lack of mid-mission checkpoints is frustrating"

    Gah, why have they still not fixed this? This is the 4th game where it' been criticised.

    Anyway, looking forward to it. Not the biggest fan of the series, but less San Andreas nonsense and a more serious approach and improvement of core elements like the driving and shooting is exactly what I wanted.

  • tonynibbles #8 3 years ago

    Pretty lame sceenshots those, you gotta admit. I wouldnt mind seeing some maxed out settings on uber PCs though.

    GTA IV was the most overhyped game of the year though. I'm still a bit disappointed with it now.

    The recent zero punctuation review of Saints Row 2 sums up GTA IV perfectly.
    Those invincible trees still piss me off too.

  • davisorle #9 3 years ago

    Personally i was the least amused from this game.. I don't know why but i was too dissapointed :/ Boring same old GTA and nothing more.. Like the reviewer says "remembering but in the days" really after all those years the past episodes of the series offers nothing much for a blockbuster of this scale. Id expect way more..

  • BremXJones #10 3 years ago

    hahayou: "Would this reviewer have given it a 9 on console too? "

    Yeah, I think so. It's a high nine either way. Marking is an art not a science and all.

    KG

  • smelly #11 3 years ago

    Nope.. worst gta ever.. pile of boring crap.. the only gta where i couldnt be arsed to beat it... 4/10

  • Zappa #12 3 years ago

    OMG, this game SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Do not buy this trash you hermits.

  • David_Snakes #13 3 years ago

    People are stupid.

    Oh, the game. It's excellent

  • smelly #14 3 years ago

    "There's never been anything quite like GTA IV in the world. "


    Funny.. i found saints row 2 to be superior to gta4 in every way...

  • Skeletor #15 3 years ago

    @smelly

    Only question is what "ways" are you talking about? And please don't tell me "Don't know, was just more fun"...

  • Anasui #16 3 years ago

    nice review, but this is one of those rare cases in which I disagree with EG. GTAIV is all ostentation and zero substance; script is phenomenally childish, moral choices are a joke, game's just a shooter with some driving sequences disguised as blockbuster

    wait until you're driving to a mission and get the 134th call from Roman asking for titties, then we talk
    Edited by 1 at 01/12/08 @ 02:37

  • paketep #17 3 years ago

    I am the sort that gets angry when talking DRM, and this is certainly too much.

    And Games for Windows Live is a POS, free or not.

    A pity about the 9, this is a big no sale for me.

  • Red-Moose #18 3 years ago

    SEXY!

  • Slipstream #19 3 years ago

    GTA IV is still an amazing game, nice to see the reviewers of this site don't buckle under the pressure of bandwagon gamers.

  • Steroyd #20 3 years ago

    "ground-breaking blockbuster"

    ...oh Eurogamer... -_-

    The game just falls flat after you complete it, which makes it the worse GTA in the series to me.

  • betahoven #21 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:36:16 17-12-2011

  • bad09 #22 3 years ago

    "game's just a shooter with some driving sequences disguised as blockbuster"

    Driving and shooting in a sequel to a game about criminals shooting and driving around, what an absurd notion...

    I can't understand comments like this, what were you people expecting? 4 has always been a direct sequel to 3 NOT SA.

    Don't listen to 'em Rockstar, your sequel to GTA3 (you know the one with shooting and driving) is an amazing experience (which I'll enjoy again just like all the other ones).


    Looking forward to the next one but in the mean time welcome to liberty City PC

  • drumbaby #23 3 years ago

    "And, in the middle, repugnant fanboyism sitting there unchanged."

  • mrt181 #24 3 years ago

    so it has online activation, did it at least get rid of the disc-in-drive check or do i have to look for a consumer-service-patch for this?

  • siro #25 3 years ago

    Is it a different reviewer maybe?

    One question about the review:
    "Unlike the vast majority of PC games, its auto-calculation is more than a little optimistic, generally underestimating what your PC can manage for the logical reason that a less-attractive game is less annoying than a less-playable one."

    Maybe I've only misread the sentence, but as far as I understood the wording, it means the default settings the game proposes would be giving a more stable frame rate than needed at the cost of eye candy? Surely it's the other way around as described in the following sentences.

  • gaselite #26 3 years ago

    "There's never been anything quite like GTA IV in the world."

    Except, yknow, GTAs 1, 2, 3, VC and SA. I mean, leaving aside the obvious differences between those titles, the above remark is a bit vacuous all the same. You could say it about any game ever made.

    Anyway, it's very good but it's not quite as good as you think it is, I think. Hmm. The people here saying silly stuff like 4/10 and so on are just being wankers for the sake of it. It's not a perfect game by any means, though. It's not even a perfect GTA game. It has manifold problems. It's by and large a very good game though.

    I sold my Xbox 360 copy a few months ago and decided I'd rebuy it on PC and maybe finish it, but mainly to experience multiplayer properly (console multiplayer online is still just unbelievably naff compared to PC). Looking forward to seeing what it's like.

  • UncleLou #27 3 years ago

    Well, the 4/10 came from smelly. If he's even played 1/10th of the games he has an opinion on, I'd be very surprised.

  • Daikon #28 3 years ago

    Is it still boring? GTA4 is a game that took all the fun out of the series and added loads of tedium. Lack of humour, lack of side-quests, full of chase sequences against invincible enemies. Niko willing to kill hundreds of people purely for money but there's nothing to spend it on. Who cares about multiple scripts for the cutscenes? Design the gameplay properly and I'll only need to watch them once. I also don't want to access the internet in a game, or watch Ricky Gervais, or take my fucking cousin bowling thank you very much. All pointless fluff that conceals the fact that the gameplay has gone backwards.

    Amen to that. This is precisely what's wrong with GTA4.
    It's fun for a bit but once you've unlocked all of the islands there's not much to do but taxi around your virtual friends to restaurants and pool halls.

  • avoozl #29 3 years ago

    I haven't played or even seen this game, but, I can't believe they made the driving realistic. Have they lost their minds? And now I'm hearing "lack of humour"? Uh, ohh.

  • Katsumoto #30 3 years ago

    "Let me get this right GTA IV comes out on consoles and gets 10/10.....the exact game comes out on PC with added bells and whistles....and scores 9/10.....where is the consistency?"

    Someone else reviewed it?!

  • thedaveeyres #31 3 years ago

    HEY COUSIN, WANT TO SHOOT SOME POOL?
    HEY COUSIN, WANT TO SHOOT SOME POOL?
    HEY COUSIN, WANT TO SHOOT SOME POOL?
    HEY COUSIN, WANT TO SHOOT SOME POOL?
    HEY COUSIN, WANT TO SHOOT SOME POOL?
    HEY COUSIN, WANT TO SHOOT SOME POOL?

  • rudedudejude #32 3 years ago

    Use of natch +1

    Bit lame the site drops a point for pc though even though it's far better lol.

  • Eighthours #33 3 years ago

    Unlike the vast majority of PC games, its auto-calculation is more than a little optimistic, generally underestimating what your PC can manage for the logical reason that a less-attractive game is less annoying than a less-playable one. I had to knock down the default graphic options quite a bit on my PC (dual-core 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM, 640MB GeForce 8800) until I got an acceptable rate, and even then there was the occasional really nasty drop.

    Maybe it's just a Monday morning thing, but something in the first sentence seems wrong here.
    Edited by 1 at 01/12/08 @ 09:30

  • Katsumoto #34 3 years ago

    oh dear.

  • mikew1985 #35 3 years ago

    @ Eighthours

    Had a bit of bother with that my self but i'm fairly sure it should be overestimating.

  • UncleLou #36 3 years ago

    It's so much nerdier to play the same game on a PC you need anyway than on a dedicated games machine in the living room.

    Glol.

  • SliderNL #37 3 years ago

    Disappointment of the year is more like it. I played it, completed it and was seriously annoyed. I liked the story but to claim it's a open world game... Your options are seriously limited, and it's the first game in which you have to manage your parking space for god's sake.

  • merkdot #38 3 years ago

    I suppose it was either this or put the real PC classic scores up to 11.

  • Shabtai #39 3 years ago

    If there was any integrity left in Eurogamer, this is surely seals the deal. It's sad to see a generally quality site, slide down the ladder.
    There is no reason to give the PC version anything but 10. Did Kieron though the game was too hyped in the first place? Fine, post an editorial. Don't review the game, only 6 months later on the PC and suddenly drop the score. Reviews and reviewers are just sawing the branch they stand on. It makes you loke as a joke, all the accusations people make against the video game industry are only more valid.

    With all due repsect for different reviewers and opinions, this is a cohesive site. If any game gets a certain score on one platform and 6 months laters it comes to another one, there is no way in hell to score it less. Seeing GTA4 for pc only improves the experience, scoring it lower is just a site's self-destruction.

  • XENgamer #40 3 years ago

    I'm looking forward to this!
    Also very happy that there's no limit to installs as part of the DRM - means I'll be buying this unlike Spore or Mass Effect

  • Katsumoto #41 3 years ago

    Oh god it got a 9 not a 10 - get over it! It makes no difference whatsoever. Who. sodding. cares? They both mean it's a bloody great game, is that not enough?! Kieron said why he marked it down, what more do you want?

    edit: removed caps and added exclams!
    Edited by 1 at 01/12/08 @ 10:37

  • Shabtai #42 3 years ago

    His reason aren't sufficient enough for me to drop it down. I have no problem with the score itself, the game should have gotten a 9 on consoles. The problem is that it isn't helping Eurogamer or the declining status of video-game reviews. Scoring a better version of a game, 6 months after the original release, lower is just bullshit.

    These are the cases where EG as a site and organization, should allign the scores and have their pull. No need to make the situation worse by having these inconcictencies. Just post an editorial saying you were sucked in the GTA4 hype machine when it was rlsed on consoles and therfore gave it a 10 when it shouldn't have.

  • bodypopper #43 3 years ago

    Yes the money thing is odd. You can buy guns and clothes but not cars or property. Or even drugs, maaan.
    Still it's my game of the year.

  • merkdot #44 3 years ago

    you can't compare scores like that.

    this review is aimed at PC owners and is scored as such. This is clearly not a '10' on the PC. It has nothing to do with consoles and their limited libraries, lifespans and demographics.

  • node #45 3 years ago

    Splendid review as ever Mister G, nice mix of PC conversion examination and gameplay discussion, bravo.

  • Darren #46 3 years ago

    @Eighthours - Well spotted... I think the reviewer meant to say 'overestimated' not 'underestimated' otherwise his whole criticism falls apart because he's basically complaining that he had to lower the settings further to make the game playable. You certainly wouldn't be lowering them if the game had underestimated the settings!!! LOL

  • evaluna #47 3 years ago

    @Shabtai:
    "It makes you loke as a joke"

    That comment lokes as a bit of a joke.
    Edited by 1 at 01/12/08 @ 11:15

  • BremXJones #48 3 years ago

    Re: That bit about over-estimate. While rescuing a typo, Tom edited my original paragraph and accidentally reversed its meaning half-way through. It should be fixed now.

    KG

  • HolyJebus #49 3 years ago

    While GTA games were never really for me, this game is quite obviously a blockbuster of epic proportions. If you don't think it's as much fun as a previous one, fair enough but don't try to be all high and mighty by pretending its crap. If you disagree with Kieron just make your points and then STFU.

  • Ryuken #50 3 years ago

    Another buy, I'll need to start robbing banks myself to get up-to-date with the great PC games in this last part of the year. If only publishers would spread releases out a little more...

  • quaker187 #51 3 years ago

    Shabtai, you need to go out and get laid.

    You are complaining it got 9 and not 10? Seriously how fucking spastic can you get? You are now on ignore.

  • mkreku #52 3 years ago

    I have this on pre-order, but from reading all these comments AND this review, I'm actually a bit worried. I had a go on a friends PS3 once and fiddled around with the driving (which I think was worse) and a few missions (which I thought were unspectacular), but I really hope there's more to it than that..?

    I loved San Andreas (my favourite in the series so far) and I already know you can't get fat or go to the gym anymore in IV. But there are still hidden jumps and collectibles at least, right? Right..?

  • Dr.Mott #53 3 years ago

    Yes

  • Shabtai #54 3 years ago

    Why wouldn't it be worth a 10 on pc, merkdot? The game is a little demanding tech. wise, so what?
    It should have scored the same, "as pc owner", its the same damn game, but better!

    I think you are coming from the point of PC gamers (and reviwers) being more strict and less hyped about games. Be that the case, it shouldnt affect titles like that. Is a gaming site a random collection of people, with different scoring methods? It isn't.
    A 9 for GTA4 is a more suting score for the game, but when a site scores the same game that got a 10, six months later, and drops it score for really not any major issue (and one that is well-known to pc gamers), it just loses alot of credibility. And this isnt EG specific, if the PC version will be underscored at other sites as well, then really, the review industry has nothing to offer.

    It is certainly true for EG, they have been lost in the hype when GTA4 for consoles shipped, and now they are trying to ractify the situation by underscoring the PC version with no real reason.
    Yes, yes, different reviewers - different opinions, PC gamers more strict - all fine and dandy, but not when it shows gaming "journalism" in all its nudity. Thats when EG should have stepped in to over-ride the score and let the reviewer vent about the overscoring of GTA in an article, without marring the PC's review, sending a misleading signal for readers and consumers and continuing to diminish the status of professional reviews.

  • mkreku #55 3 years ago

    Oh, and for the record: I actually agree with Shabtai. I must say I was surprised by finding a nine after reading the review. I remember the console version getting a ten and everything in the review tells me this is better.. and then it gets scored down? It just felt.. wrong. Not that I really care, my pre-order stands :p

  • sneetch #56 3 years ago

    @thedaveeyres
    "HEY COUSIN, WANT TO SHOOT SOME POOL?
    HEY COUSIN, WANT TO SHOOT SOME POOL?
    HEY COUSIN, WANT TO SHOOT SOME POOL?
    HEY COUSIN, WANT TO SHOOT SOME POOL?
    HEY COUSIN, WANT TO SHOOT SOME POOL?
    HEY COUSIN, WANT TO SHOOT SOME POOL?"

    Aye. I thought that crap was tedious beyond belief. Every time I was about to get something done that knob-end would phone me wanting to go do something. Anyone know how you remove the batteries from the phone?

    I'm in a shoot out with the cops, I don't have time to play pool.

    It was a terrible idea to have refusing to go pissing about affect your standing with people, don't they understand you're busy? I just wanted to play through the missions, maybe do a little work on the side, I wasn't looking for (fake) friendships with (fake) people who constantly needed attention and sulked if you didn't give it to them.

    Then I found out that you can call back straight away to cancel and they don't mind. By that stage I'd been worn down. Maybe over Christmas again.

    @Shabtai

    It's kinda difficult to take your "end of Eurogamer" prophecies seriously. Kieron gave the reasons why he marked the PC version down. You don't agree that they're enough. That amounts to a simple difference of opinion it does not mean that the site has lost its "integrity" or is "sliding down the ladder".

    Edit: my English, she is not so good.
    Edited by 1 at 01/12/08 @ 12:23

  • Chufty #57 3 years ago

    If you don't want to have to tweak settings to get your game looking and running best, you'd have got it on a console anyway.

  • Gaol #58 3 years ago

    The integration of 360 controllers like this isn't new, Bioshock did it last year, so did Tomb Raider Anniversary. 360 pad support is a requirement MS have put in, and they should be applauded for it - makes things so much easier.

  • IneptPercy #59 3 years ago

    My Brother is a PC only gamer now so this will be great, he has a 4850 and a 360 pad so should be fine.

  • makeamazing #60 3 years ago

    I think 9 out of 10 is fair. Havent completed it on the console yet... normally I would get it on the PC.. but they have taken so much content out, that its just not as much fun as the others.. probably better for me to replay the older GTA's on PC
    Edited by 1 at 01/12/08 @ 13:10

  • michaelius #61 3 years ago

    Pc's are for nerds anyway

    And consoles are for people incapable of operating keybord and mouse at the same time :D

  • yegon #62 3 years ago

    ...while the really smart people play and enjoy games regardless of platform/format.

    It's great not being a fanboy, I'd recommend it.
    Edited by 1 at 01/12/08 @ 13:16

  • Bangaioh #63 3 years ago

    The aspect that I hate the most in GTA IV is the fact that I HAVE TO DRIVE EVERY BLEEDIN' TIME BACK THROUGH A MISSION WHEN I GET KILLED OR ARRESTED! I really hate Rockstar for this, four fuckin' GTAs and they still haven't resolved the issue?!
    This ain't no 9 or 10 in my shop, I think a 7 is more than enough...
    Love all the rest but this is A MAJOR issue...
    Edited by 1 at 01/12/08 @ 13:47

  • El_MUERkO #64 3 years ago

    sweeet

  • UncleLou #65 3 years ago

    360 pad support is a requirement MS have put in, and they should be applauded for it - makes things so much easier.


    That's only half correct. 360 pad support is only a requirement for GfW games if the game has pad support at all. But that is for the devs to decide.

    I happen to know this because I thought the same until quite recently, and was corrected. :p

  • Shabtai #66 3 years ago

    sneetch, the reason is purely technical. I dont think this kind of an issue sure bring the score down. GTA4 for pc is the best realized form of the game. Marking it down just because its system requirements are high and you may need to tweek settings is not vaild to me. The same can be said for every game in history which got a 10.

    Like i said , my problem isnt with the review(er) but with a consistency a site should present and the integrity of the journalisms.
    The review holds GTA pc as the best version of the game, or at least as good as. Thus, i can't find a reason why the site should score it lower. Yes, i would have scored the game as a 9 too for it has some gameplay issues, but seeing as the review should also allign with A site's "policy" and framework, it should have gotten the same score. Anything lower just makes the site look un-professional at best.
    Were it to be the original review, or one posted at a PC-specific only site (which ofc haven't done a review for the console version) then i wouldn't have any problems at all. But for a Gaming site, reviewing a multi-platform game, scoring one version lower even it the review states it as being as good and even better, is just wrong and undermines the integrity of the site.

    This incident is just another one in a year full of questionable reviews from Eurogamer, a site which i consider to be the most accurate one. Don't tag it as an EG bash , there have been alot of reviews on other sites that put a big question mark over video-game journalisms and validness of reviews.

  • Orange #67 3 years ago

    A very fair review as usual from Kieron.

  • avoozl #68 3 years ago

    If there are issues at least we should be able to mod it to our liking, too. Eg. handling.cfg.

  • Anasui #69 3 years ago

    "Driving and shooting in a sequel to a game about criminals shooting and driving around, what an absurd notion...

    I can't understand comments like this, what were you people expecting? 4 has always been a direct sequel to 3 NOT SA.

    Don't listen to 'em Rockstar, your sequel to GTA3 (you know the one with shooting and driving) is an amazing experience (which I'll enjoy again just like all the other ones)."



    it is absurd, when they talk about it like the next big thing. It is visually stunning and it works as a shooter, I concede, but it's an empty room you're looking at. Very basic and ultimately boring dating system, useless bars and restaurants that add nothing to the gameplay, gigantic amount of buildings that offer nothing because you can't explore them, terribly repetitive mechanics that go like: drive to Roman pick him up, go to the titty bar, enjoy a sexy dance for the 13th time go home. Oh, but you can decide to drive Jakob to Whatever Plaza and make a drug deal, Oh but you can drive there and do that for the millionth time.

    It has the scale, but it's a very basic game at best, and definitely a repetitive one. 6/10

  • FogHeart #70 3 years ago

    360 pad support is only a requirement for GfW games if the game has pad support at all

    11th commandment: Thou shalt not USE ONE PRODUCT TO MAKE PEOPLE BUY ANOTHER ONE!

  • avoozl #71 3 years ago

    That's definitely evil. I stopped buying NBA Live FOR EVER since they decided to not let you play properly without a console controller. Gently caress you EA.

  • UncleLou #72 3 years ago

    It has the scale, but it's a very basic game at best, and definitely a repetitive one. 6/10

    Hm, that would be my description of pretty much every GTA game so far. The series always was a lot broader than it was deep, with all the single elements (driving, shooting, mini-games) being a bit undercooked if you look at them isolated. Now they've removed some of the breadth again because people were complaining how it was all a bit too much in SA, but (from what I've read) have made the driving (whether people like it or not) and the shooting mechanics a bit more, hm, sophisticated?

    I am definitely looking forward to finding out what I'll think of it. :)

  • superdelphinus #73 3 years ago

    During certain missions there are mid mission checkpoints though

  • Law07 #74 3 years ago

    LOLs I love GTA and thats my opinion. You shouldnt shove your OMG THIS GAMEZ SUXXX0RR down people's throats.

  • BremXJones #75 3 years ago

    You know, I swore there were on the 360 version too...

    KG

  • Law07 #76 3 years ago

    And also for people complaining about random people phoning you, theres a sleep mode on the phone which stops all story progressions in the game so you get no phone calls or anything!

  • Domovoi #77 3 years ago

    "11th commandment: Thou shalt not USE ONE PRODUCT TO MAKE PEOPLE BUY ANOTHER ONE! "

    How are they -making- you buy a 360 controller by including support for it?

  • avoozl #78 3 years ago

    Personally I don't like this progression towards realism, so I'm kind of glad to see other people opposed to it. I even think graphics are trying too hard to be photo-realistic, as if that naturally goes with better technology. There's no abstract element in a photo and it's boring. GTA:SA had an awesome art style, and so did Spore. I would pick Spore graphics over Crysis graphics any day. Though I'm sure a lot of people would disagree with me on that :p.

  • Tepic #79 3 years ago

    I have both 360 and PS3 versions of this to play online, and I will be getting the PC version for the video editor.

    Not bad for a "crap" game?

  • bad09 #80 3 years ago

    "it is absurd, when they talk about it like the next big thing. It is visually stunning and it works as a shooter, I concede, but it's an empty room you're looking at. Very basic and ultimately boring dating system, useless bars and restaurants that add nothing to the gameplay, gigantic amount of buildings that offer nothing because you can't explore them, terribly repetitive mechanics that go like: drive to Roman pick him up, go to the titty bar, enjoy a sexy dance for the 13th time go home. Oh, but you can decide to drive Jakob to Whatever Plaza and make a drug deal, Oh but you can drive there and do that for the millionth time.

    It has the scale, but it's a very basic game at best, and definitely a repetitive one. 6/10 "

    Well I've never heard Rockstar call it the next big thing anyway. In fact they were always pretty straight with what we were getting IMO. "A direct sequel to 3 not SA that would concentrate on story and realism - with no planes".

    As for the rest of your post, you might as well be describing every GTA. In fact most sandox games, so I don't see why GTA4 is getting it in the neck! I absolutely LOVE all the 3D GTAs but I think many look at GTA through rose tinted glasses, because truth be known, most of the time you were carrying out the same missions just like you do in GTA4. Drive somewhere, kill someone, photograph someone, fly around, take a boat somewhere to shoot people etc etc. It was the whole experience that made it fun not just the gameplay.

    I'll admit the lifespan is damaged by the real lack of any extra side missions but lets be honest here most of the "extra" missions always mostly involved shooting, driving or flying anyway so what's the big deal that GTA is more story focused this time? As UncleLou rightly posted, when SA hit the fussy moaners were complaining there was TOO MUCH to do and the story lacked focus. Now it has focus that's wrong to!

  • UncleLou #81 3 years ago

    I would pick Spore graphics over Crysis graphics any day. Though I'm sure a lot of people would disagree with me on that :p.

    It's not mutually exclusive. I like highly stylsied games, but I am also fascinated by the technological progress that allows something like Crysis.

    I never quite understand why photorealism is called "boring" compared to other styles though - that always seems like a really understanding of artistic means. It's not like artistic design is restricted to the degree of stylisation. Films can look very different, yet they're all photo-realistic. Neither "Paris, Texas" nor "Blade Runner" look boring.

    Crysis has some pretty strong art direction as well - in the way it sets up landscapes, for example.
    Edited by 1 at 01/12/08 @ 18:51

  • oktava #82 3 years ago

    I don't understand the "oh its so overhyped" comments at all. To me GTA4 is, in every aspect, better than every other entry of the series.
    Above all the new driving model and the amount of details.

  • bad09 #83 3 years ago

    "I don't understand the "oh its so overhyped" comments at all. To me GTA4 is, in every aspect, better than every other entry of the series.
    Above all the new driving model and the amount of details. "

    Hardly a "new" driving model, they nicked it off driver as far as I can see, but I know what you mean ;) The one-touch cinema camera though is something i wish could be in the older games. I must say though my BIGGEST disappointment with GTA4 was the new "in-car" view, I loved seeing my car and passengers and hoped the next gen would show my dashboard (like GT or PGR). I can see why they chose what they did (admire more of the glorious detail) - but I prefer the old one!

    I also can't agree it's better in every aspect. Like it or not there IS too much focus on story and less drive about do a rampage/empire building/gang war whatever you want style of play. It does change the "GTA" experience, for better or worse is opinion. Personally, while GTA4 is an amazing game worthy of 10/10 (remember that score does not actually mean "the perfect game" review cry babies!) I'm hoping GTA4: VC will open up the mission structure a bit more....

  • Dr_Lobster #84 3 years ago

    O, Eurogamer commenters! It's so cute and predictable the way they needlessly debate scores without examining the actual text.
    Edited by 1 at 01/12/08 @ 21:46

  • avoozl #85 3 years ago

    @UncleLou: Were you saying a really basic understanding of artistic means perhaps? Well think what you want to think, but I think you're twisting my argument a bit. I still say designers are trying too hard to be photo-realistic. If that's what they're aiming for then fine, but the reason shouldn't be because that's considered better. Just saying "it's boring" was pretty thoughtless though I admit.

  • DarkBytes #86 3 years ago

    yes

  • ShinMegami08 #87 3 years ago

    I dont use to make comments on Eurogamer, but damn...now I have to.

    I'm a big GTA-Fan since part 2. My personal favorite: Vice City. The atmosphere, the soundtrack, the characters, the story. It was magic.

    Couldn't wait till GTA4 would come out. I thought: "Wow Next-Gen-GTA will knock my socks off!"
    But GTA4 just never really caught me. I can remember when SanAndreas came out I couldn't stop playing for a month or more. Almost had problems with my girlfriend...
    GTA4 just didn't touch me. I found the story quite superficial, the multiple-choices were more of a joke, didn't really have an impact on the story. (at the end there seems to be different endings).
    During the game I was always thinking: Something special is gonna happen, something will surprise me. Will Roman betray Nico? Will we learn more about Nicos Past? Nothing at all. Strangely it was San Andreas plus better graphics minus content. Driving around Liberty City in GTA4 was just boring compared to San Andreas, where you found something at each corner.
    And why the hell did they take out the customisation options (training, driving lessons, running) out? That really was very silly from Rockstar.
    And the Online-Multiplayer was awful. Simply not one good idea. Very disappointing.
    O.k. I'm not gonna bash it totally: There are some good ideas in the game, they just lead nowhere.
    10 points for the console version was definitely totally overrated.

    sorry for my bad english.

  • ShinMegami08 #88 3 years ago

    ah yeah: And the mobile phone idea was a good one... but it was just ringing much too often. It is just annoying when you are on a mission, and Roman calls you the whole time and wants to do some stupid things with you.

    and: I just didn't get this feeling of climbing up the criminal ladder. Till the end you're doing shitty jobs for others. That's simply stupid. And your appartment doesn't really get any better. The more you progress in the game, the more powerful you should get... but it just doesnt get like this.

    Very disappointing.

  • UncleLou #89 3 years ago

    Yeah, great, why don't you post a few more story-spoilers in the review thread of a yet to be released version.

    *sigh*

  • BBIAJ #90 3 years ago

    Don't worry UncleLou, he's not really said anything that you wouldn't already know about from playing previous GTa's, with regards to story progression and structure etc.

    Is the swing glitch still in there does anyone know?

    I spent several hours this evening repeatedly launching Niko across Liberty City, longing for the replay editor of the PC release!

  • duttyri #91 3 years ago

    This game runs like dogshit on even a decent rig, fuck rockstarr and their shitty ports, pc games get pirated to shit can't see this being any different, with their securerom crap and poor optimisation.

  • Exoskeletor #92 3 years ago

    i can't understand, the review says it has some minor problems and i can't give it a 10 and it says about the checkpoints.. those checkpoints wasn't on the consoles versions? why they give a 10/10 in those versions?

  • YourMessageHere #93 3 years ago

    Shouldn't the review have spent a little more time on new and exciting (and more significantly, deal-breaking for some) things like the inclusion of SECUROM as copy protection on top of the online registration and GfW bullshit, and less on old and pretty much integral features like how nice it is adding your own music, which is true, but has been in the game since GTA III?

  • Dr.Mott #94 3 years ago

    I really love GTA4, my only real problem with it is, there's nothing to spend your money on really, apart from clothes and guns, and hospital bills. Building an Empire would be nice.

  • jellyhead #95 3 years ago

    Noooo, it runs like dogshit because they've made it futureproof! Honest. They said so in a press release and everything.
    So glad i didn't buy this on PC yet, i'm waiting and having to have SecurRom, bloody gfw AND Social Club running at the same time?
    Sod that.

    I'm disappointed, not that Rockstar will care. Probably pull a UbiSoft and release DLC before even patching things.

  • dryden555 #96 3 years ago

    I feel little inclination to play it again on PC with better graphics. Short but good story and little else to do once that was done. The new clip editor is a throwaway feature. How about mayhem missions please? More open-world gameplay is needed in the single player.

  • Darren #97 3 years ago

    Having read the comments about the PC game and seen the jaggy-looking screenshots on other forums I have to say that this version looks a tad disappointing. No support for AA - it doesn't even work if you force it - and very high system requirements even to get it looking and running like the 360 version. Even then it would be missing that version's 2x AA.

    For example, my own PC which can run Tomb Raider: Underworld at 1680x1050 with maximum settings and 4x AA and 16x AF at a higher framerate than the 360 version which is 1024x576 native with 2x AA and inferior textures would not be able to run this game anywhere near as well as the 360 version. And as I said it wouldn't have any AA so it would look uncannily like the inferior PS3 version which also lacked AA.

    Disappointing really. Terrific game but I can see why it only got 9/10 personally... it's really not optimised properly for the hardware and doesn't make proper use of modern graphics cards' capabilities.

  • UncleLou #98 3 years ago

    I'll admit it could run a little better, but the offficial forums is already again full of idiots who complain they can't put all the sliders to the right. *sigh* If Rockstar had limited the sliders to half of how far they go now, they'd probably be happy.

    Just said it in the forum: the engine is a peculiar one. The game looks really rough up close, but gorgeous if you move just a little further away. Never seen a game before where this makes such a big difference. Just moving my screen a little bit further back helped a lot.

  • autogunner #99 3 years ago

    I have no idea where you got this review from kieron. i am running a fairly standard set up for a mid-high range PC, and the game runs appalling badly for a released game. Textures and antialiasing are no existant, shadows are abysmal, and due to a huge memory leak i have to restart the game every 20 minutes. All the extra programs added are a joke. My poor firewall was going mental during the instal and the first few hours of gameplay. I am very dissapointed with this product and will be trying to return it to gamestop today

  • LFace #100 3 years ago

    And this here review is one reason why "review" copies should not be given reviewing space. From reading the report on other sites and the other one posted by none other than the good man Kieron himself, it seems the release candidate is absolutely abysmal.

    You should take this review down, and re-do it with the release game on a mid-range comp and not some glorified alienware-paid-for beast and see how it fares then.

    I've been looking forward to this game coming out for PC for months now due to not owning a modern(ish) console to play it on, and now im glad Im skint this month and couldnt pay for the game. Ive bought the previous games and was going to this, but christ Im glad I didnt now. My computer is not high end, but it plays Far Cry 2 smoothly and some other ones I bother with when not on WoW but I have a feeling I'll get about 5-10fps on this just like Bully.

    What has R* been doing on PCs these days? Coding games in Visual Basic or something..

  • Caspar_Esq. #101 3 years ago

    Pretty poor review. What is the point in spending half the wordcount on how great it is to have custom soundtracks? As has been noted that was around since the first PC version of GTA, hardly a fucking revolution is it.

    I think ultimately GTA is one for the newbs who aren't familiar with the series. For the rest of us its just more of the same, or in some respects less of the same. With added ringtones :)

  • dryden555 #102 3 years ago

    Not a great review EG. It is relevant to point out the steep hardware requirements and frame drops and 360 controller support. But where's the reference to the short main story and the utter lack of things to do outside of the main story (well unless you want to shoot hidden pigeons). Rockstar experimented with a more film-like main story, which is admirable, but forget about the gameplay? Gets a 7 or 8 at best.

  • Nill #103 3 years ago

    Kieron Gillen sucks cocks.

    LoL @ giving a game 9/10 that won't even run comfortably at 1680x1050 on a HD4870 1GB, with every freaking setting almost as low as they go!

  • byron_hinson #104 3 years ago

    Well after finally getting this on the PC I have to say I'm disappointed, while it looks far better than the console versions its so damn buggy, crashing with out of video memory errors every 20 minutes despite being a GTX 280 in just 1680x1050 just doesn't cut it. I'd recommend people keep away until at least another 2/3 more patches come out

  • testpattern #105 3 years ago

    does it still have car races? they were fun.

  • uk_john #106 3 years ago

    So agree with the comments in the review about how spooky it is that the right tunes play at the right moments! I ripped all the music from all the stations in Vice City and put it in the Independence FM folder. Tuning into it always seems to bring the right song up. Like driving back to the flat after a mission and the sun going down with that sort of pink look everywhere and then 'I wear my sunglasses at night' coming on, the tracks always seem right on the ball - which shows how excellent Rockstar is! bet i could rip the GTA IV songs and put them in San Andreas and it would sound right too!

    So yes, you have to do a lot of tweaking. (I have a 256mb 8600GT, 2gb memory. AMD 5600 dual core PC!), but once done, playing the game just gets better the more you play!

    This game has also shown that hardcore PC gamers are part of the reason for the continuing decline in the PC gaming format,with their demands that every game should be played maxed out. It is his attitude that leads to the No.1 reason why gamers go to console and not PC - constant upgrading! I play this game at 1024x768 with Low Textures but everything else High. With Distance set to 1 and shadows to 1 I still get good shadows and I still get distance draws, having these options set means no pop-in and little fade in and a 30+ framerate nearly all the time. For the life of me I look at my game and see video's where textures is set to Medium and I see no difference at all. What I do see is PC gamers willing to have the most laggy game all so they can play a little more closer to maxed out!

    I play retro PC games, like Thief, as well as modern AAA PC games,and for me it's about immersion. Liberty City is the most realised city evr put into a video game. You owe it to yourself to play it with little lower settings so you get smooth gamplay and no pop-ins, only that way can you immerse yourself into this great city and great game!
    Edited by 1 at 23/02/09 @ 16:59

  • uk_john #107 3 years ago

    It's a great game except for the mission re-plays. First, you should be able to make mistakes and have the story change and the game carry on. Second, if you have to re-play a mission - don't take the bloody car I arrived in away, so i have to steal another - and don;t start the re-play so i have to do 10 minutes of something again to get the the actual mission!!!

    Overall, this game is second to GTA San Andreas in my view, GTA IV is a pretty game (if you're PC can run it!), but it is more shallow and with much less content than San Andreas. If the Belic story was put in the SA world, then the game would have been about perfect.

    Every PC GTA game has got better until the GTA IV 'multiformat' version came along, which meant PC gamers get unoptimized code with a built in emulator so we can play, in effect, a 360 game!

  • hennrystreet #108 1 year ago

    Cheap Cars
    ++++++++
    hennry street
    Cheap Cars

  • abstractrobbie #109 1 year ago

    GTA IV is a great PC game. But what does any of that matter when it is badly coded and runs like s**t. Here we are heading into October 2010, two years on and the game is still not fixed and is highly unlikely to ever be. They have released several pointless patches in afterthought which have achieved very little overall and couldn't give a damn because they have made whatever profit they were going to make from this release now, the doors are closed.

    GTA was a PC game to begin with and it is the PC gaming community that shot Rockstar to its position of stature in the first place. To release such a crappy performing game on the PC is sacrilegious in my opinion, they basically decided to bite the hand that has fed it for so long and shaft everyone.

    I personally got a refund within the first week and have downloaded pirate copies from time to time to see if the long list of performance issues have been fixed. I did the same thing yesterday and installed the latest patch only to discover that the game runs just as poorly as it ever did and therefore I won't play it.

    The only consolation is the fact that Rockstar did not slide one up my anus with this title because as I said, I got a refund. Suck on that Rockstar!!! As long as you release trashbound titles you can eat my s**t. Who cares about the 360, its a simplified PC gaming machine with all the tweak and modablility removed for lame people that know jack about computers, the only console manufacturer I will part money to is Nintendo.

    As far as I am concerned, GTA is officially a dead game and a thing of the past. There are far too many other amazing titles around and upcoming to warrant any tears over GTA. As for the comments about PC's not being a good gaming platform, do you walk around with your head shoved up your a**? What kind of a stupid comment is that to make, typical of a 360 user. The only reason you think that computers are for spreadsheets and porn is because that is all your inferior tiny brain is capable of doing with a PC - QED