Grand Theft Auto IV

[Barry Admin]

Does there need to be a GTA6 anymore? GTA5 is effectively a game as a service, couldn't they just keep that going forever and slowly evolve it, in the same way that windows 10 is the 'last version' of windows?

On this specific point, nah, not really. It's four years old now, and built around the last generations architecture. It still looks pretty good, but could be a lot better, particularly the frame rates.

The main problem also is that GTA V has been a terrible victim of accretion. They just keep dumping new shit on top of old shit, and haven't unified it all. They don't go back and fix or update old game mechanics or whatever, they just leave them there to rot. Parts of the game don't really seem to make sense now, it's all a real hodge-podge of stuff - it is, however, still a wonderfully entertaining sandbox.

Another problem is the power creep, which has massively accelerated this year with the Gun Running and Smugglers Run updates. In the early days, GTAO was like the Wild West. Now it's like downtown fucking Syria. A new player back then would have had to contend with being sniped, or having sticky bombs left outside the garage... maybe the odd tank, but you could counter those by everyone driving their most expensive cars into the tank and landing the owner with a crippling insurance bill and a trip to the Bad Sport lobby.

Now? Well put it this way, I was doing a mission last night and a guy on my friends list rocked up in his APC. I jumped in the gunners slot, and we just roamed around the map killing every player we could get to. It was carnage. Then you've got jets, bombers, that fucking flying motorbike with the homing missiles, fucking KITT from Knight Rider with the ability to bounce in the air and shoot parachutes out of its roof while firing missiles etc...


It needs a reset. It's kind of lost its way and got a bit too Saints Row, although I don't mind that since it's near the end of it's life cycle. Better than nothing.

Even the shark cards haven't been adjusted to remain in line with the ingame economy, which is why they now seem like an unbelievable ripoff.   

A new GTA - and a completely reset and technically improved online - is much needed.

[TheManOne]

Can someone explain to me how the multiplayer works? I've never really used it and I fear I've totally missed the boat.
I've only ever sort of waited around for something and then got shot a lot.
What's the format? How does one progress?

[Space ghost]

lol that's a big ask. check out the wiki it must be hundreds of pages long by now.

[Barry Admin]

Usually you're having fun with your toys, or grinding for new toys. It can be fun to just dick about, get some pals to drive monster trucks up mountains, go BMXing etc, but it's an MMO, so people can often treat it like a job, and find themselves annoyed if they're doing something that isn't profitable or which actively costs them money. I'm always careful not to get too far into that mindset, with games. If it's not fun, fuck it.

Anyway, there are like five million activities in GTAO now, so just find what you like doing. I still enjoy the old contact missions, especially as you can take all your new toys in and find new ways of doing things. GTAO at its best is amazing because of the creativity you can bring to bear. It's a wonderful venue for emergent gameplay.

As you level up you can do heists - very good fun, but almost impossible with randoms.

So then you get the cash together to invest in a business. This has all replaced the contact missions, really - contact missions would be usually up to 4 players doing a job away from the main lobby, PVE content. That's how you made your money. Now, R* wants people in near constant contact/conflict with each other, so you end up doing stuff for your business in a full lobby, and all the other players are told about it so they can try to fuck you over, for a very insignificant reward.

Some people - driving game fans - just pretty much stick to races. Most folks though like to buy properties, invest in businesses, and collect new toys. Some people roleplay, there are modded PC roleplay servers. I like to do a bit of everything, sometimes I just enjoy flying my glider or helicopter, or I explore the world on my motorbike, and marvel at the attention to detail.

[Barry Admin]

Still one of my favourite examples of the aforementioned attention to detail:

https://mobile.twitter.com/cookdandbombd/status/395226932540764160



Edit:

I actually went all the way back to the far reaches of the map today, got a new hairdo, better make-up, and put a bustier on before retaking the "We don't do duvets" picture for twitter. What the hell is wrong with me? Oh, a girl must look her best, though.

Hahahha, fuck me what a nerd.

Aaah the memories...

Big Jack and I found some tributes to fallen brothers in the streets of El Burro, so I sniped the teddy bear and all the bottles of beer, and Big Jack left a more poignant message for the bereaved.



Then we got wasted in his garage, and left beer bottles, feg ends and sick everywhere.



Then we showed our respect for the cultural and artistic output of Vinewood.



And we rounded off the night with a good old-fashioned lez-up.

[TheManOne]

Loads...

Wow. Cheers. I'd never really looked in to it as I feared it would seem insurmountable. And I fear it probably is for me.
Ta.

[mobias]

GTA online won't ever kill off single player. Rockstar are not a natural home for online gaming, its not their speciality. They're too obsessed with cinema and recreating a cinematic storytelling experience with their games. The multiplayer aspect of their games will continue to evolve though.

It'll be interesting to see what GTA is like in the future without Les Benzies being the head of Rockstar North. He was the driving force behind so much of the direction of the game from GTAIII up until GTAV. GTA Online was 100% all his baby, which was apparently the cause of the falling out between him and the Houser brothers.

No one should really hold their breath waiting for GTAVI. If I was felling optimistic I'd say 2020 at the earliest. There's already rumours circulating that Red Dead 2 is going to be delayed again into the second half of 2018. Everyone knows Rockstar like their delays.....

[touchingcloth]

Is GTA IV on the Xbox 360 a good way back into the series for someone who played every game up to and including San Andreas to death, but besides the odd session on phone versions hasn't otherwise touched the main titles since? It looks like it'd be about fifty quid to get the console and game second hand, but is it worthwhile without paying money on top for subscriptions and extra content and whatnot, and is GTA V worth touching at all on the 360 or is it a sluggish turd on that hardware? I was mainly into driving and flying on the earlier games, and this thread makes it sound like IV might not be the best for either of those activities...

[Barry Admin]

GTA V was built for the 360 and that generation, just get it, it's fucking amazing. I think the online still works, although you can no longer take your character to next gen, and I think there's a ton of modders on last gen.

[touchingcloth]

So you'd lean towards V on a 360, not bothering with the One, and skipping over IV?

[Barry Admin]

If you can afford a One, get a One, I guess. If you want to play Online then the lobbies will be a lot larger and presumably also busier. I don't think there's much upgrade in terms of visuals, but haven't loaded the 360 version in years. You can also play in first-person mode, which doesn't really seem that great to me tbh. The One is a lovely system to have, great UI, and I really enjoy having a big assortment of digital games on there - you get sales every week, so can sometimes pick up great games for a tenner or whatever.

GTA IV is also backwards compatible, so you could get that cheaply and play it on the One too. I would just go straight for GTA V and pick up GTA IV for a few quid second-hand if you're still curious, but I just can't stand how sluggish the driving feels in it, innit. As I think I mentioned, I ended up getting taxis EVERYWHERE when it first came out, and I hated the driving so much that I abasonded my recent playthrough. I might try again just for the story, but if you want the perfect sandbox where you can drive, fly and bmx to your hearts content, then GTA V is still an absolutely stunning achievement. I really must go through single-player again.

[touchingcloth]

I don't think I'd get a One, as it's a bit too pricey to justify given that I only really want to piss about in the world of Liberty City again, so if V's equally as playable and unsluggish as IV on the 360 then that could be a worthwhile second hand experience. It's a little disappointing to hear that the driving is such a bad experience in IV, as bimbling around the New York setting in a car is part of the appeal to me. I know III was technically set in a New York-alike city, but it didn't really feel like it. On a similar note, I'm a little surprised they haven't revisited the London 1969 setting in a 3D game, because that would be phenomenal, or just any city with a more European layout than the standard GTA fare.

I'm not particularly interested in playing online, but for single player are there any additional costs to be aware of that the game would be less enjoyable without stumping for?

[Barry Admin]

No, you'd be good to go, no DLC etc to buy.

I might have another go at IV just to see if some of the super cars are better to control. Some people seem fine with it, but the cars just feel terribly heavy and unwieldy to me. The GTA V physics are much better, and it's a fucking huge and incredibly detailed sandbox. You have the city of Los Santos, and then the more rural area of Blaine County, where all the rednecks are. Big mountains you can drive up and then parachute off, lovely. Hours and hours of exploring and fun.

[Neomod]

On a similar note, I'm a little surprised they haven't revisited the London 1969 setting in a 3D game, because that would be phenomenal, or just any city with a more European layout than the standard GTA fare.

The Getaway put me off London as a location, Paris would be fun though.

[touchingcloth]

Was the Getaway shit? I always quite fancied it thanks to the London location and good memories of the older GTA, but never got round to playing it because I'd already parted ways with consoles by then. PS2?

[Neomod]

Was the Getaway shit? I always quite fancied it thanks to the London location and good memories of the older GTA, but never got round to playing it because I'd already parted ways with consoles by then. PS2?

Well it was an accurately-ish mapped London so quite boring to drive around.