This is out next week on the next gen consols. I expect it will be amazing but I can't justify spending £300 on a PS3.

Anyone played it yet or got it on order?

got a ps3 last weekend. have only played a bit of assassins creed so far. impressive stuff.

saw a tv ad for gta iv last night and got excited, not since horace and the spiders has a sequel induced such slavering.

the ps3 is a blu-ray player. it can handle media, so you can stick all your dumpys rusty nuts mp3s on.

it's persuading mrs streams that a high definition telly is essential for driving round a fake new york that'll be the hard part.

Tell her the Fall forum said so ;)

mrs streams still hates the fall after the walk-off in gateshead a few years back.

call them bloody professionals? she said. she likes to be entertained by pop acts does mrs streams. she still hasn't got over jason pierce playing with his back to the crowd...

It was released two hours and 36 minutes ago......

So here I was earlier this evening near the front of a global queue - international dateline, I thank thee - and joy of joys, and queues of queues, and 20 years older than the next oldest punter 2nite I noticed - "must be for his underage son", said one glumly attired chap - I bought it at midnite (first in the world, yay me (and 3000 others nationally at a guess)) and I don't often say use these adjectives........uh no I won't....I'll use something that George Bush wouldnt say instead (his use of the world "awesome" recently kills its fashionability one hopes) : -
anyways enough pre-rambling......I'm still shaking with anticicicicipation.....
THIS game is FUCKING SUPERB. Best since the initial GTA3 game (of that trilogy, of which the self-congratulating kiddiefest "San Andreas" was NOT worth queuing for). I have just spent nearly two hours just sitting around listening to what is apparently eastern europe pop music in the game - dunno about the authenticity, but they're GREAT songs! - and rolling on the floor listening to DJs quip, "do you know whther your best friend is a terrorist? What a celebrity's vagina looks like? Then tune in to Weasel radio!".
Iggy Pop, Juliette Lewis, and "a computer" are among the hilariously bent DJs.
There's a "sandbox" game you can play as well as listen to cool tunes, as you all know, but at this stage of pre-play I can recommend joing the queues in your respective countries just for the radio shows (over five pages in the manual of song credits).
But I can't hang around here. I wanna listen to, I mean play, GTA4...

Oh by the way, in case youre wondering, NO the game isnt the least bit photorealistic, but the similarly-to-previous designed characters and vehicles feel more 3D and lively. Starts off with a "crime has never been so good" ironic feel, but things are bound to sour soon or what.....
The NZ chief censor, after another hit and run incident involving young partiers in the news here recently, got asked today why he passed GTA4 (with an 18 rating, mind) when you are able to skittle pedestrians in the game.
His good natured but assertive response: "Because you can CHOOSE NOT TO."
I like that guy.
He knows a grand satire when he sees one.

My dad (69 the other week) enjoys GTA, but we haven't upgraded to PS3 so we can't comment.

However, he was going on about how he'd read a review mentioning a kind of 1:1 scale of New York in GTA4.

Is this true, or is my dad becoming confused?

man, i wish i had the time to play this game..........!

:lol:

keep us updated on how you progress - i've had a lot fun playing GTAs over the years, including the original one. since i became a dad last year it would seem that my gaming days are over, untill retirement anyway (unless i have a boy next - here's hoping! LOL).

cant wait to see what the games will be like when i'll get the chance to play them again!

THey'll be different, but the same. Scooting around grid streets avoiding cops is akin to Pacman, ne cest pas?
Yeah, people that havent played the games arent aware how bloody FUNNY they are. You hear about the violence, but they're taking the piss all the way.
Well when was then last time YOU settled your differences with a gang using a tank, or drove in a manner the Dukes of Hazzard would frown upon?
I'll keep ya updated on the 1:1 thing. Least subtle thing I've seen so far is the Statue of Liberty SMILING like an idiot, and most subtle - cos they dont tell you what its based on - is an accompanying booklet that is in the style of an AMEX restaurant guide. I know this cos I bought the game using an AMEX card and the booklet they sent me today looks just like the GTA4 manual, ha ha!

I love shit lke that.

Not a gamer myself, but this series is it's own delight. I refuse to follow any of the story lines, just roam about murdering pedistrians and prostitutes for the laugh of it. Gets boring...

i love playing this game it helps me release anger

I'm a bit jealous of people who will be playing this game as I have enjoyed all previous GTAs. I really can't justify buying a new console AND a new telly - as I gather this is what is needed - just to play this game unfortunately. Maybe in a couple of years the price will come down and I will be able to pick up a PS3 for a few quid.

I really hope there is less driving involved in this version. But I guess not.
I probably won't get it for this reason. I'll wait til it's in the cheap games section in about 3 years time.

As always, the definative version will be on the PC, so I'll be hanging on for that...

I'm no expert but I don't think you have to have a HD tele, it helps of course.

I heard a discussion on the radio last night about this, some hysterical people going on about how it is going to ruin children. Won't someone think of the children!!!!!

They seem to miss the obvious:

it's an 18 certificate

It's a game - it's a bit of fun

The tone is overall very funny

The critics have never actually played it. They are having a go in total ignorance.


It's very sad as we should be celebrating this game as one of the UK's biggest ever cultural achievements. This is a work of art and should be celebrated for the genius it is. Culturally it's on a par with The Beatles releasing Sgt Pepper.

And I wish I had a PS3 : (

I thought the top-down view on the original GTA was alot of fun and I was a bit pissed when they changed it to 3rd person.

All this talk of PS3, get an xbox 360 for £100 less and play an identical version of the game but with promised exclusive downloadable content.

I will definately be getting this but not for a while. I've still got about 4-5 games on the go and I want to get them finished first. Plus I'm still not done with Oblivion!

Tried to buy the XBOX version for my son today.

Sold out in Asda half hour after the shop opened.

:angry:

My nephew was at ours today and was complaining that NZ got the same watered down version as the Aussies did, so I was wondering if it was the same deal with the UK :confused:

I remember when we got Fred2jr San Andreas I think he'd just turned 10 at the time, I had to laugh when he complained that every time he pulled over these girls kept getting into his car :lol:

Well - my big telly just broke... so need a new telly... and if I was to get a PS3 then I would def get HD. But as I'm not I won't.

It's been a big story - the launch of GTA4. Lots of good press and lots of silly panicky stories too. If kids play GTA and end up with half the amount of irony, wit, scepticism of big corporations & the police etc ... as on display in the game then we'll be doin ok.

it is a superb effort. okay, the hype is a bit much. but it is symptomatic where the most engaging art form in the country is a video game. the tv and press media are a bit lost without celebrity endorsement...

it's just beautiful to look at, it's funny and inventive, it's gonna rob me of my life for a good few weeks and i'm looking forward to it!

Um we get the edited version this time round in NZ but I dont miss the call girl murdering (prostitution is legal here so there's no vice about that occupation anyways).

GTA4 actually has a compelling storyline this time round - te guy is no angel but he is a victim of lies-to-immigrants about the USA lifestyle. The game is so relentlessly anti-capitalist it makes Fight Club look like a republican ad. And it fact much of it IS a republican ad, but in a VERY tongue-in-cheek kinda way. Even liberals look like assholes in this. Splendid satire - youve seen the Simpsons, and Eyes on Springfield, well here it is.
The cops are easier to lose this time round, but there's less to be gained by being a psychopath. Suck it and see, Dolores.

Hey, why cant you take ur anger to the streets like a normal person? ;)
Yeah, I'm up with the idea that videogames (like music) ABSORB anger. And are therefore pretty darn healthy!!

Tell me if its a watered down version Pleeeeessssseee DFall go on I dare ya ;)

Hate to boast but it's a karma thing for me. Been lending folks CDs and games over the years and now I'm broke I got folks lending me their x360s and stuff for months at a time.
Of course as soon as a game like GTA4 comes out I go spend all my spare cash on it.
But I'm happy. (And my hefty TV only cost 70 quid brand new btw and GTA4 looks great on it!!). No plasma "shit" required. Just a good stereo, but I'm sure you have one of those. (the game isnt 5 channel either : it's just "stereo" or "headphones" I think. It's almost VINYL ;)
Marvin Gaye, Aphex Twin, jazz greats, classic slates (NO not THAT Slates), et alia, and what sounds like ZEIT when you access the menu.

Ahh, Luddites get mentioned, affectionately, and not out of pity.

Latest fuss stateside is the drunkenness. I tell ya, if YOU can drink and drive in this game, you're a fricken LIAR. It aint condoned AT ALL.

Sorry Dfall I am retarded, I see you answered me up thread Thanx :ohdear: :ohdear:

You dont really notice the "editing" though. Who would campaign for more contentious content anyways (as un cool as censorship sounds?)

There's little gore in the game, and if you gratuitously shoot (say) a lap dancer - I tried for arguments sake - they generally survive the gunfire. Which is fine by me......Bikinis should be killers not killed!! This aint Duke Nukem bayyyyybeeeeee!!!!

Nah it's mostly driving. Though I have been enjoying the cab rides in this one (and I'm not being sarcastic - as a passenger after hailing a cab you can pick ur radio station, avoid the cops, avoid driving, take in the sights (the city feels "alive") and arrive pronto for extra cab fare. Just dont shoot at anything out the cab window!
And if you want a cop car just dial 911 on ur cell (no the cops arent a free ride home, you have to steal their car - accessing their computer in the car is fun!!!). No radio though! How am I supposed to play "Jailbreak" fricken loud while I drive if they dont have a radio??!!!?

Whoop my cab's just arrived.....

A fine point I'd like to add about the softer version here - which I think is pretty cool - is that even though you cant interact with hookers, if you see some prick giving them grief and kill their assailants - for which the hookers appear grateful - you get a cash bonus!!
I was kinda pissed about us getting the soft version until I found stuff like that.

I'll be purchasing this game at some point.

However, moving into a new flat has scuppered me financially plus I haven't even hooked up my 360 since the move.

Plus, I still have Mass Effect to finish. God help me.

I think I'll have a look round for a cheap Xbox as I can't really stand not playing this game.
In yesterdays Guardian they had 3 'academics' reviewing the game. Twas very pretentious.

I would be interested in what they had to say (I think).
If they said it was superficially a liberal outsiders' blunt view of republican America (in concept) I would agree with that.
But the game isn't about life lessons or cathartic violence (so i hope they didnt say that).
It's a gratuitously funny and extremely well produced straightforward puzzle game that casually intersects with other game genres, that avoids being hollow by being immersive.
Is it art? No. Is it harmful to society? No. Will ikt change your perception of reality? Not for an instant.

David Fincher, and Michael Moore aren't left with any competition. The producers of the next True Crime and Driver sequels are the only guys that should worry about this game.
The only reason it wasn't released any earlier, after all, is cos Halo 3 was gobbling up the market.

I doubt the academics mentioned that either.

I give it 9/10. It IS wonderful.
But Rockstars "Bully" was better, and had a lot more to say, and was much much funnier.

The reviews that I've seen were all fair, mostly done by fans - even the ones in the Telegraph. But they all start off by saying how controversial it (the game) is, but then give no evidence - have the Mail gone for it at all? I wouldn't have seen that.

PS a special separate thread entry for the "cabaret acts" you can attend.

Dave Lynch meets the Scarface theatre sequence crossed with any REAALY REAALLY bad GONG SHOW type talent show you can imagine.
Yet another good reason to buy/hire this remarkable game.....

Don't buy a console just to play it though (I borrowed one myself). I've never met a videogame worth 300 quid, much as I love hundreds of them....if you feel like you're missing out, don't forget it's essentially GTA3 remade with a couple dozen balls and pistles....

Well it is also a very cheap way to buy a Blu Ray player as well :whistle:

it is to my great shame that i found that you can interact with the prossies.

toot your horn and see where it takes you...
:ohdear:

Got a PS3 just before xmas and played GTA4 ,, at first i really hated it. Then as I played more I got into it. The city is beautifully rendered. Totally immersive. The radio stations are as always hilarious (scripted by Rupert Humphries, Barry Humphries son fact fans).
The only thing was - I found it too easy. The missions were no challenge. Very few took more than one go.
Then I got the expansion pack - The Lost & Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. Both these are tougher but still a little too easy... and belive me, i'm no great shakes at computer games. I finished all 3 stories with ease anyway.

I though the plotting and scripting were ace on it all though.

Its funny - as a 3rd person shooter its not that good and as a driving game it sucks. I'm not interested in the Sims aspect of it... the whole girlfriend/ dates/ bowling/ arm wrestling stuff is boring. And as for shooting 200 pigeons... god save us.
But the storyline missions and the characterisation are really great.

Anybody else played this to death>

For a brief, shining moment, i thought My Balloon was back...

Me too. I loved it straight off as I'm more interested in the vibe and atmosphere of games than how easy or hard they are. The gameplay and puzzle-solving comes second to that. That's why I love Ico, Half Life 2 and Shadow Of The Colossus. The gameplay is extraordinary, but first and foremost they're just great virtual places to be.

^
yes, I felt more than a tinge of sadness as the last scene of The Ballad of Gay Tony faded from view. I'm going to play it all again quite soon.

I like a challenge though. I don't like it when they are too tough (the flying missions in San Andreas I found impossible [in fact - mentioning My Balloon... i sent him my memory card and he did em for me :) ]

... on the other hand... not one of the missions on GTA 4 posed much of a problem at all .... except The Partys Over in The Ballad of Gay Tony where wave after wave of russians are storming the club. That was a bit tricky. What you need are about 20 hand grenades... then you just blindly hurl them at the ruskies as they enter the club. I got rid of all of them without losing any health.... eventually (it took about 10 tries I will admit).