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Videogaming v2.0 [post individual threads for games]

Started by HappyTree, March 02, 2009, 05:04:46 PM

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Shoulders?-Stomach!

For all the dodgy foreign voice acting, they may as well try a location in Europe- somewhere on the Med would be ace.

Slaaaaabs

If they gave it the same upgrade as Liberty City received it would be pretty cool, especially if it were modern day this time. Maybe include a trip inland to Orlando and a theme park as well?

Little Hoover

Quote from: ThickAndCreamy on January 16, 2010, 01:27:25 PM
I want them to create a game more like Vice City to be honest, I found GTA IV far too grounded in realism. I like the stupidity of San Andreas and Vice City, where it was a lot more humorous, light hearted and fun. I want to be able to fly stunt planes across deserts and ride a bicycle down a mountain, that's what I mainly missed from GTA IV, light-hearted fun.

I agree with that, but the location of Vice City, would just seem like a really boring choice to me, I was dissapointed with the choice of Liberty City in IV, but I can understand why they would want to play it safe,  with that one, and the end result that it was upgraded enough to not really feel like the old Liberty City which really seemed like a generic city. But now it just really seems like time to try something different and suprising. Would they really lose such a big chunk of their market if they didn't just do an american city they've done before?

mobias

#1863
It won't be Vice City. I remember reading an interview with one of the Houser brothers during the release of GTAIV and when it was put to him that Liberty City had already been done he countered that by saying that New York had never been properly done in GTA. The GTAIII Liberty City is as much Boston as it is New York (apparently) and he said they don't like going over old ground in GTA. Vice City did Miami properly. A lot of people think GTA as a franchise is getting a bit stale. There's no way they would freshed it up by setting it in a city they've already done and done really well.

They have said they're keen to move outwith the US for the next GTA. My money is on London. They would have trouble satirising the culture the way GTA does so well of any non western world city such as Tokyo (another city I hear thrown up as a likely setting for the next GTA) They've done America to death now in some respects I think.
Being a British game I think they could have a good go at doing UK culture and London in a GTA style could be amazing.   

spanky

They always said that with Liberty City they wanted to make it as close to New York as possible and it was only with 360/PS3 that they had the tools with which to do so. I'm not sure if the same applies to the other locations, although they could push reality and include the Everglades and maybe a mini-Cuba into Vice City. San Andreas was amazing in scale as it was anyway.

_Hypnotoad_

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on January 16, 2010, 01:28:55 PM
For all the dodgy foreign voice acting, they may as well try a location in Europe- somewhere on the Med would be ace.

I remember hoping for that way back before GTA IV was announced.

Set in the late 70's, early 80's. You start out working for an East End gangster running errands around "London", before fleeing to the Med later in the game and running drugs, owning nightclubs and the like.

Think they could have a lot of fun with that.

Little Hoover

I remember there was speculation at some point that GTA IV would have flashback missions to Niko's time in the war, which would have been interesting, but I guess they just don't really want to try anything as difficult as that, as it might compromise the whole sandbox philosphy a bit.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Yeah if they had those sort of linear missions people might realise how retrograde the general gameplay is once you strip away the freedom and fun of the city environment.

I'm not sure about doing an East End gangster thing, but generally because I despise most of that stuff thanks to Guy Ritchie, Nick Love and the like. Something involving political groups in France or Spain or the mafia in Italy might be interesting.

If they want to keep it very gritty, they could do a Russian GTA.

Slaaaaabs

Quote from: _Hypnotoad_ on January 16, 2010, 02:16:04 PM
I remember hoping for that way back before GTA IV was announced.

Set in the late 70's, early 80's. You start out working for an East End gangster running errands around "London", before fleeing to the Med later in the game and running drugs, owning nightclubs and the like.

Think they could have a lot of fun with that.

Only with Ben Kingsley reprising his role from Sexy Beast.

biggytitbo

They should set the next GTA game in Leeds so you can mow down pedestrians on the Headrow and whack someone in Greggs.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

How I dream of doing that. And beating up the door porter of Harvey Nichols then running him over in a tank.

HappyTree

I'd like to see a sandbox game like a cross between GTA and Test Drive where the cities modelled are as accurate as security concerns will allow. Then cities' tourist boards could commission their city to be modelled and available as DLC. It would be really cool to be able to download Amsterdam, say, and get familiar with places of interest before actually going there. Like a kind of GTA and Google Map street view combined. I say this because I remember loving driving around Paris in Midtown Madness 3 and actually recognising some of the places I've been to in real life.

Uncle TechTip

I recently picked up GTAIV for the PC (tenner at Play) for my spanky new system. I am not prone to hyperbole. It is the best game ever written. Massive and immersive. You can interact with the majority of objects in the game. It has a convincing storyline which I find I want to watch in full as I play (first time ever a game has done that for me). The graphics are excellent and realistic. Everything about it is good.

I'd agree though that the market as a whole seems moribund, as I've discovered to my shock since getting the new PCs. The range of genres seems so limited these days too. So I think the best thing to do is to immerse yourself into one massive game at a time.

Now, does anyone still play multiplayer GTA? And does the 'Games for Windows' network interface with Xbox Live? My tag is 'Whatzisname'. I'd love to play a game with somebody.

_Hypnotoad_

Quote from: Uncle TechTip on January 16, 2010, 04:34:08 PM
I recently picked up GTAIV for the PC (tenner at Play) for my spanky new system. I am not prone to hyperbole. It is the best game ever written. Massive and immersive. You can interact with the majority of objects in the game. It has a convincing storyline which I find I want to watch in full as I play (first time ever a game has done that for me). The graphics are excellent and realistic. Everything about it is good.

I recently reprised the game after thinking I'd consigned it to the archives by picking up the Liberty City stories.

It truly is an amazing game. The attention to detail is what gets me, be it the way the city is alive and everything responds to you or just goes about it's own business, or the sheer detail and love that's gone into creating the city. When fleeing the cops on foot, which really is something worth doing from time to time for a bit of fun, you get to appreciate the intricate detail of side streets, alleyways, hidden car-parks with smoking security guards. Just a truly breathtaking game at times. On the first mission with the Lost Biker Gang I found myself hypnotised for a moment sitting on the bike at the docks looking at the skyline listening to a bit of Bon Jovi.

mobias

Quote from: Uncle TechTip on January 16, 2010, 04:34:08 PM

Now, does anyone still play multiplayer GTA? And does the 'Games for Windows' network interface with Xbox Live? My tag is 'Whatzisname'. I'd love to play a game with somebody.

I doubt games for windows interfaces with Xbox live but I may be wrong. On the Playstation Network GTAIV online is a bit of a non event these days. I rarely get a good online session with it, not enough people about playing it. Sometimes its ok. I don't know about the PC version but the console version of GTAIV isn't particularly well implemented online. Its always a lottery what game you get thrown into. Its clearly at its best when you know a whole load of people and get everyone playing together. I had some good games with a few mates playing on the party mode setting but no one I know plays it anymore. People aren't as fixated now with GTA as they were on the previous consoles.

I do agree its a totally mind blowing game. I think a lot of the criticisms you read on various gaming forums are written by teenagers who clearly think it should be more like Saints Row. Having said that though I do think it lacks something the older games had. Its hard to say what, a certain atmosphere.

My main criticism as a disgruntled PS3 owner is that we never got the two downloadable episodes which clearly really made the game into something extra special. I do still hold out for them appearing on the PS3 though. I've read rumours that they may appear this year at some point.     

Uncle TechTip

Hmm, according to this some games are cross-platform. Also the network is free of charge and you get Gold equivalent membership. Not sure what that actually means. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games_for_Windows

GTA IV on PC supports LAN play which would be great... if I had another gamer in the house.

Marvin

Sadly GTA4 is not cross-platform, otherwise I'd definitely be up for online play as I only just got GTA, if anyone does want Xbox Live multiplayer on GTA4 add me - ChrisSkez.

Seems like we're all replaying GTA4 now. I picked it up in the Steam sale for £4.99 and just kicked it off again.

Sorry, but it's actually even worse than I remember it, and I say that as someone who has been playing GTA games since the first birds-eye-view one. It takes itself too seriously, the relationship stuff is an absolute game killer and the city is not even close to as alive as people make out.

I'll give an example. Just now I was outside the first safehouse when I saw a policeman chasing someone down. I decided to follow them to see what would happen. The guy running got hit by a car which allowed the officer to catch up. He drew his gun and the guy put his hands up. He then broke off and ran away but did the officer shoot him like they do if the player does that? No, he just started running after him again.

This got me thinking - how hard would it have been to have the officer cuff and arrest the guy running? Then spawn a police car to come pick him up, put him in the car etc. If I'm standing there watching there's no reason that couldn't happen, in the same way that an ambulance spawns quite often if you beat someone up and wait around.

Also, even with vehicle density at 100, I'm regularly walking around on streets where there are NO cars for minutes at a time. This is a problem in Saints Row also, so perhaps processors aren't capable of this yet, but it again kills the New York vibe when I'm standing in a desolate Times Square.

Additionally, I find it bizarre that I can start missions to clear my wanted level. Really kills the immersion.

No doubt the city itself is really well done, but if they stay on this joyless path they've set themselves on then I think I'm done with the series and will just wait for them to go to the bargain bin and save my money for new installments of Saints Row, which is everything GTA used to be and more.

chand

Quote from: The Region Legion on January 17, 2010, 01:51:55 AMthe relationship stuff is an absolute game killer

Just ignore it, barely any of it is required. I went bowling once, played pool once, and then I pretty much stopped answering the phone.

REVEEN!

Quote from: The Region Legion on January 17, 2010, 01:51:55 AM
This got me thinking - how hard would it have been to have the officer cuff and arrest the guy running? Then spawn a police car to come pick him up, put him in the car etc. If I'm standing there watching there's no reason that couldn't happen, in the same way that an ambulance spawns quite often if you beat someone up and wait around.
I've seen exactly that a hundred times. The cop cuffs the perp, walks him or her to a nearby cop car, puts them in the back and then the cop car drives off (I've even followed the cop car a few times, sometimes it just drives around for ages but other times it actually goes to the nearest cop shop).

Quote from: The Region Legion on January 17, 2010, 01:51:55 AM
Also, even with vehicle density at 100, I'm regularly walking around on streets where there are NO cars for minutes at a time.
That's been an issue with every GTA sandbox type game I've ever played. They also still seem to suffer from only being able to spawn three or four types of vehicle at any one time.

Quote from: chand on January 17, 2010, 02:00:00 AM
Just ignore it, barely any of it is required. I went bowling once, played pool once, and then I pretty much stopped answering the phone.
You get perks off some of them if you can get them to like you up to a certain percentage, one can get 2 wanted stars removed and another can give you a health boost over the phone but it's probably not worth the effort (except for Little Jacob who will sell you cheap weapons once you've taken him for a few games of darts).
As the dating stuff is pretty much absent from The L&D and Gay Tony I'd guess that Rockstar have decided it to scrap it or at least make it less tedious for future releases.


I'm playing The Saboteur at the moment (it was £25 in Asda) and after taking a while to get the hang of the controls I'm quite enjoying it. It's similar in style to GTA except set in 1940's Paris and with much more swearing and even sillier accents.
Worth a punt while you're waiting for Mafia II.

mobias

I discovered something a little while back in GTAIV which I thought was pretty cool. If you go up to a junction where there are a few taxis waiting for the lights to change and very quickly smack each taxi with your baseball bat each taxi driver will get out and try and kick the shit out of you. Climb on top of one of the now vacated taxis and you'll have all the taxi drivers gathered round the car shouting abuse at you and wanting a fight. More often than not one of them will accidently punch another which usually starts an all out fight. If you manage to find a junction with a whole load of taxis and smack each one you can usually get a mini riot going. If there are any police in the area they will arrest all those fighting. Sometimes a few taxi drivers will make a run for it with the police giving chase. Its all quite comical.

I miss the days of San Andreas when you could climb that mountain after getting yourself a 3 or 4 star wanted level. At the top there was a little ledge you could get on and if the police came anywhere near you they would, through some strange bit of thinking on behalf of the game's AI, automatically hurl themselves to their death. I used to spend many a dull evening taking great joy in watching the cops leap screaming from the mountain top.


_Hypnotoad_

I think you're all being a little picky here with the supposed flaws in GTA's realism. I don't know any other games that would attempt to have incidents like you describe happening completely seperate from the player's experience. The fact they behave a little funky at times is just amusing to me, nothing to make me describe it as a poor game. To see some overweight cop chasing some massive fat dude around or someone get out of a car and answer their phone and enter a full conversation while going about their day is all very impressive ambient stuff.

Have you never walked around your neighbourhood and never seen any cars for a few minutes at a time?

I think you're all a little spoilt, GTAIV is a fucking masterpiece.

chand

Quote from: mobias on January 17, 2010, 11:42:12 AMI miss the days of San Andreas when you could climb that mountain after getting yourself a 3 or 4 star wanted level. At the top there was a little ledge you could get on and if the police came anywhere near you they would, through some strange bit of thinking on behalf of the game's AI, automatically hurl themselves to their death. I used to spend many a dull evening taking great joy in watching the cops leap screaming from the mountain top.

That type of shit still happens in GTA IV:

GTA 4 Funny: The Fail Police.

Quote from: _Hypnotoad_ on January 17, 2010, 12:55:17 PM
Have you never walked around your neighbourhood and never seen any cars for a few minutes at a time?

Not in New York City. If the game was set in leafy Surrey, maybe it would make sense.


It's not that the fact that these little set pieces don't always work correctly that bothers me, it's the hype that people talk about it being so "alive". It's not.

Started playing Prototype today - now THERE'S a proper New York City. Absolute ton of cars on the roads, mostly yellow cabs.. feels like a living breathing city far more than Liberty City managed. Admittedly, the cars aren't all individually driveable by the player, which makes a difference and they only modelled Manhattan Island rather than the surrounding boroughs.

GTA4 isn't bad. It's just not great. It's almost not even good. I'm certainly having a much harder time replaying it than I ever did the last 3.

mobias

#1884
If there were many more cars on the streets of Liberty City than there already are then the game wouldn't actually play too well I don't think. Its already difficult enough driving through all the traffic with a wanted level trying to evade the cops. As far as the traffic is concerned I think they've got the balance about right.

I would however love to see loads more pedestrians about. Especially in the city centre areas. That would make a big difference to the vibe of the place.

My biggest crumble about GTAIV is there are nowhere near enough interior spaces to explore. I was really surprised Rockstar didn't design more. I've always found it weird in all the GTA's including IV that they give you interior spaces for certain missions but don't have them accessible out with them. There must be a technical reason why they can't do it. Having interior areas like the museum for shoot outs would be great for online play.   

mycroft

Quote from: REVEEN! on January 17, 2010, 03:32:17 AMI'm playing The Saboteur at the moment (it was £25 in Asda) and after taking a while to get the hang of the controls I'm quite enjoying it. It's similar in style to GTA except set in 1940's Paris and with much more swearing and even sillier accents.

Just picked up a pre-owned copy of this myself, and am enjoying it a great deal so far. I'm a sucker for silly wartime fun, mind. And your character does some top swears when beating up Nazis ("Salute that, yer knobjockey!").

JPA

Quote from: REVEEN! on January 17, 2010, 03:32:17 AM
You get perks off some of them if you can get them to like you up to a certain percentage, one can get 2 wanted stars removed and another can give you a health boost over the phone but it's probably not worth the effort (except for Little Jacob who will sell you cheap weapons once you've taken him for a few games of darts).

She can actually clear a 3-star wanted level and therefore it's a very useful perk to have.

mobias

I'm going to eat my words slightly over Uncharted 2. I do think its too linear for my liking but once you get beyond the halfway point in the story it is a pretty fucking amazing game. The non stop fight sequence on the train whilst trying to rescue Chloe is superb fun and then into those big ice caverns and into that temple and clambering around on those huge rotating cogs is just incredible. I think once you start caring about the characters a bit it makes a difference too. Some stunning set pieces. I does take its time to build though. 

falafel

Hurray! Now that you're converted I will concede that there were a few moments where I thought "Eh, what do you mean I can't go that way?", particularly one memorable bit (not really a spoiler) where if you don't move the right way around a lamppost you're hanging from the enemies don't spawn and you can't move on or even jump off the bloody thing...

Harking back to The Region Legion, I felt the same way about Prototype: really really busy and vibrant, they did a great job of that. I just completed inFamous which is very, very, very similar and I can't quite work out which one I liked more - but they were both certainly much more fun than GTAIV even if I do still think the latter is still technically a better game.

chand

I preferred inFamous to Prototype by a distance, I felt inFamous was paced better and I preferred the city to the boringly straight buildings of Prototype (which they had to be cos you need to be able to run up them).

I never got that far into Prototype though, it started off well but it went a bit mental, like introducing the disguise mechanic and then immediately making it fucking useless by putting machines that can see through your disguise all over the places you need to be. Straight off the bat you can unlock shitloads of moves and I was losing track of the number of moves I could do. I gave up really on when I was at a mission where I was getting completely battered on account of my guy being set up for hand-to-hand combat but having to do missions where guys with guns are killing you from all sides. Might give it another go at some point, but I really never got along with it.