I mentioned I may do a second Jimpressions, because let's face it, the biggest release of the year kind of deserves it. I've put a few hours in now, and have felt my way around, plus the initial bitter disappointment I felt has subdued and I am also not pushed for time and writing on a shitty laptop.
SO, Grand Theft Auto IV. I want to mention the good things, because believe it or not, I don't actually enjoy trashing a videogame, especially when I had to spend money on it. Okay, so the good:
First off, Niko is an amazingly likable main character. He has a softness not present in the psychotic Tommy Vercetti, and a depth that CJ lacked. He is very well realized, and his past, however brutal, is sympathetic.
The humor is spot on. A lot has happened since the last console GTA, and they've really nailed some of the trademark satire which happens to be my favorite thing about the franchise. Watching the TV is a lot of fun, especially the Weasel network -- a rather awesome spoof of FOX.
The gunplay is improved. I actually think the cover system isn't too bad. At least when dealing with shotgunners, it's a handy tool. It still feels very clunky and there was one situation where I was being stabbed and it wouldn't draw, but overall, it feels better, and the way the camera spins and blurs when you switch targets is very sleek.
Unfortunately, bad stuff lingers. The hand to hand combat is fucking awful and Niko can't hit for shit. Even on a grounded opponent, with target locking, the man's just punching the pavement next to the opponent. The buttons aren't responsive.
I am slowly getting the hang of whatever they did to the cars. I still don't like it. The older games had imperfect yet enjoyably arcadey handling. Just driving casually around town is fine, but for missions where you have to chase other cars, it's really annoying. I know turning is easier if going slow, but you can't go slow when pursuing. Luckily, Samit wrote me a ridiculously lengthy tutorial on car turning, so hopefully once I've mastered that, it'll be gravy. Ultimately, that is the only thing seriously hampering my enjoyment of the game. The bugs and combat are irritating, but the driving is crucial and right now it doesn't feel as natural as once it did. We shall see, once I've had even more time with it.
I honestly feel reviewers would have done gamers and themselves a greater service by not glossing over the flaws in this series. Things are clunky and loose. It's certainly starting to grow on me, and I think before long I'll feel a lot more comfortable with it, but it is not the gaming perfection that reviews would lead you to believe.
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(# 0) on 04/29/2008 13:03
see jim now your just a taker-backer, no one likes those. god damn man. (i predict everyone is going to ream you for changing your stories now) or they will just praise you because you finally said good things about a mediocre game.
yes i said mediocre. don't argue about the fact that i said it. my house has both the PS3 and Xbox versions, I am in fact playing it, and i do enjoy it, but i will still call it mediocre, and this comment flamewar will be about jim not me :)
so go.
(# 1) on 04/29/2008 13:04
(# 2) on 04/29/2008 13:04
(# 3) on 04/29/2008 13:09
(# 4) on 04/29/2008 13:10
Mixing opinions only leads to discussion, which we simply can't have here. Moar one-liners and insults and declarations of unshakable finality, plz!
(# 5) on 04/29/2008 13:10
so anyways, the more I read your impressions Jimmels, the more I want to play it. I'm never ordering a game I really want to play from Amazon again.
(# 6) on 04/29/2008 13:12
Thanks for being strait with us on the games flaws.
(# 7) on 04/29/2008 13:20
The wait sucks, but if you didn't pre-order the Limited Edition, buying it off of Amazon was the smartest thing you could have done.
(# 8) on 04/29/2008 13:24
I need it
(# 9) on 04/29/2008 13:30
too many people are actually having fun playing GTA 4 to even care about the reviews,
But for some reason jim takes the time to post flaws only to exploit the overly rewarding reviews the game has gotten so far. (or so it seems)
Wait until the Dtoid review comes up, and as always it will probabley be around an 8, and they'll tell you to rent it. Thats great and all, but everyone has diffrent taste and its pretty stupid to take one person from Dtoid and review a game, that system in itself is flawed.
Okay first off, hand to hand system works fine, theres even a counter button, I've had no problems at all with the combat system...anyone with this issue I have to say it is a personal problem.
Second, the car handling. Granted it is diffrent, but its not that hard. I'm horrible at all racing games except burnout, and after about only 2 hours with the game I've learned that most peoples problem is probabley with romans taxi, and it seems weird only because the axis on which the car turns is in a weird spot. Thats why it feels odd.
People need to really get there heads out of there asses with all these fuckng reviews.
Play the game on your own. Rent the game, don't like it? Take the game back. Really, its that simple.
(# 10) on 04/29/2008 13:33
Also, thanks for not spoiling anything.
(# 11) on 04/29/2008 13:37
Still Jim, you and D-Toid rock. As soon as I saw that video about G4 or whatever giving it a 10/10 I knew right away that it doesn't (diddn't) deserve a 10. 10 is epic and should only be given for one out of 1,000 games and that never happens.
(# 12) on 04/29/2008 13:37
@kryptinite why wouldn't you order from amazon? we actually got the game yesterday at 3:45pm, amazon again shipped us before release, like they did with my mario kart.
(# 13) on 04/29/2008 13:38
(# 14) on 04/29/2008 13:42
WHAAAAT? They shipped it last night and I opted for the 2 day shipping. I refused to pay more than I would in retail and with tax it brought me to 2 day shipping. DAMN MY CURSE OF HAVING LIMITED EDITION SHIT!!
all this for a license plate...I have issues. But I'm cool with that.
(# 15) on 04/29/2008 13:44
These are his impressions, and what's wrong with an 8? that's above average, and you really think dtoid is going to give one of the biggest games of the year a 'rent it'? Fuck off.
I'm quite sure you're the one with their head up their ass. Stfuajpg.
(# 16) on 04/29/2008 13:48
How moronic.
(# 17) on 04/29/2008 13:49
(# 18) on 04/29/2008 13:49
(# 19) on 04/29/2008 13:50
i live in philadelphia, and they shipped it out of a delaware warehouse. I'm a prime member so i get free 2-day shipping. they shipped it out monday morning, i got the email at like 6am.
sure enough at 3:45 it arrived lol. same story with mario kart, only that was on friday.
though we disconnected our xboxes so our gamertag wouldn't show that we played it, didn't want to have to fight with xbox about amazon's fault.
(# 20) on 04/29/2008 13:52
As far as giving GTA a 10/10, going by what Rev said I don't see why GTA doesn't deserve a 10/10. Of course, if the destructoid review is any less I won't care, I know where I stand on the game.
(# 21) on 04/29/2008 14:02
Niko is a very good character, I laugh at his voice though when he curses, have no idea why... but... xD
I'll give GTAIV a 9. Very nice and is a very big revamp of Grand Theft Auto III, although bad hand-to-hand and bugs kinda nerf it down.
(# 22) on 04/29/2008 14:03
But it's still not perfect :P
(# 23) on 04/29/2008 14:17
1. The hand to hand combat just blows, and when a person is behind you trying to kill you, you should be able to lock on to them, that is a fuck up by R*
2. At many different parts of the game (sometimes during the day) I cannot see where i am going, i've adjusted the brightness on the options to the highest setting, but still can't see where entrances are to buildings (i.e. the safehouse).
The driving is difficult, but i am picking it up and getting better at it. I expect this game will take up a few more hours of my time :)
(# 24) on 04/29/2008 14:19
I just see the score 8 and 8.5's as a score that says "yeah its damn good, but nothings perfect so we'll just give it an 8". Thats what I really dont like about reviews.
And while maybe someone is annoyed at my take on it, well, I really wasn't trying to be insulting really, but I do think if you READ the last part of jims post, its pretty clear that his statement is,
"I honestly feel reviewers would have done gamers and themselves a greater service by not glossing over the flaws in this series. Things are clunky and loose. It's certainly starting to grow on me, and I think before long I'll feel a lot more comfortable with it, but it is not the gaming perfection that reviews would lead you to believe."
Now how does that not come off as trying to explot the flaws of other reviews on the game?
(# 25) on 04/29/2008 14:25
Exploit them for what, exactly? This is my CBlog, not the main page. I have absolutely nothing to gain from posting here. This isn't my review, and I wouldn't mention another review in my review, because that's not the done way.
I don't see what's being exploited, and for what ends.
(# 26) on 04/29/2008 14:33
I need to just write a solid c-blog about this. Everyone has to do at least one, right? :p
(# 27) on 04/29/2008 14:35
I quit.
(# 28) on 04/29/2008 14:41
(# 29) on 04/29/2008 14:51
Now my reason for choosing that (perfect) score wasn't because I think the game is or isn't good. It's because it's popular, a 'brand,' and didn't suddenly fail with the first sequel. The GTA's, Halo's, etc, all get the exact same fucking reviews. Go read them - half of them simply change a couple words but keep virtually the same score/review/comments. It's sad, but how it works.
If you want to have a review of a game before you buy or rent the game, go to metacritic.com, and read the lowest fucking review. The one that gives it 50/100, or something. Those are the reviews you want to read. Why?
Who the fuck wants to hear what is good about the game? You know what's good about the game, you can watch commercials for that shit. You want to know if it loads slowly, if it's clunky, if the game-mechanics are twitchy, if the QA was on fucking crack. You want to know what SUCKS so you don't waste your money.
And when I say you, I mean me, of course. But I really wish more people would stop encouraging these bloated reviews by rabidly defending them.
So Jim, I salute what you've done here. You said EXACTLY whta you thought in your first impressions - all the negative things you felt. Then, you make a second part where you point out there are positives, but the negatives can outweigh them.
Cheers.
(# 30) on 04/29/2008 15:05
You're obviously abusing my eyes by forcing me to click on every link I see, including yours. What devious planning!
(# 31) on 04/29/2008 15:07
They should mention the combat and driving controls though, after all, they're the two of the biggest gameplay mechanics in the game.
(# 32) on 04/29/2008 15:46
Ill give you the combat isnt super fantastic, but it isnt too bad. Try the counter system, it seems to work better than just swinging. Else get a knife, and show those mofo's what for.
Theres a few flaws to this game, but it still gets 10/10 for me just because ive played for around 7 hours and im still finding new things rockstar has added in just because they felt that they could and should, NOT because theyre necessary.
(# 33) on 04/29/2008 17:39
(# 34) on 04/29/2008 18:11
(# 35) on 04/29/2008 18:14
Adding to the humour, the satire and the wit making this story a ten, Then presentation is a 10, and sound with songs beign spot on and so much dialogue i wait for the next voice 10, then multiplayer 10, then slow comabt and movement, more realistic and (trust me) better cars, and a bitta shitty aim up close 8.
Jim try the bat its got the reach you want in close quaters.Overall Its a high Ten Jim if you REALLY get picky over the little things (of which there aint that many) then at VERY least a 9.
Plus if you judge a game by how many times you go "Oh wow look at that" or explain a bit that happened to you its the highest rated game ever for me. MINE IS RIGHT!
(# 36) on 04/29/2008 18:25
While I won't argue you calling it mediocre, because it is your opinion, I will say that I sat and laughed more within the first 6 hours of this game than I did at almost any other game I have played in the last 2 years that made an attempt to satire our world. "The Mens Room" had me laughing really hard. Bas is a great character...And Ricky Gervais on his favorite war? The lines about Pol Pot were outstanding...
There are certainly some wacky controls (as Jim pointed out the melee stuff is kind of wonky) but overall, I'm enjoying this more than Vice City, which was by far my favorite of the series...And when I heard Jeru the Damaja on the radio all I could do was bob my head and smile...
(# 37) on 04/29/2008 18:33
(# 38) on 04/30/2008 06:56
(# 39) on 04/30/2008 10:54
It's really strange how people can totally flip at seeing an 8. Just because you're hearing what you don't want to hear. doesn't mean you have to make negative comments.
(# 40) on 04/30/2008 15:33
I've heard several friends comment on the same flaws - less arcadey handling on the cars and sketchy accuracy.
(# 41) on 05/01/2008 03:07
Any chance of you posting Samit's driving tutorial? I'm having trouble with it too.
(# 42) on 05/01/2008 14:17
First line of THIS review:
"I mentioned I may do a second Jimpressions, because let's face it, the biggest release of the year kind of deserves it."
FACT: Jim Sterling references his first review in the first sentence of this newer, gentler review.
FACT: Jim Sterling defends his Jimpressions II review by stating he would never reference a review in a review.
FACT: Jim Sterling is an unethical reporter whom you shouldn't trust to not eat your children. This November, you have a choice. Don't vote for Jim Sterling.
Paid for by Greybush for GTA.
(# 43) on 05/01/2008 16:17
(# 44) on 05/02/2008 14:22
(# 45) on 05/05/2008 16:50
(# 46) on 05/05/2008 18:54