Is GTA IV worth getting?

Paul Heslop <paul.heslop.TakeThisOut@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in news:49367A88.C45F9AEF@blueyonder.co.uk:

> SimonH wrote:
>>
>> On Dec 3, 10:53 am, Andrew <spamt....TakeThisOut@127.0.0.1> wrote:
>> > On Wed, 3 Dec 2008 02:19:39 -0800 (PST), SimonH
>>
>> > The GTA handling isn't realistic no matter what speed you are doing,
>> > if they were realistic our roads would be strewn with wrecked cars.
>>
>> Ah, no argument. It is, however, *more* realistic than previous games
>> in the series. Which is what I said.
>>
> yeah, i can't say the driving has ever been great, but I did get into
> driving in GTA4, except on two wheels. I got fed up of falling off,
> pretty much like real life :O)
>

Motorcycles were my transportation of choice in SA. They may not have been realistic, but they sure
were a lot more fun than in GTA4.

Only time I've ever ridden a real motorcycle was during a training course almost 20 years ago. I passed
the course (barely) and got the endorsement on my license, but never got the bucks together to actually
buy a bike. The endorsement has long since lapsed, and I'm too aware of my mortality to really be
tempted to renew it and get a bike now...

-- Bob

Paul Heslop <paul.heslop.RemoveThis@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in news:49367A1D.4F4ECEF3
@blueyonder.co.uk:

> SimonH wrote:
>>
>> On Dec 2, 9:55 pm, Paul Heslop <paul.hes....RemoveThis@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>> > GTA4 is not as bad as painted
>>
>> That's all I was really trying to say. I do love it, though, and
>> there are some real stand out bits. The story cut scenes are
>> brilliant overall and some (like the one where Niko and Roman are tied
>> up in the basement by Dmitri's(?) goons) are hilarious. If there has
>> ever been a better scripted and acted game story, I'd like to know
>> what it is because I want to play /that/ game.
>>
>
> This doesn't work for me, I rarely watch cut scenes, too impatient. It
> really pains me when I am forced to sit through them.
>

I enjoyed the cut scenes in GTA4. I wish there was a way to replay them for when my wife was
present because she'd probably find them as funny as I did.

I get very tense during cut scenes though, because I never know what kind of insane situation I'll be
thrown into when they end so it's hard to relax and really enjoy them like they were meant to be.
That's another reason I'd like the replay.

>> >, but neither is it the best game ever.
>>
>> I'm not even sure if it's the best game I've /got/ and I've only got
>> five. I can't fit a cig paper between it and Fallout 3 at the moment
>> and sharing time between the two is tricky.
>
> Well I bought saints row 2 and am having more fun with it than I did
> with GTA4, but I am annoyed that I kind of got bored with 4, in fact I
> didn't finish the story line. I must make myself finish it just to see
> if I can get back into it.
>

I quit playing the story line as soon as I opened up the entire game area (like I usually do in GTA) and
got sidetracked exploring and finding pigeons. See, by the time I reach this point, the missions are
starting to get hard (and frustrating) as hell and the rewards are either redundant (MORE money? To
spend on what?) or just uninteresting to me. I wish Rockstar would somehow come up with better
incentives to actually finish the game. The only GTA I've finished, Vice City, gave me little I didn't
already have before I finished. I'm not particularly enticed by the upcoming DLC, either, though the
weapons sound pretty sweet.

>>
>> > Those graphics on San Andreas would have been fantastic.
>>
>> And the physics, of course. And the gritty Balkan humour. And the
>> gruff, funny, flawed but instantly likable protagonist (I liked CJ,
>> don't get me wrong, but I'd rather /be/ this sardonic Serb - cool in a
>> way that you can't ink into your forearms.) Oh, and it would need the
>> same level of chemistry between a cast of characters, some of which at
>> least, might as well be real people.
>>
>> Si
>
> Yeah, not keen on the balkan thing. There's something very cold about
> our eastern bloc cousins, they scare me.
>

I kinda like Niko, but he's someone I certainly would NOT want to know in real life.

-- Bob

(Spending all my play time on Fallout 3 right now. This game has gripped me in a way that GTA never
did.)

Odd Bob wrote:

> I enjoyed the cut scenes in GTA4. I wish there was a way to replay them for when my wife was
> present because she'd probably find them as funny as I did.
>
I'm like that with the comedy club sketches. it's hard to describe
them but they are funny, whereas that cabaret place is the pits and
having to sit through that is painful.

> I get very tense during cut scenes though, because I never know what kind of insane situation I'll be
> thrown into when they end so it's hard to relax and really enjoy them like they were meant to be.
> That's another reason I'd like the replay.
>
I am wondering whether this is my problem. I kind of played about four
games at once for the other players on my machine to get the points,
maybe this was not a good approach.


> I quit playing the story line as soon as I opened up the entire game area (like I usually do in GTA) and
> got sidetracked exploring and finding pigeons. See, by the time I reach this point, the missions are
> starting to get hard (and frustrating) as hell and the rewards are either redundant (MORE money? To
> spend on what?) or just uninteresting to me. I wish Rockstar would somehow come up with better
> incentives to actually finish the game. The only GTA I've finished, Vice City, gave me little I didn't
> already have before I finished. I'm not particularly enticed by the upcoming DLC, either, though the
> weapons sound pretty sweet.
>

Yes, that was another thing. I've always tried to get the side
missions out of the way early and have a standing saved game with
those on so I never have to restart the game from cold, but it doesn't
seem possible in GTA4.


> > Yeah, not keen on the balkan thing. There's something very cold about
> > our eastern bloc cousins, they scare me.
> >
>
> I kinda like Niko, but he's someone I certainly would NOT want to know in real life.
>
I like Niko, but like the Uncle and stuff, and even his cousin cousin
I just wanted to plug the bastards. I wanted to shoot his cousin
almost immediately, all that titties and stuff.

> -- Bob
>
> (Spending all my play time on Fallout 3 right now. This game has gripped me in a way that GTA never
> did.)

Forza 2 has been my main play for months. I've also completed two lego
games which I play through with my smallest grandchild often as she
loves them but will only play alongside me, anyone else gets "You
don't know what you're doing!"


--
Paul (We won't die of devotion)
-------------------------------------------------------
Stop and Look
http://www.geocities.com/dreamst8me/

Odd Bob wrote:
>
> Paul Heslop <paul.heslop.RemoveThis@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in news:49367A88.C45F9AEF@blueyonder.co.uk:
>
> > SimonH wrote:
> >>
> >> On Dec 3, 10:53 am, Andrew <spamt....RemoveThis@127.0.0.1> wrote:
> >> > On Wed, 3 Dec 2008 02:19:39 -0800 (PST), SimonH
> >>
> >> > The GTA handling isn't realistic no matter what speed you are doing,
> >> > if they were realistic our roads would be strewn with wrecked cars.
> >>
> >> Ah, no argument. It is, however, *more* realistic than previous games
> >> in the series. Which is what I said.
> >>
> > yeah, i can't say the driving has ever been great, but I did get into
> > driving in GTA4, except on two wheels. I got fed up of falling off,
> > pretty much like real life :O)
> >
>
> Motorcycles were my transportation of choice in SA. They may not have been realistic, but they sure
> were a lot more fun than in GTA4.
>
> Only time I've ever ridden a real motorcycle was during a training course almost 20 years ago. I passed
> the course (barely) and got the endorsement on my license, but never got the bucks together to actually
> buy a bike. The endorsement has long since lapsed, and I'm too aware of my mortality to really be
> tempted to renew it and get a bike now...
>
> -- Bob

I am awful in real life, on two or four wheels and even managed to
cream a mother and child on my paper round when I was a lad by hitting
them at full speed on my pushbike. I'm well dangerous on wheels :O)

saints row 2 bikes don't go faster or anything if you lean forward,
but the cool thing is wheelies are easier and if you have a sword you
can slice people as you ride past.

--
Paul (We won't die of devotion)
-------------------------------------------------------
Stop and Look
http://www.geocities.com/dreamst8me/

Excited after finally graduating kindergarten after 20 gruelling years,
SimonH <simon.hudson1.RemoveThis@gmail.com> burst forth on this most auspicious
occasion with the following:

> On Dec 2, 9:55 pm, Paul Heslop <paul.hes....RemoveThis@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> GTA4 is not as bad as painted
>
> That's all I was really trying to say. I do love it, though, and
> there are some real stand out bits. The story cut scenes are
> brilliant overall and some (like the one where Niko and Roman are tied
> up in the basement by Dmitri's(?) goons) are hilarious. If there has
> ever been a better scripted and acted game story, I'd like to know
> what it is because I want to play /that/ game.
>

Have you played Heavenly Sword? Yes, it is short, but it is fun, and the
cutscenes are beyond compare. I can't totally recommend buying it at
full price, but if you can pick it up somewhere for $30 or so, you'll
have a blast. The chemistry between the villains, and between them and
the protagonists is excellent, thanks in no small part to Andy Serkis'
performance and direction.

On Dec 3, 9:33 pm, snark <sna... RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:
> SimonH wrote:
> > I would like to know what you drive actually.  If you drive it at full
> > speed and swing the wheel to full lock while yanking on the handbrake
> > (as you would in, for the sake of argument, San Andreas) can you make
> > it round a corner cleanly?  Because my BMW 328 would slot you
> > backwards through a shop window.
>
> Not fair. Not fair at all. There's no way a console computer game is
> going to realistically simulate real driving. Pushing a thumbstick all
> the way to the right should in no way be compared to turning a
> steering wheel to full lock, and pressing a button should in no way be
> compared to yanking on a handbrake. Asking someone to accurately
> simulate driving a vehicle using a console controller is like asking
> someone to do needlepoint whilst wearing boxing gloves.

I wish people would read and think about what I am saying. Usenet is
as infuriating as it always was

The whole point is that it is *much easier* to simulate *more*
realistic driving in GTA IV *than in any previous version of the
game.*

And before you, or anyone else says it, *no*, I am not implying that
you can't finesse the handling of a car in SA. What I am saying is
that it is a lot easier and more realistic in IV. Some of this is
down to the new control layout and some of it is down to the way the
different vehicles respond to control input.

Paul H gets it, so I can't have been that oblique.

What we could argue (pointlessly) is which is more fun. There are
clearly two camps here that will just have to agree to differ.


Si

On Dec 4, 5:48 am, phexitol <phx:0...@distance.ni-879/00.001> wrote:
> Excited after finally graduating kindergarten after 20 gruelling years,
> SimonH <simon.huds... DeleteThis @gmail.com> burst forth on this most auspicious
> occasion with the following:
>
> > On Dec 2, 9:55 pm, Paul Heslop <paul.hes... DeleteThis @blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
>
> >> GTA4 is not as bad as painted
>
> > That's all I was really trying to say.  I do love it, though, and
> > there are some real stand out bits.  The story cut scenes are
> > brilliant overall and some (like the one where Niko and Roman are tied
> > up in the basement by Dmitri's(?) goons) are hilarious.  If there has
> > ever been a better scripted and acted game story, I'd like to know
> > what it is because I want to play /that/ game.
>
> Have you played Heavenly Sword?

>Yes, it is short, but it is fun, and the
> cutscenes are beyond compare. I can't totally recommend buying it at
> full price, but if you can pick it up somewhere for $30 or so, you'll
> have a blast. The chemistry between the villains, and between them and
> the protagonists is excellent, thanks in no small part to Andy Serkis'
> performance and direction.

My 360 would choke on it, I'm afraid. It does look quite good
though. I wonder if Serkis has been or will be involved in anything
else.

SimonH wrote:
> I wish people would read and think about what I am saying.  Usenet is
> as infuriating as it always was

I did read it. I may have mis-interpreted it, but I did read it, and I
did think about it. And I'm not Usenet, I'm a person, a fallible
person. My mistake was probably in not going back and reading your
*other* posts to get some context for your analogy.

Phil Hibbs.