GTA IV is a massive piece of shit

[Sukhāvatī]

Ballad of Gay Tony is the only redeeming feature of IV.

 

[mogwaimon]

Was there ever any follow up on them fixing the PC version of SR2?

Edit: Latest thing my quick search yielded. They haven't abandoned it at least!

yea, he actually had cancer earlier this LAST year but thankfully made a recovery and he's one of only two people actually working on it so that's why it's taken so long

 

[Dramart]

Kalin Why is better than GTA II?

 

[Pero_Gamechuck]

There are also some gameplay aspects that IV did better than V. Imo, driving in IV seems a lot better.

 

[RRRrrr]

The only thing I liked about GTA 4 was banging hoors with Brucie bro. Especially crashing helicopters full of hoors with Brucie.

 

[normie]

I'm playing IV right now, it's pretty good - I love how the shooting feels, I love the AI, and I love how the cars control (I wish the shotgun did damage at a greater range, tho, even if not by much)

people calling me and asking me to do shit jacks into my instinct to do everything pretty bad, but I'm managing it

the music on the radio is complete fucking shit across the board, Electro-Choc being the worst offender (The Vibe is ok)

I love looking at and traversing both cities, they look great

Nico is a complete non-character in a sea of unlikable characters (minus Pegorino's, they're pretty cool)

I love hearing the main theme

 

[Major_Blackhart]

I never liked Nico that much. He didn't have enough personality, like Tommy or CJ. Yeah, I get it, Eastern Euros are a bit quieter types, while the other two were distinctly American gangsters. Still, I've met a few criminal types from Eastern Europe in the US, and even those straight off the boat can be fucking nuts.

 

[Neuromancer]

the music on the radio is complete fucking shit across the board, Electro-Choc being the worst offender (The Vibe is ok)

Didn't they have to replace the original music because of licensing reasons?
Are was this another game?

 

[normie]

the music on the radio is complete fucking shit across the board, Electro-Choc being the worst offender (The Vibe is ok)

Didn't they have to replace the original music because of licensing reasons?
Are was this another game?

they deleted the affected tracks, which was a few to none per radio station, and replaced all but one (?) on Vladivostok FM, which ran out in its entirety

I simply assumed it was the case and went did the radio station "downgrade" to restore music, all 3D GTA's are affected by this issue

the original Mafia, too, which I think you're thinking of, because it had it so bad it had to be entirely gutted before it made its return to digital storefronts

 

[karoliner]

How can there be people who think the driving in 4 is any good?

 

[typical user]

Playing GTA IV right now after the shitshow that was Cyberpunk 2077. Remember when I played this GTA back in 2008 when I got it on my shitty PC - I was trashing the game when I met minimal requirements and had to play it in glorious 15 fps. At the time I didn't understand why Rockstar has cut so many features. But Saints Row 2 provided with senseless gang violence I needed after San Andreas so I didn't care as much.

Anyway GTA IV suffers from the same problem as Cyberpunk - both were developed in tandem to new tech (RAGE, Euphoria and REDengine 3). GTA IV feels unfinished as many missions or mechanics lack touch of detail. The PC port is trash, you can't remap half keys and it has some bizzare control scheme for keyboard and mouse (dedicated detonation button with no C4 in the game - what?).

Rockstar dropped the ball with marketing - I don't remember a single article or any statement from them saying this game is going to be more like Mafia - an open world game focused on story rather than open world sandbox with story on top.

The driving - it's bad because there is massive traffic congestion, narrow streets and every car drives like the tarmac is made of ice. I don't mind lack of control on high speeds but rarely you can reach 100 mph.

The shooting is just bad more than driving. If you use cover you have to pop-out fully and only when you pull the trigger - the character won't peek and allow you to aim, if you decide to shoot the crosshair will shift it's position as it is glued to the middle of your screen while using cover. You can also headshot everyone while blind-firing. The game is a lot more enjoyable when you disable enemy health-bars, you can still headshot them anyway.

I also don't like the mission design. For example find a van with stolen TVs - 3 of them are marked on your map just because. Also you have to use a cop car to pull them over for some unknown reason. Or if you decide to do side-content like gigs for Lil' Jacob - the first mission is literally 4 goons spawning out of thin air and shooting you in point blank. Then there is this mission where I had to kill someone to retrieve evidence - Niko also said I killed him when I have beaten them up with my bare fists. People claimed this was the most detailed game back in 2008.

The game was probably designed around being able to uphold the law - you can fast travel with taxi cabs, metro, you can incapacitate most of the enemies by shooting them in limbs but since it is GTA you very often have to kill or steal vehicles - for example to fend off cops or when the mission requires 4-seater.

The game isn't bad but it aged poorly compared to GTA 3 - that one has better controls and side-content more focused on core mechanics.

At least the story of GTA IV was complete on release and it even got different POV with DLCs.

 

[Multidirectional]

There are also some gameplay aspects that IV did better than V. Imo, driving in IV seems a lot better.

Physics in general were tons more fun to me in IV. Car deformation too, made for more exciting crashes. And it's the main reason why V runs so much better, I suspect, simplified physics.
While single player was way more boring than VC or SA in IV, I had lots of hours of fun in Mafia Work multiplayer mode, therefore I still remember this game fondly. 32 player Team Mafia Work (16vs16) and those physics allowed for some of the most epic multiplayer moments that I've ever experienced. Shame MP is dead now.

 

[normie]

Physics in general were tons more fun to me in IV

yeah, the physics are the real joy

shooting people in the pokey bits to make them stagger out of cover like a retard, pushing people at every opportunity, throwing the hefty ass of your car into a turn and having it poke out just enough over the curb to send a Hasid ragdolling, driving cleanly but not being able to resist running down motorcyclists, fistfighting randos for the joy of delivering the last punch and watching them crumple

 

[Drakortha]

You're not wrong. GTAIV does take a big shit on pretty much everything that came out after it, Gameplay wise.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

What's with video games not getting music rights like movies do? If anyone shouldn't have a problem keeping music, it's Rockstar. Rockstar lost the rights in a few games.

Given how big of a deal music was in that PS2/Xbox generation of GTA that made the series huge, (they'd do those big box sets of the music) it's weird how bad the selection has gotten in 4 & 5. It feels like they lost someone at Rockstar that picked music.

 

[Mexi]

No lie, I fucking love San Andreas. It's an amazing game, but fucking hell, Vice City is still the GOAT. You can't beat that soundtrack and atmosphere. Also, Tommy Vercetti is easily the best main character of any GTA game. That soundtrack has to be the greatest soundtrack in gaming history. I agree with what someone said. Top-to-bottom so many great songs.

Weirdly enough, after playing GTA: V, I can't believe I was yearning for GTA IV. I agree it was dogshit, but wtf, GTA V was even fucking worse! Everything was simplified, and GTA: IV actually had some great physics and gameplay of any GTA game. Just, everything else was so shallow. Nu-Liberty City sucked fucking ass. It felt like it lost the edginess and hilarity of GTA: III. Just didn't feel right at all... too lifelike as someone, I think, mentioned.

GTA: III felt like a parody of everything. They failed to really capture any of that in GTA: IV. Again, I can't believe I now have favorable things to say about it because of how monstrously stupid GTA: V was, but it was a solid GTA game. The soundtrack is probably one of the worst, though. It had some great tunes: Journey, Valdivostok potato music was actually really fucking good, and a few of the crappy stations had a few good songs (fucking Mike McCallum: The Edge is way better than that nig-nog shit Snoop Dogg turned it into).

 

[ultimanecat]

Physics in general were tons more fun to me in IV. Car deformation too, made for more exciting crashes. And it's the main reason why V runs so much better, I suspect, simplified physics.

I remember my roommate and I drunkenly laughing our asses off playing GTA4 taking turns figuring out how to most creatively kill the NPCs you can hang out with. We had settled on pushing them off the top of buildings, but then while positioning I accidentally clipped an NPC with the blades of the helicopter and ragdolled her away at light speed to parts unknown.

Years later, I thought I’d relive the magic in GTA5 only to find out that the blades don’t behave like that now and aren’t physically simulated.

 

[Drakortha]

We all thought we could relive the magic of the past, but it's all gone now. All that is left is Fortnite.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Nonsense, GTA IV was the climax of the series. Best GTA story and characters, most realistic combat and driving. I had high hopes for Rockstar back then. Then, they came up with GTA V.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

So after the sour taste left in my mouth by GTAIV I decided to replay San Andreas. Unfortunately San Andreas seems to have a hard time with modern MS OSes (I've tried it on both Windows 7 and 10). It's a pain in the dick getting mouselook to work consistently, it occasionally CTDs when initiating missions, and (this one may just be my memory at fault here) there is severe texture popping when driving at high-speeds, and the game overall just doesn't look as good as I remember.

I also didn't remember how slow San Andreas is at the start. I think I only played through the story once, and the vast majority of my playtime was just dicking around in the sandbox once I had all the toys available, but... yeah. The game's tutorial basically lasts through all of Los Santos, which (iirc) is a full quarter of the game's storyline. Almost every mission in this section introduces a new mechanic which is banal, shit, boring that no one sane will ever use (night time robberies, forced stealth sections, turf wars, the aforementioned and deservingly loathed dancing/hydraulics mini-game). It's undeniably far larger in scope than any other Rockstar game I've played, and in hindsight I don't think that's a good thing.

That said: damn, what a difference it is between this and GTAIV; namely that, even at its worst, San Andreas doesn't feel like a total chore to play. Driving is fun, motorcycling is fun, and shooting is far improved from its predecessors (this is probably the only point I'm willing to concede in GTAIV's favor: it definitely had better shooting mechanics than any of the PS2 era titles). I wish the aesthetic/soundtrack were more suited to my taste (even the country station plays complete shit and I am a total country boy), and I can see the signs of decline in the writing, but still, this is very much the series I remember, and not the total slogfest I found IV to be.

 

[Butter]

I also didn't remember how slow San Andreas is at the start. I think I only played through the story once, and the vast majority of my playtime was just dicking around in the sandbox once I had all the toys available, but... yeah. The game's tutorial basically lasts through all of Los Santos, which (iirc) is a full quarter of the game's storyline.

This is a big part of why I'd rather replay GTA3 or Vice City than San Andreas. Those games don't spend hours and hours tutorializing basic gameplay features. GTA3 especially gives you almost the full range of options from the first 5 minutes.

 

[typical user]

San Andreas is the only PS2 era game which allows you to get into locked-off areas and do side-content there while constantly pursued by cops. It's kinda fun preparing and planning trips to Venturas or Fierro knowing the police will spawn on every corner, police boats will chase you on the water and jets will shoot down your aircraft. I think for my next run I will actually try to do just that. Completing every side-mission will amount to 13.37 % completion in savefile stats. What is annoying in GTA V or RDR2 are missions which unlock side-content. Can't search for letter scraps or sell stolen horses if you do not progress through main story. But as a completonist I want to do just that, cross-off all side-content so I can do main missions with fully upgraded character.

 

[somewhatgiggly]

I live in NYC but other than a momentary 'Oh hey I worked there, oh hey I walk here', it felt flat. Especially since I didn't give one shit for Nico or his antics, or, in GTA V, for any of the main three. Trevor belongs six feet under. Michael needs a bullet in the balls and Franklin a slap to the fucking face from someone he cares about.

I would prefer something more like GTA:O when it comes to games like this. Your own character making their own way, a barebone plot, nothing too fancy. Nico taking in his old buds and the main three taking on that weird merc-corp guy didn't do it for me.

Give me GTA6 in a new, huge-as-fuck Liberty City with some few plotpaths and customizable-as-hell characters and I'll be happy with that.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

The most realistic part of GTAIV is that you're encouraged to agree with the requests from your friends only to call them later with a bullshit excuse about why you can't go, since you don't lose relationship points doing this but you do if you outright refuse them.