tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post8559037455990068873..comments2023-11-02T15:47:29.001+00:00Comments on particleblog: Has GTA Jumped the Shark?Tadhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763670950211297013noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-90185176721256772552007-04-25T23:57:00.000+00:002007-04-25T23:57:00.000+00:00If it's correct they've cut lots out of GTA4 that ...If it's correct they've cut lots out of GTA4 that made the series so fun that sucks.<BR/><BR/>But, I can't share your dis-like of GTA:SA. As a fan of GTA3 I found GTA:VC got it all wrong and GTA:SA got it even better than GTA3.<BR/><BR/>This probably won't register with most but VC got it wrong for me because of the music. While GTA3 had variety. VC had none. VC also had no hills or mountains since Miami has no hills or mountains making it pretty boring.<BR/><BR/>SA though gave me everything back. I had the variety of music back. I had very varied places to explore (mountains, farms, canons, etc.) and it had soo much exploration which is probably what I personally like most about the series. I can ignore the set goals and just wonder around for hours trying things out.<BR/><BR/>The clothing, tattoos, car stuff, workout, eating did scare me a little but it turned out to be only window dressing. You never *have* to do it. It's just one more thing you can chose to get into if you want to.<BR/><BR/>It probably helps that I've lived in LA, SF and visited Vegas many times. They got the feeling of each neighborhood perfect so at nearly every place in the city I can tell where in relation to the real world city they are referencing. This is something that for example True Crimes utterly failed at. They copied the road maps but failed to actually make it feel like the real place.<BR/><BR/>I'm certain hoping GTA4 continues with even more freedom and tons of places to explore and discover.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-23267370483806362642007-04-21T10:53:00.000+00:002007-04-21T10:53:00.000+00:00Since watching the trailer, and even more so havin...Since watching the trailer, and even more so having read that preview article you've linked to, it has always seemed to me like GTA IV is a conscious attempt to bring the series into a more mature realm. I can see where the worry of it losing "soul" and "charm" and cheeky-chappy fun factor in the transition, but I think there are other, more interesting and even more important avenues for it to explore.<BR/><BR/>The way I see it, Rockstar know that the old GTA has been done, and now it's time to move on.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01806928062602254856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-27948972809039643612007-04-12T00:46:00.000+00:002007-04-12T00:46:00.000+00:00Isort of agree with the chin-stroking and fence ju...Isort of agree with the chin-stroking and fence jumping, but I just can't bring myself to "come round to your point of view" (yeah, that is very much hubris, by the way). I mean, I sort of knew GTA:SA wasn't *as* *good* as the previous ones, but it didn't stop me getting addicted and playing the crap out of that game. <BR/>I feel I'll be the same with GTA4. I'll moan and bitch but in the end I'll play it and secretly love it, like those godawful Dairy Milk bars I buy in Japan that aren't *right* but I still eat them, dammit.<BR/><BR/>I'll be Switzerland on this one. UI'll see how it pans out and prudently keep my thoughts to myself until after I've played it.JC Barnetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00122980021264683075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-40689387231122992172007-04-11T18:23:00.000+00:002007-04-11T18:23:00.000+00:00I agree with your assesment of the weaknesses of G...I agree with your assesment of the weaknesses of GTA-SA, and I'd like to add a few:<BR/><BR/>* Music selection, as you said - should have focused more on hip-hop, rap, house, techno, etc. Flavor.<BR/><BR/>* I never understood the need to do Vegas and SF. It really felt like it dilluted the focus. There are many other flavorful aspects of the greater LA area that could have been expanded upon.<BR/><BR/>* Fog. Fog-as-smog is fine, but not having the silhuettes of skylines/hills etc to help navigate around is awkward and unquestionably a step backwards from its predecessor.<BR/><BR/>* Arbitrary difficulty and poorly tweaked mini-games. Rockstar really needs to get over themselves here and give in to what the frustration of playtesters would indicate they need to adjust. The lack of synch in the ddr games and the rediculous difficulty of the remote-control games are game-killing moments for many people.<BR/><BR/>* Stronger and earlier tie-in to gameplay-critical npc reactions for the customization aspects of the game: weight, stats, clothes, and even the car you currently have.<BR/><BR/>However, I don't agree with you that it's jumped the Shark ... yet (catch me in another year).<BR/><BR/>* GTA-SA more-so-than-not nailed the flavor of 90's LA gang culture as seen through film and tv of the time. Maybe not quite as good as Vice City did Miami Vice, but still pretty sweet nonetheless.<BR/><BR/>* I really enjoyed their expansion on the customizability aspect - it was a lot of fun to have MY character and to compare notes with other players on their choices, and then later on to have it affect gameplay (notwithstanding that I would have liked even more).<BR/><BR/>* Where I think they really won out was the structure for introducing the macro-gameplay to the world. Complete a mission that initiates you into a new aspect of the game, and thereafter it becomes a whole new thread of macro-gameplay. For instance, you have the home-invasion mission, and thereafter you can conduct home invasions, constantly enlarging your gameplay options as you progress. Great stuff.<BR/><BR/>* Story-telling. Much stronger than in previous iterations. I agree that it gets somewhat muddled in the middle - but that goes back to my complaint about using Vegas and SF in the first place.<BR/><BR/>* I'm not too concerned about the loss of the unicycle or rollerblades or even jet-pack. Losing bycicles or motorcycles would suck but the losses mentioned are pretty peripheral to the game.<BR/><BR/>* I agree that GTA has never been about the pretty. However, the streaming open world has been a central pillar - but one with a notable visual quality weakness. Moving forward on the visual quality of an open streaming world is a great step forward in and of itself that does not necessarilly have to impede progress on the quality of the gameplay.<BR/><BR/>Well, that was a longer comment than I thought it was going to be. All that said, I suppose we'll see how it actually pans out in another year. At this point, it's still on my "looking forward to" list.<BR/><BR/>- fellow designer from LAAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com