GTA:IV Official Thread

[Guest]

You know I actually know a guy who looks a lot like Roman, facially.

Yeah, I'll keep you updated.

[Timmo]

What makes GTA4 so different to San Andreas that it makes you give it a 10/10 compared to hating it? Genuinely curious.

It's better in almost every way? How about that?

[Sir DangerM]

I'd have agreed at the beginning, but it's grown on me and shootouts where I'm heavily outnumbered are now up there with my favourite parts of the game.

I was the same. I think it's just because it's a while before you get into any big shootouts, and when you're only up against a couple of enemies the cover system isn't any use at all. Also, the early weapons are bit crap. When you've got the AK/M4 and you're fighting off tens of enemies in an enclosed space the cover system/shooting is enjoyable as in any game i've played. I probably like the big shootouts more than anything else in the game.

[Mr. Gerbik]

What makes GTA4 so different to San Andreas that it makes you give it a 10/10 compared to hating it? Genuinely curious.

I always liked the concept but previous 3D GTAs failed to convince because the gunplay was awful and felt tacked on and, more importantly, the cities were completely unconvincing to me. They felt more like Lego models which completely ruined any chance of immersion.

GTAIV however has an amazingly atmospheric city that feels so much more alive than any other sandbox game world in other games. The gunplay is not perfect, but it's a million times better than in the previous 3D GTAs and is certainly more than adequate and satisfying. The shoot-outs are hectic and I feel in complete control. The storyline and characters are the biggest improvement for me; the guy in GTA3 was a tabula rasa, the guy in Vice City was an annoying caricature and the less said about CJ the better. GTAIV features some of the best acting, dialogues, and characters I've ever seen in a game. Niko and Brucie are my favourites, but almost everyone you meet in the game is convincing and entertaining. The animation in the cutscenes is genius, I LOL'ed every time Brucie started working out. Tbh, the storyline and the characters alone are captivating enough for me, but combined with the very first sandbox gameworld that feels truly alive and is a joy to simply walk around in, that makes it a solid 10/10 for me personally. I'm completely in love with game, and I can't stop playing. Every time I turn my 360 off and go do something else, I find myself thinking about GTAIV and all the things I could do next. Keeping in mind that I've been playing games for over two decades, that's saying something.

[Guest]

Phew, eh? It's nice to be right lads.

[Timmo]

I'm completely in love with game, and I can't stop playing. Every time I turn my 360 off and go do something else, I find myself thinking about GTAIV and all the things I could do next. Keeping in mind that I've been playing games for over two decades, that's saying something.

Exactly this, except I'm not a pensioner.

[Mr. Gerbik]

Exactly this, except I'm not a pensioner.

Watch it, young whippersnapper. There are a lot of forumites far older than I am, and they have connections.

[Uzi]

Gamerdork discussion/review of GTA4 (and why we think it's better than San Andreas and the previous ones):

http://rllmukfm.net/archives/297

Or on itunes if you search Gamerdork

[xibxang]

By the way, anyone going for the full 1000 gamerpoints on the 360 version of this game:

You need to kill a Rockstar Dev in an online ranked match

.

Sorry if it's been shared already.

EDIT: Description expanded for clarity.

[Yoshimax]

Aye but I have seen one so far and they quit my game as soon as they joined (pre official launch !)

Is it not viral ? that'd make a lot more sense.

[Uzi]

By the way, anyone going for the full 1000 gamerpoints on the 360 version of this game:

You need to kill a Rockstar Dev in an online ranked match

.

Sorry if it's been shared already.

EDIT: Description expanded for clarity.

That is surely going to be next to impossible for a lot of people right?

[kerraig UK]

Hey kerraig, my NAT is sorted for tonight, you on later? I've seen all the weapons and islands now so I'm all ready for the multiplayer. Really glad I did it that way, getting my hands on a rocket launcher was worth the wait.

yeah man i'll be on tonight fo shizzle

[Guest]

Does anyone think there might be some multiplayer DLC for us to buy?

Of course I've still not played it yet. If I get this work finished...

[JohnC]

The cover system is properly shit though.

When popping up and shooting from cover, not only is there a second's delay in getting the shot off, but amazingly your aiming reticule actually MOVES, so the headshot you wanted to take isn't gonna get taken unless you deliberately aim a distance wide to start with.

Use the lock-on system. And using lock-on doesn't prevent either free-aim or headshots either.

[kerraig UK]

I agree but by saying that the game loses its immersion it's like he's describing that the game slows down to a crawl.

The frame rate does not drop from a great height. I can agree that it is not amazing but losing two or three frames does not slow the action down in any noticeable way. I mean, the action keeps rolling and there is no slowness in the controls. The game has no frame rate problems, it's totally playable in any given situation. It's just not ideal with so much going on.

Unless there are some missions later on that really makes the fps drop and make the game lose its immersion, there are really no serious problems with the frame rate in my opinion.

Its all opinion though dude. in multiplayer turf war the framerate can REALLY dip. I've seen it hit about 8fps on many occassions. not only does it affect the gameplay cos you overcompensate on your aiming, but it also makes all the really cool shit look and feel a bit 'less' cool.

For me even driving through times square loses some of its INCREDIBLE immersion factor due to it being at about 20fps. if that was silky smooth it'd be a defining next gen moment for me. As it is its still completely brilliant, but just ever so slightly frustrating.

[Tom*]

Synch, I think that moving of the reticule could just be you moving the stick slightly (if you're already using lock-on mode) - the aiming allows you to lock-on then adjust your aim around for a headshot etc while still locked-on...if you see what I mean. Half-held trigger is free aim, full-held is lock-on but you can still adjust your aim within a certain area for precise shots. It's not a broken feature, it's meant to be like that, but correct me if I'm wrong.

[Goose]

I've given up being online for a forum match, life just keeps getting in the way. Either the baby, the wife or just life in general.

I think I posted this a few pages back as well. Still the same thing.

[YouWish8]

I've just now started to dip into the multiplayer and try all the modes and now I see what the fuss on it is about, the first time I player multiplayer the day I got it, I thought, so so. But now, its made me more competitive than a boxing kangaroo

[kerraig UK]

Synch, I think that moving of the reticule could just be you moving the stick slightly (if you're already using lock-on mode) - the aiming allows you to lock-on then adjust your aim around for a headshot etc while still locked-on...if you see what I mean. Half-held trigger is free aim, full-held is lock-on but you can still adjust your aim within a certain area for precise shots. It's not a broken feature, it's meant to be like that, but correct me if I'm wrong.

I think he's got auto aim off, like most of us

[Dimahoo]

For me even driving through times square loses some of its INCREDIBLE immersion factor due to it being at about 20fps. if that was silky smooth it'd be a defining next gen moment for me. As it is its still completely brilliant, but just ever so slightly frustrating.

Ohh i dunno Kerraig - see for me, that was something else i commented on earlier. Its not just the detail buts the sheer number of cars and Taxis as well as all the led animations, esp. at night in the rain.

I think we can deal with a short 20fps hit for that.

[SomeNaiveChump]

Synch, I think that moving of the reticule could just be you moving the stick slightly (if you're already using lock-on mode) - the aiming allows you to lock-on then adjust your aim around for a headshot etc while still locked-on...if you see what I mean. Half-held trigger is free aim, full-held is lock-on but you can still adjust your aim within a certain area for precise shots. It's not a broken feature, it's meant to be like that, but correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm not using auto-aim or lock-on at all. I've tried and it's just awful.

The aiming when popping out of cover with free aim *is* broken; the reticule moves of its own accord as Niko takes the shot, during the immense delay which shouldn't happen anyway.

[Dimahoo]

Yes your right - if you pop out, the reticule moves - just compensate for it. or use blind fire.

[kerraig UK]

Ohh i dunno Kerraig - see for me, that was something else i commented on earlier. Its not just the detail buts the sheer number of cars and Taxis as well as all the led animations, esp. at night in the rain.

I think we can deal with a short 20fps hit for that.

yeah its unbelievable isnt it. Unfortunately for me, once it all starts moving a bit jerkily, the animations become almost impossible to read and it all feels a bit gamey. if it ran smooth but looked a little less detailed it'd blow my mind. I do appreciate its all preference though.

[Tom*]

I'm not using auto-aim or lock-on at all. I've tried and it's just awful.

The aiming when popping out of cover with free aim *is* broken; the reticule moves of its own accord as Niko takes the shot, during the immense delay which shouldn't happen anyway.

Ah I see. Well I've been using lock-on + adjusting so I guess I missed that problem.

I'd rather play with lock-on if free-aim-only is difficult - this isn't exactly an FPS so I don't mind, and I'm driving for most of the game anyway.

[tyler]

Are people getting freezing on the 360 version or not

I've not had a single lock-up on the 360.

Why are people struggling so much with the missions in this?

If you shoot well and drive well, you'll clear everything first time.

I've only had to retry about four missions and no more than three times. A couple of those were just by not topping up my health/armour beforehand. I've enjoyed the fact it's been quite easy really.

My PS3 copy has started to freeze. Could it be anything to do with it being inside my machine since launch? Is that generally bad?

My Minna No Golf 5 disc was in my PS3 for nearly 6 months with no problems.

Hey - where was your fanboy patrol when Disciple was sporadically posting anti-PS3 shit for the last 20 pages? Hypocrisy at it's greatest, there.

Everyone has Disciple on ignore.

Duh. The rollercoaster spoiler is pretty obvious don't you think?

It says "come back in the summer". So thats one part of the DLC sorted i reckon.

I really hope I can play mini-golf and drive go-karts in the DLC.

[JohnC]

I'm not using auto-aim or lock-on at all. I've tried and it's just awful.

The aiming when popping out of cover with free aim *is* broken; the reticule moves of its own accord as Niko takes the shot, during the immense delay which shouldn't happen anyway.

So what you are saying is that you want to avoid locking on, but you want it to stay locked on? I mean, why would it stay locked to a fixed position when you are in free-aim? That's what free-aim is.

[redbloodcell]

I'm not using auto-aim or lock-on at all. I've tried and it's just awful.

The aiming when popping out of cover with free aim *is* broken; the reticule moves of its own accord as Niko takes the shot, during the immense delay which shouldn't happen anyway.

If it moves a lot you're staying too far away from the edge you're shooting from and Niko has to take a step out/move rather than spin around the corner, its a pay-off for being totally out of the line of fire whereas being right against the edge you can still get the odd shot hit when you're aiming. As others have said though its not hard to compensate, I just saw it as a bit more of a realistic take on things as his head whilst looking around the corner and after he's moved to fire are rarely in the same place, so this movement needs to be accounted for.

[Dimahoo]

So what you are saying is that you want to avoid locking on, but you want it to stay locked on? I mean, why would it stay locked to a fixed position when you are in free-aim? That's what free-aim is.

No thats not it. If your aiming from behind a wall, then pop out, it usually stays in the same place so you can aim without being killed and know where your shot will land (so you can work out where and NPC's head will be then kill him as he pops out of hiding).

But sometimes it'll move as you "round the wall" to fire. It doesn't do it all the time though.

[kerraig UK]

So what you are saying is that you want to avoid locking on, but you want it to stay locked on? I mean, why would it stay locked to a fixed position when you are in free-aim? That's what free-aim is.

Is it so hard to get. he's saying that while in cover he wants to aim his reticule, and then when he pops up to take the shot he wants the reticule to stay where he positioned it. However, the reticule moves all on its own in the course of Niko's 'peek out of cover' animation, which is basically just down to bad game design. Not massively bad, bu tis been enough to make me miss a few headshots.

In fact, a fair amount of the game seems to be a little bit compromised to maintain the integrity of the animations. You cant get in or out of a car when you're talking on the phone, it takes AGES to get out of a car even with 10 cops shooting at you, in multiplayer when I get knocked down its a good 10 seconds before I can shoot again because euphoria is doing its awesome 'I'm getting up' stuff. All the animations look great but when the heat is on they can be a burden.

[Dimahoo]

I do think thats kind of adds to realism but it can be frustrating when your used to moving quickly and have to wait for the animation to end.

RE. the recticle - i think it depends on where your aiming your shot or where your standing. It doesn't always do it.