STOP THE PRESSES: GTAV has been Announced

[orangecharger]

I like GTA games... have them all from GTA3 forward and yes being phoned by your friends is annoying when you are in the middle of something. It's also annoying in real life too. I like the new direction of the games and thought Nico was their best protagonist to date.

For those that loved San Andreas perhaps they will be bring back the gym so you can waste your time their instead of hanging out with friends.

 

[Richardplex]

Stop the presses? but they need to be running so they can pre-emptively blame it for the next lose-faith-in-humanity incident.

 

[Togs]

I like GTA games... have them all from GTA3 forward and yes being phoned by your friends is annoying when you are in the middle of something. It's also annoying in real life too. I like the new direction of the games and thought Nico was their best protagonist to date.

For those that loved San Andreas perhaps they will be bring back the gym so you can waste your time their instead of hanging out with friends.

And the old flame war reignites.

Is it really that difficult to accept that different people like different games? Is it that much beyond comprehension that some people did not enjoy the realistic trappings of the last game? Or that some people just want to mess around ond go on kill crazy rampages instead of trying live a fake life in a goddamn video game?

If i sound angry or annoyed its because your last sentence is so asinine it blows my goddamn mind.

 

[Nomanslander]

Honestly I stopped caring with the last game. Their GTA series has become such a miss mass of poorly implemented dozen or so game mechanics (cover base shooting, driving, flying, bowling, shooting pool, hot coffeeing, getting calls from Roman every 10 mins to hit a titty bar), that the series has lost all its flavor.

I'll pass.

 

[Tips_of_Fingers]

That's my birthday! Please, Rockstar, do not disappoint me too much...

I've been reading through the comments within the thread and can't help but be angered by people saying that GTAIV was boring. Seems like The Escapist doesn't like innovation or change...Or a game that shows the sheer power of videogames.
Narratively, graphically and thematically incredible, GTAIV is a masterpiece, and I cannot comprehend how people hate it. "It's not like San Andreas" is not an argument. Judge it on it's own merits.

No on all accounts.
The game suffered from a massive disconnect between story and gameplay. Why the hell is Niko obsessing about money when the player got him millions by robbing people? Why is he expressing remorse of his actions as a soldier when the player just forced him to go on a killing spree. For that matter, why would a character like Niko, who by the inevitable actions of the player is a sadistic, sociopathic mass murder, be able to maintain any sort of social life?

The theme is not exactly unique. It's a tale of redemption and tragedy, which I'm pretty sure has been a literary staple for the past two thousand-something years. It doesn't help that Niko has no redeeming qualities (sans perhaps for his accent), or for that matter any clear motivation for leaving the whole damn situation behind. Again, this is the disconnect between story and gameplay. The story would be fine as a run-of-the-mill gangster flick, but the player freedom disrupts this massively.

Graphics, no. Just no. Did you play the xbox version and have run stuff just pop into existence a few pixels in front of you? Lag? Texture loading problems? It may be better on the PC (especially with that photorealism mod, although I should stress that mods do not invalidate any criticism of the game), but I have no first hand experience of that. Aside from the aforementioned issues, it was just ugly, grey, and brown. If you now want to assert that Ballad was better in that regard, kindly tell me how that fixes the MAIN game?

GTA4 was not a masterpiece by any means. It most certainly wasn't a game that could showcase "the sheer power of videogames." It was decent, and much of the ire it received was from fans of the series (yours truly included), who did not like the new direction, or some particular element of the game. This is not a point against innovation, but one for the continuation of the series. Members of a series have to, by definition, be related to each other in some way, be it theme, gameplay, story, or recurring characters. The possible range of innovation is thus quite limited in a continuing series, which is why your assertion that criticism of GTA is automatically a criticism of innovation is just plain wrong.

Wow, I'm glad you took the time to argue against me coherently.

You make a number of good points that I can't disagree with. Especially about the contradictions between Niko's sentiments and the players actions. I played both the Xbox and Playstation versions and, although I don't remember the Xbox version very well, I didn't have any of the graphical problems you mentioned.

However, one thing that I can find to poke at is your statement

"The theme is not exactly unique. It's a tale of redemption and tragedy, which I'm pretty sure has been a literary staple for the past two thousand-something years."

You're right, but with regards to videogames, it's quite a step up in terms of narrative. I thought the story was far superior to a lot of other games I'd seen up until that point.

Ok, I realise that I was totally wrong by wording my original comment the way I did, and I'm glad you took the time to outline various reasons why I'm wrong. As I said, I agree with much of what you said. I know GTAIV isn't perfect, and I would be shaming myself to say that it has no big flaws but I will continue to maintain that it is one of the most important videogames that this generation has seen so far.

 

[ZehMadScientist]

I've never been a fan of GTA games, so this news doesn't really do anything for me.

Besides, I'm so busy IRL lately that I can hardly find the time to play the usual linear singleplayer games, let alone "Screw around" Sandboxes.

 

[Tips_of_Fingers]

Because it catered to a different audience then previous games i.e. it was all aobut realism whereas the previous ones where about dicking around, alot of old fans where angered by this sudden change of direction that came out of leftfield whilst new ones came in.
It doesnt matter if a game is "progressive" it matters that it is fun, alot of people (myself included) did not find it fun.
Saying you get "angered" by people disagreeing with you just makes you sound like a childish fool.

Yeah, I apologise for my poor choice of words. Angered is definitely not how I felt. More frustrated, I guess. GTAIV was still about "dicking around", it was just presented in a more realistic manner.

...What kinds of "dicking around" did San Andreas do differently?

 

[orangecharger]

I like GTA games... have them all from GTA3 forward and yes being phoned by your friends is annoying when you are in the middle of something. It's also annoying in real life too. I like the new direction of the games and thought Nico was their best protagonist to date.

For those that loved San Andreas perhaps they will be bring back the gym so you can waste your time their instead of hanging out with friends.

And the old flame war reignites.

Is it really that difficult to accept that different people like different games? Is it that much beyond comprehension that some people did not enjoy the realistic trappings of the last game? Or that some people just want to mess around ond go on kill crazy rampages instead of trying live a fake life in a goddamn video game?

If i sound angry or annoyed its because your last sentence is so asinine it blows my goddamn mind.

I think you might be trying to incite the flame war. I was literally saying that perhaps they will bring back some of the stuff people liked in San Andreas - not sure how that is asinine. There were plenty of derogatory comments about GTA 4 in the thread. I didn't say anything negative about any one of them. I own them all from GTA 3 forward and the DLC too. My San Andreas guy was a tatted up buffed mofo... so yup I wasted my time doing that. I wasted my time on dates. I wasted my time in GTA IV hanging out with Dwayne, Roman - nothing negative here sorry.

 

[Togs]

Yeah, I apologise for my poor choice of words. Angered is definitely not how I felt. More frustrated, I guess. GTAIV was still about "dicking around", it was just presented in a more realistic manner.

...What kinds of "dicking around" did San Andreas do differently?

It did not force responsibilities on you, the only time it did was with turf wars which were just a more structured format of "dicking around", whereas GTA4 forced responsibilites on you that weren't enjoyable- they consisted of rather dull minigames like bowling or unfunny carbaret shows.
GTA4 was a very good game but there was a large difference in the corwd it was aimed at.

 

[Togs]

[

I think you might be trying to incite the flame war. I was literally saying that perhaps they will bring back some of the stuff people liked in San Andreas - not sure how that is asinine. There were plenty of derogatory comments about GTA 4 in the thread. I didn't say anything negative about any one of them. I own them all from GTA 3 forward and the DLC too. My San Andreas guy was a tatted up buffed mofo... so yup I wasted my time doing that. I wasted my time on dates. I wasted my time in GTA IV hanging out with Dwayne, Roman - nothing negative here sorry.

Rereading your post it seems it was a lot less confrontational then it first appeared, sorry about that had a nasty flashback to what went on when GTA4 was first released.

 

[Bento Box]

It's odd how GTA4 has become the plague dog that it is the eyes of this community yet Red Dead Redemption is hailed as a masterpiece, despite suffering even worse from the issues for which GTA4 is loathed.

Anyway, I'm interested in seeing what Rockstar is going to deliver. I just hope they bring back some of that Bully magic.

One word explains all: Yahtzee

OT: Looking forward to this, I liked both SA and IV in their own ways though I liked the story more in the latter so I hope it will be a mixture of what was good in both.

No, sir. The word that best explains it is, "NEXT-GENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN."

It was released not long after console games were finally getting past a resolution of 640X480, and around that time everything was trying to go for the gritty realism. Rockstar tried to balance that with the standard GTA humor, and it just really... didn't awesome much.

Awesome's a verb now. You didn't know that? 'Cause it is. It's a verb. Awesomes.

As for GTA5, well, I'm kind of getting tired of the Americocentrism of all these games; I'd like to step outside New York, Miami, and Los Angeles for once please - that goes for you, too, Volition.

 

[Tips_of_Fingers]

Yeah, I apologise for my poor choice of words. Angered is definitely not how I felt. More frustrated, I guess. GTAIV was still about "dicking around", it was just presented in a more realistic manner.

...What kinds of "dicking around" did San Andreas do differently?

It did not force responsibilities on you, the only time it did was with turf wars which were just a more structured format of "dicking around", whereas GTA4 forced responsibilites on you that weren't enjoyable- they consisted of rather dull minigames like bowling or unfunny carbaret shows.
GTA4 was a very good game but there was a large difference in the corwd it was aimed at.

Yup true enough...Although I guess my only argument for that would be you didn't have to answer the calls of your friends. But then, your response would likely be that then the player would lose out on various perks as a result of losing certain friends.

Don't get me wrong, I loved San Andreas as well but I was happy to see a fresh change to the franchise... I guess I fall in the "new crowd" that GTAIV was aimed at huh lol?

 

[Jesus Phish]

The font style on the V logo looks to me like it's going to be in more of a gangster settings, like San Andreas. Fingers crossed for that.
San Andreas was the best in the series. I hope we get the same customization and great lead character.

The first thing I thought of was Vegas. It looks like the font style of a dollar and its a similar shade.

Then again money goes into all gang crime, so who knows. It's just the first thing I thought

 

[fundude365]

Query! Will it be based on Vice City's or IV's gameplay? If the latter it can be launched off a cliff for all I care.

 

[Vault101]

alot of GTA hate.....

personally if they want to try and go with a gritty story....why not?

 

[Von Dean]

OH WOW!! i'm totally..not blown away by this news,especially not after the disappointment of GTAIV

 

[saruman31]

I can`t see myself bothered by the game`s setting. Even if Vice City was my favorite GTA. All i want now is some very good collision detection and physics. If those will improve a lot from 4 i will be happy.

 

[Ranorak]

The main reason I disliked GTA IV, was because the city was boring as hell.
There was nothing to do besides the insanely stupid minigames like bowling or anything.

Where was the chance to cause chaos?
Sure, you could run around kill a few people with a gun, but I kept having the feeling you were punished too much by that.

Going on a killing spree in other GTA games, or even Saints Row, eventually got you killed, yes.
But with GTA IV I had the idea that I got killed way too fast. You didn't have time to properly cause some mayhem, before you were dead and buried.

A second thing I disliked were the characters.
Yeah they were well rounded, a little over the top, especially that hilariously insecure buffed guy, forgot his name.
But, when playing Saints Row 2, with my character looking like the freaking Joker, I was way more sad when one of the cast died. He was barely fleshed out, but someone he resonated more with me then any of the cast of GTA IV.

And last, WERE IS MY AIR PLANE!?
I spend hours getting all gold medals in San Andreas, to get that awesome jet.
Nothing here!

 

[Cowabungaa]

Is it going to be more like San Andreas or Vice City?

If no then I don't care. I loved SA and VC and hated IV.

At least 4's DLC made up for it. Couldn't stand the vanilla game, but I loved every minute of The Ballad of Gay Tony and The Lost and Damned.

I wonder which direction they're going to take. Personally, I think TBoGT was the perfect blend of the old GTA's wackiness and the more realistically feeling world of GTA4.

Or they could just remake GTA Vice City and make me a very happy panda. Or GTA London and basically make it Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (or any other Guy Ritchie flick) in game form. A man can dream *sigh*

 

[thethingthatlurks]

Wow, I'm glad you took the time to argue against me coherently.

You make a number of good points that I can't disagree with. Especially about the contradictions between Niko's sentiments and the players actions. I played both the Xbox and Playstation versions and, although I don't remember the Xbox version very well, I didn't have any of the graphical problems you mentioned.

However, one thing that I can find to poke at is your statement

"The theme is not exactly unique. It's a tale of redemption and tragedy, which I'm pretty sure has been a literary staple for the past two thousand-something years."

You're right, but with regards to videogames, it's quite a step up in terms of narrative. I thought the story was far superior to a lot of other games I'd seen up until that point.

Ok, I realise that I was totally wrong by wording my original comment the way I did, and I'm glad you took the time to outline various reasons why I'm wrong. As I said, I agree with much of what you said. I know GTAIV isn't perfect, and I would be shaming myself to say that it has no big flaws but I will continue to maintain that it is one of the most important videogames that this generation has seen so far.

I think the graphical problems mainly arose while flying, and high speed chases in densely populated areas. There was also a problem with the draw distance clipping people out of existence, particularly while sniping. I suppose my brother's xbox could be blamed for some of the other issues, of course.

My point you were critiquing was about theme, not story. Themes are recurring by their very nature (eg Star Wars is just a rehashing of The Hero's Journey, IN SPACE!). As such you will probably not find a game that is unique in theme. I should stress that theme and story are not the same thing. The story of GTA4, by itself and excluding side missions, is really quite good. It's certainly not unique, but it is set up nicely, and the characters are, for the most part, very well written. But then we have the issue of gameplay again. I still remember starting GTA4 for the first time, and watching the intro. It was a nice moment, Niko being lured to LC by promises of wealth, work, and (as we later find out) an escape from his past. Then I got into the car and thought to myself "Why is this thing handling like shit? And if Roman doesn't shut his fat face soon, I'll drive this car into a goddamn lake." I actually found Niko's complaints about my horrendous actions far more entertaining than murdering identical clone #6,456,323.9 of old lady #7. This is basically what my big problem with GTA4 is: It sets up this grand and interactive tale of redemption, and then gives you the freedom to go nuts in spite of the character's clear motivations. I eventually realized that I, the player, am just the bitterly antisocial voice in the mind of a violent schizophrenic, and just ran with it. Forget motivation, Niko is clearly insane, let's fucking party!

I do actually agree with you. GTA4 is one of the most important games we've seen this generation. Not because of what it has been, but because it cleared showed what one could do with gaming. The individual elements in GTA4 functioned great by themselves, mostly anyway. The story was pretty good, the characters well written (though not always likeable; that's actually a sign of good writing), and the minigames showed that a game could have many facets, so to speak, without curtailing any one element in particular. The social life thing, while terribly implemented, showed that characters in a story could have relationships that involved the player in some way. The massive sandbox map showed how far modern technology could go. In short, GTA4 wasn't important for what it was, but for what it showed would eventually be possible.

Oh yeah, don't be glad that somebody takes the time to write out some arguments. That should be the norm, particularly here where we have the time to think about what we want to say.