Grand Theft Auto IV First Impressions? Warning: Here Be Spoilers!

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KieranMurphy

KieranMurphy

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murphykieran
So what does everyone think so far? The game really hasn't taken off action-wise for me yet. Still doing simple driving missions and exploring. 2.5 hours in and I haven't even shot a gun. But it's nicely and slowly building up. I'm in no hurry. I like that it's easing you in, let you get to know the layout and the game mechanics before things start getting more hardcore.

Does it explain in the game why the rest is blocked off? I walked up to the cop on a bridge thinking he'd maybe explain to me but instead he opened fire, I got a six-star wanted level and 2 minutes later I was dead.

I wonder how the whole moral making think will work out? I wonder how often you'll have choices to let someone live or die.

Also, I've just done a mission with Little Jacob and he's hilarious. That crazy Jamaican accent.

So far so good.

Feel free to posts your own thoughts on the game here.
 
ive played 7.5hrs non stop since i got home from work. Completed about 25 missions or so.

Its really nice, took some time (still taking some time) to be fully 100% with the controls, but its getting their.

I wont say much but in 1 mission you choose to kill a guy or not.. i choose to kill him.. wonder what happens if i choose not to.. interesting..
 
I choose to kill him. I don't know if there's consequences yet. I imagine there, otherwise what's the point?
 
I chose not to kill him, he said that he would never return to that area and that he owed me his life, then ran off.
 
I also found it slow at the start but it's a really good way to get into the game. I have now done about four missions with loads of gunfire and it took me about four attemts on each one. I keep running in with just a pistol when I should really be buying new guns before going in.

I had a free roam online today although I found it to be just like deathmatch, people running around blowing the crap out of eachother. Think I need to get together with some GTP members for some real free roam exploring.
 
Jacks
I chose not to kill him, he said that he would never return to that area and that he owed me his life, then ran off.
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Gave him a quick bullet to the head.

Brilliant game by the way, worth waiting around Tesco at midnight! :D
 
KieranMurphy
I choose to kill him. I don't know if there's consequences yet. I imagine there, otherwise what's the point?
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Again i dont want to say too much.. But last night i also did a mission for a guy (dude with glasses who eats painkillers) and i had to kill someone he didnt want to kill, but because i killed the son of that dude (whom i belive was ivan) then i had no choice.

I wont reveal any further names yet, but im wondering what would have happened if i didnt kill ivan.
 
Yeah, I just completed that mission (the mission for the painkillers guy - Dmitri). I didn't even know you had a choice in killing Ivan. As soon as it gave me instructions on how to execute him, I just blew his brains out.

edit: No, I remember now, Ivan wasn't the guys son, some guy called Petrovic you kill his son. Is he the guy you either let live or kick off the ledge? I kicked him off.
 
KieranMurphy
Does it explain in the game why the rest is blocked off? I walked up to the cop on a bridge thinking he'd maybe explain to me but instead he opened fire, I got a six-star wanted level and 2 minutes later I was dead.
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They say that they're closed due to terrorism and national security.
 
KieranMurphy
Yeah, I just completed that mission (the mission for the painkillers guy - Dmitri). I didn't even know you had a choice in killing Ivan. As soon as it gave me instructions on how to execute him, I just blew his brains out.

edit: No, I remember now, Ivan wasn't the guys son, some guy called Petrovic you kill his son. Is he the guy you either let live or kick off the ledge? I kicked him off.
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It seems you had no choice to excute the son of petrovic (who isnt ivan), which promted Dimritri to tell you to kill that guy. So far it seems the killing (or letting him live) of Ivan hasnt effected gameplay yet.. The master and the Molotov happens either way.

Edit: how cool is brucie!! hahaha. I love his character so funny...

btw how do i do spoiler tags? might be the best way, put info in spoiler tags, with a clue above that way you know if you want to read it or not, depending if your up that far in the game.
 
it better be good. i'm picking up my special edition after i post this. we should all have a get together in the game.
 
I'm pretty disappointed in both the controls and the camera movement, it seems R* could have improved how the game flows; I actually favor how the previous GTAs felt in terms of camera positioning while walking/driving.
 
^ Agree. The camera seems to be a bit lose.
 
Well, the game is fantastic. I’d like to create a small list on three things which I like, and dislike about the game. :)

👍:

Graphics, and lighting

Smashing Pumpkins - 1979

Body movements, and rag-doll effects

👎:

Loose chase camera (as mentioned above)

Controls are a bit odd. Reversing a car without the L2 and R2 (rear/side views) buttons can be tricky.

No car customization. Even just choosing some paint and rims would have been nice.
 
I hate the lighting, the whole game seems to dark.

But with the controls you can revert them back to classic in the menu, which I did right away.
 
Joey D
I hate the lighting, the whole game seems to dark.
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As did I. I found it nigh on impossible to see in a dark. I went to the settings and notched the brightness on it's max setting and the contrast up 1 notch. Now it's much better.
 
Casio
As did I. I found it nigh on impossible to see in a dark. I went to the settings and notched the brightness on it's max setting and the contrast up 1 notch. Now it's much better.
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Alright cool, I'll have to do that.
 
Joey D
I hate the lighting, the whole game seems to dark.
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I had to increase the brightness and contrast otherwise I couldn't see anything properly at night in the game. I find the same thing with most games, I don't know if it's me or just my TV.

But with the controls you can revert them back to classic in the menu, which I did right away.
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I might do that. I still find myself trying to use the PS2 controls for switching weapons and for braking and accelerating, even after 7 hours play.
 
well, i went to pick up my game last night and didnt make it, the store was closed by the time i got there
 
Joey D
But with the controls you can revert them back to classic in the menu, which I did right away.
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Yep, did that... and invert aiming works very well for me. 👍

It's not really the same 'classic' controls as in GTA3, VC, SA, etc... they did make a few bad changes.

To get an instant rear view (in classic configuration), you must hold down the R3 button, while holding square (to reverse the car) at the same time. It doesn't quite seem right for me... as you either need to share your thumb between square and R3, or use two fingers for the top of your controller at the same time. :scared:
 
I never understood why gaming companies do that. If you have a control scheme that works well and have been using for ages just keep it because you'll confuse the hell out of veteran players.
 
I think its better to spend an hour to just re-learn the new type. I think it makes it easer once all is said and done.
 
So I played it all last night and it definetly lived up to its hype. Only beefs I can think of is that all of the cars handling obviously fail compared to older series, but I can get used to it. Second this game is really dark on my tv but I'll have to fiddle with my settings when I get home from school this afternoon. Other than that... Clearly the best game I own.
 
No planes, no tank, no jet pack, no parachute, no bicycles, no gambling, no underwater swimming, no driving or flying schools and a smaller map than San Andreas. How on earth is this better than San Andreas apart from graphics. After this major disappointment i am now hoping they rerelease San Andreas for the PS3 with better graphics and that might actually come close to what i was expecting.
 
I love all the little details. Brakes screeching when you stop, subtle facial expressions (although Niko has some really weird ones that don't make sense), cars using turn signals (no more running into cars making random turns!!), and taxi rides. Taxi rides are a godsend, as there is a lot of traveling between islands. I'd gladly spend $30 to skip that, since you get so much money from Brucie's mission anyway.

Anyone also noticed when you hit cars and stuff with Brucie in your car, he sometimes yells out "Dicks!" :lol:
 
battie83
No planes, no tank, no jet pack, no parachute, no bicycles, no gambling, no underwater swimming, no driving or flying schools and a smaller map than San Andreas. How on earth is this better than San Andreas apart from graphics. After this major disappointment i am now hoping they rerelease San Andreas for the PS3 with better graphics and that might actually come close to what i was expecting.
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Things like the jet pack, parachutes, schools etc. were just gimmicks in my opinion. Just little extras to add to the game. One of the problems with San Andreas was that Rockstar went over the top and add too much to the game and it didn't work so well. It was a brilliant game but could have been streamlined to produce a better overall experience. I wonder if they listened to the fans on the forums who said they wanted all sorts of crazy crap in the game.

I'm disappointed that things like dating girlfriends have been left in. Boring!

The airplanes from San Andreas were a neat touch, but as long as you can unlock the ability fly around in a chopper later in the game, I don't mind at all.
 
battie83
No planes, no tank, no jet pack, no parachute, no bicycles, no gambling, no underwater swimming, no driving or flying schools and a smaller map than San Andreas. How on earth is this better than San Andreas apart from graphics. After this major disappointment i am now hoping they rerelease San Andreas for the PS3 with better graphics and that might actually come close to what i was expecting.
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1) The map would be too small for planes, so we don't really need them. Helicopters are still available
2) GTA IV is a bit more realistic than the others, so we don't really need a jetpack
3)Parachutes would be nice, although I can live without them.
4) Again, bicycles would be a nice detail
5) Gambling would be good, although this time around they have included comedy shows with real comedians. I'll take that.
6) I'm not missing underwater swimming. As long as Niko can swim that's the main thing.
7)Flight and training schools again would be a nice addition.
8)The map is smaller although it has 10x more detail. Most of the map in SA was open fields and mountains. I definitely prefer a bustling city filled with detail.
9) So much has improved that you're not taking into account. Car physics, damage models, ragdoll physics, lighting effects, scripting, sound effects, online capabilities, A.I, climbing & combat.
 
I just think this game is great so far. I'm not the biggest fan of a trigger car control scheme, and I also don't like the sixaxis control.
 
The citizens of Liberty City sure are trigger happy... I was chasing some guy down the street in a mission to kill him, and after I fired a few shots at him, all hell broke l0ose, lots of people whipped out their guns and started shooting at me!

Also, I was talking to Roman after completing a mission and some random dude just ran up to me and started stabbing me and shouting at me and then ran off - he almost killed me.
 
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