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Who here picked up their copy of GTA 4 yesterday? I was lucky enough to find one near me without having to pre-order, but I had to go in 6 different shops before I found it thanks to it's popularity.
Initial impressions are pretty positive. It is a major GTA game and you can generally know what to expect from that. The main things that have struck me so far are car doors and slow moving vehicles, both of which hurt or block you a lot more than previous versions. The physics is great and having someone hang on to your car door handle as you go driving off is quite entertaining. The one thing I am not so sure about is that the police are on you much faster in this GTA, but it is a little bit easier/more logical to get away from them now.
Did anyone have any trouble with the PS3 version? I have the xbox version and did not have any of the game freezing problems that I have seen described online.
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Yeah, I played it at my friend's house. We went to the midnight release and played it all the next day. It's been edited here in Aus, the planes are gone, as are a few other particularly nasty things.
People are like dice, a certain Frenchman said that. You throw yourself in the direction of your own choosing. People are free because they can do that. Everyone's circumstances are different, but no matter how small the choice, at the very least, you can throw yourself. It's not chance or fate. It's the choice you made.
I plan on picking it up over the weekend. This will be the first GTA I've actually purchased. I played the multiplayer at a friends and it was a blast.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
Cheese Elemental wrote:Yeah, I played it at my friend's house. We went to the midnight release and played it all the next day. It's been edited here in Aus, the planes are gone, as are a few other particularly nasty things.
I was planning to import from Europe, but I couldnt be bothered. Luckily the only scene that has been removed from the game is one where you violate a man with your gun. Hands up who want to see that badly enough to pay $20 S&H.
Armies Owned: Iron Warriors, Tau
Undead Titan Log Malfred: Terminator Armor has always had room for extra boobage.
Drake_Marcus: It's true- that's why the Space Wolves love termie armour so much. The whole "bear" thing they've got going on is just a thinly veiled cover-up of their huge, hairy cleavage.
Me and my friends were going to go to the midnight release, but when we got into the city at 4 in the afternoon the shop we were going to was already selling it, even though it was the 28th.
We played it all night long on 2 tvs. We all had a great time, but I think everyone was a little tired afterwards. PS3 worked great, and I can't comment on the Xbox version. I'd definitely reccomend it.
Until now I was not really interested in the series since I played part two. I never really liked "realistic" settings in my videogames and San Andreas had way to many Gangstas for my taste.
Then I read the revies for GTA4. It got a 10 out of 10 on IGN, the last game that got that score was Ocarina of Time. So I thought I might give it a try, and I have to say I am impressed. I Still prefer more fantasy in my games, but this game is nonetheless, a true masterpiece.
GTA2 was fantastic (I have been playing them since the original GTA on PC), and GTA2 perfected the top down gameplay. The feel and amusing story was lost a bit in the move to GTA3, which I was hesitant to start playing, simply because I enjoyed the 2d versions so much. I got it and thought it was cool but it did not feel the same as GTA2. Vice city was a lot closer, and combined GTA3 and GTA2 in my mind. San Andreas was a masterpiece and I still play it from time to time. The size of the world was amazing and the gangsta aspect is only a very small part of it (perhaps the first 15% and last 5% of the story). Vice city feels like a massive step back from GTA4, but could still be enjoyed. San Andreas is worth checking out if you enjoy GTA4 and want something to follow it up with as some parts of GTA4 feel like a step back from san andreas (smaller map, no countryside, no airplanes, no secret military projects to steal, no diving underwater, no base jumping, fewer boats, only one city instead of 3, etc). GTA4 is good fun and very in depth, but in terms of character and things you notice, whereas san andreas was in depth due to the sheer scale of the world. All great games though
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The scale was bigger in San Andreas, but GTA4's world is much more immersive and planned out. I also thought the characterization was much better in 4.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
Ahtman wrote:The scale was bigger in San Andreas, but GTA4's world is much more immersive and planned out. I also thought the characterization was much better in 4.
I agree (and is what I meant in my just-before-bed post above ). 4 is certainly more realistic too.
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Ahtman wrote:The scale was bigger in San Andreas, but GTA4's world is much more immersive and planned out. I also thought the characterization was much better in 4.
I agree (and is what I meant in my just-before-bed post above ). 4 is certainly more realistic too.
On a side note, I find it amusing that I can run down pedestrians and crash into non-police cars right in front of an officer and they don't care, but if I slightly tap a cruiser going all of 2 miles an hour, the blues come on and I get chased down...
And so, due to rising costs of maintaining the Golden Throne, the Emperor's finest accountants spoke to the Demigurg. A deal was forged in blood and extensive paperwork for a sub-prime mortgage with a 5/1 ARM on the Imperial Palace. And lo, in the following years the housing market did tumble and the rate skyrocketed leaving the Emperor's coffers bare. A dark time has begun for the Imperium, the tithes can not keep up with the balloon payments and the Imperial Palace and its contents, including the Golden Throne, have fallen into foreclosure. With an impending auction on the horizon mankind holds its breath as it waits to see who will gain possession of the corpse-god and thus, the fate of humanity......
But you can't steal a Car while there's an officer around. You also wouldn't stand a chance if the cops came chasing after you every time you crash into another civilian car, at least if you drive the non-boring way .
I love it, the only slightly annoying thing is how often you have to do 'friend' things like go bowling or play pool or summat. And getting drunk is a *really* bad idea, especially if you go to a bar miles away from your safehouse, and you have to drive back...The physics are great, and there's some really nice elements to the story. The draw distance is very impressive, and when you really blast it in a fast car, the graphics are damn near photo-realism. A masterpiece and nothing short. Here's a great article about it by Charlie Brooker, a man who is nothing short of a genius. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/may/12/games
Opinions are like arseholes. Everyone's got one and they all stink.
I actually splashed out on a PS3 pretty much solely for this game, and you ask me it was worth it. Been following the titles through from the first, and while i do think GTA3 lacked something, and GTA San Andreas failed to engage me i did love Vice City, i thought it was rather witty and more importantly good fun.
But GTA4 is a master piece, everything does seem more real, little touches like the phone are great. And i dont know if its because characters and the world seems a little more realistic i dont seem to be doing the mad running round and killing everything for the hell of it i ended up doing alot in the previous games. Which is a good thing, suppose it means its creating an open world while somehow imposing limits to.
Characters are great, cars are great and the story is fantastic.
Though have to say i have had no problems at all with my PS3 version.
If one of the story characters gets killed in a mission the mission fails and you get a 'retry mission' icon on your phone that lets you restart the mission when you want to (along with dead person being back alive, etc).
If you kill a 'friend' outside of a mission (when you're just hanging out with them) they go to the hospital and call you for a ride when they get out.
In short, you can never fully 'derail' the story.
I beat the game after pouring a bunch of time and effort into all the sub-missions like stealing cars, racing and killing off the police's most wanted.
Great, great game. I'm very tempted to play the story again just to see what the different story options give you. This time I'd definitely just stick right to the missions though.
I'm still working my way through the game for the first time and I agree with Yak, I'm going to have to play it through again to see what effect killing X character instead of Y has on the storyline...
And so, due to rising costs of maintaining the Golden Throne, the Emperor's finest accountants spoke to the Demigurg. A deal was forged in blood and extensive paperwork for a sub-prime mortgage with a 5/1 ARM on the Imperial Palace. And lo, in the following years the housing market did tumble and the rate skyrocketed leaving the Emperor's coffers bare. A dark time has begun for the Imperium, the tithes can not keep up with the balloon payments and the Imperial Palace and its contents, including the Golden Throne, have fallen into foreclosure. With an impending auction on the horizon mankind holds its breath as it waits to see who will gain possession of the corpse-god and thus, the fate of humanity......
And so, due to rising costs of maintaining the Golden Throne, the Emperor's finest accountants spoke to the Demigurg. A deal was forged in blood and extensive paperwork for a sub-prime mortgage with a 5/1 ARM on the Imperial Palace. And lo, in the following years the housing market did tumble and the rate skyrocketed leaving the Emperor's coffers bare. A dark time has begun for the Imperium, the tithes can not keep up with the balloon payments and the Imperial Palace and its contents, including the Golden Throne, have fallen into foreclosure. With an impending auction on the horizon mankind holds its breath as it waits to see who will gain possession of the corpse-god and thus, the fate of humanity......
well, ending. I mean, I knew something was gonna happen the way the game went, but it would've been nice if Niko could have gotten a "real" happy end. Either Kate likes you for doing the right thing and get's killed after that, or you decide to do the deal with Dimitri, which get's Roman killed, but Kate won't talk to you no more.
What I would be interested in, are there any changes if you decide to kill Darko? I spared him, but it didn't seem like it had much effect. I would also be interested to hear, how the story goes along if you kill Derrick Mcrearie insteead of Francis. I know that killing Dwayne is a bad choice.
In the end, I'm very satisfied. Great game, not perfect, bit really, really impressive. Now I have a week to find secrets, before Smash Bros. arrives in europe.
Copies of Grand Theft Auto IV have been pulled in Thailand after a teenager confessed to murdering a taxi driver.
The 18-year-old high school student is accused of stabbing the cab driver to death by trying to copy a scene from the game.
The biggest video game publisher in the south-east Asian country, New Era Interactive Media, has told retailers to stop selling GTA IV.
It is due to be replaced by another video game title.
Thai newspapers say the teenager, whose name has been withheld, was arrested while trying to steer a cab backwards out of a Bangkok street with the driver still in the back seat.
Police claim the 18-year-old confessed to stealing the taxi and said he killed the 54-year-old driver after he fought back. The teenager could face the death penalty if he is found guilty.
Bangkok police Captain Veerarit Pipatanasak said: "He wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game.
He wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game.
Captain Veerarit Pipatanasak
Bangkok police
"He wanted money to play the game. His parents, who work as civil servants, did not have enough money to give him."
Thailand's Culture Ministry has recently been pushing for tougher regulation of games like Grand Theft Auto.
It wants stricter age ratings and restrictions on the hours that people can play games in arcades.
Ladda Thangsupachai, director of the ministry's Cultural Surveillance Centre, said: "This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse. Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner."
So I'm the only one who found the game turgid, irritating and hackneyed beyond belief?
Got it on the day of release, tried to like, couldn't. Cars are downright uncontrolable, breaks non existent, targetting cack....and the music. There is only so much Hip-Hop a man can stand, and that is none whatsoever. What happened to a decent Rock Station? And no, Phil 'Bloody' Collins is NOT Rock!
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Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:So I'm the only one who found the game turgid, irritating and hackneyed beyond belief?
Got it on the day of release, tried to like, couldn't. Cars are downright uncontrolable, breaks non existent, targetting cack....and the music. There is only so much Hip-Hop a man can stand, and that is none whatsoever. What happened to a decent Rock Station? And no, Phil 'Bloody' Collins is NOT Rock!
While I don't dislike the game as much as you do, I can see where you're coming from.
Also, I have fond memories of just flying around San Andreas aimlessly while Tom Petty blasted from the in-game radio, and there was never a point in GTA IV where I felt the same way. It just always felt like there was something missing. (Airplanes, wide-open spaces, Tom Petty?)
Today I didn't even have to use my hot-shot las; I gotta say it was a good day.
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ending. I mean, I knew something was gonna happen the way the game went, but it would've been nice if Niko could have gotten a "real" happy end. Either Kate likes you for doing the right thing and get's killed after that, or you decide to do the deal with Dimitri, which get's Roman killed, but Kate won't talk to you no more. 
