GTA IV Backlash
May 3rd, 2008Perhaps the most critical review of GTA I’ve yet seen, courtesy of Dubious Quality. I’m not nearly as critical of the game as he is, but I think he (and to a certain extent Penny Arcade) have hit on a major reason that I think the 100%ers are nuts. Basically, this Kotaku post summarizes the issue well: when the top non-violent things to do in your game include listening to the radio, meeting strangers, and driving around, you have a problem. In short, Rockstar has painstakingly modeled the minutiae of New York without asking whether those minutiae are fun.
Take, for example, the carwash. Authentic? Sure, but who enjoys going to a carwash? After I finished the mission requiring its use, I found myself asking if I’d ever use it again. The answer was a definite no - cars are plentiful in the game and I tend to destroy mine pretty easily. If the carwash isn’t enjoyable, why bother? I see similar problems with additions like the strip club, restaurants, and subway. Yet at the same time, the violent aspects of the game have almost been toned down - you can’t rampage without serious police problems, nor is there gameplay-related customization like in Crackdown. And for me, there’s the rub. The city simulation is academically interesting but not compelling, whereas the violence is intriguing but circumscribed.
If you think I hate GTA, you’re wrong. The mission and plot are definitely holding my attention, and they’ll keep me playing through most, if not all, of the game. But I don’t see me playing it compulsively. After all, I don’t need a simulation of life. For that, I just turn off the game.
Posted in Geoff, PS3, Xbox 360 |
May 4th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
The perfect scores do seem like a bit much, as can probably be seen from my original impressions as well.
I think the strong multiplayer element has probably helped it as well, though.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
As always, an insightful analysis from Jeoff. That said, I do think your writing is too Croalesque. I appreciate Bill Harris’s blunt and coarse honesty more, for he doesn’t wallow in modesty or vocabulary reminiscent from a masters dissertation!
May 5th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Sadly, I don’t consciously emulate N’Gai Croal - that’s just the way I write. Caveat lector.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Yo ciscoteque, here’s an article that fits your bill:
http:// news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080507/sc_livescience/conservativeshappierthanliberals
Sounds just like you, no?
[remove the space after http:// ]
May 9th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Kotaku is claiming that Bioware has backed down on the repeated activation, although the other provisions remain intact:
http://kotaku.com/5008452/bioware-backs-down-from-draconian-mass-effect-authentication