GTA IV, Reactions, Opinions etc. (contains spoilers)

[Rapier Racer]

Well was it worth the wait? Was it worth ordering 2 copies of to ensure release day playage? Will it keep me tied over till Wipeout HD gets here (when is that again?) Of course the answer to all of this is YES and I've not even progressed that far into the game yet.

Boy theres so much to do and see I spent 8 minutes watching TV before I even left the house for the first time lol

I like the way you can just go and hang out in clubs and such like with Nikkos chums and the effect of being totally pissed is priceless with the falling over, I especially like how the cops come after you for drink driving!

Speaking of the cops I walked into one and knocked his cup of coffee out his hand much to his dismay.

Running people over is now even more amusing with this new variety of crunch sounds and more realistic reactions to being hit by a car, blood spattered on the car grill is also quite cool 8) The random shocked reactions usually involving a lot of swearing :g

The city looks great at night, it actually feels like night the sky is right the city's lights, all the stuff I've mentioned is small things looks like the game is gonnie get more super dooper the further into it I get

Clearly it's not the most graphically impressive game ever but it's GTA so we expected that right? It's gameplay more than makes up for that anyway.

[eLhabib]

Don't get me wrong, GTA4 IS impressive in size, and the possibilities in this open world are a big achievement in general, but then I just don't get what's so great about doing something in a videogame that I could do any time in real life as well (apart from the crimes, that is - I wouldn't WANT to do those anyway). Yeah, it's cool that you can walk into a club in GTA4, can play pool and snooker and whatnot in GTA4, can hook up with a girl in GTA4 etc etc etc. But why would I WANT to do that in a game?
Sorry if I'm sounding like a never-satisfied nagger right now, but after one and a half day of playing this game, I am already tired of it. It's bigger and better than all previous GTA titles, but still my in-game date doesn't mind at all if I smash up her car attempting to drive her to the bowling alley. If you're gonna do realism, do it RIGHT.
I prefer my videogames to give me something I can't EVER do in real life, like nailing the guitar solo of 'Bark at the Moon', or - hey - race an AG-craft ;)

[Chrono]

I think you're missing the point of the game. There is a main story to do, but there is so much more to the game if you just explore the world. I take it your not much on role playing games either.

The cars control and feel much more realistic, and that goes for crashes too. Crashes really slow you down, acting very simular to how you would expect the crash to happen in real life. With this, I found I took better care of my car because: 1) it looks great and I don't want to mess it up 2) crashing is a bitch.
Hitting people is great, how they roll over the hood, damaging your car often times. What's really great is when they fly through the windshield.

[Darkdrium777]

I'm not a big fan of GTA, personally I think it is free violence in a context resembling our modern society which may or may not encourage people to do the same IRL. I know, it's a bit of an archaic prejudice, especially coming from someone who is 18 years old (Me, in case you didn't get it) but it's just not my type of game. Hitting some old lady just because you felt like it is wrong in my book, and a game that encourages such behaviour is one I will not like very much. I played Assassin's Creed which can be compared to GTA for the free roaming and the in-the-streets violence, but the context is a lot more fictive and the game requires you to hit only really big assholes (Those "Interrogation" scenes). Still while the free running in AC is cool I didn't really like the game in general, especially since the PS3 started running it at three frames a second for some reason (That reason being bad coding of the PS3 version :/) after some time.
Although I must admit I really like Unreal Tournament 3, so my post is therefore a bit contradictory with my own tastes :g Although to defend myself I will say that UT3 is just pure fiction, and it is a competition, whereas GTA imitates real life and real crime situations...

[TheFrostE]

i got mine on the midnight release, i AM playing metal gear online beta right now, and since you get to keep your clan status and stats for when MGS 4 comes out i am trying to lvl my character up as much as i can before the 11th when beta closes.

i did sit for a while and expierience my new GTA 4 today though and i must say its absolutely stunning, too much to describe in a post. i think if you are mature enough to handle the RL situation you may find in the game , it may be a good way of dealing with stress. go ona killing spree in game!!!! kill that stupid old lady and steal your money back from a prostitute after you kill her. for me its a "reality game" that helps me escape my reality, because it lets me do those things without consequence, as i would never EVER do them IRL

[eLhabib]

I think you're missing the point of the game. There is a main story to do, but there is so much more to the game if you just explore the world. I take it your not much on role playing games either.

I know there is a story, and I've played about 10 hours into it, but I am not impressed at all. It feels tacky and cheap, and you can always put your bets on what's gonna happen next. And this comes from someone who LOVED the storylines of GTA3 and Vice City (San Andreas not so much). Don't compare it to a role playing game either, because it is nowhere as deep in terms of NPC interaction, leveling or even grinding for that matter (only items you can pick up are weapons and food - yeah I know and garbage, WOW).
The only moment in GTA4 that made me go WOW was the first time I flew a helicopter over the entire city - that's an impressive sight! Free mode multiplayer does provide some fun opportunities to mess around with friends, but other than that, it does get old very quickly.
Mark my words, I bet that in 4 to 5 weeks you won't find anyone online to play this game with any more.

[Chrono]

Well of course, GTA RPG "elements" are slim, but at it's core, GTA is a game where you roleplay. You kinda pick a persona to play. GTA's online doesn't interest me so much (if I want to murder, I'll play COD4, if I want to race, Burnout: Paradise, but the real fun might be running around the city with a couple friends in a closed room for a couple hours. I think you're being harsh on a game that is so obviously light years of improvement on it's predecessors. You said the story doesn't interest you (though I haven't gone that far, it's been engaging so far), but you made no effort to mention that the acting is the best in a video game...ever. I've played a lot of games in my day, but none have had acting in their scenes that can even compare to GTA4. All the actors deliver their lines perfectly and believably, not to mention the writing and humor are better than ever (and more serious than every, gta4 toned the gta silliness down some).

I'll play more tonight. Sorry if it seems like I'm calling you out every post elhabib, and I kinda am, but I mean in all in good fun and for the better of the discussion.

[infoxicated]

I'll pick up my copy today, hopefully, but I wont have much time to play it until well into next week.


I'm not a big fan of GTA, personally I think it is free violence in a context resembling our modern society which may or may not encourage people to do the same IRL.
Bollocks to that. I've been playing video games for close to 30 years and I know the frickin' difference between right and wrong in real life. Saying "a videogame made me do it" is a **** excuse used by ****-wits and even more ****-wittier lawyers, playing on the paranoia and crowd hysteria of modern society.

It's the same **** that horror movies went through during the VHS rental boom of the 70's and early 80's, yet there were nasty murderous ****ers for decades before that. You had Jack the Ripper long before you had Halloween or Grand Theft Auto.

Off the top of my head, I cant think of a video game that lets you lock your daughter in a cellar and father seven children with her, and yet somehow an evil guy in Austria was evil enough to come up with it all by himself twenty-odd years ago.

What's his excuse? Pac Man made him do it?! :rolleyes:

GTA is such an easy target it's bound to draw that kind of attention, but I'll bet more people have killed more German or Nazi soldiers in the multitude of Call of Honour or Medal of Duty-esque games we've had over the years (even going right back to Wolfenstein 3D) than virtual civilians have been killed in all the GTA games. Where's the media focus on that?

[rdmx]

The media in my opionion wouldn't focus on specifically Nazi deaths in videogames because the media in these sort of countries (USA, Britain, etc) would not exactly want to symphatise with the Nazis as generally in Allied countries, Nazis are considered 'evil' and to symphatise them would be considered 'outraegeous'.

That said, I do not believe that video games have much of a noticable impact on people's behaviour and even if a killer played a 'violent' game of some description before, it's not as if its that uncommon to play these sorts of games - the person who committed the v tech massacre played counter strike - but only because everyone else in the dorm did too - and these other people aren't killers. Do not forget the factor of mental health problems either.

I'm anticipating GTA 4 quite a bit, but I can't help but feel its been overhyped and has only recieved 10/10 because no one has really dared to speak their mind. That said, I haven't played it yet and may be pleasantly surprised.

[eLhabib]

Off the top of my head, I cant think of a video game that lets you lock your daughter in a cellar and father seven children with her, and yet somehow an evil guy in Austria was evil enough to come up with it all by himself twenty-odd years ago.

Shame you'd mention it, that whole incident really draws a terrible picture in the minds of people about my beautiful homecountry :(
sorry for going offtopic btw

[rdmx]

Don't worry mate, just because one person does such a horrendous thing, doesn't mean that all Austrians do that. We should be thinking about the act, not the home country of the perpetrator.

[infoxicated]

Shame you'd mention it, that whole incident really draws a terrible picture in the minds of people about my beautiful homecountry :(
I don't think so, really - there's as much chance of it happening anywhere else in the world. Besides, I've been to Austria on a skiing holiday and it was very nice indeed. ;)

[TheFrostE]

some people like it and some people dont like it. the bottom line is hat it IS a good game, whether you like it or not. it was very well put together, graphics are amazing, length is excellent, character depth and things you can do= lots and lots of replay value, and story is wonderful so far for me. If you love the gta3 or vice city story and dont like this one, theres something not right about that. why dont you try going through the story, then getting a "clan" or something online, find all the stunt jumps, find easter eggs and all the hidden stuff in the game,without a strategy guide of course. and then say "it gets old fast"

PS- as for the online community of this game dying within four weeks , do some research and see how many thousands of people played the PC gta online....for a LONG time, and that online was garbage imo

[Lance]

Martin, It doesn't do anything of the kind; we are sufficiently knowledgeable to know that one person is different from another, and that evil and insanity tend to be well-distributed through all countries just as goodness and sanity are, but luckily in smaller amounts than those better qualities.

[blixabargeld]

after all it's just a game, and i agree with some points expressed by elhabib: why playing something which is so close to reality in terms of gameplay (well, i hope that nobody's life is so limited as in the game..) and the only actractive features are crime and violence? a game should be a distraction from reality, even a little "disconnection".(just my opinion, of course)
that's also why i don't like football-based games etc..
anyway, gta4 is really well made and I'm sure it will become a blockbuster, just as usual.

[infoxicated]

I couldn't pick up a copy. :|

I tried two GAME stores and an HMV, but I found a pre-owned copy of Hot Brain for the PSP which I'd wanted to try again, so that semi-kind of half made up for it. Not really.

Looks like it'll be the tail end of next week before I'm in Liberty City, but then I am still playing Burnout Paradise, Everybody's Golf World Tour, GTA 5 Prologue, SOCOM Combined Assault, along with God of War on the PSP, so it's not like I really need it.

//Wipe what?

It's the first GTA that I haven't managed to get on launch day without pre-order, though - who knew that it would be so successful that you wouldn't be able to get a copy? ;)

What sucked was that GAME had lots of copies behind the glass that people hadn't picked up on pre-order, but they couldn't give them out until 48 hours after launch date. :|

[Rapier Racer]

I've got 2 PS3 copies one from GAME.co.uk and I picked one up at Morrisons when they opened on the Tuesday (I know game sometimes fail to deliver on time, this is one of those games where that wasn't good enough)

Long story short you can buy it from me if you want it, still sealed n all planned to take it back. I used a mates discount card so I'd sell it on at what I paid for it which was 36 quid.

[Darkdrium777]

Bollocks to that. I've been playing video games for close to 30 years and I know the frickin' difference between right and wrong in real life. Saying "a videogame made me do it" is a **** excuse used by ****-wits and even more ****-wittier lawyers, playing on the paranoia and crowd hysteria of modern society.
And there is where I agree with you. I have not made myself clear enough on this and I apologize. I play UT3 and I can make the difference for crying out loud. You know how violent UT3 is? You've got people blowing up all over with other guys getting disintegrated and dismembered. That's more violent that GTA4 IMHO.
Still, why does this opinion on GTA games remain? Because some people who have actually committed crimes have been inspired by this type of video games. Sure, you can call "mental problem" or whatnot, but the fact still remains that without this particular video game, these people would not have stormed a school and shot students in it (The chance was much less if we must be moderate), killing a few, or get in a street race and kill a three year old girl playing in her garden because they lost control of the car (This actually happened in Montréal, just so you know. And there was a copy of Need for Speed on the passenger seat of the crashed car.). It is still a valid point, even if you are not affected by video games, even if I am not affected by video games (As I said, I play UT3 because it's competitive and fun (There are fun glitches too btw xD), but I don't want to grab my Shock Rifle and combo people in the streets, or smack down people with a nuke), there are still people who are. And that is why I've stated this fact.
Now I personally don't want to play GTA4, firstly because I am certain it is overrated. It's getting 10 everywhere like it is the Messiah or something, but I don't believe it. This **** already happened with Halo3, and I've played the actual game so I know how bad it is. Secondly, running around and performing crimes to become the ultimate mafia member isn't my cup of coffee. Sorry.

[TheFrostE]

thats a shame because not only is the single player story very fun and the "do whatever you want" theme, the online play is very awsome, done well, no lag 16 modes, and voice chat is crispy clean. i just played online with 4 friends all day doing races, turf wars, cop n robbers. also when you get money playing games online, its like your XP, and you gain levels by getting certain amounts of money. the level shows up next to your name in lobbies, and is used to unlock new things in game. i know its not your cup of coffee, but it really is phenomenal if you can get past the idea that each GTA is the same thing, cuz its not

[Lion]

You know how violent UT3 is? You've got people blowing up all over with other guys getting disintegrated and dismembered. That's more violent that GTA4 IMHO.
Still, why does this opinion on GTA games remain?the big difference is that people are quite likely to be able to get their hands on a baseball bat, knife, maybe even a pistol, and almost certainly get behind the wheel of a car. Making it far easier to emulate what you see in game.
I don't know about your part of the world, but lightning rifles and shieldguns are pretty hard to get ahold of in New Zealand.
I'm not saying that it's right to ban a game because an incredibly small portion of the population are that stupid/impressionable/unstable. I'm just saying that UT a poor parallel.

The problem is the same as it's been for years. no-one wants to be responsible for their (or their child's) actions, so a scapegoat must be found.
It was cartoons when I was a kid (thundercats and ninja turtles spring to mind) and it's videogames now.
GTA has just been singled out because the in-game actions are able to directly mirror things in the real world. There's no interpretation necessary.

[infoxicated]

Despite the fact I haven't played it, I haven't read a single review that fails to mention the frame rate issues. For me, that's not something I should be finding in a 10/10 game.

10/10 should indicate perfection, and should not jut be a reflection of the hype and expectation surrounding the product.

That said, I'll take your spare copy Stephen. :D :+

[blixabargeld]

all videogames magazines gave a 10/10 to san andreas, and it was really far from perfection..

[Harvai]

I really haven't been paying too much attention to GTA4, and I usually keep an eye out for big-title games like this. It must have been something to do with my PS2, my copy of San Andreas and the save for it (waaay too many hours) taking a 40cm free-fall on to a hard wooden floor...

Same thing happened to Final Fantasy Tactics. 80 hard hours of work gobbled up by a faulty memory card. Happened 4 years ago and I haven't picked the game up since.

Anyway, disregard that as ranting, I'm going to (try) and pick up a copy of GTA4 after work tomorrow, and from what I've seen it has more awesome action and less 'Gangstaz in da hood' that San Andreas had.

The radio stations better be awesome! :guitar

[rdmx]

It has Lazlow, so it can't go wrong...
Right?:g

[Darkdrium777]

I played a bit at a friend's house. Still unconvinced since I basically know what the game is about, and that can't be covered up with sharp graphics and all of that. But sure the game looks good. Except there are frame drops here and there. I didn't mention it to my friend because he's a fan, but it just goes to show that the reviewers are full of **** when they give a game 10/10. Because frame drops are something that should lower the game down to 8 at least, if not more. Lag is a pretty unsightly thing.

[mdhay]

...Because some people who have actually committed crimes have been inspired by this type of video game....


Manhunt is just as bad, but, whatever...

Basically, I just keep spawning police choppers (359-555-0100) when Niko is, to quote Stevie, "pizzed as a fart", and watch the rotors pop off XD, Then use it to shoot stuff.


That. Is. Fun.

[Darkdrium777]

Playing it a bit more, can't do missions because the friend doesn't want us to save, but I managed to find a car not too unlike the Shelby Cobra and take it on a run at the airport at night. Got away because there are not so many cops, tried again in the day but eventually died because I got stuck in a place with no exit. Still, doing a few drifts and stunts with that car was really fun, and the airport landing strips are the BEST place to try out fast car (The speed effect is REALLY nice). Just make sure to do it at night, or be prepared to reload :)

[cybrpnk]

I love it...and for all the hype that it was worth...R* has delivered on all fronts...

Don't get me wrong...I agree with insertcoin that people who blame real-life violent acts on videogames are just...ignorant. I don't love the game because I can act out my violent fantasies of running pedestrians over. Shooting up the place, cops, innocent bystanders, motorists... I don't love it because I can act out my sexual fantasies of hookers, strip clubs online dating and whatnot.

I love it because I love videogames. And to put things into perspective, my first videogame ever was Pac-Man, no ****...and to see how far videogames have evolved from the pill popping yellow 3/4 circle dude to what we can now experience that is GTA4...it is definitely an amazing feat of a gaming gem to behold...

I love the RAGE engine and I love Euphoria, I love the attention to detail, radio stations, tv stations, water, lightin, and so much more that add to the experience that just lets you 'get lost' in Liberty City and soak it all up...because without them...the life in GTA 4 would cease to exist...it is a great achievement in videogaming and R* would have to be commended for it...

[kanar]

Hi,

I really love this one, probably the best game on ps3 now... BUT...
I'm beginning to think our graphic chipset is already dead. 10/10 without talking about framerate issues, yeah really, it's too much I think. All right, this game offers a HUGE bunch of gameplay. But this world is still a "scripted/little bit hugly city", running at 20/30 fps/sec depending on weather/cops/traffic/blah blah... I really hope that's because Gta was designed for the 360. But I don't think so... I thought this game will put an end to my pulse sickness... But no! I'm still making weird layers for my fish, & running desperately on Talon or Tech da ra lol!
Please tell me Wipe Out HD will rule that!

[eLhabib]

And it will.

[blixabargeld]

maybe I'm not a true wiper if I don't see frame-rate as a major aspect in a game..

[infoxicated]

I don't quite know what it says about you, man - you're the only one who truly knows you. ;)

For me, I'm sick of frame rate being the first thing to go when developers "really want to push the console". Bollocks to them - what they're really doing is misrepresenting their game engine for the sake of screen shots. They get away with slideshow frame rates because screen shots are static and because the PR guy can bullshit at game shows about how "it's a pre-release version and the frame rate is rock solid in the more recent builds," which he'd love to show you, but "just wait and see - it looks amazing."

When's it going to end?

Is Madden 2012, Burnout Utopia (I made that up), GTAV or GTAVI going to get a free pass on frame rate because there's more traffic? More people? More realism?

I can already surmise the interviews with the lead designers of GTAVII;

"Yeah, okay the frame rate does dip occasionally... but, see everyone one of those people on the screen? Well the game engine is actually running their digestive system - that guy standing on the corner over there? He really needs to take a **** - if you look closely you can tell by the way the game engine has altered the size of his eyeballs to indicate that he needs to crap soooo badly. It's so realistic; in fact, if you'd seen that guy in the Burger Shot he ate at five hours ago you could have followed him and watched the expression on his face change as his intestines got going. Of course, he cant get home because he cant afford gas for his car - the game engine is so sophisticated that it remembers he split from his digital wife six game months ago and she's taking him for everything he's got."

That's the level it's going to get to - heck, most gamers are still lapping up **** about reactive AI in racing games when the truth is the drones are following the same splines with the same elastic rule set they always have.

When does the chase for realism by way of graphical prowess end?

I mean, for all the things that make reality "realistic", it has to be the rock solid frame rate. Sometimes in real life the buildings do sort of look the same and it seems like there's a cloned fast food restaurant every 200 yards or so - just like in a video game - but unless I'm particularly drunk or exhausted my frame rate remains consistent.

//end rant

[lunar]

It usually takes about 6 pints of Olde Speckled Badger or whatever to get my frame rate to drop, but it can happen.

Excellent rant, very funny :beer and I completely agree. Wipeout Pulse is another game that gets that balance of framerate vs detail wrong, unfortunately.

On topic, not really interested in GTA these days. I got put off by the repetitiveness of the missions in the past, it all seemed a bit pointless, but then I`m happy to spend 3 hours driving round and round Altima, so I don`t know.

[Lance]

I'm thinkin' that the dynamic sensations one gets from driving around Altima are just more satisying and relaxing than the syncopated herkyjerky of GTA missions.

[G'Kyl]

Actually, I'd say the relaxing effect when walking slowly over "Brooklyn Bridge" or wherever you like to hang out in Liberty City is superior to Altima. :) Simply because GTA IV, for all of its significant shortcomings, feels real to a certain impressive level.


Wipeout Pulse is another game that gets that balance of framerate vs detail wrong, unfortunately.

I don't think so, really. The fact that a game has a few issues doesn't mean it got the entire balance wrong.

I'm not a frame rate junkie to begin with, but I do believe that as long as it doesn't significantly impact your playing the game, the number of frames per second is not a predominating factor. In Splinter Cell: Double Agent on PS3, for instance, the stuttering doesn't matter much, since you rarely get into a frantic shootout. In Unreal Tournament 3 it WOULD be a problem, though.
So, it really depends on the game, and I don't think it gets in the way in GTA.

Ben

[blixabargeld]

don't get me wrong, I'm really not a fan of photo-realism, I just think that frame rate changes in importance from game to game..

gta: you can easily stand super8-like frame rate level
granturismo: graphics is as important as frame rate
wipeout: if it's not smoothly fluid you would have crappy race times, and crappy experience

[rdmx]

Yeah, okay the frame rate does dip occasionally... but, see everyone one of those people on the screen? Well the game engine is actually running their digestive system - that guy standing on the corner over there? He really needs to take a **** - if you look closely you can tell by the way the game engine has altered the size of his eyeballs to indicate that he needs to crap soooo badly.

Genius!
GTA4 is sitting there, just waiting to be played, but I'm real busy...
I've got a methods unit 1 SAC coming up :/

[Harvai]

God I hate Manny... Does anyone else hate Manny?

[mdhay]

That's why Elizabeta kills him.

[Rapier Racer]

Ooh that could be considered a spoiler! :-

[mdhay]

Oopsie!

[Lance]

Hey, everybody dies some time, so not really an ultimate spoiler.

In a related story, it is hinted in a recent private communique from the studio that in Tomb Raider 23, Lara Croft's boobs will be smaller. :eek

[omega329]

pfft, just do some backflips and sideflips by the hoverboard girl on blackwater city, that should sort it!;)

[blixabargeld]

Hey, everybody dies some time, so not really an ultimate spoiler.

In a related story, it is hinted in a recent private communique from the studio that in Tomb Raider 23, Lara Croft's boobs will be smaller. :eek

Lara's boobs are ALREADY became smaller.. shame on eidos..

[Harvai]

What mdhay wrote...

lol spoilers! If I didn't already know that, I'd be spitting chips right about now!
Arguably the best GTAIV cutscene I've seen so far!

And also, what's up with the framerate drop you guys are talking about? I'm not getting any on my 360. Is it just on the PS3 or am I just not noticing it?

[Chrono]

I've watched DJ's game's framerate drop a couple times, then never again. My game occasionally is slow to draw the road by bridges... Nothing big though.

[metroid4me]

So far it seems like the old GTA just with better graphics, but I haven't got very far in the game yet. San andreas was definitely my favorite. Loved trying to bomb Area 69 and getting the feds after you. I think if they make another one for the ps3 they should do it in that area again, not liberty city.

[infoxicated]

I'd agree with that assessment. I've put a lot of time into it over the past week and, now that there's more to do and I'm used to the car handling, it does just seem like GTAIII with a make-over.

I got really used to the idea of needing cash for stuff in San Andreas, but cash is pretty meaningless in GTAIV. You don't actually have to do any of the jobs that are offered to you, because the financial rewards for completing the story missions gives you plenty enough to get by on. For that reason it lacks the depth I'd gotten used to in previous games - I cant buy any property or run a business. I just sit there with a big wad of cash and Roman telling me how broke we always are.

I mean, I have $22k sitting there and I've squandered at least $10k on weapons to fight off the very people that Roman owes money to. If I really was Nico I'd use my fat wedge of cash to pay off the gambling debts that are causing so much trouble and just get on with life.

In San Andreas I really liked having to eat and keeping in shape at the gym, so I thought they'd expand on that and add fatigue this time around, which might affect your stamina and your ability to aim weapons, for example. But no, it's like they've taken a step backwards in that regard.

I suppose if the previous generation is anything to go by they'll get back to doing stuff like that in the sequels that follow. Or maybe they'll patch extra features into the game like Criterion are doing with Burnout Paradise. Fingers crossed. :)

[mdhay]

"...so I thought they would expand on that and add fatigue..."

Nah, rob, that would make their intestines that work have purpose.;)

[RJ O'Connell]

If I recall, EA Sports used that approach when they first made their games for the current-gen systems. Then the newer games added more and more stuff. Well, except for the NASCAR series which is just regressing poorly and needs another major overhaul.

As for GTA, I have one question, since I've never played any installment: Are the driving mechanics really true-to-life or just kind of half-assed?

[mdhay]

Well RJ, would your car get sent flying and land upside down if you hit a lamppost at 22m/h? :p

[RJ O'Connell]

I guess the physics really suck, then.

And I don't have a car, I just use my mom's Taurus (U.S. equivalent of the Mondeo) to run errands and whatnot...

[Lance]

I thought that the old 'Contour' was the American equivalent of the Mondeo?

[RJ O'Connell]

Both the last-gen Taurus and Mondeo I consider to be mid-size segment front wheel drive sedans.

And you are right, we did have a re-badged Mondeo for awhile. Now it just looks like the offspring of a saloon car that got intimate with a Ford Focus.

Anyway, back to GTA IV.

[metroid4me]

I thought the car physics was decent... Lots of drifting going on... :g
No urge to play it again though. Come on wipeout!!!! waiting is madness...