Too much hype. Not enough GTA goodness.
GTA IV is no exception. I think it's a great game but I do not believe that it's better than Vice City or San Andreas at all.
The graphics, well. They are good but they are not fantastic. You find yourself is poorly lit areas sometimes and i had to adjust the brightness all the time and it can be a real pain (especially at night) doing missions.
The added features are really nice like the internet cafes and the mobile phone etc.. the ideas were great and hopefully in another GTA they will make those better.
The map and city were nice and large and a pleasure to race around doing missions and the attention to detail in some areas are really sweet like the cobbled streets in little italy and when you drive over them you can actually hear the cobbles.
However i just wish they would have done a little more. I would have gladly given up some of the detail to put in some more added stuff eg.. where the hell are the flame throwers in this GTA? did they forget that.
And whats with the damn car wash?.... were they that important that they needed to be added onto the in-game map?
It felt like there were more car washes that gun stores, which was really annoying at times. Sure you can make friends with jacob and get gun's on demand but really.. players should be able to not have to drive from the top of the map to the bottom to just get some ammo and armor.
The transport was nice in this GTA. Some really sweet cars and driving "Grotti" cars out of the showroom windows were a treat. But again.. more could have been added.
We saw helicopters, planes, fighter jets and even a jet pack in san andreas, and yes i know you can't really replicate that as it would have gone too far but still.... just helicopters? no small planes?
Also "going drinking" was hell fun... it left me with laughing pains. However towards the end it just got frustrating getting all those calls and texts from people.
There was more great things and not so great things about the game but I don't have time.
My summary is this:
Did it put me off GTA?? no.
Will i buy the next GTA? of course i will.
Was it the best GTA thus far? Nope.
In the whole quest for so called realism and next gen graphics... some of the core GTA fun got left behind a little. New things were added.. but i wouldn't miss them if they were taken out and we got the old GTA back from its commercial spin and the 'next gen' washing machine.
Thanks