Lets Talk About GTA

[peace4myheart]

This game is a technical marvel. Love it hate it, this is video game technology at its finest. Physics, graphics, cut scenes, writing/script are all incredible.

The first 30 minutes of the game are all I had time to play. Each and every one of them was awesome, not perfect. This game IS worth some of the hype unlike Halo 3 IMO. This is a giant jump for video game technology in general.

Which version did you get, 360 or PS3 and were you playing on an HDTV???

[Flak Beard]

This game is a technical marvel. Love it hate it, this is video game technology at its finest. Physics, graphics, cut scenes, writing/script are all incredible.

I don't think many people will argue that. I see it, but at the same time when I watch game-play videos, I can't help but feel like it's all too familiar. Sure the aiming is fixed and the difficulty more accessible, but I personally can't get excited about things that should of been addressed two iterations ago.

To each his own though. I see why people are excited, but it's just not doing it for me this time.

[peace4myheart]

Flak Beard, I think it's your age. You just Old...Man. HA HA HA. I feel the same way as you, though I have to wonder if I were younger and this was my first GTA, would I have been as excited as Quagmire every time he sees a pretty girl??? Just in case you didin't know who Quagmire is. He is the overly horny guy from Family Guy.

[Flak Beard]

I'm actually a little upset that I'm not excited. The game is getting great scores, and there are tons of things to love about it. For some reason though, I just don't give a shit.

Oh well, maybe I am an old man.

[RadarScope1]

This game is a technical marvel. Love it hate it, this is video game technology at its finest. Physics, graphics, cut scenes, writing/script are all incredible.

The first 30 minutes of the game are all I had time to play. Each and every one of them was awesome, not perfect. This game IS worth some of the hype unlike Halo 3 IMO. This is a giant jump for video game technology in general.

Like I said earlier, this is one of the reasons I'm ready to hop on board with this franchise now. The graphics and control issues Ack mentioned, along with an aversion to open world games, kept me away until now. In some ways I think that's lucky for me, because having not played them much I'm not affected by the "more of the same" argument.

I'll prolly be picking it up tomorrow presuming I can find a copy.

[AwesomeMonstar]

The first 30 minutes of the game are all I had time to play. Each and every one of them was awesome, not perfect. This game IS worth some of the hype unlike Halo 3 IMO. This is a giant jump for video game technology in general.

God, when did people start hating halo 3? All because it's really popular doesn't mean its bad. The game is worth every bit of hype it got. 4 player co-op, forge, theater mode, and a campaign that brings back the spirit of the first game without the repetition. However, it's the cool thing to do on the internet so people will constantly scrutinize it anyways.

[gradualmeltdown]

I'm not trying to be punk rock by hating on Halo. I hate mainstream culture, but I'm not stupid enough to miss out on good stuff because its popular. I genuinely felt Halo 3 wasn't as technologically advanced as I had hoped. Great game, really high expectations. GTA 4's beginning simply blew me away. Maybe I'll get out of work and hate the rest, who knows.

[gradualmeltdown]

Holy shit,this is not a joke,

So on my way home from work at 10:30Pm I was walking to the bus stop. I walk around a corner and wham......some guy decks me in the face. Straight up sucker punch.

I didn't go down, was dazed and got another one in the face from somebody else. Looked up finally and there are 5-8 drunk teenagers maybe 16-18 I then realize I'm nowhere near hurt after 2 clean shots to the head, I should kick their ass. Still not entirely understanding whats going on I then think two things. Knifes and numbers. I am 30 years old and can lift 150 pounds over my head no problem, unless they were drunken martial artists no two of them stood a chance. They were all drunk but.....8 of them and a single knife could have ended really bad for me. They then told me to give them my bag, with my brand new Taiko DS 2 ,DS covered in awesome stickers.. They had crossed the line

After thinking about all of that over a single millisecond I grabbed the smallest kid and straight up stuck a screwdriver (the only thing in my pocket) into his thigh. Threw him down and kicked him in the head and yelled "alright, you can all kick my ass, but which one of YOU IS (no question) losing an eye" At that point they took off, but slower than I figured.

It gets better. I call the Cops because I want to report it as this area is never patrolled and has a serious crime problem all ready. They did a great job showing up and did everything right. As they are taking information half of the kids wander by on the other side of the street! IDIOTS! Immediately I see the one I'm sure punched me first and they grab all of them. The kids claim I assaulted them and was high on drugs ( they are drunk ) Cops laugh at them (literally, it was sweet) and book them all for various reasons,(missing person, prior record)

In a way I really wish I could have gone one on one with that little bastard. For years I've wanted to see how well I can hang. Considering everything I am alive with a few bruises so I guess its all good. Haven't been in a fight in 10 years, good to know I can take a few to the chops even if they were pathetic.

I feel horrible today, these kids didn't do shit because of GTA. Where the f*** are their parents and what the hell did they do wrong. What is there for kids to do nowadays that are poor. Seems like everything costs alot to do anymore. America's youth need help, and banning video games won't stop this.

[DCAllAmerican]

Yall "retro" exclusive dudes are missing out. Thats all I am going to say. Don't let your pride allow you to miss out on this masterpiece.

And I haven't even played 1 player mode

[Daniel Primed]

Some interesting discussion going on here. I hope that I'm not too late to the party. I think that AwesomeMonstar sums it up perfectly. My ideas:

To comment on the references to American culture for a second. Namely Ack's contributions on which I totally agree. Most of my peers and generally speaking probably the fair majority of Australians (and as a student of Chinese, many of my international friends) unanimously look down on/negatively view America. Information, stories and reports about issues such as gun laws, George Bush, unjust media reports and corruption have lead us and what I believe to be many other countries to feel this way. Personally I can't imagine that America is a pleasant place to live. I find the cultural references in the GTA games to always provide me with a chuckle even if it makes me feel sick in the stomach at the same time.

gradualmeltdown, that is an incrediable story, thanks for sharing it.

Moving on though, I can see the relevance of the "a jack of all trades, yet a master of none". But the crux here is that the GTA games don't need to be the best (or masters) of all trades to be a great game and that is what is going on here. Of course you could also invert this theory and ask how a standard racing game does shooting elements....in which it doesn't. There are positives and negatives for being a strictly genre defined game and a game that blends various genres, they each have their purpose and each is valid. So stating that side is flawed just doesn't work.

metaleggman, I get the impression from your commentaries (and please correct me if I am wrong) that you haven't actually played these games or given them a fair chance. This series is not some filthy mobile phone sex/violnece game that spring up too often in magazines. The GTA franchise, much like any gangster movie, handles violences in a relevant and realistic way. From the sounds of things GTA 4 shines in this department showing the pain, anguish and reason behind the violence. If you play these games then you will realize this.

To conclude, there is a reason why this game recieves so much attention and so much critical acclaim. These games wouldn't have been a success if they were originally fun to play. Despite some ideas, people won't just play anything that has sex and violence just because it has sex and violence. Names countless shallow games that exploited violence/sex and failed...