User Reviews (1 - 11 of 213)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

GTA IV Starts Strong Then Stalls

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I just finished GTA IV and have to say it was an instant classic, as most would agree. I took my time by doing side missions and just messing around so my overall time was 69 hours. (To get 69 hours out of any non-RPG game is saying a lot and definitely makes the came worth the $59 investment--which most games can't say.)

The story and characters start strong, but the story goes into too many directions and introduces too many sub-plots. The underlying theme is Nico comes to the U.S. to find the American dream with his cousin, Roman--in the course, encountering Russian and Italian mobsters, gangs, and a variety of weird Liberty City inhabitants.

The game play is good, though the controls for vehicles leave something to be desired. I can't count the number of light poles I have knocked down when going around corners or making turns. (Now that would have been a stat to keep track of--the game keeps up with numerous stats, including some outrageous ones as "how many times you scored"--and we are not talking about bowling.) Speaking of mini-games or the date games, they are varied, but I found myself liking bowling over everything else. (Try going to a bar, then bowling. That's fun bowling while intoxicating or at least the drive there is.)

The newly-introduced concept of building and maintaining friendships, while on its face seems innovative and interesting, becomes a downright nuisance. Nothing more annoying than being in the middle of a mission and getting Roman or someone else calling your cell to ask if you want to get something to eat or go to a strip club, then you reject it, and you see a "thumbs-down" icon, knowing that your "like" rating just went down with that character. (It takes a while to build up these respect and like ratings too. Even more annoying is calling one of your friends to do one of the handful of activities to boost their like and respect ratings towards you, to find out you called them too late or too early and then you get a thumbs down and have to go out with them again later just to get back where you were.) Like I said, interesting concept, but I felt that at least they shouldn't interrupt missions.

The vehicles are varied and most modeled after a real-life equivalent. It takes awhile before you get access to the really good handling vehicles. The motorcycles are okay, but they leave you a sitting target for vehicle hitting you or gunfire. (I like how if Nico hits a solid wall or post in a car, that he goes head first through the windshield. Nice little touch.)

The city is made up of three major islands and some minor ones--the middle one being modeled after Manhattan with all of the bright flashing signs. It is awe-inspiring, when in a helicopter, to see just how large the city is. Even after beating it, there are so many areas I haven't explored.

There are many other new features that I won't go into as they are fun to experience for the first time.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD:

The problem with the game, so expertly crafted, is that the story missions end at about 60% of your overall mission progress percentage. This left me feeling cheated as there are now only side missions, packages, etc. I honestly found myself shocked it would just end like that. I even played the two ending paths and was frankly disappointed that they were basically the same, though involved slightly different outcomes and characters. They could have carried on the story at least until 80% mission progress and leave the last 20% for those who want to explore every nook and cranny after beating the story mode.

The game now has little appeal to me to go back to, especially with MGS4 to play.

END OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS:

The game truly is a masterpiece, except for the issue mentioned above. The graphics are top-notch and unlike some, I think they are far better than the others. Like I have said before on other PS3 reviews--in dark areas, the developers "cheat" by lowering the texture detail and resolution, so it can give the appearance of lower quality graphics, but I challenge anyone to say the sunny scenes are anything less than pure next-gen. There are some frame-rate problems, but so few, they didn't ruin the game--like with Assassin's Creed.

I truly recommend this game to the mature gamer as the subject matter, situations, and language are all adult content. It was a blast to play and once I get through MGS4, I probably will make a trek back to Liberty City for some side mission fun. Great job, Rockstar!

Freezes on PS3 - Known problem - Do Not Buy!!!!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 03, 2008
Author: Amazon User

It's only been out a few days and there have been many reports that the game freezes while loading just after the splash screen and during actual game play. I have the 60Gb version and have experienced both freezes. It's happened about SIX times thus far in two days. Some have said that using cheats causes the freezes. Although I use some of the cheat codes, all of the freezing has happened before I used the cheat codes a few hours ago.

DO NOT BUY THIS GAME UNTIL A SOFTWARE PATCH IS ANNOUNCED. The developer is well aware of the issue. You can search online in various forums [...]

I've giving it two stars b/c I'm sure a patch will be released.

Groundbreaking?

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 03, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The posers at Rockstar, and all of their stinky little game-site "reviewers", have really suckered us this time. This game is a joke and the developers have the nerve to claim it to be groundbreaking. What happened to basing game development on gameplay? This game is full of bugs (maybe the XBox is better), full of bad acting (including the protagonist), jam packed full of sh**y gameplay, and honestly plays out more like a B-rate, PG-13 movie rather than an adult oriented RPG. The posers at Rockstar have played everyone for fools, including me. I gave it 1-star (the game deserves only half a star) for the TV shows you can watch in Roman's apartment - they're actually pretty funny.

Pretty fun, but is it getting old?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I am having fun with this game, but I am also thinking, "Hmm, I've done this before". Having said that, I can still recommend the title, because the old stuff was fun, and it still is. Everything is there, although I am feeling as if there is a bit of the 'crazyness factor' missing that was apparent in the previous titles. I have yet to see an all out riot in then streets. But the freedom is still compelling. Want to create a traffic jam on a bridge? Done. Want to set the 1st car on fire and watch them blow up one-by-one? Done. Sweet. There is a lot to do and a lot of fun to be had, although you've been there before. Enjoy the nostalgia.

Single player sucks but Multiplayer adds value!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The single player aspect pretty much blows. Very boring! Who wants to make friends and go bowling in a video game meant to violence and underground crime. The multiplayer adds a tremendous amount of fun to the package! I love it! I don't even play single player anymore because it's so linear and boring. I think the graphics could have been a lot better on ps3 version considering blu ray space on disc. Overall, it's an alright game. DID NOT LIVE UP TO HYPE! Interesting game though and fun way to kill your friends online, =D. It's also very nice to have a free roaming world to do crazy crap in. At lease we don't have to play as some stupid hood rat like in San Andreas.

Best GTA yet

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I love this game! The game play is awesome, the story has some annoying characters but still cool, and the variaty of activities in this game is incredible. With no shortage of swearing, this game is deffenetly for people that find harsh language amusing. If you havn't at least played this game do so and buy your on copy.

Fun but graphics are lacking

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 19, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Very fun game, but for those who expected better for the PS3 version this game will disappoint. Graphics are somewhat blurry in hdtv, not to mention the horrendous black levels in the screen. I had to readjust the settings on my hdtv just to see where i was going in the game. Liberty City is still a pretty big city but not as big as the San Andreas world. This game feels and plays like the GTA 3 game on PS2 with only minor graphics enhancements and new camera angles to show for it. When will developers realize that the xbox 360 is much more inferior to the Playstation 3. We need games that takes full advantage if the Playstion 3's power.

Not your grandpa's sandbox (well, then again)

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Just in time for spring, this is the time when someone asks you to get the yardwork done and you respond by using your game controller. Get the spring cleaning done and you use the controller. Go to a prom or take your exams and you use the controller. Someone asks you how to digest your food and you use the controller. For the last 7 years this is all the GTA gamer can do. We've seen the franchise reach it's nadir with San Andreas because everything that you could possibly do for mayhem was able to be done despite the usual control issues, making it nauseating on more than 100 occasions. With every new game, hype is in the air. Will they think of something that hasn't been done yet? Will it be easier to drive, fly, shoot or die? The only question needing no answer is will it sell.

Well, it sells alright, giving Rockstar cart blanche to scale the game back to GTA3 when grandpa was playing it in 2001. No more gambling, no more flying planes, no more empires to build, no more exploding Rc cars, no more jumping off mountains and bailing out of the car in a parachute while your date plunges to the chasm below. Now you have to drive to the internet cafes to get missions, get calls on your cellphone from pestering friends wanting to play pool (and not for money). Other than that, there is almost nothing new to do in single player mode. Getting choices to kill people does little more than change the cut scene and give you a prize or 2. Online play is a blast and a risk at bricking the system, but if you don't mind getting killed alot, have at it.

The big complaint with the franchise has always been controls. Rockstar hired legions of beta testers and we still have even worse cameras, revamped controls that still auto aim at walls and bystanders instead of the gat-toting gangster in front of you, and cars on what seems like a city encompassing sheet of ice. Whatever you do, don't hit the break going into a turn. Car combat has been reduced to a four button multi tasking nightmare. Then, with a much more persistant police force making 3 star wanted levels almost impossible to dodge and a player that crouches everytime you push the analog stick to hard on the PS3, the answer is yes, it is much easier to die in this version of liberty city.
The biggest complaint though, is the unecessary amount of driving to and from any given part of the city. Safe houses are placed far enough away from every mission starting point and every weapon shop making for a tedious start to every mission. Then, by the time you get there, your buddy gets mad that you won't go to the strip club with him. You finally get past all that to start the mission and your forced to drive back across town where you were in the first place. Why do they do this, to make gameplay longer (probably)? You think after 1 year we'd get sick of this and it's going on 7.

Remember, you gave rockstar $60 for this. Most of us knew what we were getting into given Rockstar's rep and growing list of detractors over the years. Still, it's springtime and even if they scaled this game all the way back to the old days, We still want to snicker at the satircal content in the story and on the radio despite the fact that nothing they write shocks us anymore. We also hunker down in front of the LCD to know what happens next to Niko Bellic. Just watch us to that yardwork. Where's the controller?

This game was awesome!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Ok, first things first. This game is way better if you have an HDTV. Reason being is it just looks tons better. I've played mine both in 480i and 1080p. Huge difference. Second, the game is fantastic. Personally my favorite part is the online capability, its awesome. You can run around liberty city and cause tons of mayhem, and you can do it with friends! New controls are great and the environment is awesome as well.

Not perfect, but oh so close.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Everything that has been said about GTA IV is right: it has the upgraded visuals of liberty city that are unlike anything ever seen, it has a compelling story, very exciting additions like multi player, and so on-A true masterpiece. If there is one thing however that prevents GTA IV from perfection is the single thing that it carries over from past GTA games-the old school design of starting missions from the beginning when you die. Yup thats right, get ready to try again, again...and you guessed it, again, after dieing in the middle of some missions. Would it have hurt to put some checkpoints in the longer missions?

Minor gripes aside, this is a must have experience that is worthy of all the effort you'll put into it. After all, theres always the cheats which I will use in my second play through because the game is just that good. Enjoy!

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 

Actions