It seems that looking back, Grand Theft Auto IV got a lot more acclaim than it deserved. This is proved with the recent release of its successor, GTA V, but even those who haven’t played the new title had problems with the game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsRF6_UEHoY
Take hazelam for example, who says that “unfortunately, as well put together as the game was, it just wasn’t all that much fun” as it didn’t include “the outrageous fun of previous games” and had a darker tone.
Pritchie101 didn’t like the mood either, describing it as “noticeably gray; the city is so boring, it’s got a lack of colour and is lifeless”. Jimmy-google meanwhile “found it boring for the most part and a bit of a slog”, as well as saying that he “couldn’t engage with the characters”, summing it up with “It’s not an awful game but it’s not great either.”
Although ron_mcphatty said he “loved it” at first, on reflection “there’s other highlights to catch up on” so it’s not worth buying now. While Ed the Penguin (great name) may have got a bit mixed up at first, he still said that the only negative he “had with IV was the driving physics”. Likewise, tactical20 also loved the game, saying that he can’t understand why people are complaining, saying that it’s better than GTA V in certain ways.
Forrest_01 describes it as a “really good game” and says that it is good fun if you don’t over-analyse the serious tone. Meanwhile Taylor Made’s review was short and not at all sweet: “Worst GTA ever in the series, boring, no effort made what so ever, the character not likeable.”
“I went back to it to complete the DLCs and found that it had aged badly.” said Craig Dodson, describing it as “rough around the edges”, though he’d still recommend it. Tatoemonkey however sold the game just the week after getting it, describing it now as “boring and tedious” and has actually put him off buying GTA V, as he has Sleeping Dogs to finish. I think cam_manutd managed to get it right, saying that it has a “dull and lifeless story” but the multiplayer was good fun.
XisTG managed to hit the nail on the head with his comment:
I found the game to be boring as hell, with its missions being anything but exciting, and the vehicle control is one of the worst I ever tried, specially for a game that has you driving quite a lot.
I never went far on the game (bought the complete pack with the DLC), and maybe it’s just me, but it was one of my biggest disappointments.
So, now it comes down to the votes. The majority was Bargain Bin It, with 11 votes, followed by both Buy It and Avoid It with five votes each, while Rent It only got two votes. So, it seems as though it’s worth picking up if it’s cheap, which should be easy these days
As for the future, we’ve got Thomas Was Alone (finally!) in tomorrow’s WeView article, so prepare all your notes on squares and rectangles for then. The poll now includes The Last of Us, so there’s no real surprise on what next week’s game will be, unless you’re all fans of Resistance, Fuse and LittleBigPlanet Karting…
Eldave0
Personally I feel that this is an issue with open world games in general. Lots of driving around from A to B, while the actual mission variety is pretty lacking. GTA5 suffers from the same issue in my opinion, apart from the heist missions which are obviously pretty cool.
Not sure why but Sleeping Dogs somehow felt fresh from start to finish by comparison.
jimmy-google
Finally playing Last of Us at the moment and managed to avoid all spoilers. Even though some may not like it I can’t see it coming out as anything other than buy it.
The other three games maybe far more useful to those who haven’t played them.
3shirts
Yeah I don’t think The Last Of Us will give us many surprises. I liked this one as it seems opinion is quite split on GTA IV.
I voted for LBP Karting as I do have a few things to say on that and I expect it to be more divisive.
tactical20
Glad Thomas Was Alone is next!
Ed the Penguin
Yeah, I admit it, I got mixed up. GTAV everywhere you look at the moment! And yes, it is a great name, isn’t it.. :)
XisTG
I was actually sad for not liking the game, as it was supposed to be this grand thing :/