GTA IV

[10spro]

Just finished a quick team deathmatch. Love all that open space, lotta fun, just wished there was a rollout option especially when you see a thug trying to run you over at 100mph. Running won't save you. Maybe there is, I just couldn't fint it.

[Teal]

Combat is a helluva lot better than it ever has been in a GTA game. It ain't Rainbow, but it's good.

[sportdan30]

Anymore impressions?

I think the game is good. The combat system is the weakest part of the game for me. Too clunky.

Yep, I agree. Or maybe I just can't figure out how to effectively throw punches. It seems sometimes I throw them in succession. Other times, I'm just pushing the guys and getting my a** kicked.

Had my game freeze up once while I was driving.

The game is dark. I turned up brightness and contrast in the in-game settings and it made it better, but as much as I'd like. Hopefully it's something I'll just get used to.

I'm getting a little disoriented by the graphics. They're definitely a step up from past versions, but some things are clear while others are blurry. It's hard to describe, and again just something that takes getting used to.

Running feels different. Everything just feels heavier.

I very much enjoy the characters and story line thus far. The acting is great IMO.

Looking forward to devoting some more time to the game this evening.

[XXXIV]

Put about an hour into it and all I can say is that its the same ole GTA ...Exactly what youd expect is what you get...

Gameplay is the same gameplay you have always experienced.

Graphics are fine ...not great...sound like GTA?

Story and acting...seems to be the area they stepped up.

Since I have always loved the GTA games...Im loving this one...so far anyway...

[Teal]

Put about an hour into it and all I can say is that its the same ole GTA ...Exactly what youd expect is what you get...

Gameplay is the same gameplay you have always experienced.

Graphics are fine ...not great...sound like GTA?

Story and acting...seems to be the area they stepped up.

Since I have always loved the GTA games...Im loving this one...so far anyway...

Not my experience at all, but...okay...

I'm simply loving it. Love the new physics engines, love the new graphics, love the new freedom (go bowling, play pool, darts, go get wasted and try to drive-it's a hoot, go out on a date, listen to music, get it on your ZiT phone, and DL it from the web to your MP3 player(in real life), drop grenades behind you while driving and watch the cop car go kablooey, sit back and watch some really funny TV, go to a cabaret show, to a comedy show...and that's just what I've seen!), love the new lead character (hated the 'thug' crap of San Andreas), and online is a frickin' BLAST.

They stepped up every single area of this game. It feels familiar, yes, but it is honed and shined up in every way imaginable.

[XXXIV]

Put about an hour into it and all I can say is that its the same ole GTA ...Exactly what youd expect is what you get...

Gameplay is the same gameplay you have always experienced.

Graphics are fine ...not great...sound like GTA?

Story and acting...seems to be the area they stepped up.

Since I have always loved the GTA games...Im loving this one...so far anyway...

Not my experience at all, but...okay...

I'm simply loving it. Love the new physics engines, love the new graphics, love the new freedom (go bowling, play pool, darts, go get wasted and try to drive-it's a hoot, go out on a date, listen to music, get it on your ZiT phone, and DL it from the web to your MP3 player(in real life), drop grenades behind you while driving and watch the cop car go kablooey, sit back and watch some really funny TV, go to a cabaret show, to a comedy show...and that's just what I've seen!), love the new lead character (hated the 'thug' crap of San Andreas), and online is a frickin' BLAST.

They stepped up every single area of this game. It feels familiar, yes, but it is honed and shined up in every way imaginable.

I thought that the freedom was there in the GTASA...shoot pool...play black jack...fly a plane...

I wasnt bashing at all...Saying GTA is GTA is a good thing...Im saying Im not in the least dissapointed...expectations , which were very high , have been lived up to.

[Teal]

Put about an hour into it and all I can say is that its the same ole GTA ...Exactly what youd expect is what you get...

Gameplay is the same gameplay you have always experienced.

Graphics are fine ...not great...sound like GTA?

Story and acting...seems to be the area they stepped up.

Since I have always loved the GTA games...Im loving this one...so far anyway...

Not my experience at all, but...okay...

I'm simply loving it. Love the new physics engines, love the new graphics, love the new freedom (go bowling, play pool, darts, go get wasted and try to drive-it's a hoot, go out on a date, listen to music, get it on your ZiT phone, and DL it from the web to your MP3 player(in real life), drop grenades behind you while driving and watch the cop car go kablooey, sit back and watch some really funny TV, go to a cabaret show, to a comedy show...and that's just what I've seen!), love the new lead character (hated the 'thug' crap of San Andreas), and online is a frickin' BLAST.

They stepped up every single area of this game. It feels familiar, yes, but it is honed and shined up in every way imaginable.

I thought that the freedom was there in the GTASA...shoot pool...play black jack...fly a plane...

I wasnt bashing at all...Saying GTA is GTA is a good thing...Im saying Im not in the least dissapointed...expectations , which were very high , have been lived up to.

I wasn't making an accusation, just a different observation, and...this is far more polished than San Andreas...

[XXXIV]

Yes...This is the next gen version of GTA...and thats all I was saying...This is what you would expect from the next gen GTA...


Not my experience at all, but...okay...

I'm simply loving it. Love the new physics engines, love the new graphics, love the new freedom (go bowling, play pool, darts, go get wasted and try to drive-it's a hoot, go out on a date, listen to music, get it on your ZiT phone, and DL it from the web to your MP3 player(in real life), drop grenades behind you while driving and watch the cop car go kablooey, sit back and watch some really funny TV, go to a cabaret show, to a comedy show...and that's just what I've seen!), love the new lead character (hated the 'thug' crap of San Andreas), and online is a frickin' BLAST.

They stepped up every single area of this game. It feels familiar, yes, but it is honed and shined up in every way imaginable.

I thought that the freedom was there in the GTASA...shoot pool...play black jack...fly a plane...

I wasnt bashing at all...Saying GTA is GTA is a good thing...Im saying Im not in the least dissapointed...expectations , which were very high , have been lived up to.

I wasn't making an accusation, just a different observation, and...this is far more polished than San Andreas...

Yes...This game is what you would expect for the next gen version of GTA...Its damn good stuff...

[greggsand]

simply awesome & the online can be LAUGH OUT LOUD funny....

[sportdan30]

Second run with the game this evening.....I played for two and a half hours. A much better experience than my initial run which was only about 45 minutes this afternoon.

Once you get in to the missions, you fully realize just how open the world really is. I love the GPS navigator. The use of the cell phone is brilliant for calling those in your phone book.

Niko is a great character and I look forward to seeing how things develop for him.

[Spooky]

Anymore impressions?

I think the game is good. The combat system is the weakest part of the game for me. Too clunky.

Yep, I agree. Or maybe I just can't figure out how to effectively throw punches. It seems sometimes I throw them in succession. Other times, I'm just pushing the guys and getting my a** kicked.

Had my game freeze up once while I was driving.

The game is dark. I turned up brightness and contrast in the in-game settings and it made it better, but as much as I'd like. Hopefully it's something I'll just get used to.

I'm getting a little disoriented by the graphics. They're definitely a step up from past versions, but some things are clear while others are blurry. It's hard to describe, and again just something that takes getting used to.

Running feels different. Everything just feels heavier.

I very much enjoy the characters and story line thus far. The acting is great IMO.

Looking forward to devoting some more time to the game this evening.

Almost my exact impressions. I was surprised to have to up the brightness and contrast settings as I have never had to do that with any other 360 game.

[dbdynsty25]

It's pretty dark on the PS3 too...I had to up the brightness/contrast on my LCD to see it really...especially in the daytime.

[JRod]

I know this sounds crazy, but I love the driving model in the game. There's serious amounts of oversteer in the game which I think will cause some people to hate it, but for some reason the driving feels solid.

The walking and running on the other hand doesn't feel so good. It feels like you are on rails all the time.

[warnerwlf98]

Is it just me, or are the controls when on foot not that responsive? Maybe it's the "walking on rails" feeling. It also feels a little slow when you use the right stick to look around. It's sort of strange though because the driving feels better, even though I lose control and crash a lot.

[grtwhtsk]

I am loving it. I figured I would give it a go last night after the wife and kids went to bed. What started out as just a 45 minute, "get the feel" sort of session, turned into 2+ hours. If it hadn't been 2 AM and the alarm only 4 hours away, I would have kept going for a while more. I look forward to getting back into the game.

[sportdan30]

Initially, I was frustrated with the hand to hand combat. But, what I found at least on the PS3 version, is if you hold L2 and throw your punches, it's much more responsive. Blocking works ok, not great.

The mini games are pretty fun. I suck **** at pool though!

Loving the dialogue between Niko and Roman.

The hookers is where the money is......that's for sure!

[TCrouch]

Yeah, once I saw that little help tip that said "Tap A while your opponent is attacking to dodge", it helped my hand-to-hand combat immensely. Tapping A wasn't enough, though...I had to hold a direction to "lean" away from the punches, etc. It started looking like an old Steven Segal movie, since you use Y or B to immediately counter. Dude swings, I dodge, immediately grab his head and bring face down to knee, then unload with a barrage of punches. Pretty nasty stuff, just the knee alone practically killed the dude. I've seen weird little sequences of disarming with multiple "karate chop" type moves, etc. Very cool.

The driving really bugged me at first...not because of the excellent modeling of tire grip (it's bizarre that a GTA game would have such a good tire model. If you're using all of the tire's friction for deceleration, you can't corner at the same time. If you're cornering, you can't brake at the same time, etc. You can do either one in moderation in the game, but you can really push the tires too far very easily, creating a remarkably fun driving game), but because of the strange camera. It's like the car would turn, and the camera would stay. I'd be looking at the rear quarterpanel for a good second or two as the car took off in another direction, and I ran into a street pole or mailbox or something. I got used to using the R stick as a "look ahead" function when driving and that got me past it quickly, but the camera options are quite strange--I wanted a camera that was a little higher in the air and actually followed the car a little more crisply.

Overall, though, it's silly how fun it is to try and drive the cars quickly...brake too much and lock the tires up if trying to corner as well, then release a little brake and feel the front rubber "bite", immediately starting a turn. It's silly fun.

[sportdan30]

Terry,

Have you tried changing the camera angles while driving. On the PS3, it gives a few different views. I prefer the default, but there is one that gives you a further back view. Also, there's an in-dash cam, but of course you don't see the dash board or steering wheel.

[TCrouch]

Yeah...but it's still very low to the ground. I like to have my camera up a bit higher to see the hood and how close I am to objects. It's pretty easy just to move up on the R stick a little bit, but I'm stuck holding it in a fixed position (plus moving it left and right when cornering). Just a minor exercise in finger olympics. Could have been corrected with a user-definable camera.

[GameSeven]

Yeah...but it's still very low to the ground. I like to have my camera up a bit higher to see the hood and how close I am to objects. It's pretty easy just to move up on the R stick a little bit, but I'm stuck holding it in a fixed position (plus moving it left and right when cornering). Just a minor exercise in finger olympics. Could have been corrected with a user-definable camera.

I agree with this. In addition, unless there is one I haven't found yet, an easier way to set GPS waypoints would be appreciated. It seems for many missions the game automatically sets your route for the waypoint, but sometimes it does not? For example, a quick select menu for common waypoints or "nearest X" would be useful. As it stands, you must pause, select, maneuver the map(maybe zoom) select again (possibly twice if the first select only cancelled a current route). Then back out again.

[TCrouch]

I've begun taking cabs everywhere. It's like 12 bucks if you skip the trip, instant jump to any contact's or girlfriend's house

[macsomjrr]

I've begun taking cabs everywhere. It's like 12 bucks if you skip the trip, instant jump to any contact's or girlfriend's house

How do you hail cabs?

[sportdan30]

I've begun taking cabs everywhere. It's like 12 bucks if you skip the trip, instant jump to any contact's or girlfriend's house

How do you hail cabs?

I'd like to know as well. I stand there, then jump on the hood of the car.......lol

[Murph]

I've begun taking cabs everywhere. It's like 12 bucks if you skip the trip, instant jump to any contact's or girlfriend's house

How do you hail cabs?

I'd like to know as well. I stand there, then jump on the hood of the car.......lol

When you see a cab, hit the LB button (360) and you will automatically whistlle/hail the cab.

[TCrouch]

The cab will stop with LB, but then you hold Y down and you'll walk up to it like a normal passenger instead of standing next to it and tapping Y. It's cool because it's a full view from the backseat. You can change destinations with the L stick, and look around with the R stick. Cab drivers tend to be absolutely insane, running into crap..you can hit X to have them "Hurry", which usually leads to some hilarious moments.