GTA IV REVIEW (NO SPOILERS)

[dsk1210]

Well i have been playing GTA IV for 13 hours game playing time and completed 22.5 % of the game according to the stats, just thought i would write up a little review for anyone interested.

 

Loaded up the game and it feels very familiar right away, the same carton style intro, and the brilliant soundtrack supports the game very well indeed.

 

The graphics are very nice and the city is very well detailed, up close the textures of buildings an stuff are not the greatest, but it is a compromise to make the city as detailed and alive as it feels, it really does, if i am having a ciggie, i can just light up, have my smoke, leave it running and watch everything happen around me and it looks brilliant.

 

 

The car controls are really good but very heavy backsided on a lot, and the turning circle is slow on all but sports cars and bikes, you really do have to brake hard before corners let go of the brake slightly jab the handbrake swing round and accelrate out the corner, it's great when you get used to it, takes a wee while as it feels quite different from the others,gone is hand braking round every corner.

 

I wish there was an option to switch traffic to uk sides, after all this time playing GTA IV you think i could drive on the proper side of the road, i am fine till i come to a corner, try to cut short and end up on the wrong side of the road Not the games fault that though, just my inability to grasp the concept. lol

 

Special mention to the police chases which are fantastic and intense at times, sirens screeching loudhailers, helicopters, swat teams, police boats and a more sensible approach to escaping them all, get out the radius of vision, which gets bigger the more stars you have, then just lay low till everything is cool, it works really well and makes for some great moments when you think you are about to get away and a wee car comes round the corner and spots you and it all kicks off again.

 

The missions are a little slow and boring to start off with, just getting you used to the controls which have been modded quite a bit, but they do get much better and the combat control is improved 10 fold, gone is the trying to lock on to someone and you end up facing a wall while someone is popping you in the head, just run and slam into a wall, car, anything basically using the rb button (on the 360) and he will take cover while being able to line up shots and pop out and take head shots, which are quite easy now as you can lock on, then use the right stick to fine tune you shot in the lock, you can shot the weapons out the hands, pop one in the leg or just blow their brains out in one shot.

 

The diffuculty seems a little easy to me, maybe just because the controls are much easier to use now, but hopefully it puts up moire of a challenge later on.

 

The characters are very well fleshed out to, and the voice acting is spot on.

 

Nothing to grumble about really except maybe the camera when in confined spaces which can get a little close for comfort, but the game rocks, i might have played this game in an illegal way for the moment, but believe you me, i will give rockstar my money for this one, one of the truly great games of recent times, in there with super mario galaxy.

 

Ps. if you were not a great fan of GTA IV, this may not swing you round, my friend has never been to keen on the series, he had a shot yesterday and was not hugely impressed, he said it looked smart but a little boring. Each to their own huh.

 

If only all games were giving as much love as this

 

 

 

 

95%

 

 

 

 

Dave

[mda]

So come on then, where did you buy it or did you "acquire" it from the web?

[Guest GhostHunter]

Multiplayer ?

[dsk1210]

Dexter, i have not actually tried the multi player yet, not be able to do that till the 29th, will be interesting, i have not even looked at the multiplayer options, if i remmber correctly, when i clicked multiplayer, it said i needed to be connected to xbox live, which i am not willing to risk at the moment.

 

I did acquire it from newsgroups, but this is a game that a developer should be paid for their hard work, which Rockstar will.

[hughesie27]

I am not sure if it's going to be that great. What is the story mode like compared to SA?

[Sconnie]

Have you unlocked any achievements yet? I've read that you can't get achievements until the 29th.

[dsk1210]

I am not sure if it's going to be that great. What is the story mode like compared to SA?

 

 

I never played fully through san andreas to be honest, it was to huge and i probably spent way to much time in the gym, dating and just causing general havoc, but in comparision so far, i do prefer IV, its more serious, wee bit more cohesion to the story and seems more seamless.

 

If you were never a fan, this is unlikely to sway you unless you are a graphics whore, and even then you will find faults, its not perfect but tremendous fun to play, which in all honesty, is that not what gaming is all about.

[dsk1210]

Have you unlocked any achievements yet? I've read that you can't get achievements until the 29th.

 

 

Yeah you can unlock achivements, the most mischevious one so far was "hot Coffee"

[hughesie27]

Yeah you can unlock achivements, the most mischevious one so far was "hot Coffee"

Was it not 'Warm Coffee'?

Ta for the reply. I was a huge fan of SA and also never completed it but I had great fun and still managed to get a good few hours out of it last week when my 360 was getting fixed.

[dsk1210]

think you are right actually, i do belive it was warm coffee.

 

 

Special mention to the way the credits are shown at the start, reminded me of the start of Panic Room by David Fincher, the credits on the buildings, floors walls, very nice and profesional looking.