I was thinking to myself if I should mark the game down for the technical problems and things missing from the PC port and at first I was really unhappy with the game. My problem wasn't with performance but the fact that the game is missing alot of things we want in a PC port and had alot of annoying things like GFWL and the Social club. However the core game is just so good it makes up for all the games downfalls. I was looking back to games I have reviewed and thinking ok whats the most important thing here for me? The fun. GTA 4 has fun in nucket loads and has given me over 100 hours of fun gameplay already and I havn't even gone too much into the multiplayer yet, only just finished the main story line. Yes the game has alot of improvements to make in the next titles but GTA 4 just has so much going for it that it is a AAA game and I couldn't even think about giving it a 4/5 because everything isn't to my liking.
I'm going to get the bad out of the way first....
To play GTA 4 you're forced to install a ton of things which you may not want but it doesn't really have any effect on your PC and you can uninstall it all once you're done with the game so it isn't a major deal. You also have to be logged into GFWL to be able to save the game which basically means you need to be logged in to play it as you need GFWL for multiplayer too. On top of that you need to be logged into the Rockstar Social Club to be able to play the game aswel which is annoying and you need to be logged into it so you can use the command line parameters. Onto the command line parameters I find it annoying that you have to use them to get such basic options that should be built into the graphical menu. Things like Windowed mode, Vsync and the ability to turn off the restrictions and also things like pressing P for blurr should be in the graphical options and even AA. I just find it weird how Rockstar didn't put basic things we would want into the graphical options as a choice for advanced settings or something. Rockstar missed out an SDK for people to mod the game which is such a shame because mods is what would make GTA4 so much better but I can only think GFWL gives them problems here.
I also hate how you access the multiplayer because it is so well hidden into the game it'll kill the online community and it's a big effort to get into a game. I wish'd they would have put Single Player and Multi Player options in the main menu, instead you just click play and you enter the single player. Once in the game you have to open your mobile to hit multiplayer for it to just take out out of the single player game anyways and bring you into the multiplayer menu..... what is the point of that? Once there you're treated to a poor ping system of the bars... so you can't ever tell what your ping is and often find laggy games iwth full green bars, you can't even see them once in the game too. You're also treated to a horrible server browser which is slow and cumbersome and you just wish'd you could use the Steam browser instead of the poor GFWL one.
Onto the in game issues which would have all been fixed if only Rockstar pushed and SDK with the game, so what a shame. I really wanted to be able to use the petrol stations for fuel, even if it was an option to turn on and off in the main menu. I fail to see the point of dating because you feel more like a Taxi where you drive them to the way point and then have to drive them back. I wish'd dating would play more of a role and instead it's the same voice overs and stuff again and again and is just really boring and pointless. I don't like the fact that the mission quality seems to be all over the place because the best missions are the easy but fun ones which play on new gameplay mechanics like having to use the mobile to phone a guy so he'll get up and pick up the phone and then you sniper him dead. The bad ones are the frustrating ones which start off really well and then become annoying. The Bank mission was really fun until you have to get into a car and lose all 3 stars which would be fine if I hadn't done this long mission before it. you often fail at losing all 3 stars and have to start the mission all over again. I woulda prefered them to lose all their stars as you leave the subway and then just drive to Packies house.
I didn't like how linear the story was in a sandbox game, it felt like I should have had much more freedom at changing the storyline. Like in Fallout 3 where if you choose to blow up the town then you lose all of the quests from that town. Michelle seemed like she would have played a bigger role in the game and I would have liked an option to go down the route of her actually liking Niko and them getting together in the end. Instead she just simply betrays you and then you never see her again apart from one time and she seems poorly written off. I put in all that dating time with her for that....... There are also cover system issues which make combat unfun and the melee side of the game is really unfun too, just glad the actual shooting is really good. I don't like how they took out all the kool stuff about GTA:SA where you could own places and have a sense of moving up in the world and ownership. I really wanted to work out and I really wanted to pass my driving test and do all them really kool mini games from SA instead of the boring ones in GTA 4 like dating.
Despite all these bad points however GTA 4 is still a AAA game and you're probably wonder why, I myself was wondering that until I played it. Why the game is so great is because even though it misses on alot of things, theres still just so much great content in the game. They've also improved on so much aswel like the amazing crafted city and while you wish'd they done more in the city because theres alot of buildings you can't go in, they've still done sooo much with it. I only wish'd again they shipped with an SDK so we could mod the city and add more to it. The fun faire is always closed for example and I really wanted to mod that open and go on all the rides, would have been kool. You'll still find yourself exploring the whole city and having such an amazing time doing so because it is so big. I've been playing for over 100 hours already and every time I drive round the city I still feel like everything is fresh because it's so busy it is hard to get bored of the same locations, you keep finding new things.
Euphoria and all the physics and weather system they've put into the game also makes it feel more life like and real. I love the animations on how people walk and I love how you can drive off with a car and the person is still holding onto the handle and realistically sliding about and animating properly. Euphoria does a great job at mixing animations with ragdoll so they never feel lifeless when you hit them and they fall over and animate properly. In normal games they flop to the ground with rag doll and then all of a sudden get up but in GTA 4 they feel real. I was beating up a woman and kicking her across the floor and she was reacting realistically and making sounds like shes hurting lol. They've really improved on the driving physics too making them control much more like real life with the weather effecting the handling and things like grass doing so too. Onto the weather when it's pouring down with rain late at night and you get lightning, it's just frigging amazing and looks so real to making you believe this is a real city.
I knew the story would be special from the moment I first started the game and got that amazing intro with Niko and some guy on the ship. You get the really kool music and the credits popping up in the intro in a real kool way so they look like they're printed on objects in the world. The story is really engaging all the way through with such amazing voice acting and script writing. you've never played a game before that has even come close to the quality of what GTA 4 has done here. It just shows you how much closer games are to being as good as books and movies in terms of story and acting. I'd even go as far to say that GTA 4 has better acting and story than most movies out there these days. GTA 4 makes you love the characters too and they're all soo believable and you'll get cinematics bits between Nike and Roman and you'll come out of them laughing and just feeling emotionally attached to them and happy. Normally in a game you want to skip these parts like in MGS games but in GTA 4 you find yourself laughing and engaged and thats why I loved GTA 4 because it made me emotionally happy which too few games do these days.
The humour of GTA 4 is just so great and they've really made improvements over the last ones. They have even done a fan service with bringing Lazlo back and giving him his own station, which they done something they have never done before and added a new station half-way through the game. I really wish they did more of this though or atleast had a setup like the news where new tracks would be released as you progressed through the game to keep the music fresh. The comedy in GTA 4 is everywhere from the random running someone over and hearing comments to the really great funny radio stations with their chat shows, adverts and hosts. To the new things like the comedy club that has people like Ricky Gervais perform in and the cabaret which has funny performances. You can now watch the TV which has really funny TV shows on and the internet which is also a laugh to read. Not only this though but where the comedy really shines through is when you're watching the main story cutscenes and find yourself constantly laughing at the amazing script writing and acting because when watching scenes like between Brucie, Roman and niko it makes you feel like one of the boys.
The sound design of the game is just so amazing with a great sound track and like I said before voice work. The sound effects are also really great on everything, though a little lacking in the cutscenes because they tone background noise down so you can her what they're saying. it's just all really amazing and really well done and one of the main parts that makes GTA so great because what would GTA be without comedy or radio stations? The graphics are really amazing and while not the most advanced you've ever seen you have to take the scale into perspective. Also though how well everything animates and looks realistic and all the detail put into the city just makes for one really impressive looking game. Rockstar pull off the art work amazingly well and just got a great look and feel to the game which doesn't feel generic which so many other based in modern times end up doing.
I've only played a tiny part of the multiplayer and it is really fun but..... the lack on an SDK means you wont be making your own race maps which sucks because that was so fun on GTA:SA MTA Race and you wont be seeing any new gameplay modes or mods. Also another downfall of the multiplayer is the poor menus to access it, server browser and the fact theres no pings in game. Having to logon to two services and three if you bought the Steam version is a real downer which wont have a positive effect. That said though the multiplayer when you get going is really funt o play and if you can look past these issues with the menus and no SDK then you'll be having a blast with it, specially if you find friends and play Pirates.
GTA 4 is an amazing game and even with all it's many downfalls, this only comes because of the size and scope they set themselves for the game, so you can never expect it to be perfect. However the main good poitns of the game are so good and so well done that they make this one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played and GOTY for 2008 for me. That is why this game deserves 5/5 for me because most improtantly GTA 4 made me smile and has given me over a 100 hours of fun and I even plan to play it through again and get hundreds of more hours outta it.
Thoughts after going through it again:
So the GTA franchise has to be my fave of all time cause I grew up with it and then GTA 3 came out and I was in Upper school and that game just blew everyone away that played games. It was like "Woah a 3D city I can explore" and back then noone had done that sandbox gameplay like that. From the first moment of geting into that car on the bridge and listrning to the radios it was just so amazing and I'll never forget that. I spent months just playing that game to complete it and doing all sorts of crazy sh*t and I never got bored of it. The VC came out and while I didn't like the city as much cause it felt like you saw it all too early and it was very flat so it wasn't as fun to explore. I loved the setting and it got me into 80's music and rock music and really defined the music we listened to back then at 14 years old. All my mates really got into the old rock bands from the 80's and before. It also got me to watch Scarface which is one of the best films I've ever seen. So GTA games really had an impact on our lives and we never wanted them to end because it felt like an end of an era just completing them. I remember us playing VC for like a year before getting bored and playing other amazing story games like The Getaway which had clunky controls but a great funny story.
However GTA:SA came out and I have to say I didn't like the setting, I felt it to be generic and drab and I didn't like the whole Black person setting. I'm not being racist but I grew up with white people in a white town and the whole black culture just didn't click with me and I didn't get it. SA was a good game but the series was getting old by that point and with games like HL2 that came out around that time you felt like the series was dated, tired and needed a change. SA wasn't funny like the other games and the music sucked and the world felt like too unrealistic for me and I just couldn't get into the story like the others. I don't remember any of my mates enjoying it too and I think it has partly to do with not being black but also because it was the same old.
So when I got into GTA 4... yes the magic of a 3D city has worn off because I've grew up and it's been done. Yes I'm not as easy influenced like I was when I was young and suddenly doing all these violent things just doesn't have the impact it once did. However that doesn't stop it from being fun and the best GTA game yet. I mean sure I can look back at nostalgia and I had more fun with GTA 3 but that was because I was young and it seemed amazing at the time. If I go back and play it now then I just don't enjoy it anymore because GTA 4 has come out and has improved on it in every way. I'm now 21 and all my friends have moved away and it's really just me now because everyones busy working or at Uni or with their g/fs and noone has time for eachother anymore which is sad, so I can't share this experience with my friends. My initial experience with GTA 4 was amazement and then followed by abit of disappointment and let me explain.
GTA 4 started off strong and the story telling was really good and it felt like I could do anything in the city. However it quicklly became apparent the city is still as static as the other games and alot of the activities were taken out. I wanted to play Golf and expected I could do that on the golf course in the game but I couldn't and I couldn't play basket ball or even skate at the skate parks like SA. I expected to fill my car up at the petrol station and I couldn't which was a disappointment cause I hoped they finally put that in. I felt like the game lacked a sense of ownership like in missions where I got given a car, I would then drive around and because of the way the whole system works to prevent strain on your system you then see loads of the same car you have. You can't buy houses or custmize them which I was hoping you could do and you couldn't buy things and I dunno I wanted to start my own family like and build up my empire. I was hoping dating would be more story involved instead of driving to the location, getting a loading screen and driving back. I was hoping it would lead somewhere to starting a family and having hapiness for my character but that never happened. I also hoped the story would have more choices for me so I could really pick how i wanted it to go like. For example they didn't do a good job of making me like Kate but yet I couldn't choose to blow her off. I mean I personally wanted to get more involved with Michelle and hoped I could go down that route.
So yeah lots of disappointments because I wanted more from this generation and basically it was alot like the old games in how static the worlds are and linear the story is. They make a big deal outta saving bad people, even though I'm running over innocent people just to get to the mission lol. The port to the PC was also horrid and the multiplayer of having to go into the game to go into the mobile to be taken out of the game to the multiplayer menu sucked. Why couldn't they just have a multiplayer shortcut directly to the menu? I bet most people don't even know it's their until they're 30 hours in and see multiplayer on their mobile and because that makes it feel like a half arsed system then they don't bother. I also hate the use of GFWL and the server browser sucks... why do I have to use both GFWL and the social club, half the time I can't even login to GFWL.
Then i sat down and watched all the videos I recorded of the great moments and I realised, I've had more fun with this game playing it for over 200 hours than I have had with any other game in recent memory. I've never played a single player game other than previous GTA's for over 200 hours. Infact the only other games I have played for that long are Planetside and CS. I even got bored of WoW in under 10 hours of playing and thinking "right I've had enough of these boring kill 10 of these quests".
I loved the better physics and the use of Euphoria in the game which made the animations that much better and people more life like. I thought the game was the funniest one yet with amazing adverts in the radios and TV and loved the return of Lazlow and hope he comes back again. The music was better than all the other games but VC because there wasn't a station I loved for the music, I just liked alot of the songs. The problem I had is theres alot of radio stations with music I don't like and I was hoping for a Trance station with Tiesto and all that but it was some crap electro sh*t. I loved the comedy club because while I didn't like that one black guy who wern't funny at all I thought Ricky Gervais ws just amazingly funny. I loved all the crazt wacko characters, though wish'd there was more of them. My fave one was when one of the guys got run over and the guy in the car has an English accent and is all like "I'm blood sorry about this but I just run this poor chap over" lol.
The missions are by far the best out of any GTA and theres some crazy moments purely because the story telling and writing is alot better. There are some problems however where the story about 1/4 of the way goes to crap. When you move to that mini Island after Dimitri sets fire to your apartment and you work for Mani and all that...... just found that boring. Then Towards the end when you're working for the Italians I found boring too. However for the most part it was amazing. I loved Brucie and I loved Packie because they were both just really funny and had the best missions. One mission that will stick in my mind is kidnapping Gracie and I was all like wtf why did my car just go off the road. Then I noticed she was doing it and that was so funny. So I was driving about and she was making it impossible for me, then I tried to shoot her and Niko punched her and knocked her out and that made me LOL! GTA 4 just had so many of these moments for me. The only thing the game coulda done with is checkpoints in missions cause I really hate getting right to the end of the bank mission only to lose it trying to hide form the cops.
Then the end came along and WoW what a climax and by far one of the best missions in the game. You could tell it was coming to an end though cause the missions were getting more complex. I don't really like the shoot out ones normally but the mouse and keyboard aswel as the cover system made them far more fun than previous games. However the missions that I found the most fun were the easy but quirky ones. Like having to snipe one of the brothers or the Gracie one or having to look through a guys apartment to get his mobile to call him and make him come to the window so I can snipe him. The ones that think about outside the box and suprise you but dont frustrate you by being hard are the missions I want to see more. Thats why I loved the side missions so much better they were dead easy but really funny and had great characters like the the guy who asks you about masturbating.
GTA 4 has so many emotional moments for me and not just sad but moments that make your hairs stand up and just makes you "WOW" and at the end when I don't want it to end and want it to go on forever just shows me a sign of a great game. I just wish'd Microsoft would pull their finger out and support windows better so I can play the DLC on the PC cause I want more story with Rockstars amazing ability to make me laugh with the characters they create. This is why I loved GTA4 because it delivers moments no other games can and just impress me and I just love thr rich city of characters.
I really hope they take it back to 80's VC cause I'd love to see that setting done in these graphics but with improvements and them improvements I'd like are.....
- Petrol stations have a use (could make it optional)
- A sense of ownership
- Improvement on controling your character in tight spaces
- More things to do like if you see it you can do it like Golf and basket ball and riding on rides at the faire, just make the world feel more alive.
- Improve on the story but keeping the funny characters and putting more of them in and get rid of the crap characters like Ray or Mani.
- Improve multiplayer menus
- Improve on dating so it's less back and forth and more story driven and has a point to it like starting a family so you have something to lose.
THE most important thing to add though is an SDK for the PC version cause GTA 4 is the one game I would want it for.
So yeah GTA 4 is an amazing game with many faults but the highs outweigh the lows to one of the best experiences I've ever had in gaming.