4.11% GTAIV Impressions

I finally got my hands on Grand Theft Auto IV after waiting anxiously for it to arrive in the mail. I have been a huge GTA fan since GTAIII, and with each version afterwards I have always picked it up on the first day, and proceeded to take a week off of whatever I was doing. Unfortunately, I had to have GTAIV delivered to me, regardless it is now in my possession. After only completing 4.11% of the game, I am amazed at the details that went into this game. Read on for a rundown of my impressions during the short time I have had to play, it may contain spoilers.

Graphics and Sound

My setup includes a Samsung 42″ CRT Projection television, an enormous 5.1 surround sound Sony stereo system, and a PS3. During the first cutscene I was using the standard A/V cables and soon realized I needed to pick up some component cables. I went to Best Buy and bought some Sony component cables for $20, my TV doesn’t have HDMI inputs, but is capable of 1080i.

Without the component cables, the graphics weren’t quite what I expected, the cutscenes and gameplay were blurry. The component cables cleaned things up a bit, and the gameplay graphics are impressive for a console game. The cutscenes are still subpar of PC graphics though, which I guess is expected. The textures can get a bit bland in certain lighting, almost like a PS2 version of the game, but under most lighting the textures are crisp. Pop-in for the PS3 version is not existent, at least I haven’t noticed any. Antialiasing could use some work though.

Sounds are realistic and detailed as expected. The only problem I am facing now is figuring out how to use my stereo system while using the component cables. My TV doesn’t have sound outputs when using the component cables for some reason, and since the sound hookups on the cable are branched from the video hookups, they won’t reach my stereo inputs. This sucks, since the sounds were a hell of a lot better when I was playing with the A/V cables and having 5.1 surround sound. I guess I will sacrifice high quality sounds for high quality graphics for now until I find some solution.

Driving Physics

I am most impressed with the driving physics of this game, much improved from previous versions in the series. The minute details are stunning. Hop in an American muscle car and it will drive and behave like an American muscle car. Rockstar cut back on the unrealistic aspects, such as exploding every time the car ends up lying on the roof. It actually takes a lot of damage to get the engine to catch on fire. Also, don’t expect to bounce around inside the car when colliding into a barrier, you will fly through the windshield, hurdling across the ground. Burnouts are awesome, I literally spent an hour doing donuts in the muscle car, which if done long enough will cause the back tires to shred off the rims.

Fighting

For the first time in a GTA game, I lost a fight on the streets when two douche bags ganged up on me in a fist fight. If I had some weapons it would have been a different story, but don’t expect to find any for a while, at least not a gun of some sort. The fighting controls lack fluidity, mashing the buttons doesn’t sync up with the punches and kicks, and whiffing a punch is quite common. You can lock on to a target with the L2 button, which helps a bit. The blood spray from your enemy after a hard punch is a nice touch.

Cops

It seems Liberty City decided to hire some intelligent cops this time around, escaping a police officer on foot isn’t as easy as you might think. If you are in close range, the majority of the time you will end up with your hands behind your back, hauled off to jail and stripped of your weapons for a fee. The cops can be a bit picky as well, I walked outside my apartment, and a cop running by tripped over me, giving me one wanted star. He then proceeded to start shooting me. I mean come on, it’s not like I tripped him on purpose.

During car chases, the map shows a red and blue flashing circle which you must escape to evade the police. Police cars show up as blips, and helicopters show up as spinning blips on the map. The police lose sight of you when the wanted stars are grayed out. Escaping in a car is much easier than on foot.

Misc Impressions

With only 4.11% completed, it is hard to get a real feel of things, but I should comment on some other aspects of the game.

Every time I buy a new GTA game, Rockstar decides to change the controls. This time around accelerating and braking is controlled by the L and R buttons, which will take some time getting used to. Camera control is still very cumbersome. Driving around a corner and keeping a view of where you are going is fairly difficult. Why Rockstar has the camera tilt of the left and right control sticks in opposite directions is beyond me. Pushing up on one is the opposite movement of the other, combine that with a difference in controls while driving and walking, and you might get a bit frustrated. To change this you have to reverse the right stick camera control in the options menu.

Walking up and down steps shows an animation that is actually walking up and down steps, pat on the back for Rockstar for that.

The music so far isn’t that great, I guess I will have to play some more considering there are over 200 tracks.

Watching TV in the game is a nice bonus, another pat on the back for that.

The water looks nice, I was swimming in the ocean for a while, seeing if a shark would attack me. With the amount of details in this game I expected it to happen, but it didn’t. It seems like something Rockstar would add in the game.

Luckily I didn’t run into the freezing problem, although with six wanted stars, I noticed a bit of stuttering while running around.

I still haven’t played multiplayer, I’m saving that for some other time.

The cellphone is neat. You can actually call 911 and have them dispatch the cops, an ambulance, or the fire department. I’m sure Rockstar has some hidden phone numbers you can dial.

Final Thought

This game is awesome, go out and buy it. You will be provided with hours of fun!

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