@vizruy1:

My freezes turned out to be my console rather than the game. They went away completely except for the random 1-in-50 freeze joining MP games that everyone gets.

You might have a DVD drive on the way out.

SeedyROM

@Gray665:
Yeah, I really doubt either of us is going to change the other one's mind on this. I played the game for a good 35 hours before I gave up on it, and frankly, the trade-in for MGS4 was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

I'll pick it up used later on when the price actually matches the enjoyment level. 60 is just too much for it right now, when it comes to what I'm looking for out of the game.

Archaotic

I've nearly finished the game, and I've loved it the whole way through. However, I do have a minor gripe with the pacing, where it seems like a step down to go from Algonquin to an Alderney that seems designed with one of Springsteen's epic stage rants about Jersey as a barren land of tumbleweeds and lost dreams in mind.

The safehouse sucks, your friends become annoying and force you to use a taxi rather than drive for 10 minutes between boroughs just to play darts, and there arent even many restaurants to regen health quickly.

I like the quasi Sopranos tribute with the Jersey mobsters, but the scenery sure sucks in Alderney.

Jonaconda

@Archaotic: Fair enough, although I've found plenty of ways to bend the rules in IV.

Maybe Im just weird, but I like the side missions, the races, etc. I still find the firefights to be a lot of fun. I like the assasin and most wanted stuff, mainly because I like the way the core gameplay mechanics operate and how the world reacts to them. I didnt feel that way about the previous GTAs. I thought the gameplay was pretty weak, so even though you could do lots more crazy shit, it just didn't "feel" as good, at least to me. But, like you said, immersion works for some and not for others.

Gray665

@Archaotic: Aye. I wasn't directing it towards this thread, just in general. 'Twas a misunderstanding, is all. :)

@Badmofo: "Meaningful" comment, then you fanboy it up? Err...

ShaggE

@feartheraven: Maybe not sick, but definitely pissed, since reviews are what swayed me towards purchasing the game (I wasn't planning to initially).

I know many will disagree, but I'll always consider GTAIV a textbook case of reviewers being dazzled into perfect scores - it seems like they collectively went "Oooo, shiny!" and hurried off to write their reviews before the glitter had worn off, after marathon playing sessions at Rockstar's offices (and Konami get crucified for the NDA on MGS4? Gimme a break... at least they gave prospective reviewers plenty of time to experience the game).

It's sad when professionals act with the critical perspective of an ecstatic fan on a gamefaqs message board. But at least, next time a game gets unanimous praise, I'll know better.

Antiterra

I've never played any of the previous GTA games so maybe I don't understand, but I really like GTA IV. The dialogue and voice acting is great, the vehicles are fun to drive and there is plenty to keep me busy.

The free play mode is also some of the most fun I've had online with my xbox.

Riding in a city bus with three of your friends, being pursued by every cop in Liberty City, is a very memorable kind of fun.

Oh, and, uh.. Yay for patches!

Slothboy

@Gray665:
Dude, you know you'd love an unlockable rail gun. Don't even try to deny it.

My problem with the game was that everything that entertained me about San Andreas (co-op katana rampages, driving the tank through the city and seeing how long I could survive against the army, parachuting or bike jumping off of the biggest structures in the world, etc) are all GONE. It's been stripped down to the bare bones, almost like the game wants you to "finish the plot and go play multiplayer". The constant phone calls trying to get you to advance the plot sure seem to give me that message, at least.

Basically, Immersion is one of those things that works for some people and doesn't work for others. When I'm playing a game, I always know I'm playing a game, and as such I prefer bending the rules instead of just sticking to them.

@ShaggE:
Yeah, it's definitely cool to hate on the "big guy" in the room, no question. But a lot of people here do have legitimate complaints...

Archaotic

@ everyone; (this is me trying to leave a meaningful comment this time) I felt that what GTA IV is lacking is because of the fact it is multiplatform. If Rockstar didn't have had to cope with fitting the game on the 360, it could've and probably would've been much deeper. Or is that just me? Next GTA PS3 exclusive please, ktnxbye.

Badmofo

@feartheraven:
Co-sign.

I heavily enjoyed the game when it came out and I ran through the story. But after beating the story I really haven't played the game that much. I tried to get into the MP which seems fun and all but it isn't as deep as others claim. If the DLC doesn't come out till 2009 I don't even know if I will still be interested by then.

However I was still truly awestruck at how well the re-creation of NYC was done. And just the little things such as hitting a mailbox and seeing all the letters fly out or hitting a hydrant and the water spurting.

Also the random dialogue truly has that NYC flavor. For example this quote won't be spot on but it is close enough to get the gist. After getting out of my newly acquired Playboy X's apartment I heard someone on the street say "Damn I am pretty high but I could still smoke another bowl." And then after walking down the street I overheard someone say "Let's go copp some haze." Things like this were just ridiculous to me and made me quite happy.

Bootleg Zani

@Archaotic: Don't get me wrong. GTAIV is far from perfect. It's buggy as all fuck, it freezes, it has the same damn car clone bug that GTA3 had, and so on and so forth.

I'm just talking about the sudden influx in "GTAIV sucks!" posts throughout the internet. Normally I'd say "Oh, they just don't like it. Cool beans." But every time a game breaks records or gets praised, people come out of the woodwork to bash it.

ShaggE

@Archaotic: For me Vice City and San Andreas were not immersive. GTAIV has been. I've never played a GTA game this much. I love that the world feels like an actual world, the physics are great, the day/night and weather cycles are great. It just feels much less videogamey then the previous versions to me. As for the weapons, I doubt you'd be able find much more than those on the streets of New York. What were you expecting, UT style railguns and shit? Its supposed to be set in a realistic city. I dunno. Im not trying to say you are wrong, more that I strongly disagree that the previous GTA's are beter than IV. For me, this one is in a class all its own.

Gray665

@ShaggE:
Or perhaps people actually have legitimate issues with the game and have every right, having spent over $60 on it, to voice those issues in a public forum? No game is perfect, and GTA4 is probably the shining example of that.

Archaotic

@qBIRD: Because it's trendy to hate whatever is popular.

Ontopic: Yay! I HATED that countdown reset. There's still a lot of patching needed, but that was one of my biggest pet peeves.

ShaggE

I'd really like to see a screen-resize feature. The one included in MGS4 is PERFECT and should be included in every AAA title.

Or maybe I just need to get the overscan on my TV fixed... boo to subtitles getting cut off in 1080i mode ;)

Ssylex

How do I even use their website?

thebattousai185

@feartheraven: If that makes you sick, then all the 10/10s MGS4 has gotten must also make you sick. Right? Because no game is perfect (even though most reviewers state that a 10/10 is NOT perfect). I'm not trying to turn this into a pissing match, but if you are gonna get all up in arms over GTA4's reviews then you have to do the same for every other major release that has been reviewed extremely well because I can guarantee you that for every person who thinks the game deserves the score it got there are one or more people who think otherwise (especially on Kotaku). At the end of the day, its pointless. I'm tired of people accusing reviewers of bias or payola or whatever. The games deserve the scores they get, by and large. That doesnt mean you have to agree, but for the love of god stop with the "I'm so outraged this game got a 10 OMG!".

Gray665

@DaPress:
Destructible environments would've been a plus, as would've been more unique weapons (seriously, the weapon selection was the most utterly generic FPS fare in the universe), having the tank back, the ability to actually interact with the environment and pedestrians in meaningful ways...co-op would've helped a lot too.

As opposed to just driving people over or shooting them for hours on end, which we've been able to do since GTA3.

My problem isn't that the game's bad. My problem is that San Andreas and even Vice City to a degree were such better games that they prove Rockstar could've done better if they weren't spending all of their efforts on graphics and a tacked-on multiplayer mode.

Archaotic

@Archaotic: I humbly disagree. If you don't think GTA IV takes reality and fucks around with it, then you're probably after destructible environments or.. I don't know what. The game delivered as promised -- it was a giant leap forward for the series, wrapped in what arguably is the best story in a game this generation.

I think people are mostly unhappy because of (as I mentioned above) slightly repetitive missions and the fact that once they clear it, then don't want to replay it. The answer to that is the route you pursued -- a trade in.

DaPress

Sexy

Badmofo

@vanderblade:
I got $45.50 when I traded it in towards MGS4.

Archaotic

@Jazhuis:
I had little trouble with the driving myself. The motorcycles sucked, but only because shooting and driving those at the same time was basically a suicide note at 60 MPH.

@DaPress:
I've been to NYC multiple times, and the recreation of the city itself is impressive, but as Guillermo del Toro said, I have no interest reality unless it's viewed through a twisted mirror. The pursuit of recreating reality means nothing to me unless I can take that reality and fuck around with it, something the game simply doesn't let you do.

Archaotic

@mphz: @feartheraven: I agree with you both. Now I can't even sell it for a decent price, because the market (read: ebay) is flooded.

Duped. I was duped.

vanderblade

@Antiterra:
doesn't it make you sick?

feartheraven

why is everybody hating on this game? you're all a bunch of crybabies. It is still the funnest game to play over and over and I have 24 PS3 games..plus numerous PSN games.

qBIRD

um..since this patch came out..I can no longer connect to any of international friends (IE UK)..if they invite me it tells me the room no longer exists and if I invite them, the same thing. Thanks for the great patch!

qBIRD

@feartheraven: IGN and the entire gaming press minus a few, very few exceptions.

Antiterra

@All: Claptrap. This is still a phenomenal game, despite the minor bouts of repetitiveness it experiences. Such insane attention to detail and recreating a warped, genuinely funny semblance of reality will definitely keep me playing until the DLC comes out.

Maybe if you've never seen NYC you can't appreciate everything GTAIV offers, but I for one was blown away.

Sorry for the minirant, but felt I had to defend one of the best games I've ever played.
(Played to completion on Xbox 360, currently on second playthrough for the Liberty City Minute and Half a Million achievements. ;D )

DaPress

haven't played it since i beat the story. fuck ign for giving it a 10.

feartheraven

I guess these patches are appeasing the multiplayer, which I certainly need to start playing more of.

Br00klyn-Grenade

@Archaotic: @thefragilenin: Again, not disagreeing about the lack of breadth of gameplay. If the writing hadn't been able to keep me interested in the characters (a GTA first, at least for me), I probably would have just put it off as a rental.

The driving, though, I can't complain about. I had to train myself to finesse it a bit, but I enjoy it. I do think I understand where people are complaining, though.

Jazhuis

"them there daily fixins be good for y'all"

Adam Rock

Everytime i play GTA4 i want to take my eyes out, too bad there is no patch for the low resolution graphics... usually the graphics don't bother me but after playing MGS4 i can't look at any other games :(
Anyway, the MP of GTA4 is amazing :P

symphony_of_the_night

still no fix for players stuck with no where to go after that some1 speacial mission though. guess the dust will collect ont GTA4 for a few more weeks.

fresh1

Can I play it in color now?

nomadder

@vizruy1: It only freezes on me every one out of fifty times trying to connect to an online game.

Lets just hope they don't fix that one swingset that makes you fly. I still haven't mastered it.

Americo

still can't play this game on my 60gb PS3
newest firmware update didn't fix anything
freezes on the initial load screen

djmonsoon

@Jazhuis
I think both, at least those were my two biggest complaints with the game

thefragilenin

@Jazhuis:
Most of the complaints I've seen are about lack of mission variety and the insane amount of stuff that was cut out from San Andreas, making the experience much less varied and entertaining than the last few games.

Basically, the core experience is fine (save for the repetition), but shame on you if you want to do anything off the beaten path, because there isn't anything there.

Archaotic

@mphz: @glibby: @SigmundTheSeaMonster: Are most of the complaints about the repetitive missions (no real argument there), or still complaining about the driving?

Jazhuis

@kumuasata:
I'm in the same boat as you. Just plain stopped playing. Of course, getting frustrated with the repetitive missions and trading the game in for MGS4 would kinda have a hand in that.

I'm gonna pick it up used once the price drops a bit, see if it's actually worth finishing then. By then we'll have found out of the PS3 version is getting any DLC (I'm not starting a new save on the 360 version, period...way too much work), and I'll have NO games to play instead of too many!

Archaotic

I hope they didn't fix the car-cannon bug :>

infi

@glibby:
It's a great patch. Probably one of the best they've ever done.

Archaotic

Can you pick up trash cans now and throw them? No? Then Rockstar has failed as a game developer. This is a running joke in my circle.

Ryodestined

I just finished the last mission yesterday (I took the revenge angle and killed Peligrino).

@mphz: Amen mphz!

SigmundTheSeaMonster

Has anyone heard about the possibility of this game coming to PC? If they port it over to the PC I will wait for that version, even if it's another year away.

homernoy

@mphz: The patch for that is actually under a different name, they're calling it MGS4.

glibby

I've stopped playing this game altogether. If rockstar doesn't get that DLC out sooner than Q1 2009, they may start losing momentum on overall sales :x

Hope that made sense, im kinda stoned xD

kumuasata

Too bad the patch doesn't fix the boring, repetitive missions or make the driving any less of a pain in the urethra.

mphz

How about an option that allows one to become host of their own game if they join one and don't like the settings, instead of immediately trying to kick the host just because they aren't trying to play the same GTA Race settings every time? :(

Jazhuis

Meh, I just couldn't get into the MP. CoD4 all the way.

nonpareil

Their daily fix?

homernoy

I see what you did there, with the pic, Fahey...

Shiryu

This game freezes so much on my 360. it pisses me off! How about fixing that Rockstar?

vizruy1

Haha yikes, looks like the love for GTAIV has run dry in this place.

Wolfers

swingset glitch better damn well work still..

Akmed

@Jonaconda: Alderney is a blighted pox on the face of Liberty City. But I think it was designed that way.

Yeah, I'd like some new toys as part of the DLC or a future patch or something. Taking a helicopter to the top of Star Junction and then base-jumping off would be keen.

Actually, scratch that. The ability for a passenger to fire a flipping rocket launcher out of the helicopter (a la Little Jacob) would be the best thing they could patch in. I understand the lack of controls for the pilot, but RL-armed helicopters would make Cops'n'Crooks/Turf War a whole new game.

Jazhuis

I'm wondering if anyone's having the same problem I am with GTA IV on the 360 and whether this patch has fixed things. Whenever I play the game for about five minutes, I get a hard freeze that requires a manual system reboot. Rockstar suggested I clear my hard drive's cache, which I did. That upped my play time by a minute or so, but the same freeze eventually happened again.

Has anyone had this problem resolved by the new patch? I'm thinking it's a software issue (or at least this particular software's interaction with my machine), because GTA is the only game I own that freezes. I can play Mass Effect, Oblivion, BioShock, etc. for hours at a time with no problem.

Am-Sci

No custom soundtracks for PS3 = fail.

slomo788

The bitching about this game is strong in this thread.

SeedyROM

maybe it'll make it a quality game with a story that doesn't suck nuts
..oh wait, nope. whatever, i traded that shit in anyway.

MistaJeff

I just hope they didn't fix the "car cannon," because that glitch is just plain awesome!

DugDawg

For all of those people actually bold enough to state VC or SA can even touch IV, go back and play those games. They are hardly even playable now that IV is out.

I guess people liked timed missions, clothing options, and tanks better then actually tight controls and gameplay.

Muisee

Good patch I guess. I want me some DLC that will add endless replay value i.e randomised missions?

flukielukie

Neato, can't wait for the DLC.

Talleh

@Wolfers: Never had any. Bought the game, it froze on me every five minutes, and they told me the only solution was to trade in my entire console to play it.

Maldron

@Talleh: when is the DLC coming out
its been a while since i heard news from that.

kjcwashere

Nearly two months later...

@Muisee: "For all of those people actually bold enough to state VC or SA can even touch IV, go back and play those games. They are hardly even playable now that IV is out."

GTA4 is a blurry mess of a 1000 muted browns. The physics engine sucks and if I want to take a girl on a date I'd actually go on a date... or play Second Life. GTA4 is the most over hyped piece of garbage shit into the canals of this generation. It's not entirely bad, just far from deserving the flocks of worship heaped at its feet.

Replica23

For some reason I find the GTA single player to be entertaining even after finishing the game. I just fool around and get NPCs arrested, ride dirtbikes around the skatepark, fly helicopters etc.

shak_0

@Maldron: Which system?

Barf#1

@Replica23:

Wow...

Muisee

i should hope that this fixes this lag i've been having. cant drive at high-speeds..the roads/tree's/lightposts/fences/etc..dissapear. :(

pissa

The hype for this game is dead, finally.

As for the patch, it doesn't even scratch the surface of the issues people have been going on about.

roy1751

@Muisee: I was just playing GTA:SA the other day actually, and still found it quite fun...

... and yes, I do miss the massive amount of clothing options, and tanks, and running around finding stupid stuff.

GTAIV is a great game, but just doesn't have the replayability. That's my opinion. I'll throw San Andreas on 3 years from now for some quick fun. I doubt I'd do that with GTAIV.

MrBionic

@MrBionic:

People put 100 hours into the game and still claim it doesn't have re-playability. I guess I never wasted time in SA with things like taxi missions and tanks. What GTA is to me is something very different then what it is to the general fan base I guess.

SA is dated and I cannot even imagine how people play it now that they have IV. IV is everything I wanted in a sandbox title, now R* will have to change all of it for the next game. Terrible driving, no story, really just SA: next-gen. Oh well, I will always have western RPGs to innovate and keep me interested, instead of doing the same things over and over.

Muisee

@Muisee: I like the way you think.

Gray665

what needs to be fixed??

I haven't had a single problem with my 360 version

Everything is running perfect..:D

kawalin