Poll of the Day > A few days ago I started GTA IV for first time ever. I'm a bit disappointed.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I played GTA 3 and Vice City religiously when I was younger and even got 100% completion on both, while I beat the main story of San Andreas and a big chunk of side quests (I don't think I got 100% but can't remember).
GTA 4 is a good game, but a bad GTA game IMO. Where the fuck are the UNLOCKABLES? In the PS2 games you could unlock better armor/health from doing the vigilante/ambulance missions, weapons and armor at hideout from finding hidden packages, ANY vehicle you want at your disposal including law enforcement vehicles from doing the garage missions etc. These missions all exist in GTA 4 for the most part and all you get is achievements/trophies for doing them.
Also have had my vehicles disappear from my hideouts too. I had a Comet disappear and my Infernus disappeared but thankfully got that one back with a reloaded save. Annoying!
As a standalone game I give it a 7/10 but as a GTA game I'd give it a 4/10. I probably won't even try GTA 5 if it's more like this.
I still have Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories on PS2 that I haven't tried though. I am pretty sure I will like those alot more.

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I never played gta iv

gta V I played when it came to pc and I played it entirely in first person (yes even the driving)

gta V is a wonderfully fun game. citation: played the main story stuff. Not into that online crap

Yeah, 4 wasnt super well received. I really did like the story to it but the game felt pretty clunky compared to the other gtas. GTA 5 felt quite a bit better but the story was meh and the characters arent great imo but Im of the camp that thinks Trevor is a tool where as most liked his wackiness

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J_Dawg983 posted...

Yeah, 4 wasnt super well received

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_IV#Reception

Which is why game journalism is kinda stupid. GTA IV was decidedly average, and to me, had almost zero replayability outside of DLC which was alright.

I think I'm gonna play Mafia trilogy after I'm done with GTA IV + DLC.
If there is no unlockables at least there is the vintage Playboy centerfold collectables, haha

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I would like to point out that cars disappearing from hideouts wasn't exclusive to 4.

a funny thing to do after car jacking someone, is let them run after you until you find a cop car. when they pull you out the cops go after them...
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Yeah, I didn't like GTA4. I was looking forward to Nico's story about a man who didn't want to be a criminal but couldn't escape it and . . . that's not at all what's happening. He's 100% a mercenary scumbag. Yeah, he drives a taxi for a mission and then his cousin's gambling debts get in the way, but how much goddamn money did random mafia-types loan to a nobody running a cab company? I have millions in the bank but join an, admittedly really cool, Heat-style bank heist, probably one of the most high-profile crimes you could commit, because I "need the money"?

The game made sense until you leave the not-Bronx or whatever it is. Then suddenly you're meeting every random criminal in Liberty City for any job that comes to their minds, like immediately backstabbing one when another requests it. The hell?

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I liked it. Yeah it was clunky and Roman was fucking annoying but I dug the story and characters. I'm in the minority here but the driving didn't bother me. I see that complaint a lot - "the driving is shit" - but I thought it was fine

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GTA4 took itself far too seriously. The previous games, as well as GTA5, understood that people don't play GTA for realism, they play it so you can run around, steal a variety of vehicles, get into epic chases and shootouts, and generally cause mayhem.

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I never got more than 8 hours or so into the story. The game was just dull and not very fun to play.

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Rotpar posted...

Yeah, I didn't like GTA4. I was looking forward to Nico's story about a man who didn't want to be a criminal but couldn't escape it and . . . that's not at all what's happening. He's 100% a mercenary scumbag. Yeah, he drives a taxi for a mission and then his cousin's gambling debts get in the way, but how much goddamn money did random mafia-types loan to a nobody running a cab company? I have millions in the bank but join an, admittedly really cool, Heat-style bank heist, probably one of the most high-profile crimes you could commit, because I "need the money"?

The game made sense until you leave the not-Bronx or whatever it is. Then suddenly you're meeting every random criminal in Liberty City for any job that comes to their minds, like immediately backstabbing one when another requests it. The hell?

Yeah they kinda ditch the original plot after the first 12 or so missions and then switch to a standard Revenge Style plot, still enjoyed it though.

couusssiinnn!!!

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So I'll rank GTA games I've played:

1. GTA: Vice City
2. GTA: San Andreas
3. GTA 3
4. GTA V
5. GTA Episodes from Liberty City
6. GTA IV

In short I agree with this topic. GTA IV is the worse GTA I've played. That's not saying much though as the games went downhill after SA.

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I mean, if memory serves it was a pretty bold undertaking for it's day. While it may have cut some of the more in-depth features of San Andreas it had a huge expansive world, which was more rare back then. Now in retrospect it doesn't come off as great, because huge open worlds are a dime a dozen but back then it was a big deal.

I also think at the time a more serious take was a new look for GTA, and that was also given props. Anyways I can't recall any GTA main game in the series getting less than a 9 out of 10 average since GTA III. Critics adore the series and the lowest score you will ever see for a main line entry is an 8 out of 10 from a critic.

It was a good game imo. Just failed to capture the spirit of what made gta popular. And also having all these customization option san andreas then severely taking a step back from that hurt.

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mooreandrew58 posted...

It was a good game imo. Just failed to capture the spirit of what made gta popular. And also having all these customization option san andreas then severely taking a step back from that hurt.

I think part of that was an intentional decision, Rockstar has yet to make another game with the depth of GTA San Andreas. They have games where you can do a lot of stuff like Red Dead 2 or GTA V, and both have online modes for even more things to do. But they both lack the depth of San Andreas.

I mean it's even more glaring that is their choice when they take a fuck ton of time to release one game. It's not like they are churning out new GTA games every 2 years.

Monopoman posted...

I think part of that was an intentional decision, Rockstar has yet to make another game with the depth of GTA San Andreas. They have games where you can do a lot of stuff like Red Dead 2 or GTA V, and both have online modes for even more things to do. But they both lack the depth of San Andreas.

I mean it's even more glaring that is their choice when they take a fuck ton of time to release one game. It's not like they are churning out new GTA games every 2 years.

I will say I felt changing and keeping cj in a body style you like was tedious after awhile. I mostly just wish they had more clothing options. But on the otherhand they are trying to make you stick to how they want the character portrayed. My CJ was jacked with a yellow Mohawk and decked in biker leathers. Pretty sure that's not how they intended cj lol

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Yeah, while it wasn't received with as much enthusiasm as the others, I remember it still being insanely impressive when it came out.

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4 was pretty doodoo and sucked most of the fun out of the series, which they passed on to 5, though 5 was better.

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Monopoman posted...

I mean, if memory serves it was a pretty bold undertaking for it's day. While it may have cut some of the more in-depth features of San Andreas it had a huge expansive world, which was more rare back then. Now in retrospect it doesn't come off as great, because huge open worlds are a dime a dozen but back then it was a big deal.

I would have been disappointed had I played it when it first came out too though...

I played GTA3 when it first came out so maybe I'm wearing heavy nostalgia goggles here, but I much prefer GTA3's Liberty City over GTAIV's. The gang areas were all pretty unique and stealing the gang-specific vehicles was great (IIRC I loved the Yakuza car, Diablo car, and Mafia Senteniel). Finding hidden packages were satisfying and rewarding.
GTAIVs Liberty City is extremely forgettable to me.

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GTA IV was pretty lame. I admittedly got super burned out on GTA3 growing up. I've never really been able to get into a Rockstar game since, despite really trying. The add-ons for IV were way better than the vanilla game, IMO.

4 is the only GTA game I've ever played to completion. I can definitely say it's my favorite in the series.

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4 was the first gta game on the new gen systems at that time so it highly praised despite being a mediocre game that lacked many features that its predecessors had. and the driving physics were so bad that the devs came out and said they were bad.

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I never understand the complaints about the driving, I found it easy to master
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For all of it's cool little touches 4 is not one I'm very fond of. The physics had nice touches like the way people reacted to being shot or hit, but other than that it was wobbly and clunky.

The driving was shit, the cars all felt like heavy, lurching shit boxes.

The story was promising but ended up just being very depressing. It really affected the fun for me.

I did like some things though. I liked being able to go to random clubs and shows which made it feel more like a living world.

I also loved being able to call up to have guns (and cars in the expansions) delivered to you.

Also that they opted for seedy underground places to get weapons instead of Ammunation, which fits much better with the criminal element the franchise is built on IMO.

To the TC, if you are not liking 4 I would recommend 5. While it's not like San Andreas or 3 it's closer than 4 is. The driving is more fun, the physics aren't as clunky and the gameplay is more fun IMO. 5 was kind of a correction from 4 the way I look at it. They went too far in one direction with 4, and 5 was them moving a bit back the other way.

The biggest thing I remember about 4 (and it was probably coming from this board back in the day) was that people were complaining about the graphics being too realistic. They were hoping that the graphic style would remain "cartoony" like the GTA 3 games (which was more of a product of Rockstar not having the budget of a AAA studio when 3 came out more than anything).

Oh, that and getting the "Cousin! Let's go bowling!" phone call every 5 minutes.

5 is miles better than 4, but it honestly felt like the single player is kind of lacking (which is surprising since it is arguably the biggest GTA single player campaign to date). Like they put all the effort into GTA Online and just put the single player out as a demo to show off the Online features.

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Dikitain posted...

The biggest thing I remember about 4 (and it was probably coming from this board back in the day) was that people were complaining about the graphics being too realistic. They were hoping that the graphic style would remain "cartoony" like the GTA III games (which was more of a product of Rockstar not having the budget of a AAA studio when III came out more than anything).

Oh, that and getting the "Cousin! Let's go bowling!" phone call every 5 minutes.

Fuck! I had mentally blocked that. I forgot about the annoying way you would get calls to do activities right while you were trying to do other things. Then you would get a ding to the relationship score for declining the offer too.

On the surface it could have helped make it feel more like a living world, but the execution just made it an irritant.

I just finished the main story, I have 69% completion.
I've just started Lost and the Damned, and I've heard the DLC is short compared to main game so I may also start Mafia: Definitive Edition.

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Krazy_Kirby posted...

I never understand the complaints about the driving, I found it easy to master

GTA IV is the only one to have realistic driving and it really put off a lot of players. Seeing as V went back to a more arcade style of driving, it is clear what everybody prefers.

Nunyobidness posted...

To the TC, if you are not liking 4 I would recommend 5. While it's not like San Andreas or 3 it's closer than 4 is. The driving is more fun, the physics aren't as clunky and the gameplay is more fun IMO. 5 was kind of a correction from 4 the way I look at it. They went too far in one direction with 4, and 5 was them moving a bit back the other way.

The game just went on sale on Microsoft store today 50% off for Gold subscribers. I decided to buy it, though I probably won't get to it for awhile.

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V was a pretty good balance between realism and absurd satire imo

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GTA V is a fucking trainwreck and quite a lot of GTA-esque elements are more tied in to Online, which is unlike GTA also.

You may as well try it, see if it's different in a way that suits you; it's definitely not like IV at least.
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Disappointment sums up my feelings towards GTA IV, which got me out of the franchise.

darkknight109 posted...

GTA4 took itself far too seriously. The previous games, as well as GTA5, understood that people don't play GTA for realism, they play it so you can run around, steal a variety of vehicles, get into epic chases and shootouts, and generally cause mayhem.

This. Which is why I gravitated to the Saints Row games. Plus SR has character customization, which is always nice.


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Zeus posted...

Disappointment sums up my feelings towards GTA IV, which got me out of the franchise.

This. Which is why I gravitated to the Saints Row games. Plus SR has character customization, which is always nice.

Yeah too bad saints row just went too ffar out with unrealistic shit. 2 will remain my favorite because of that.

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Nunyobidness posted...

Then you would get a ding to the relationship score for declining the offer too.

You could get around this by accepting the offer, then immediately calling and cancelling.

Still dumb that you had to do that, but there was a workaround at least...

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Mafia: Definitive Edition is great. You bring a car to your garage and you unlock it to have at your disposal when you want it. UNLOCKABLES. Nice. The story and cinematics are fantastic too.
Still playing Lost and the Damned on the side.

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4 is a dumpster fire. Easily the worst in the whole series. 5 is pretty great.
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Wtf, they show an actual wang and balls in Lost and the Damned.
How did they get away with that?

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Ferarri619 posted...

Wtf, they show an actual wang and balls in Lost and the Damned.
How did they get away with that?

Why shouldn't they?

"Mature" rating should be equivalent to an "R" rating in film, but due video games being considered by many to be a "children's toy" the industry has had some difficulty in getting a consistent ratings standard for games, and games that push the envelope often risk getting tagged "AO" and effectively being unsellable.

Dick and balls should be totally acceptable in a Mature-rated game. Nudity is common in R-rated films and no one bats an eye.

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Ferarri619 posted...

Wtf, they show an actual wang and balls in Lost and the Damned.
How did they get away with that?

*noted*

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Ferarri619 posted...

A few days ago I started GTA IV for first time ever. I'm a bit disappointed.

That's how a lot of GTA fans felt at the time when it came out as well.

Though a lot of those complaints were more about the trash driving physics and how everything looked bland and lifeless. Which is why a lot of the louder complaints wound up getting tweaked in Ballad of Gay Tony, and then led directly to GTAV being the way it is.

I personally skipped GTAIV at the time in spite of loving GTA 3/VC/SA, because when I played other people's copies of it I absolutely loathed it. GTAV was much more enjoyable, though (as was GTA:O, before the microtransaction grind and power creep got too far out of control).
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Ferarri619 posted...

I would have been disappointed had I played it when it first came out too though...

I played GTA3 when it first came out so maybe I'm wearing heavy nostalgia goggles here, but I much prefer GTA3's Liberty City over GTAIV's. The gang areas were all pretty unique and stealing the gang-specific vehicles was great (IIRC I loved the Yakuza car, Diablo car, and Mafia Senteniel). Finding hidden packages were satisfying and rewarding.
GTAIVs Liberty City is extremely forgettable to me.

It's probably my biggest issues with open world games now a days, they want to make them as big as possible, but what's the point when every place in the game looks and plays the same.

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ParanoidObsessive posted...

Though a lot of those complaints were more about the trash driving physics and how everything looked bland and lifeless. Which is why a lot of the louder complaints wound up getting tweaked in Ballad of Gay Tony, and then led directly to GTAV being the way it is.

My complaints are less about the driving. I don't mind it, but yeah, bland and lifeless...I couldn't have said it better myself.

A few days ago I discovered that you can actually unlock weapons at hideout in TLAD, which is a step in a good direction IMO. Though 50 gang wars will be way too tedious so I think I'm done that at 25.
Game is still very average and I've ALWAYS hated bikes in GTA so that's an added criticism for TLAD.

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I finished TLAD missions last night.
I think overall it was actually worse than the main game, with even more annoying characters and couldn't care less about what happens to them or what their life circumstances are. The driving actually did become a problem in this expansion because there was way more missions where you had to lose a heavy wanted level, so steering could be a pain in the ass.
Started TboGT this morning and finished the first mission. First impression that it may be a bit better but not by much. The characters may be at least a little more tolerable. Nice neon light atmosphere but there's only so much the devs can do with GTAIV's bland world.
Also playing Mafia: Definitive Edition and that game just blows GTA4 out of the water in every way. I'm tempted to just ditch BoGT and focus on Mafia.
LA Noire is on sale right now too. Willing to bet that game is much better too.

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