[i]This is just my opinion and how I feel about GTA and Rockstar, read it with a grain of salt.
[/i]
It has been a little close to a month since Grand Theft Auto 4 came out. A blitz of coverage and controversy has swept over us and the game has been judged on its own merits. Yet, the game is far from perfect even though many reviewers would say it is. I don't have time to say what is wrong because if you have played or read an honest review about it, you'd know. I have played a few missions (on my relative's game save) and will reserve judgment until later. Ever since the release of GTA III, we began to live in a GTA world. Rockstar has set the standard for the "open-world crime drama" genre. Publishers and developers scrambled to tap in that sweet spot. Some were close while others failed miserably. Naughty Dog's Jak II had GTA elements in the gameplay (instead of taking a vehicle, you'd commandeer it and character missions). The GTA series grew successful throughout the life of the PS2. Yet, with every great game series, there can be only one thing that can sour even the greatest of mouths: The Fanboy. Fanboys have always been on the good and bad side of gaming since its conception. Fanboys move systems and games with their immeasurable disposable income. Anything similar to Rockstar opus is either denounced or met with mixed emotions. Almost like Final Fantasy fans look at other JRPGs with contempt. My issue is this, will we ever see another game like GTA isn't made by Rockstar and be good? Saints Row came pretty close to the formula. It introduced a few elements that was used in GTA 4. Now with a sequel on the way (in a few more months longer than scheduled), the Saints Row series has alot of big fanboy size shoes to fill. What do you think? Does Rockstar have something so good that what ever they make is golden or should we take off the rose colored specs?
I prefer to live in a world with paragraphs more than anything.
But I digress...
GTA isn't even the best GTA-type game anymore. IV sucks in the fun department compared to games like Crackdown (holla at Yojimbo) and even other GTA games in the series (Vice City being the pinnacle of the series in my opinion).
Heck, even Scarface was fun in its own right. At least it gave you a sense of accomplishment as you took over the city of Miami.
Also, just wait for Saint's Row 2. I guarantee it will be better/more fun than people are willing to give it credit for at this point simply out of contempt for the first one. Just wait, the haters will come around.
San Andreas impressed me by surface space. Aside from having signature GTA mission structure, there were three moderately sized cities and equally as much open area and small towns.
Business ownership, the heist mission line, Tommy Vercetti as the purest psychopath in the series, that was all great though . . .
I really liked all the area you had to play in with San Andreas, but I felt like the missions took me out of the latter two cities too quickly. I really appreciate that they scaled the game back to a single city for GTA IV. Plus, the RPG elements (raising your stats for EVERYTHING) got old quickly and felt unnecessary.
Vice City is still my favorite out of the last generation games, mainly for all the 80's nostalgia. It was just a blast to play. I didn't even find out about the demolition derby until my second playthrough.
I don't really mind the lack of owning territory in GTA IV myself, although it seems to be a common complaint. It doesn't really fit with Niko's motivation. He's not out to take over Liberty City and become a crime lord. It wouldn't make sense.
I haven't tried out the first Saint's Row, but I'll very likely pick up the second one. I love sandbox games. I think Rockstar is a long ways away from producing a "bad" GTA, but competition is always going to be nipping at their heels. If someone else makes a GTA clone just as good as Rockstar's, I'm all for it.
People seem to be hating on GTA IV now because it's so popular, I think it's the best in the series by far, not perfect, but pretty epic. Also, Crackdown was so much fun, I wish it actually had a story, but it's tons of fun. Saints Row 2 looks kind of ridiculous. It's like GTA with Ratchet and Clank weapons, and the ability to fire feces at pedestrians.
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I take it you never played Crackdown ?
Uh.
I prefer to live in a world with paragraphs more than anything.
But I digress...
GTA isn't even the best GTA-type game anymore. IV sucks in the fun department compared to games like Crackdown (holla at Yojimbo) and even other GTA games in the series (Vice City being the pinnacle of the series in my opinion).
Heck, even Scarface was fun in its own right. At least it gave you a sense of accomplishment as you took over the city of Miami.
Also, just wait for Saint's Row 2. I guarantee it will be better/more fun than people are willing to give it credit for at this point simply out of contempt for the first one. Just wait, the haters will come around.
@B-Radicate"Vice City being the pinnacle of the series in my opinion"
Really? OK. Wow. But OK.
Crackdown did a great job of providing something very different and fun to do in an open cityscape.
GTA IV is my favorite in the seres by far. I also second (third?) the comments about Crackdown, its a fantastic game.
Also, I just started playing the original Saints Row and I'm really enjoying it. It's much better than the PS2 GTAs.
Oh ya, Vice City was definately the most fun I've ever had in a GTA game. San Andreas just wasn't... fun in the same way you know?
San Andreas impressed me by surface space. Aside from having signature GTA mission structure, there were three moderately sized cities and equally as much open area and small towns.
Business ownership, the heist mission line, Tommy Vercetti as the purest psychopath in the series, that was all great though . . .
I really liked all the area you had to play in with San Andreas, but I felt like the missions took me out of the latter two cities too quickly. I really appreciate that they scaled the game back to a single city for GTA IV. Plus, the RPG elements (raising your stats for EVERYTHING) got old quickly and felt unnecessary.
Vice City is still my favorite out of the last generation games, mainly for all the 80's nostalgia. It was just a blast to play. I didn't even find out about the demolition derby until my second playthrough.
I don't really mind the lack of owning territory in GTA IV myself, although it seems to be a common complaint. It doesn't really fit with Niko's motivation. He's not out to take over Liberty City and become a crime lord. It wouldn't make sense.
I haven't tried out the first Saint's Row, but I'll very likely pick up the second one. I love sandbox games. I think Rockstar is a long ways away from producing a "bad" GTA, but competition is always going to be nipping at their heels. If someone else makes a GTA clone just as good as Rockstar's, I'm all for it.
And Crackdown is win. :)
Crackdown is an incredible open world game.
That's all I have to say to your block of text.
People seem to be hating on GTA IV now because it's so popular, I think it's the best in the series by far, not perfect, but pretty epic. Also, Crackdown was so much fun, I wish it actually had a story, but it's tons of fun. Saints Row 2 looks kind of ridiculous. It's like GTA with Ratchet and Clank weapons, and the ability to fire feces at pedestrians.