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[NinjaFridge]

It amazes me how picky some of you are. I think the game has plenty of faults, but it in no way makes me want to stop playing the game. Every game I've ever played has faults. This is still a great game, I'm really wondering exactly what you were expecting. I don't find any problems in the game, "game-breaking" just minor annoyances. If you remember GTA3, VC, SA all had plenty of problems too, many of them worse. I still think this is the best in the franchise by FAR.

Having to hit the A Button to run sucks, but is it that bad that you want to sell the game?
The same goes with the scripted missions. I think they add some action/drama to what would be an otherwise boring mission. i do agree that a message that reads "go chase" or "go chase and kill" would clear up some confusion, and would be a REALLY easy patch.

The lack of checkpoints makes the game that much more hectic when Im running low on energy or being chased hardcore. There has to be SOME penalty for losing, otherwise it would be too easy.

Have you completed the last mission? When you do we'll talk but until then you could not be more wrong.
It isn't these things by themselves its that they all build up;

-too many fucking chase missions
-too many missions where you have to go from "A" to "B" which is on the other side of the map, then to "C" which is back on the same island "A" was on.
-Niko being a complete dick who for will only do what you want when he feels like it, sometimes he will walk out in front of gun fire instead of sticking to the wall.
-The camera fucks up if you go for cover in certain areas.
-The motorbikes and helicopters being complete ass to control - they could not be any worse
-Some people having to log off line in order for their save to load
-The frame rate is shite and all over the place.

I love the game but you have to wonder did this thing ever see QA.

 

[Westonian]

The lack of checkpoints makes the game that much more hectic when Im running low on energy or being chased hardcore. There has to be SOME penalty for losing, otherwise it would be too easy.

Make the penalty be less ammo or health or what ever, not having to drive around the city and hear the same terrible dialog five times. Especially when that part of the mission isn't even relevant to the mission's goal.

My biggest complaint so far has to be the lack of open ended solutions to missions. It's like the designers actively punish you for being creative. Like the mission where you have to clear out the gang members in the garage for Manny. I got so sick of the two gang members that would constantly escape in the car while I was busy killing those in the standing in the garage that I thought I would grab the biggest truck I could find and drive it full speed into their car before they could figure out that I was there to kill them. Somehow, not only did their car survive the impact, but they were able to steer it out of the garage and escape again. It turns out that the only way to beat the mission is to have godlike speed and accuracy in killing the four gang members that were standing around, jump back into your car and THEN chase the two escapees. There's scripted, and then there's rigid to the point of being ridiculous.

 

[EazyB]

There were only a few missions that were long and thus frustrating when one has to restart. IMO checkpoints would be nice but the missions are so easy that dying wouldn't have enough of a consequence.

 

[Jamesfrom818]

2 minutes needlessly wasted, especially since cabs arent always around unless you are in Algonquin

I only mentioned cabs because its the only 4 door that I could think of at the time. I can probably get there in 2 minutes with any 4 door car.

Make the penalty be less ammo or health or what ever, not having to drive around the city and hear the same terrible dialog five times. Especially when that part of the mission isn't even relevant to the mission's goal.

My biggest complaint so far has to be the lack of open ended solutions to missions. It's like the designers actively punish you for being creative. Like the mission where you have to clear out the gang members in the garage for Manny. I got so sick of the two gang members that would constantly escape in the car while I was busy killing those in the standing in the garage that I thought I would grab the biggest truck I could find and drive it full speed into their car before they could figure out that I was there to kill them. Somehow, not only did their car survive the impact, but they were able to steer it out of the garage and escape again. It turns out that the only way to beat the mission is to have godlike speed and accuracy in killing the four gang members that were standing around, jump back into your car and THEN chase the two escapees. There's scripted, and then there's rigid to the point of being ridiculous.

Well you just suck. I drove into the garage with a Huntly Sport, killed the driver of the getaway car, backed out and then used my car for cover while I killed the rest with Desert Eagle headshots.

 

[StriKeVillain]

The thing that I really don't like with GTA4 is the lack of real depth to the world. Times Square is packed at mostly all times. There should be hundreds of pedestrians and cars everywhere.

I really like the new shooting mechanics though. I think they're perfect.

 

[NinjaFridge]

Make the penalty be less ammo or health or what ever, not having to drive around the city and hear the same terrible dialog five times. Especially when that part of the mission isn't even relevant to the mission's goal.

My biggest complaint so far has to be the lack of open ended solutions to missions. It's like the designers actively punish you for being creative. Like the mission where you have to clear out the gang members in the garage for Manny. I got so sick of the two gang members that would constantly escape in the car while I was busy killing those in the standing in the garage that I thought I would grab the biggest truck I could find and drive it full speed into their car before they could figure out that I was there to kill them. Somehow, not only did their car survive the impact, but they were able to steer it out of the garage and escape again. It turns out that the only way to beat the mission is to have godlike speed and accuracy in killing the four gang members that were standing around, jump back into your car and THEN chase the two escapees. There's scripted, and then there's rigid to the point of being ridiculous.

I had the exact same problem, the getaway car they use if like a fucking tank it just pushes things out of the way like its nothing.

Another problem i have noticed is that the car accidents seem to be so fucked up, well the causes are. Sometimes i can go top speed and clip a car and i'll only start to fish tail about, other times (usually on a mission) if i hit a kerb shit goes all fucked up and i'll end up on my roof.

 

[Salmonax]

Give me a few examples of the car chases missions where you can kill the guy early in a car chase in a car without a prescripted bit. Honest request because I'm having trouble remembering them at the moment.

One was

Spoiler

"No Way on the Subway," where you had to chase the two bikers into the subway. You could kill the second biker at any time, but they kept the first one alive so you'd see this particular set piece where a bunch of tunnels meet and there are trains and sparks everywhere.

It was cool, but since killing bikers is generally so easy it felt pretty forced.

There must be a happy medium somewhere, because I really like the scripted bits but agree that arbitrarily changing the world's rules like that detracts from the sense of openness. It seems like it'd be simple for the game to come up with something to explain the need to get somewhere before killing the target ("keep them alive until you reach [insert neighborhood], because we've got a cleanup crew nearby" or something) That way, you can kill them as early as you want, but you'll fail the mission.

As far as the rubber-band AI on some missions, I think it's because they simply can't trust their regular AI to race and/or chase effectively. If taking cabs in the game has shown me anything, it's that the AI really gets befuddled if the situation gets remotely complicated.

 

[Len Dontree]

I love Bob Marley, but I hate that the reggae station is pretty much ONLY his stuff. It's also the only "real-world" name that I know of (Tuff Gong) in the game. There's a lot more to Jamaican music than Marley!

I'm also worried that with all of these 10/10's and what-not that Rockstar will have no impetus to fix stupid outdated crap that I can't believe is still in the game...Pretty much what folks here have already said: no mid-mission checkpoints, a "run button" in the age of analog sticks, weird and inconsistent cover/combat, badly implemented melee, a camera firmly attached to Nico's back.

The world is incredible, and Rockstar are the masters of scenario, atmosphere, writing, etc., but I could tell from GTAIII on up that the actual nitty-gritty gameplay is not their strong suit. But like those earlier titles, I still feel compelled to keep playing and exploring, albeit while cursing and fuming.

 

[J-Rzez]

Found something else now I don't like about the game. It locks up everytime I get to the loading screen with the mission-text in the bottom right hand corner. It's done it to me 3 times already, after deleting everything including the cache/saves, it's no different.

Did I miss people with a similar problem or is it just me? It's not the HDD nor Drive as every other game works.

 

[Deleted member 1159]

yeah that 5% overrating is ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS

Well, when you're talking about a game taking the top two spots in terms of historical, aggregate game reviews, yeah. It's the difference between being #1 and being out of the top ten. Looking at the pre-GTAIV top 10 reviewed games, I wouldn't take issue with anything other than maybe Tekken and Soul Calibur. Mario Galaxy and Mario 64 deserve to be on there, as do Zelda, Orange Box(but not two spots), Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4. I'd put GTAIV below all those games, as much as I do enjoy it. A 9.5 average would put it right between GTAIII and San Andreas on the list, which I would agree with. As a sequel in improves in a lot of areas and it's great fun. It's not a 10 though.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

Found something else now I don't like about the game. It locks up everytime I get to the loading screen with the mission-text in the bottom right hand corner. It's done it to me 3 times already, after deleting everything including the cache/saves, it's no different.

Did I miss people with a similar problem or is it just me? It's not the HDD nor Drive as every other game works.

If you are using the PS3 version, then I found that hitting the "Home" button and then clicking quit game and allowing the system to do its thing (which usually meant turning off for some reason) would make the game work the next time I tried.

 

[Danielsan]

Ok I'm getting really fed up with this game now. I'm doing the mission

Spoiler

Three leaf clover

for

Spoiler

Packy

and ffs I failed the mission twice. Now the mission is pretty damn long so I don't really appreciate having to fucking go through all that crap again for a third time. Would it really kill you to put some halfway mission checkpoints in the game Rockstar?

 

[elcapitan]

It feels like GTAIV is just dabbling into the next generation. I would like them to go the San Andreas route for the next one, throw everything including the kitchen sink. All the things they removed from San Andreas aren't made up by the cell phone and better story. Where's my jetpack, jet, go karts, and hovercrafts? Hell, I wanna ride a freakin' mech in the next one.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Ok I'm getting really fed up with this game now. I'm doing the mission

Spoiler

Three leaf clover

for

Spoiler

Packy

and ffs I failed the mission twice. Now the mission is pretty damn long so I don't really appreciate having to fucking go through all that crap again for a third time. Would it really kill you to put some halfway mission checkpoints in the game Rockstar?

Yes. This mission is pretty awesome, but it's just way to fucking hard for its own good.

 

[Dante]

Ok I'm getting really fed up with this game now. I'm doing the mission

Spoiler

Three leaf clover

for

Spoiler

Packy

and ffs I failed the mission twice. Now the mission is pretty damn long so I don't really appreciate having to fucking go through all that crap again for a third time. Would it really kill you to put some halfway mission checkpoints in the game Rockstar?

A-Fucking-Men The story being so great is the only reason I am trudging through this.

 

[Spirit of Jazz]

Nothing to do with easy. How about the fact that its a fucking waste of time. I dont wanna have to drive halfway across town just to get shot again.

Spoiler

Like the mission where you have to tail the drug dealer with Manny for like half a fucking hour only be greeted at the end with hot bullets of death in the warehouse. Or having to drive over to the carnival repeatly in order to shoot that biker punk.

Why cant I just start off at the action?

Whenever I died it was due to the camera facing the wrong damn direction as I got shot stupid by some thug behind me that I couldn't target. I agree the game is way too easy, especially the chases, but they need a checkpoint decision to make up for the stupid/frustrating design decisions.

 

[Kintaro]

Ok, I'm putting this game down for a week or so. Way too frustrated which piles on the negativity even more. It's just really strange to me to see that Rockstar missed the boat with fixing some of these problems (it's not so surprising that reviewers missed the boat too). It's a shame because I really like Niko (for the most part) and want to see how everything plays out.

It's a great looking game, tons of little details that flesh out the world but there are some problems with the core gameplay that frustrate the shit out of me. Maybe I should have waited for the PC version. At least quick saving would solve the mission checkpoint problem (why the fuck can't we quick save/load in console games now anyways?).

 

[LakeEarth]

Disappearing cars is my new biggest pet peeve. I was playing a mission where I killed a bunch of gang guys, and the next section had the cops arrive, and I had to escape. I run to my car and... oh its gone (proceeds to get shot to death). Thanks Rockstar.

 

[Creamium]

Disappearing cars is my new biggest pet peeve. I was playing a mission where I killed a bunch of gang guys, and the next section had the cops arrive, and I had to escape. I run to my car and... oh its gone (proceeds to get shot to death). Thanks Rockstar.

If you leave your door open it can be stolen by someone else. Hold Y as you're getting out (or triangle for ps3 I assume) to close the door and lock up the car

 

[Saiyu]

hmmmm. I'm taking my time through the game exploring (still on first "island") and I was optimistic the missions would be more open in future, but reading this doesn't give me much hope. Scripted events take away the whole point of GTA which has been present in every game in the series (including the 2D games). Seeing barrels roll off lorries makes me cringe and not knowing if I'm sucking at a drive-by or if the guy has suddenly inherited Master Chief's invulnerability takes away from the experience a lot. I still remember a mission in GTA3 where I used my initiative and set up a trap to assassinate a don that was totally different from what you were meant to do, and it's things like that which I expected MORE of in GTA 4 - now I wonder if it will be possible at all.

I was hoping the world would be more open, a kind of Deus Ex but with more interactivity and options through things such as the internet and phone. I admit I may have been a little too hyped for it's release, but I think it's fairly reasonable after exploring Broker/Dukes/Bohan for this length to have expected a little more depth in the world. One of the things I was looking forward to most was the promise of a more "dense" and "vertical" city, but these only seem to be coming through on some missions and not through random exploration.

Multiplayer is great, and it really forces teamwork which is what I was hoping for and expecting. Cover can be a bit hit and miss online though, sometimes it's beneficial most times it seems to get you dropped with no defence.

 

[Salmonax]

It feels like GTAIV is just dabbling into the next generation. I would like them to go the San Andreas route for the next one, throw everything including the kitchen sink.

I think their strategy is sound - reboot the series with each console generation such that they're not just piling features on top of features until the game is a mess of complexity.

Now they don't necessarily have to add the same things they added for VC or SA, just whatever new things they feel will make it better than IV.

 

[permutated]

I think their strategy is sound - reboot the series with each console generation such that they're not just piling features on top of features until the game is a mess of complexity.

Translation: They remove well received features from past iterations so the game doesn't become overly complex.

I'm sorry man, I think that's the stupidest logic I've heard in a long time. There's no reason the cool new features that were well received by the public should be taken out of future releases. Makes no sense.

As a sand box game they should add as many well maintained elements as possible. Otherwise, what the fuck is the point of the open world/sandbox genre?

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Ok I'm getting really fed up with this game now. I'm doing the mission

Spoiler

Three leaf clover

for

Spoiler

Packy

and ffs I failed the mission twice. Now the mission is pretty damn long so I don't really appreciate having to fucking go through all that crap again for a third time. Would it really kill you to put some halfway mission checkpoints in the game Rockstar?

Okay so I finally beat this mission. The thing that saved me is the fact that one of those side alleys you go down has a cellar door with a med kit in it. Without that, I'm not sure if I ever could've beaten that mission.

 

[Ether_Snake]

The relationships; I am giving up on them. Not fun, waste of time.

 

[jordan0386]

Translation: They remove well received features from past iterations so the game doesn't become overly complex.

I'm sorry man, I think that's the stupidest logic I've heard in a long time. There's no reason the cool new features that were well received by the public should be taken out of future releases. Makes no sense.

As a sand box game they should add as many well maintained elements as possible. Otherwise, what the fuck is the point of the open world/sandbox genre?

...other than it not making the development budget and cut.

Rockstar doesnt make shitty games. You've just gotta respect some design choices.

 

[Shaheed79]

I decided that I'm going to put most of my hopes on the PC version. Not that I expect Rockstar will fix any of this shit for the PC release but because if it's anything like the last 2 pc versions the mod community will clean this game up the way it was suppose to be in the first place. The game isn't bad or anything it just needs a helluva spit shine and some elbow grease to get the diamond inside to shine and I mean a LOT of elbow grease.

 

[permutated]

Rockstar doesnt make shitty games.

Uh...yeah they do man, that's mostly what they do.

GTA: San Andreas and all PSP counter parts.
Bully (seriously, come on).
Table Tennis: AKA the GTA 4 graphics demo.
Midnight Club: possibly the worst racing series on the gaming market.

To say that they don't make shitty games is...incredibly false. I don't think they're a bad developer, or incapable of producing good games, but most of their products are incredibly boring and useless.

 

[HK-47]

Uh...yeah they do man, that's mostly what they do.

GTA: San Andreas and all PSP counter parts.
Bully (seriously, come on).
Table Tennis: AKA the GTA 4 graphics demo.
Midnight Club: possibly the worst racing series on the gaming market.

To say that they don't make shitty games is...incredibly false. I don't think they're a bad developer, or incapable of producing good games, but most of their products are incredibly boring and useless.

You have retarded standards if you call those games shitty.

 

[permutated]

You have retarded standards if you call those games shitty.

No, I have very high standards, and very good Hype resistance.

I think I should also point out that I dislike 95% of sandbox games, so that does effect my opinion, and I need a stable framerate in order to enjoy a game most of the time: something which Rockstar is incapable of doing.

Rockstar fans: "It's a Rockstar game, it doesn't NEED a stable framerate!" (Or some other bullshit double standard to protect their golden egg).

Don't even pretend this isn't true, I've seen proof of this far too many times on these boards, and even on this thread.

 

[DCX]

I don't like that i have to wait for the DLC!! Nah for reall, i love this game, it does have some issues like the frame rate, i think the visuals are stunning and under whelming at the same time ( not sure how that's possible but that's how i feel ) and the game just makes you feel like there is to much to keep up with. I mean i'm juggling a shit load of friends, trying to make everyone happy and worry about mission progresses, eating, fucking...i mean man, it's more real life than the Sims! I can't really enjoy the city as much as i want to unless i hop online and ride in free mode.

DCX

 

[TheMissingLink]

Table Tennis: AKA the GTA 4 graphics demo.

This should be a bannable offense.

 

[permutated]

This should be a bannable offense.

Internet nerds are so funny.

 

[MoogPaul]

it needs to be said that holding 'Y' to ride in a taxi verses pressing 'Y' to steal it is possible the dumbest thing ever. As if the xbox 360 controller doesn't have more than enough buttons to cover this, but no, I am constantly stealing taxis in front of police cars instead of riding in them.

 

[permutated]

it needs to be said that holding 'Y' to ride in a taxi verses pressing 'Y' to steal it is possible the dumbest thing ever. As if the xbox 360 controller doesn't have more than enough buttons to cover this, but no, I am constantly stealing taxis in front of police cars instead of riding in them.

SAME!

 

[bridegur]

Disappearing cars is my new biggest pet peeve. I was playing a mission where I killed a bunch of gang guys, and the next section had the cops arrive, and I had to escape. I run to my car and... oh its gone (proceeds to get shot to death). Thanks Rockstar.

This is really irritating. I've tried parking my car in front of doors during missions to slow people down as they escape, and they disappear. Seems like a really cheap way to increase difficulty, and it really displays the "video gameness" they're trying to get away from.

 

[TheGreatDave]

it needs to be said that holding 'Y' to ride in a taxi verses pressing 'Y' to steal it is possible the dumbest thing ever. As if the xbox 360 controller doesn't have more than enough buttons to cover this, but no, I am constantly stealing taxis in front of police cars instead of riding in them.

It's not as bad as tapping A to run, lets face it.

I yelled at my girlfriend yesterday because I made her take Kate on a date, and she accidently stole a cab in front of a cop, freaked out and drove off, killing Kate. She insisted she held Y down, I didn't believe. Until the near exact same thing happened to me an hour later.

 

[kairu]

I hate how you lean at a 45 degree angle when you are walking and make a turn.

And how your turning radius matches that of an SUV whilst walking.

Having to hold X to run is stupid. What is the point of an analog controller if you cant use it to adjust walking speed?

 

[OldJadedGamer]

it needs to be said that holding 'Y' to ride in a taxi verses pressing 'Y' to steal it is possible the dumbest thing ever. As if the xbox 360 controller doesn't have more than enough buttons to cover this, but no, I am constantly stealing taxis in front of police cars instead of riding in them.

It took me forever to get in a cab because I kept jacking them. I didn't see that I had to hold Y at first.

 

[permutated]

It's not as bad as tapping A to run, lets face it.

After all this time they can't a sensitivity setting on the analog stick to tell when you're slightly holding up and when you're pushing it hard?

 

[TheGreatDave]

After all this time they can't a sensitivity setting on the analog stick to tell when you're slightly holding up and when you're pushing it hard?

Obviously they could, but somebody must have thought "that would be a silly option to include"

 

[Stuneseht]

do the cops have a K-9 unit in the game?

 

[permutated]

Major problem: My controller vibrates like it's going insane when I'm getting laid or when I get a phone call, but not when my car slams into a another car or when I get shot in the head.

Hmmmmmmm.

do the cops have a K-9 unit in the game?

Salmonax and I both agree that would be far too complex. Rockstar had to remove it.

You know, because of the "reboot", which is really just another word for an excuse.

 

[Stuneseht]

Major problem: My controller vibrates like it's going insane when I'm getting laid or when I get a phone call, but not when my car slams into a another car or when I get shot in the head.

Hmmmmmmm.



Salmonax and I both agree that would be far too complex. Rockstar had to remove it.

You know, because of the "reboot", which is really just another word for an excuse.

your probably right, it probably would have made running very annoying.

 

[permutated]

your probably right, it probably would have made running very annoying.

I'm liking this guy already :lol

 

[RobertM]

Uh...yeah they do man, that's mostly what they do.

GTA: San Andreas and all PSP counter parts.
Bully (seriously, come on).
Table Tennis: AKA the GTA 4 graphics demo.
Midnight Club: possibly the worst racing series on the gaming market.

To say that they don't make shitty games is...incredibly false. I don't think they're a bad developer, or incapable of producing good games, but most of their products are incredibly boring and useless.

Aside from just listing shit, you could have listed why those games are shitty. You sir deserve a slap in the face.

 

[permutated]

Aside from just listing shit, you could have listed why those games are shitty. You sir deserve a slap in the face.

It's the internet, man.

Thanks for really over reacting.

 

[RobertM]

It's the internet, man.

Thanks for really over reacting.

I didn't over react, I just simply stated that you should explain yourself before calling anything shitty.

 

[Whipped Spartan]

The save system is getting really old and the car handling needs a patch that brings back the fun.

 

[Shaheed79]

Ok the npc AI in this game really is stupid and uninteractive compared to something like Scarface where you can hold a long conversation with ANYONE in the freakin game AND you're rewarded for it unlike the mutes in GTA (of all the things u stole from Scarface Rockstar why not this?). So I told Roman I would take him to a titty bar but when I got there with him they told me I couldn't get in with weapons and I didn't know how to get rid of them and I didn't really want to anyway so I took Roman to a comedy club instead. When we leave the comedy club Roman can't stop yappin about how great the strippers breast were and I'm like "what?". Not really a big deal but it just reminds me of how archaic and non existent the character interaction is in this game. Scarface did a great job of that and a whole lot of other things gameplay wise that added so much life to the islands.

 

[permutated]

I didn't over react, I just simply stated that you should explain yourself before calling anything shitty.

Can you seriously not change your avatar?