*** Grand Theft Auto IV - In-Game Chat [Spoilers] ***

[geordie10]

Its an awesome game i just had the best police chase i have ever seen.
The bonnet view is great and has a great sense of speed.
The game is massive.

 

[beachBOYken]

is ricky gevais in this game i heard he is at the comedy club??

is that a place you can go to in the game a watch him?

 

[moody]

I've not tried in GTA IV, but in Saints Row when you rung for an ambulance they came and healed you?

But yea i rung the cops, easy way to steal a cop car when you need one for a mission

Same here, although at a cost.

 

[breamy1990]

anyone managed to work the car transporters ?

 

[Kreeeee]

Couple of quick questions for those who have the game

1. In multiplayer, with all peds + traffic on, is it the same volume as in SP, or is there noticebly less AI around when in MP?
2. In SP, do you feel the volume of AI (peds + traffic) is good? In some of the videos I have seen sometimes the streets seem very empty.

The number of NPC's is poor and a lot lower than I was expecting.

 

[Azza]

The number of NPC's is poor and a lot lower than I was expecting.

Said in the IGN review that you hardly see the same person twice. I don't know how true this is as I don't have the game yet.

I think if they would have included a realistic amount of people like there is in NY city today then I think with all the different textures etc needed for the extra models I think the data storage size if the DVD for the 360 would be reaching its limits maybe even over it.


When you think about it, it wouldn't have been difficult at all for them to add the extra NPCs to the environment.

I do think that the DVD may be the source of the issue of there not being a larger number of NPCs or a higher number of cars on the road etc.

 

[Margaret]

Couple of quick questions for those who have the game

1. In multiplayer, with all peds + traffic on, is it the same volume as in SP, or is there noticebly less AI around when in MP?
2. In SP, do you feel the volume of AI (peds + traffic) is good? In some of the videos I have seen sometimes the streets seem very empty.

1. Less of course but still great considering the havoc, the AI is hilarious at times, for example my friend stopped for me to get into a car, he had 4 wanted stars and as I was about to get in a cop car splattered me from behind, it was hilarious.

2. I think it's great, very busy at times and the draw distance is pretty good, though some small trees pop in at times leading you to crash into them just after you see it.

The load times **** me off though, I might get it on PS3 also for the SP and faster loading times while using my 360 for the DLC and multiplayer.

 

[McManicMan]

shoot a pigeon - i dare you

 

[drunkenmaster]

1. Less of course but still great considering the havoc, the AI is hilarious at times, for example my friend stopped for me to get into a car, he had 4 wanted stars and as I was about to get in a cop car splattered me from behind, it was hilarious.

2. I think it's great, very busy at times and the draw distance is pretty good, though some small trees pop in at times leading you to crash into them just after you see it.

The load times **** me off though, I might get it on PS3 also for the SP and faster loading times while using my 360 for the DLC and multiplayer.

Draw distance is appalling. Yes theres isn't too much pop up of stuff close, but everything being "out of focus" is a cheap trick to use low res low power stuff. The distance at which buildings are completely out of focus is normally laughable. THe problem with "focus" in games being billed as realistic is, in real life you can focus on any part of the world at any time and the rest isn't in focus, but what you're looking at is. A game can't just make random bits it doesn't want to draw out of focus, because in reality if i look at that building at the end of a very short street, i can see it in focus FFS. Games have to be in focus everywhere all the time because they can't decide which bit of the screen/scene you might be looking at.

AS i said, out of focus being a realism thing, is crap, its hiding lack of power. Very unimpressed with , well most character models, they seem very poor. Animation seems "ok" with most things, flying a chopper and watching someone(if you've nicked it and they want you out) hanging on for dear life till dropping out over the river from miles up is great although thanks to focus you can't damn well see a splash .

THis for PC with far bigger draw distance, high level AF is soooo massively needed, and 2xaa is screaming to be used, will be pretty damned good.

The shadows are also truly awful, they make everything look incredibly hazy when they don't need to. Not sure if its playing on a 1920x1200 screen, but the "softer" lighter edge of shadows looks damn crap, and as its fuzzy, looks fairly bad normally but when framerate is crap, with motion blur(another gpu power hiding "realism" effect) it looks horrifically bad.

Overall, though the city has a very nice feel to it, everything is just not as good as it really should be.

Gameplay, its quite nice, some buggy target locking. Frankly there shouldn't be target looking on foot but only when in a damn car, as some of the missions, shooting ruddy bikers

But the story is so cliche'd, everything that ever happens in all games is in there. NOt a suprise yet, most of the jokes have been done before, nothing inspiring, nothing EPIC about the story or even remotely enticing.

Gameplay feels good, but its lacking graphically, and story is weak.

 

[dirtydog]

^ doesn't sound too good

I agree with your comments about the 'focus effect' in games. I'm disappointed to hear about the draw distance because that was one of the bad things about San Andreas as well. Even on the PC with the draw distance slider set to maximum, it was still rather appalling.

I am hoping you are being a little harsh, in light of all the 10/10 reviews though.

 

[Margaret]

I think he is being very harsh to be honest, very.

 

[Joebob]

Said in the IGN review that you hardly see the same person twice. I don't know how true this is as I don't have the game yet.

I think if they would have included a realistic amount of people like there is in NY city today then I think with all the different textures etc needed for the extra models I think the data storage size if the DVD for the 360 would be reaching its limits maybe even over it.


When you think about it, it wouldn't have been difficult at all for them to add the extra NPCs to the environment.

I do think that the DVD may be the source of the issue of there not being a larger number of NPCs or a higher number of cars on the road etc.

I think the amount of people and vehicles is just right. Can you imagine if the volume of predestrians and traffic was the same as new york? Wouldn't be much fun just sitting in a huge traffic jam would it!!!

Draw distance is appalling. Yes theres isn't too much pop up of stuff close, but everything being "out of focus" is a cheap trick to use low res low power stuff. The distance at which buildings are completely out of focus is normally laughable. THe problem with "focus" in games being billed as realistic is, in real life you can focus on any part of the world at any time and the rest isn't in focus, but what you're looking at is. A game can't just make random bits it doesn't want to draw out of focus, because in reality if i look at that building at the end of a very short street, i can see it in focus FFS. Games have to be in focus everywhere all the time because they can't decide which bit of the screen/scene you might be looking at.

AS i said, out of focus being a realism thing, is crap, its hiding lack of power. Very unimpressed with , well most character models, they seem very poor. Animation seems "ok" with most things, flying a chopper and watching someone(if you've nicked it and they want you out) hanging on for dear life till dropping out over the river from miles up is great although thanks to focus you can't damn well see a splash .

THis for PC with far bigger draw distance, high level AF is soooo massively needed, and 2xaa is screaming to be used, will be pretty damned good.

The shadows are also truly awful, they make everything look incredibly hazy when they don't need to. Not sure if its playing on a 1920x1200 screen, but the "softer" lighter edge of shadows looks damn crap, and as its fuzzy, looks fairly bad normally but when framerate is crap, with motion blur(another gpu power hiding "realism" effect) it looks horrifically bad.

Overall, though the city has a very nice feel to it, everything is just not as good as it really should be.

Ever heard of chryogenics? Maybe you could freeze yourself for a generation or two and come back when the technology is available to produce what you want in a game

Gameplay, its quite nice, some buggy target locking. Frankly there shouldn't be target looking on foot but only when in a damn car, as some of the missions, shooting ruddy bikers

The target locking is 1000% better than previous GTA games - don't see your problem here.

But the story is so cliche'd, everything that ever happens in all games is in there. NOt a suprise yet, most of the jokes have been done before, nothing inspiring, nothing EPIC about the story or even remotely enticing.

Gameplay feels good, but its lacking graphically, and story is weak.

Cliche'd story This is a GTA game for ****s sake - of course it has a cliche'd story

I think you are looking for some kind of perfect game which offers everything which YOU think should be there. Can't you just play a game and think wow this is really good without over analysing every part of it?

 

[londonbairn]

Yes, the graphics look last gen sometimes, but te fact you walk around the city with no loading times, plus the view from the air when you are flying is astounding....hate the fact I have to work this week, wanted to complete thegame!

 

[dirtydog]

Worth pointing out again that some GTA clones on the last gen consoles had no loading either when going into buildings, eg. Godfather and Scarface.

 

[Durzel]

At the risk of causing a ****storm, I wonder if the graphics have suffered as a result of having to accommodate the Xbox 360 owners with DVD drives and no hard disks? (since the game can't require something if it wasn't available in one of the SKUs)

 

[ScarySquirrel]

One more quick question before I get the game later today.

I kind of assumed you could play 2 player over LAN. Is this possible? Just free roam is what I am after really.

 

[londonbairn]

My PS3 Bullet Point Review

I am 40% through it now, so here's my high level review. Cannot be bothered writing swathes of text.
Pros

• Almost 0 loading times (thanks to HD install I would say, the HD light is constantly flickering, I imagine this to be faster than 360 version)
• Brilliant dialogue
• So many nice touches around the city (funny posters etc)
• Water looks fantastic
• Collisions look realistic
• Great storyline
• Feel immersed in the city
• Cars look great
• Can change storyline due to key points (e.g. choosing who to execute)
• Dropping grenades from cars is fun

Cons

• Why are police so dumb? You escape an area where they chase you and suddenly you have 0 stars. I guess this is to make the game more manageable
• Not much interaction with citizens walking around
• Graphics can look last gen sometimes
• Missions can be easy, can feel invincible hiding behind walls
• Err I'm nitpicking

I would place this game in my Top 10 of all time, it's what San Andreas should have been and it feels like a true successor to Vice City. As someone who is fading away from gaming (I find games these days boring and tedious), this is a great refresh.

Brilliant!

 

[Azza]

Durzel - I think they have.


As for people talking about shadows, reflections, draw distance etc being not too great, its GTA remember, if you where expecting it to look like Crysis or something then your a fool in all honesty.

 

[-Ad-]

Had a damn good session on this last night and I think it's the best GTA yet by far. It's just awesome

Takes about an hour to get used to the controls as they are different to what you are used to with a GTA game but once you hit the sweet spot they actually feel better and more intuitive. The graphics are superb, although again it takes you a while to fully appreciate them. There's definately a watercolour effect on the backgrounds as they get further into the distance etc, but it actually works very well as an art style imo.

The radio stations are great too and some of the music is just sublime - I can't beleive they have an ambient radio station it's brilliant.

Anyone else been giving it a good bash yet?

Took the words out of my mouth.

Got annoyed I couldn't configure the controls back to ye old GTA games, but after a few hours it became second nature, and is vastly improved over the old games.

Graphics are superb, but I found that in the first 15min or slow I had horrific framerates, jumping all over the shop if anything other than you was on the screen. But that sorted itself out very quickly, weird, but no problem now. But just check out the city at night


rafsters review is pretty good, but one major plus point for me is not losing guns when you die. God that was annoying, when you spent hours collecting things, then lost them all after a trip to the hospital or police station.

Not a lot of people on multiplayer, but on free roam last night I was pinned down by someone with an AK and me with my little pistol. As I stood up for a last ditched shot, a car comes flying across the screen and takes out AK guy, whos body goes flying...... Great online moment.

Can't assed to write a review, Id rather spend time chatting about it and enjoying it, as that's what it is all about.

As for people talking about shadows, reflections, draw distance etc being not too great, its GTA remember, if you where expecting it to look like Crysis or something then your a fool in all honesty.

Lol soo true, let me just go turn on my supercomputer as I put 16x AF and 32X AA on GTA

 

[londonbairn]

Durzel - I think they have.


As for people talking about shadows, reflections, draw distance etc being not too great, its GTA remember, if you where expecting it to look like Crysis or something then your a fool in all honesty.

Exactly; the fact you have this big city and you can roam around it with no loading or juddering is amazing. Fly to the top of a skyscraper and look around, it's amazing.