GTA:IV Official Thread

[Wickedkitten]

Ha snowstorm was ace, did it on second go. Some will find a sneaky solution but I took the situation head on. The trick is not to get nervous about it, just take your time, hide and take em 1 by 1.

Missions are starting to get really good now and I'm loving how different they can be. I had a few goes on one mission where sometimes main enemy would hold and wait at the top floor and other attempts where he would decide straight away to make a run for it, escape out the building and the fight would continue all over the island in a frantic car chase! In some cases the police were involved and other times they were not.

that's one of the things that I love about it so far is that you can go in and kill every motherfucker in there, or you can find a shortcut. It's like the Late Checkout mission.

If you do it "properly" you run into the lift, kill everyone in the building whilst making your way up to the penthouse, kill the people in the penthouse that you need to kill and then make your way down by either going back through the building, or by running down the stairs and just taking the windowcleaner platform to the bottom. However, if you want to do it the "sneaky" way, you can just run out the back to begin with, go up the side of the building using the windowcleaner, kill the 3 people that you need to kill in the penthouse and then go right back down the platform again

[V3zna]

Wooo, I'm now in the club where I can't play GTA4 unless my PS3 is disconnected from the internet.

Great game though.

[cassidy]

Wooo, I'm now in the club where I can't play GTA4 unless my PS3 is disconnected from the internet.

Great game though.

well I'm at the stage where the closest I get is the loading screen now. Trying without the ethernet connected is my last hope. This is fucking ridiculous.

[Paulando]

The combat still isn't as good as it should be- I wish I was closer to Uncharted, say. You should at least have the option to switch the viewpoint to Nico's other shoulder. But saying tha, I'm really starting to enjoy this now. I'm about 12 hours through it and I've just finished the snowstorm mission (which was awesomes!).

[choddo]

Would I be abused for suggesting that the obvious reason that its sold more ps3s is because more people had 360s before?

Yeah but why didn't the people who bought PS3s buy 360s?

as regards letting a 14 year old play I probably wouldnt. If your gonna stop him playing/seeing anything down to his age It would be this game

Yeah agreed. I think I'd probably say no. Maybe let him play it multiplayer with his mates, with her/his father there.

[SomeNaiveChump]

I killed like a couple of feds and ran to a car. That was it.

Like I said, it takes me heck of long to find my way out of that building anyway. Every room is identical, it's not mapped and you can't see shit because of the camera and the size of the rooms. Add in 10+ feds and it's certain death without the slightest chance of any other outcome.

It's probably easy with auto-aim on but fuck that. You can't just stick around and take the feds one by one; they spawn infinitely. You have to know your way out. Short of going to the location and mapping it myself beforehand (because for no apparent reason whatsoever it ISN'T mapped on the radar) it just isn't going to happen. And that isn't going to happen.

[Strafe]

Snow storm was pretty easy. Did it first time. Killed everyone in the hospital picking up no damage at all. Then I just pegged it to the nearest car when the police showed up (while getting shot to shit) and drove out of the danger zone.

[SomeNaiveChump]

Then I just pegged it to the nearest car when the police showed up (while getting shot to shit) and drove out of the danger zone.

This is what I don't get... by the time you are actually given control there are feds in the building blocking every exit. Just trying to run past them all guns blazing results in death.

If the game was designed well

1. there wouldn't be a 6-7 minute drive to the gun shop and then the location EVERY FUCKING TIME you retry

2. the building would be mapped on the radar FFS

3. there would be a time delay between 'empty hospital' and 'hospital full of feds'. as it is, the place is just instantly filled with feds during a cutscene. just not cricket.

4. there would be way more exits from the hospital, or at least FUCKING MAP IT (see point 2)

Were it not for point 1 I would've retried a few times and probably done it by now. But as it is it will never, ever happen.

[Strafe]

This is what I don't get... by the time you are actually given control there are feds in the building blocking every exit. Just trying to run past them all guns blazing results in death.

If the game was designed well

1. there wouldn't be a 6-7 minute drive to the gun shop and then the location EVERY FUCKING TIME you retry

2. the building would be mapped on the radar FFS

3. there would be a time delay between 'empty hospital' and 'hospital full of feds'. as it is, the place is just instantly filled with feds during a cutscene. just not cricket.

4. there would be way more exits from the hospital, or at least FUCKING MAP IT (see point 2)

Were it not for point 1 I would've retried a few times and probably done it by now. But it will never, ever happen.

Dunno. I gunned down the first wave and then pegged it. Don't get me wrong, I got shot to pieces but I had full health and body armour so lived through it. Once you work out that the cop AI has less fear of death than regular enemy AI and will just keep coming, you learn to leave them too it.

[christaylor]

This is what I don't get... by the time you are actually given control there are feds in the building blocking every exit. Just trying to run past them all guns blazing results in death.

If the game was designed well

1. there wouldn't be a 6-7 minute drive to the gun shop and then the location EVERY FUCKING TIME you retry

Were it not for point 1 I would've retried a few times and probably done it by now. But as it is it will never, ever happen.

I had a well-stocked arsenal by the time I did the mission, it's a fair way into the game. What have you been doing with all your weapons?!

If you want easier access to weapons, befriend LJ.

[jamBongo]

Did you play without auto-aim? I had to retry Photo Shoot about ten times because I couldn't catch two guys running in opposite directions. For those yet to do this mission: you can block one exit, just not two. If you try the latter, one of your cars will vanish. Grenades don't work either, since the gang go on immediate alert as you take aim. Best thing is to block the closest exit to the mission marker, ideally in Playboy's Hummer. I then took up position on the middle opening.

I might just have been lucky when I did this (admittedly after a couple of attempts) but I managed it by snipering the main guy from a side road, quite a way off in the distance behind where the group stood. Didn't get their attention at all that time when I took aim.

The remaining two guys did run at me once the completed mission music played, but I just drove off. Win!

[redbloodcell]

I've got 19 hours clocked. No idea what percentage.

The mission where you kill Goldberg was awesome. On my first try I shot him and then tried to fight my way out. Got absolutely slaughtered. So the next try I knifed him in the back, smashed a window in, jumped out and then legged it down the road. Awesome.

And the first PS3 player to 100% the game done it in like 4 days 19 hours. That's like how long the game has been out.

I did the same, although

I knifed him and just strolled calmly out of the building, whilst everyone around me stood oblivious to what I had done

[Wickedkitten]

Did you play without auto-aim? I had to retry Photo Shoot about ten times because I couldn't catch two guys running in opposite directions. For those yet to do this mission: you can block one exit, just not two. If you try the latter, one of your cars will vanish. Grenades don't work either, since the gang go on immediate alert as you take aim. Best thing is to block the closest exit to the mission marker, ideally in Playboy's Hummer. I then took up position on the middle opening.

Here's another massive complaint of mine:

Playboy confirms that Marlon is among one of the groups (of two) via your camera photo. You can then take out that entire group exclusively (two or three men), to be told: 'You let some of them escape. One of them could've been Marlon.'

I don't know if having auto-aim enabled would've made this any easier or not? I hope 'coulda been Marlon' goes down in forum legend!

start the mission, take a picture of the people that are standing in the middle of the court (make sure its zoomed in one the faces) with your mobile and Playboy will tell you which one of them is Marlon, which is why it's called PHOTO shoot.If you don't take the picture first then it could mess up the mission.

Edit: added some more in

[SomeNaiveChump]

I had a well-stocked arsenal by the time I did the mission, it's a fair way into the game. What have you been doing with all your weapons?!

If you want easier access to weapons, befriend LJ.

I have a full arsenal but I need fresh body armour and haven't yet found another way to get it.

LJ brings me guns but is yet to bring me armour.

[Harry]

What's everyones wishlist for the next GTA? Mine:

Army

Tanks

Flame throwers

Aircrafts

Jet Skis

I really do find it criminal that they didn't include tanks, the staple diet to every GTA.

I reckon the next one will be Vice City 2 as well.

[Wickedkitten]

I was very patient, forcing them to come through doors while I was crouching and aiming. I actually left the building with plenty of health, and then nearly died over a control screw-up next to the boat. I was being shot at while Niko decided to do jazz hands in the water.

What boat?

[son_of_helvetica]

^ Very true.

I've laid off it for a bit but the last time I played it was a very smart multiplayer session in Cannonball Run mode. It still amazes me that the multiplayer modes are extremely playable and they feel like a part of the game (including the earning of dosh for single player) rather than an add-on. I just heard the woeful Destructoid "interview" with Jack Thompson on their latest Podcast. The interviewer asked the wrong questions and didn't even try to put up a fight with Jack. A shame. Jack's facts, as always, totally wrong. *sigh*

[cassidy]

What's everyones wishlist for the next GTA?

Mine is one that works when I switch it on and it allows me to connect to the internet as well. That would be nice.

[Capwn]

1. there wouldn't be a 6-7 minute drive to the gun shop and then the location EVERY FUCKING TIME you retry

It took me a while to click but now when redoing missions I ALWAYS get a taxi!, much much faster!

[Wickedkitten]

I hope they add an option in a patch where you can go back and replay missions.

[bigbrick]

I have a full arsenal but I need fresh body armour and haven't yet found another way to get it.

LJ brings me guns but is yet to bring me armour.

he brings armour from the start.

it's up in the top left and you have to push up to select it.

[christaylor]

I have a full arsenal but I need fresh body armour and haven't yet found another way to get it.

LJ brings me guns but is yet to bring me armour.

It should be there from the start, it's up in the top left corner, I missed it the first time I looked through his boot.

[Wickedkitten]

I had Playboy's photo confirmation, but still had to nail all five. Must've been (another) glitch.

Speed boat at the back of the hospital. Walk along the wall until you come to a ladder. It's the best way out because no-one fires at you. You encounter two police boats up ahead, but they aren't interested once you turn early to avoid them.

It must have been a glitch because all I did was going around to the other side of the court, sniped him in the head and then walked away. Damn I didn't even know there was a boat there. I saw the ladder but never actually thought to go back and check once the feds showed up

[macosx]

As capone adam said, the taxis are brilliant at cutting out the bits of the game that used to annoy me. Played for a fair few hours and have loved the missions so far (just moved to my new home). They do all seem a lot easier than previous GTA's. The police are less hassle and less determined. I seem to remember them being almost suicidal in their attempts before to stop you.

[Harry]

I hope they add an option in a patch where you can go back and replay missions.

Yeah I was thinking that too, that "HEAT" mission was brill, running through the streets gunning down cop after cop. Definitely want to give that another blast.

[mr_woo]

Finished the main storyline there with about 40 hours on the clock. Fantastic game and it only got better the further you got with a great story, some great setpieces and of course great dialogue. I really wish you could replay certain missions as there's a lot of great stuff in their I'd love to replay. As well as the 'Heat' mission I really enjoyed the mission where

you and Phil were in a van moving the H, you then had the police on your ass and after getting to a certain point you had to run on foot and in an alleyway had a major firefight with the police and swat. You then get into a getaway car and have to lose your wanted level. That was a lot of fun

My only complaint really would be that the cover system is a bit clunky, needs to be a faster reaction time with press fire with the aim button held down, it just felt too slow. That would probably be my biggest complaint, the actual shooting and combat was a joy and so much more fun than the other GTA's

Looking forward to doing all the side missions and generally messing about in the world, I only ever did that a bit in the previous ones but this is much better than the others and I'm enjoying it a lot more.

Roll on DLC

[Capwn]

he brings armour from the start.

it's up in the top left and you have to push up to select it.

Oh what??? I've done all his missions but didn't know he did this?? Am guessing it's done in the same way as calling roman for a cab...

[Mr. Gerbik]

I have a full arsenal but I need fresh body armour and haven't yet found another way to get it.

LJ brings me guns but is yet to bring me armour.

Maybe you should turn the brightness up a bit, I guess that's why you haven't seen the armour LJ brings you since the start. It's only $300!

[McSpeed]

Is it just me, or does this game remind any of you a wee bit of The Boondock Saints? I just bought a suit which somewhat looks like what the McManus brothers wear in it, and combined with sunglasses, I think Niko could easily be their fifth man (after Rocco and Il Duce). Though in GTA IV, you're the killing guy from Eastern Europe killing others (though working together with some Irish).

What country do you think you Niko is from by the way? I haven't finished all missions though (just did Packie's first), but I'm under the impression he's Polish (as some of the maffia guys in the first mission from Player X suggested).

[mr_woo]

Well I've read that he was serbian which would make sense since he was in an eastern european war. No official confirmation though unless it says in the Official Guide or R* has said.