Serious Beef with GTA4... and Gamespot

[Modeps]

Originally posted by: jbourne77
I sold my copy of GTA IV back to the shop two days after I bought it. I can't for the life of me figure out why it's getting such praise. Does Rockstar have dirty photos of these people?

The game is BORING. The graphics are pedestrian at best. The combat control downright sucks ass.

If I were rating the game, I'd give it an 8.5, tops. If you've played GTA III, you've played GTA IV... and the combat in GTA III didn't make me want to hurt myself.

Translation THIS GAME SUCKS! But I'm going to give it a good score because I clearly have no idea what I'm talking about.

 

[Stuxnet]

Originally posted by: MmmSkyscraper

Originally posted by: VIAN

Originally posted by: blurredvision
I want to know why you couldn't post this in the perfectly good gta4 thread that everybody else has been using for 2 months now.....

Plenty of reasons:

1. I didn't know about the thread.
2. Save people from spoilers.
3. Given the praise that this game gets, it is important enough to be a topic for easy accessibility, instead of hidden amongst many posts.
4. This thread is more specific than a General GTA4 thread.

1. Do a search, or a quick scan of the first page. It's been on there for WEEKS.
2. What spoilers? You didn't mention anything specific.
3. Your criticisms don't warrant a new thread.
4. No, it's just about you being gullible.

Who freakin cares. If forum pollution is your main concern, then quit littering with questions like "why is this thread here?"

ANYWAY... back to your regularly scheduled programming: GTA IV sux.

 

[SAWYER]

The combat and gunplay is laughable at best.

 

[Sadaiyappan]

I wonder if reviewers read other review sites? Maybe they just write their own review and maybe they all thought it was a 10. If this game had gotten 9.5 and maybe one 10/10 score no would be complaining. But since it has gotten perfect scores 10/10 from almost all major sites people expect the game to be god like.

There is no doubt that this is the finest gansgter game ever made.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: Modeps

Originally posted by: jbourne77
I sold my copy of GTA IV back to the shop two days after I bought it. I can't for the life of me figure out why it's getting such praise. Does Rockstar have dirty photos of these people?

The game is BORING. The graphics are pedestrian at best. The combat control downright sucks ass.

If I were rating the game, I'd give it an 8.5, tops. If you've played GTA III, you've played GTA IV... and the combat in GTA III didn't make me want to hurt myself.

Translation THIS GAME SUCKS! But I'm going to give it a good score because I clearly have no idea what I'm talking about.

QFT.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: jbourne77
Who freakin cares. If forum pollution is your main concern, then quit littering with questions like "why is this thread here?"

My main concern was VIAN talking bollocks.

 

[randay]

the 10s are really undeserved. based on graphics dragging the scores down, i dont see how this game can ever truly get a 10. it seems like the reviewers just fudged thier own scales "just because" and ignored all the flaws and gave it a 10 anyway even though they knew it wasnt a 10. most of them say so in thier own reviews. stuff like "there are flaws but we dont care! this game is perfect!" really just invalidates the whole purpose of review scores. screw the categories and format that we setup, we'll just give out arbitrary scores at the end! brilliant!

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: randay
the 10s are really undeserved. based on graphics dragging the scores down, i dont see how this game can ever truly get a 10. it seems like the reviewers just fudged thier own scales "just because" and ignored all the flaws and gave it a 10 anyway even though they knew it wasnt a 10. most of them say so in thier own reviews. stuff like "there are flaws but we dont care! this game is perfect!" really just invalidates the whole purpose of review scores. screw the categories and format that we setup, we'll just give out arbitrary scores at the end! brilliant!

http://i29.tinypic.com/2rc22vp.gif

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: Naustica
Gamespot was paid off. So was IGN. So was pretty much all the review site that gave it a 10 score. This game had to be a huge success. The company life and independence depended on this game's success with EA looking to acquire. You're talking billions at stake. You don't think million or two wasn't paid off to insure you're going to have a billion dollar payday?

It's like going to a restaurant. If you see a 100% health inspection score, that place paid off the health inspector or was just built.

Bribes and kickbacks are part of business. Anyone thinking otherwise is just naive.

Not THAT bug a surprise. Come on, $100 milllion production budget and they couldn't afford a couple hundred Gs for the magaxines/review sites? They'd have been stupid not to.

I still like it a lot, no way it's a 10 though.

 

[VIAN]

Originally posted by: warcrow

Originally posted by: VIAN
My background, as far as GTA is concerned, is that I've played both Vice City and San Andreas on the PC. They were not bad, mostly lacking in story. I've never played GTA on consoles before, but I have played Saint's Row, which was awesome.

GTA:VC and SA lacked in story? Ok, I can understand VC (for the most part) fitting there but SA had a pretty great story in terms of this industry. It also was the first GTA with a protagonist with compassion. I actually found CJ to be interesting protagonist. You've gotta expand on this.

Reply: "San Andreas had a good story. But 60% of the game was played as just being a hitman, with the story taking a back seat. If you want a real gameplay driven story, you need to try Saint's Row."

Gamespot is full of CRAP. They managed to give it a 10, which is a PERFECT SCORE, but the say in the video review that the game isn't perfect and that there isn't much new material added compared to previous games. It's not just Gamespot though. Look at Metacritic.com, I see a lot of hundreds.

Well, to each his own, but I personally dont think Gamespot is a reliable resource for great, objective reviews. But as far as the other jurnos/publications and their reviews--unfortunately I think several got a little caught up in the excitement and hype. The game is not perfect, but then again--I dont think it's possible to make a perfect game. I think all games had imperfections. So, to me, when someone gives a game a 10/10 it just means that this is basically (from the reviewers opinion) one of the best experiences you can expect to have in a video game.

Reply: "If they got caught up in the hype, I would've expected disappointment from it not meeting their expectations. If one of the best experiences means that the first 20% of the game is mediocre, then they haven't played many games.

Their idea of great graphics is also skewed. I've seen much better graphics out of Saint's Row. Sure the game looks nice on their video review, when you view it through such a small screen, but in real life, on your TV it shows a different thing entirely. Disappointment.

I'm going to basically repost what I posted in the official GTA thread, but instead of directing to the general--I'll direct it to you:

• "Do many of you here base "awesome graphics" on just the visual fidelity? What about the amazing architecture? What about the sheer vast amount of objects moving around on the screen? Have you stopped and looks at what's really going on around you? All the cars and people walking about, doing their own thing. What about the environmental weathering (have you seen a heavy rain pour yet or the fog roll in? It looks like nothing else I've seen in a game). Nothing, here is cookie cutter. Every single corner and alleyway has unique design aspects to it, and there is still over 80% of the game that still needs to be seen by most of us.
  
  In past GTA games, walking through any door (when outside) would mean you were going to see a loading screen. Resturants, Bars, Gyms, and everything else was not immediately accessible. Now, walking through a door and immediately have access to these things still trips me out. The first time I did this (cloth shopping) it litterally made me stop and think about what just happened--then I killed everyone in the store because I was so excited.
  
  Anyone who played any of the previous games knows that GTA has never ever been about the graphics--it's always been kind of understood that that just wasnt going to blow you away. This is a huge improvement.
  
  I personally think the game looks stunning. There's more to a great, visually impressive presentation than the resolution of a brick pattern on the side of a building. "

Reply: "You haven't played Saint's Row. You don't know how good it can get. Clothe shopping in GTA4 is absolutely primitive in comparison."

-Camera is in a lower position than I?d like. Using the camera (right stick) while walking is annoying because the camera keeps trying to recenter itself. Camera when backing up with the car is unacceptable because you don't get to see what you are backing up into. It just zooms into the car and the car ends up using the entire screen.

I agree with you here, but only in the default camera mode. Hitting the "Select" button will change the camera views--there are 4 5. Mess around with them to find the right one for you.

Protip: While taking a taxi, hit the "Select" button to go to the cinematic mode.

Reply: "All the other camera modes when driving a car, other than cinematic, are all too low, their just farther away, which can actually worsen the problem because the camera won't immediately follow the car when it goes up a hill."

 

[warcrow]

I played Saints Row--it was fun, but not amazing. It's certainly no where near the quality of GTAIV in any regard. Visually speaking SR isnt even in the same ballpark. But you're right about the shops--you could buy more clothes in SR.

Really though? That's super-important to you?

 

[coldmeat]

Originally posted by: bl4ckfl4g
Saint's Row has better graphics? lol stop reviewing things.

Exactly what I was thinking.

I beat the story in Saint's Row and I haven't played it since. There's nothing left to do, and it's just boring. The cops are ridiculously easy to kill. I could stand there all day with a full wanted level and not die. The mini games are stupid, and the whole "respect" system to do missions is dumb too. I wanted to continue the story, not waste my time doing those shitty side missions.

 

[RS8]

Originally posted by: Beev
10's aren't representative of a "perfect" game. A 10 simply means that a game is absolutely amazing for its generation. Obviously you would still disagree with the 10, though.

That said, Gamespot blows fucking ass.

This I agree with.

And Christ, imagine if the game got, say... 9. People'll start crying and say this doesn't deserve a 9 or a 4.

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: ducci

First off - I hope you are all aware that IGN, Gamespot, 1Up, etc are not writing these reviews. No, there's actual people behind them. People with opinions. People with preferences.

And if their preferences don't match the advertising dollars, they get fired.

Reviewers are either fanboys, afraid of fanboys, or afraid of advertisers. Or all three.

Zero Punctuation has the most honest game reviews.

 

[randay]

Originally posted by: Riverhound777
I think the zero punctuation review is perfect. http://www.escapistmagazine.co...on-Grand-Theft-Auto-IV

i concur.

 

[pennylane]

Originally posted by: randay

Originally posted by: Riverhound777
I think the zero punctuation review is perfect. http://www.escapistmagazine.co...on-Grand-Theft-Auto-IV

i concur.

I just saw that one. It is pretty fair and those are my gripes with it.

 

[VIAN]

Originally posted by: warcrow
I played Saints Row--it was fun, but not amazing. It's certainly no where near the quality of GTAIV in any regard. Visually speaking SR isnt even in the same ballpark. But you're right about the shops--you could buy more clothes in SR.

Really though? That's super-important to you?

Actually, I had a lot of fun doing that. I also had a lot of fun customizing my car -- something that I really miss from Saint's Row.

 

[VIAN]

Originally posted by: randay

Originally posted by: Riverhound777
I think the zero punctuation review is perfect. http://www.escapistmagazine.co...on-Grand-Theft-Auto-IV

i concur.

I also like the zero punctuation review, but it's given to you at such a speed that you may not know what he's talking about unless you played the game.

 

[mxyzptlk]

Originally posted by: hooflung

A few complaints I have is the world car AI is a bit shit. Cars running over pedestrians all the time, not adhering to traffic rules everywhere. Other than that the world feels pretty realistic.

Eh? Do you drive in the real world? That's pretty much exactly how it is driving in Los Angeles.

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: VIAN

Originally posted by: warcrow
I played Saints Row--it was fun, but not amazing. It's certainly no where near the quality of GTAIV in any regard. Visually speaking SR isnt even in the same ballpark. But you're right about the shops--you could buy more clothes in SR.

Really though? That's super-important to you?

Actually, I had a lot of fun doing that. I also had a lot of fun customizing my car -- something that I really miss from Saint's Row.

Ok, thats cool I can respect that. But you have to admit that GTAIVs environments are stunning in design, complexity and placement--leaps and bounds beyond what SR has to offer, right?.

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: warcrow

Originally posted by: Naustica
Gamespot was paid off. So was IGN. So was pretty much all the review site that gave it a 10 score. This game had to be a huge success. The company life and independence depended on this game's success with EA looking to acquire. You're talking billions at stake. You don't think million or two wasn't paid off to insure you're going to have a billion dollar payday?

It's like going to a restaurant. If you see a 100% health inspection score, that place paid off the health inspector or was just built.

Bribes and kickbacks are part of business. Anyone thinking otherwise is just naive.

LOL what?! Oh man, this thread is really starting to go places.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

What, you don't think these sites didn't get bribed into giving a perfect score? Kickbacks and bribes are part of doing business in just about every industry. Why do you think it's any different in the videogame industry? Especially when so much was at stake with this game.

They didn't bribe you? If you were big enough they would have.

 

[tdawg]

Personally, I don't understand the gripe about the camera when in a car. Just move the right stick until the camera moves up to your desired height. I've personally had no problem adjusting to the camera in car or on foot.

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: Naustica

Originally posted by: warcrow

Originally posted by: Naustica
Gamespot was paid off. So was IGN. So was pretty much all the review site that gave it a 10 score. This game had to be a huge success. The company life and independence depended on this game's success with EA looking to acquire. You're talking billions at stake. You don't think million or two wasn't paid off to insure you're going to have a billion dollar payday?

It's like going to a restaurant. If you see a 100% health inspection score, that place paid off the health inspector or was just built.

Bribes and kickbacks are part of business. Anyone thinking otherwise is just naive.

LOL what?! Oh man, this thread is really starting to go places.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

What, you don't think these sites didn't get bribed into giving a perfect score? Kickbacks and bribes are part of doing business in just about every industry. Why do you think it's any different in the videogame industry? Especially when so much was at stake with this game.

They didn't bribe you? If you were big enough they would have.

Are you crazy?! We're not big enough and they still bribed us. Everyone is bribed man!

 

[mxyzptlk]

Originally posted by: tdawg
Personally, I don't understand the gripe about the camera when in a car. Just move the right stick until the camera moves up to your desired height. I've personally had no problem adjusting to the camera in car or on foot.

I'd go so far as to say that these people just aren't very good at video games. The camera can get a little crazy if youre in tight spaces with people all around you shooting at you.. however, if you've gotten yourself into that situation then you're doing something wrong already anyway..

 

[Baked]

I can't get zero punctuation to low. The british guy doing the reviews pissed enough people that it finally caught up to him. Maybe Take2 whacked him.