After years of waiting, tons of hype, DLC fuss and even more hype, Grand Theft Auto 4 is out.As the first next generation GTA game, expectations were high and unfortunately, I myself was left a bit underwhelmed by an albeit very good game.
First let's talk graphics.I don't have much to say here, except that the city is fantastically modeled, the character models are excellent and so is the lighting, but there is something I've noticed, and that's the excessive post-processing.Everything is blurred out you kind of have to squint to see afar.The Euphoria technology exists but isn't quite fully used, though it still adds even more realism to the world of GTA IV.
The gameplay has been refined, a very efficient cover system has been introduced, on the PS3 we also have SIXAXIS support.Another brilliant addition is a fully-fledged cellphone from which you can call buddies and be called by them, send/receive text messages and so on.Side activities have been a disappointment for me, I was expecting much more from Rockstar since San Andreas practically featured 30 different games in one if you counted the minigames.GTA IV, on the other hand, offers us a buddy system, thus you can go out with your friends and even have a girlfriend, but it doesn't quite replace the awesome minigames.What has also remained intact is the freedom of Liberty City which can be exploited in many ways.Airplanes have been removed though, for "realism's same", so you can't skydive anymore or crash virtual planes into virtual skyscrapers.Taxis are a new and fantastic adition, since they can take you anywhere around the city.Now you just have to find one.
The multiplayer aspect is something new for GTA games, and while I find it to be a great addition, I still can't say it's as good as it gets.The matchmaking's cumbersome, to access multiplayer you have to use your phone and if you drop out of a game you have to use you cellphone again to find another, but the overall experience is a very solid and entertaining one.
The bottom line is that Grand Theft Auto IV mostly satisfies, but doesn't wow as it was promised to.For 360 owners, the oncoming DLC might add some incentive to the game, and a trophy patch has already been launched for the PS3, but the game still doesn't have the long-term appeal of previous games.
GTA IV turned GTA into a more grounded franchise where storytelling and immersion became just as engrossing as wrecking up open-world sandboxes.
Huzaifa from eXputer: "2008 was home to the likes of Call of Duty: World at War, Dead Space, GTA 4, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, and many other hits, which is outright remarkable."
Here here
Those that were around before 2000's i am sure are like me that think we entered a world of non readers or those that follow without question.
I can not wait to see fallout 3 a goty game even though it was about water with non content until you add the dlc/updates then you got the performance/crashing
1998 - the best year in gaming! Metal gear solid, crash bandicoot 3, medievil, half life, ocarina of time, thief, tenchu, resident evil 2, Spyro, tomb raider 3, oddworld abes exodus, banjo kazooie.
It was a different breed of a gaming era. You’ll never understand what it was like back then. The aura of gaming, it was different!
I second this. Gaming was a lot more varied and fun than it is today. I'm 35 so getting on compared to some here but I got to see all the changes from NES up to now but I've never felt so disappointed in any generation than I have this current gen. I was expecting more from this generation rather than prettier versions of games that came before it. Game mechanics have become so refined that alot of games feel the same and has done for a while now.
Maybe it's time to have a break for a while. I love gaming but I don't feel I get much fun in the traditional sense out of it anymore.
Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, Abe’s Exodus, and Ocarina of Time are the only things from that list that I liked.
Here’s the 2023 game releases that I personally liked… and big releases that I didn’t care for:
- Dead Space Remake
- Wo Long Dynatsy
- Resident Evil 4 Remake
- Diablo 4
- Fire Emblem Engage
- Hogwarts Legcay
- Street Fighter 6
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Like a Dragon: Ishin
- Octopath Traveler 2
- Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters
- Final Fanatsy XVI (actually ended up not liking this, but it was still a big deal release)
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
- Lies of P
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Starfield (Ended up hating this one, but big release)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (I’m an old-school Zelda fan, but didn’t really enjoy this game)
- Alan Wake 2
I mean, honestly I’ve never seen a year of major IP releases like that, ever.
Isn't it just a generational thing realistically.
I've been gaming since way back and I some of my favourite games go as far back as the late 80s for me each generation has a year or two of game changing releases one after another before an inevitable dry spell.
I kind of agree gaming had a different feel games hit different because we didn't have the internet nothing got spoiled and you really had to put in the effort to beat a puzzle which could set entire groups of people looking for a solution. But most importantly games were experimental and not as cookie cutter as today even basics like controls were not universal today r2 is shoot l2 is ads garunteed you can't deviate from that in a shooter back then it could of been square, R1 or R1 and circle nothing was standard.
But as time moves on a new generation picks up their controller they are going to be interested in different things that PS1 demo disc with the t Rex blew our primitive 16 bit brains back on launch but to kids today it's laughable.
The new gen of kids coming into to hobby seem to value different things to us there seems to be a huge focus on online play, streamers, gaming personalities, and social experiences, convience of digital downloads. To me I value none of that but that's ok like my parents not liking the band's I would listen to its just the natural cycle.
Just about every year in the 7th generation was great and something we most likely won't experience again.
2009 for example had Assassin's Creed 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dragon Age: Origins, Uncharted 2, Halo 3: ODST, Killzone 2, Borderlands, Bayonetta, and Demon's Souls to name a few.
It still amazes me we got over 7 rockstar games ps2/ps3 but 3 for the ps3/ps4/ps5
Dragon age 1-3 and mass effect 1-3 in 7ish years what a generation.
Grand Theft Auto 4 is an important game for Rockstar, not least because it was the first title in the franchise to use the newly created RAGE engine.
