Game Diary - July 14th 2008: A Cop's Funeral.

I've decided to start a game diary, as you've probably guessed by the title of this post. It's going to be similar to what Stephen Totilo does over at MTV Multiplayer. Basically I'll document the games I play daily (although it may not be every single day, a boy has got to rest!) and add a few thoughts about the games as I play them.

*Spoilers ahead*

Today I've played about three hours of GTA IV. I know I'm taking a long time to actually complete the game but I really want to enjoy every minute of this virtual recreation of NYC and not rush my play-through.

I've just got passed the mission where you have to decide whether to kill Derrick McReary or his cop brother Francis McReary. I find it hard to make choices in GTA IV and I put that done to how emotionally attached I can become to some of the characters. It's an excellent story and because I have to interact with characters (such as taking them out for a drink etc.) I feel like I get to know them like I would in a book. I like the McReary family - especially Packie even though he can be a bit of an idiot. Anyway, this time the choice was a no-brainer for me. Francis had threatened to reveal dirt on Niko if he didn't follow his orders to kill Derrick and I was taking any of that crap. Plus, I kind of felt sorry for Derrick as the drugs and snitches had pretty much ruined the guy. I pumped one in Francis' head and there was one less cop in the city.

Next was the funeral scene. This is the second time GTA has included a funeral in the story (the first was at the beginning of San Andreas where Carl attends his mother's funeral) and in both cases it ends in a shoot-out. I felt like I was part of the family when I was helping Packie gun down the guys so the rest of the family could make their escape.

It's good to see that your choices in a game will have different ramifications down the line. I don't know what happens if you kill Derrick instead but I felt that killing Francis, while obviously wrong in a moral sense, was the right thing to do.

I'm loving every second of the GTA IV experience. You may not be able to have as much fun in the city like you could in previous GTA games but I think the superb storyline more than makes up for that.

Next up: I'm going to see GTA IV through to the end but I'm also trying to complete Gears of War with my brother. I know it's been out for ages but I've only just got around to buying it.

Amazing GTA IV Fan Art!

Just when you thought the GTA IV posts had ended I hit you with another one. This time around it's worth it just to appreciate this lovely fan art created by Patrick Brown.

Pictures like these just make me wish I could draw myself.

You can check out his other GTA IV creations and the rest of his gallery over at deviantART.

Releated Posts: A few GTA IV Impressions.

A Few GTA IV Impressions.

So time got the better of me and I never actually wrote about my impressions of GTA IV. It's been a tough few weeks and, to be honest, updating this blog has been the last thing on my mind. However, I'm not here to talk about my personal life so let's get back to business. This isn't a review so I'm not going to cover everything, I just want to pick out a few of my thoughts about the game.

Playing video games has really been my only escape lately and it was a pure god send that a new GTA game was released during this time. I've always adored the GTA series, mainly because I can get lost in a whole new city while doing pretty much anything I want in my new home. GTA, as usual, didn't disappoint in this sense. As Niko Bellic steps off the boat at the beginning of the game you get a feeling his experience is the experience that many players feel when beginning a new GTA game for the first time. You're effectively a new immigrant to the city, just like the character you play in any new GTA game, entering a strange new world but also excited about the possibilities this new world presents. This links you from the start and, in the case of GTA IV, it's even more so with the character of Niko - an Eastern European immigrant. He's also an instantly likeable character, besides all the murdering he'll be doing, and you really get a feeling that he's doing what he's doing because he has to, not because he wants to. This attitude means that going on the usual GTA rampage seems out of character for Niko - it doesn't stop you doing it though!


For me the city is always the star of a GTA game. You can have a superb cast of characters and the best storyline ever but if the city isn't fun then it's not going to get me playing for long. You only need to drive down a single street in the revamped Liberty City to notice just how much care and attention has gone in to creating the immense detail that makes the city incredibly life-like. In the first few hours of play I saw a preacher spouting about the end of the world, workmen laying a new drive on a housing estate, people having conversations on their cell phones, random conversations everywhere, cops arresting and pulling people over. All this, and more (such as the radio stations and the incredibly detailed Internet), filled me with awe. It finally feels like you're living in an actual living breathing city instead of a bunch of buildings with empty lifeless husks walking around them. Couple this with some absolutely breathtaking scenery on behalf of it's New York City imitation and you're on to a winner.

This level of detail is also covered in the sheen of a totally new engine. Yeah, the game isn't the best looking game in the world but that's never expected from a GTA game and, besides, with a world like GTA IV's you can't really compare to other games that don't have the sheer level of detail but have incredible graphics. The game is by no means bad looking and it looks more realistic than ever. The weather effects are brilliant and each time of the day has it's own unique look. The character animations are incredible (although Niko can be a bit over-dramatic when he's nudged by a car) and, as such, gun fights now never feel like the same old point and shoot that the previous games had (although I love the new cover system it can be a bit awkward at times and the game still has a few targeting issues. Overall though the system is vastly improved so the few flaws can be forgiven). Everything just feels far more realistic.



There has been a few complaints about driving but I really don't see the problems myself. It's been described as being like 'driving on butter' but this is completely senseless in my opinion. It was far too easy to drive on previous GTA games, far too easy to scream around the corners when trying to escape from police. Scream around the corner in GTA IV without proper handling and you're going to end up hitting the nearest wall. Sure, it takes time to learn how to handle each car properly but that's the beauty of it. It's actually fun driving now because you have to think when approaching each corner. It's by no means at the standard of a racing game but it's getting there.

Multiplayer has been a bit up and down for me. The first few days after GTA IV's release saw me and a few friends playing it non-stop over Xbox Live. I hardly played the single player at first as free mode with a few friends was incredibly fun. It's just that it seemed to be a passing fancy for the friends I was playing with, whom have pretty much gone back to Call of Duty 4 while I play through GTA's singleplayer. Playing GTA IV with the random masses on Live is not half as fun - largely because it's full of asses but mostly because GTA IV is a game which is designed to enjoy with friends. 'GTA Race' is the only mode that I can really enjoy when I'm not playing with friends. Maybe it's because my friends love COD4 and I get easily bored of it that always leaves me in this situation as I'm the only one who seems to want to play GTA IV's multiplayer modes for an extended period of time. GTA IV's multiplayer is by no means bad when not played with friends but I feel you're missing out on a lot of what it has to offer if you're just playing with strangers.

It's not a perfect game by any means, but what game is perfect? I'm not the kind of gamer who'll get annoyed by a bit of pop-up and the odd glitch (although some of the glitches in GTA games can be incredibly fun) and no game is without it's flaws, specifically a game where an open world means it's harder for testers to cover every base. Although the storyline is absolutely stellar in this installment it's the city that's the real star and Rockstar North just provides the highly tuned tools to play around within its creation. The new generation of consoles doesn't just mean shiny graphics, it means adapting tried and tested formulas to fit with the tools the developer has at its disposal and also making sure that gamers will get something new and not just the same old game (no matter how much the said franchise has sold in the past because this streak will not last forever). At its core GTA is the same game it has always been but there's enough new and adapted quality as the crust to make GTA IV one of the defining moments of the current generation and maybe even the entirety of video game history. I, like many gamers, can't wait to see where Rockstar North takes GTA next.

Thanks To Deitrix!

Just a quick post to thank Deitrix for the new and absolutely amazing header! No Signal Input is looking great these days. You owe it to yourself to go and visit that site to check out his brilliant art.

I will be back next Wednesday as that is the date I'm handing my dissertation in. The first post will most likely (it better be Amazon!) be my GTA IV impressions followed by a full-blown review some days after that (providing I can get through enough of the game without multiplayer distracting me too much).

For those of you who are looking forward to GTA IV as much as I am I hope to see you on Xbox Live sometime next week. If any of you are interested in having a game with me sometime my Id is tmullers.

I can't wait until I have the time to update this blog again.

New GTAIV Site Now Live!

Just a quick heads-up that the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV now has it's own fully fledged flash-based site.

Flash-based annoyance aside there's a tonne of new images and a few videos showing off the new environment and it's characters. There's also a map of Liberty City (where you can click on points of interest) which is likely the final design.

It's good to see some new stuff and it only gets me even more excited for the game. Roll on April!

Welcome to Liberty City. - Rockstar (Via Kotaku)

GTA IV Release Date Officially Confirmed.

After months of speculation Rockstar has officially announced the release date of, by far one of the most - if not the most - anticipated games of the year, Grand Theft Auto IV. Emails sent out to newsletter subscribers showed a date of April 29th 2008 above a picture of lead character Nico and the title. The release will be simultaneous worldwide for both the Playstation 3 and Xbox360.

It's great to finally get a proper release date and, hopefully, the previous delays will only make a better game in the long-run. I suppose the only annoying thing is that it comes just before my finals!

There's a nice interview with Rockstar Games Vice President of Product Development Jeronimo Barrera over at MTV.

Grand Theft Auto IV Trailer.

In about ten minutes the first GTA IV trailer will hit the web (courtesy of the handy countdown on the Rockstar site). Let's hope it's actually worth waiting for, I had no idea this was coming today until I followed a handy link.

I'll update this post as soon as I see it but, for now, hit this link and watch as time slowly ticks away...

UPDATE 1, 23:03: Ok, so the timer's ended but the site's getting hit pretty hard at the moment so it's impossible to view it. I'm just getting a 'connection timed out' notice.

UPDATE 2, 23:43: Been there, done that. It's a bunch of city shots and some Russian guy. It seems to be based heavily on New York (Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, MetLife Building (renamed to Getalife), St. Paul's Cathedral, Grand Central Station etc.) . It might end up a bit like Liberty City but, who knows? Maybe it'll be like GTA: London and try to be true to the actual real-life city.

I'll embed the video just as soon as I get the Game Trailers video back up (I closed it by mistake and now can't get back on).

UPDATE 3, 23:48: Here's the YouTube GameVideos.com Version:



It doesn't do it much justice though so check out the HD version on the earlier Game Trailers link.

UPDATE 4, 23:55: Seems like Gamespy is agreeing with me on the New York front.

UPDATE 5, 00:02: Ok, people are saying it's Liberty City again due to the boat with Liberty City printed on it (it could have come out of Liberty City though) and the apparent presence of the Liberty Tree.

It's a bit disappointing in that sense; using the same old setting. They better do something good with it.

UPDATE 6, 00:36: IGN have their impressions up.

UPDATE 7, 30/03/07, 13:29: I've replaced the YouTube version with a higher quality GameVideos.com version.

Other locations:

• HD Torrent.
• Game Videos.
• The Game Trailers one again.
  
• Gamesradar.

GTA IV Trailer - Rockstar.