GTA IV

[Art Blade]

What I read was about the vanilla (unpatched) version.

Later, obviously, patches solved issues. I'm glad you guys didn't have any problems but bugs don't necessarily have to strike everyone at once; sometimes they affect few, sometimes many players, while some never have any problems. Like now, I suffer from a "Stevie bug" which had been unknown to Binnatics until I told him about it.

I simply didn't want to be one of those having major issues plus, at that time, I was very much against STEAM. On top, it (still) requires to be signed up with GfWL and additionally with Rockstar's social club or whatever it's called. Three online connections if I want to play -- well, today I can't do anything against it any more. Times have changed and I have learned to live with it. Probably like back then when they learned to exchange horses with cars  :-()

[Binnatics]

You're right about 'learning to live with it'. But I still get mad when I think of all that DLC that's made only available through networksites which makes it necessary to buy the stuff with creditcards, even buying "microsoft points" for that  :D
I still refuse to do so, and I'm affraid it will continue to get nastier then it allready is. Now, they only offer new maps, weapons and shiny cars in DLC's. There will be a time that they start to distribute a game through portions, like the Halflife Episodes. And only available through their damn distribution-networks I'm affraid.
I hope competition will prevent that future from being reality. In that matter I follow the recent argument between Steam and Electronic Arts with growing interest. It might cause EA to step over to, for example, GfWL. Or start their own services.
When it causes the online gaming bussiness to shatter the same way happend to online bookings for flights and vacations, that wouldn't be a good thing. I remember having bought some chairs in a KLM flight to Sweden by an agency who sold these chairs in a so-called 'special offer' which it wasn't. In fact, they kind of bought half the plane and sold the tickets for the same price KLM would have done. Then there was an issue with my wife's name; she has a large name (lots of tokens) and it didn't fit in the space available for the online check-in form. So she kind of made a abbreviation. I smelled trouble and called the agency explaining the issue. They claimed 100 euros for making the change to her name PLUS the entire price of the ticket (which would be refunded later on, they said), and didn't even listen to the fact that their online service wasn't delivering the needed space in tokens. We decided to talk to KLM, but they couldn't do a thing for us, since the agency was the one 'controlling these seats'. They didn't have the right to interfere in that matter.  :o >:(
I remember calling the agency again after that, and with less polite words insisting on a free solution. I stopped swearing at the poor woman because I realised she didn't even understand what I was calling her. That bad was her English LOL.
We decided not to do any changes to the name, and took our chances. We were VERY lucky we found some nice ppl at the airport, but it would have been more then possible that they left us in Stockholm on our way back.

Hmmm, hard to find the comparison with buying games and DLC's, but I'm sure some nasty scenarios are posible there  :-\\

[Art Blade]

There is an ongoing discussion across this site, regarding online purchases of games and related stuff particularly via online game distributors like STEAM and GfWL. I read that Crysis2 is no longer available through STEAM, they started off a business of their own.

However, this is the GTA IV topic, so back to it :)

Nice.. Apocalypse Now >:D

[smg id=3595 type=link align=center width=500 caption="GTA IV 018"]

[PZ]

Looks really nice - my sons gave me the game for Christmas a couple of years ago, and I still have not played much.  It will probably be something to keep me busy until the next smashing games come out in the last part of this year, and of course, when FC3 comes out next year.  >:D

[Art Blade]

I have been thinking that this game might interest you, PZ, because of the open world type and mercs camouflaged as LCPD cops, among other disguises  :-D Also, people talk a lot of stuff when you come to listen to pedestrians and so on it's mostly amusing what they're talking about :)

When you drive around a main street (Columbus Ave) casually dropping hand grenades out of the window as if they were apple cores, people who notice quite often not only get angry but mad.

For example, they keep running after you and grab whatever they find to get a hold of your car and won't even stop when you drag them behind your vehicle. You can only get rid of them when you manage to strip them off your car by hitting something  :-D In case you're too slow, they'll pull you out of your car and pick a fist fight with you.

More severe cases won't bother and immediately start shooting at you, ranging from pistols to automatic weapons, depending on which part of Liberty City you're driving around. The funniest kind of madness is when they realise that they're not fast enough on foot to catch you. They'll stop a car, drag the driver out and follow you. If that previous driver is resisting the car-jacking then the madman trying to get the car will drag the driver out of the car and then beat him/her up  :-()

I've seen drivers thrown to the ground and being kicked their guts out  ^+-+ Police is very responsive so many times they'll show up and either shoot or arrest the troublemakers  ^-^

[Binnatics]

I think that's one of the things that makes GTA so special; the fact that everything interacts with its surrounding. I'm not toom uch into AI to say that the enemies in missions act predictable or stupid, but they somehow managed to make a total interacting world in these virtual cities they created. Every artificial person lives it's own life and will interact to what's happening to him/her. That's great.
I read somewhere that Rockstar even spent quite some effort to make the citylife as realistic as possible; when you follow a pedestrian that you find somewhere, and don't draw a weapon or handgranade, not even try to run him/her over with your car, you'll find out that it really is living his/her life. They will go to a shop or to their home, and won't just 'walk around a block in circles'. They might even talk to people they meet in the streets or comment the things that happen near them. It's all a big interactive environment, acting and playing like a real city.
I've tried to follow a few pedestrians though walking around and driving vehicles, but the ones I picked did not go far from the area where I found them. They kept driving or walking the same few blocks. I spooked a driver and his friend though because I was tired of them stopping for the trafficlights, and they started to drive like madmen through the streets, ignoring any trafficlight, crashing streetlanterns and finally crash into a wall where I found out that they had both died in the carcrash  :o
[smg id=3602 width=500]
Really, all I did was shooting their taillight once, and chase them  >:D

Damn I'm frustrated that my machine keeps crashing on the game these days. Ati just installed a new driver on my system. Maybe that changed sonething. Hope so because I want to play around again there  ;)

[Art Blade]

The free roaming random AI entities (thinking in particular about the police) are not bad at all, of course they chase the player and they go on search and destr.. err, arrest, missions in case you escaped before they arrived. When you're not leaving the area where you committed a crime, they will more than likely finish you off or at least bust you. They try to flank you, take cover, shoot from behind cover and if you're inactive they'll charge. The only thing that is quite unrealistic is the almost non-existent response time and how they almost always instantly learn about your felonies. The neighbourhood seems to be in an ongoing competition about who tells the police the quickest about what you just did. They're there almost in no time and in unlimited numbers (as in they kind of grow back).

Scripted AI (enemies waiting for you, script-spawned) however are mostly dumb. They only move in small areas if at all. Except those who are supposed to run away from you requiring you to chase them, they're mostly a pain in the back as they randomly pick their paths and turn corners where you least need it  :-()

The general life in the city is convincing. The "people" have minor traffic accidents and sometimes beat themselves up over it (  ^+-+ ) which sometimes causes the police to interfere. They chat and banter. Frequently you see police officers chase a criminal on foot, arrest him and put him into the police car and drive away. Accidents with injuries are followed by paramedic deployment and the victims are sometimes entering the vehicle and carried elsewhere (I followed them a few times, they never get to a hospital but keep driving until they're out of sight and then dissolve into thin air).

All in all, very convincing and funny  :)

[Art Blade]

I've started (well, meanwhile I'm already in the middle of it) a new playthrough and made different decisions this time. Like, I killed Dwayne rather than Playboy X (don't get his condo but 250k cash instead) and I'm quite happy about it. He was least fun to hang out with  :-()

The main reason for me to do a second playthrough was to finally get Stevie's car theft missions which, I'm happy to tell you, worked this time  :-X Apart from that, making different decisions and, knowing missions, it's easier this time around to play them again. It is quite pleasant.

Oh boy, I like the vanilla GTA IV :)  :-X

By the way.. 290+ hours gaming time (not counting DLC)  :-()

[PZ]

Although I have the game, I still have not had the chance (or desire) to start it up, but you guys are getting me a bit curious to see what it is all about.  ;)

[Binnatics]

Start it up once, and you'll be sold >:D

[Art Blade]

I am quite sure that you'd enjoy it, PZ. Free roam in between and after missions :)

Driving is about the same as in FC2 but a lot more cars to choose from (around 170 I read elsewhere) plus bikes, boar.. err, boats, and helos.  :-D

Although there are no guard posts, there are lots of opportunities to start a fight and get into a chase. I know you liked to beat up people in Assassins Creed, you can do that here, too. No pick-pocketing, but beating bundles of dollar bills out of them  :-D

Although there is no Savannah or desert, there is plenty of environment: apart from all types of urban structures there are parks and of course the sea and river side. Nice sunsets (and eight types of weather) too :)

Missions are almost like faction missions in FC2. Kill someone, blow something up, steal something.. you name it, they've got it  :-()

[Binnatics]

And instead of Diamonds there's pigeons. They won't make you rich, bit you help cleaning the city  >:D

[PZ]

... boar.. err, boats, and helos.  :-D

^+-+ :-X  You guys are both funny!  I think I'll try it out as soon as I get the chance - maybe even this weekend  ;)

[Art Blade]

 :-()

Hahaha, pigeons. They're like those feathers you were supposed to collect in AC1 but pigeons are more rewarding as you're supposed to shoot them -- and when you do, you hear that funny high-pitched "ooh!" which I'm not sure about who's doing that, either you're going, "ooh!" or the pigeon when it blows up in a cloud of feathers and blood >:D

[Binnatics]

I found the pigeon (or seagul) 'collectables' quite original after the hidden packages, horse shoes and inca-sculptures they used earlier. Same for the 'spraying gang-tags' in Los Santos.
But shooting pigeons is much better ;)
It's a kind of collectable that can cause you trouble since you have to pull and use a weapon to 'collect' it. Police might be alerted ;)
Same for the tags by the way. They could even provoke a gangwar if you were unlucky and ran into a rival gang when spraying  :-()

[ninzza]

Reading the posts of Art and Binnatics makes me want to re-buy GTAIV ;D
It's dirt cheap now  :)

[Art Blade]

Go for it :-() :-() :-()

[Binnatics]

Had the same thought a while ago  ^-^ Just can't wait til the next sequel  ;)