Grand Theft Auto 5

[Niten_Ryu]

There is a point were trying to push an 'optional' content onto a player becomes a major annoyance.

 

Major annoyance?

 

One call per roughly 2 in-game days per active friend character. And you can even choose ringtone and/or set to vibration. Man, talk about first world problems

[pmp10]

Uh no thats still an unnecessary annoyance.

By that math 5 'friends' would result in a call happening pretty much every time you save the game.

[Niten_Ryu]

Uh no thats still an unnecessary annoyance.

By that math 5 'friends' would result in a call happening pretty much every time you save the game.

 

Even if you don't for some reason trust the autosave (don't advance in-game time at all), saves only take 8 hours of in-game time. Missions can be done again right away even if you fail, so saves are only required if you plan to play "perfect" run or have like 10 minutes to play the game. 24 in-game hours are bit under hour of real time. In my 3 complite runs of GTA 4, 2 runs of Lost and Damned, 3 runs of Ballad of the Gay Tony, my longest single segment played time was 2 hours 34 minutes. Most likely I never experienced "friendly character" calling me twice during the same run. It's more likely that I called 'em twice

 

So with 5 friends, you're required to ignore call 5 times every 2 hours of real time. Or perform 5 extra clicks to cancel incoming call.

[Meshugger]

Only one thinking trailer is borish?

No.

 

Agreed.

Edited November 3, 2011 by Meshugger

[Calax]

Uh no thats still an unnecessary annoyance.

By that math 5 'friends' would result in a call happening pretty much every time you save the game.

 

Even if you don't for some reason trust the autosave (don't advance in-game time at all), saves only take 8 hours of in-game time. Missions can be done again right away even if you fail, so saves are only required if you plan to play "perfect" run or have like 10 minutes to play the game. 24 in-game hours are bit under hour of real time. In my 3 complite runs of GTA 4, 2 runs of Lost and Damned, 3 runs of Ballad of the Gay Tony, my longest single segment played time was 2 hours 34 minutes. Most likely I never experienced "friendly character" calling me twice during the same run. It's more likely that I called 'em twice

 

So with 5 friends, you're required to ignore call 5 times every 2 hours of real time. Or perform 5 extra clicks to cancel incoming call.

BUT, they linked those friends to bonuses... Dwayne gave you a crew of homies, your cousin gave you a taxi service, Little Jacob gave ya guns, and packie blew stuff up. Not to mention the girlfriends (who could get heat off you and raise your hp in times of need if you called em).

 

That's what's really bothersom.

[Walsingham]

You forgot to mention those whiny 'friends' that kept calling you to take them everywhere. God, I hope they skipped that idea in GTA5.

 

Personally I can't understand why this bothered so many players. I mean "friend activities" are optional. You could say no, hung up right away or refuse to answer

 

Absolutely. Once I worked that out, I relaxed and found the friends awesome.

[Hassat Hunter]

I can't quite put my finger on it though, but after the story was done, I had zero incentive to keep playing GTAIV, as opposed to the other ones.

Same.

Though, as stated, I could put my finger right on the reason why it did for me.

In the III series wreaking havoc and just driving about exploring was fun. In IV I already noticed pretty soon it wasn't, so just story, and exit IV. Also spend way less time between missions doing other stuff (like pizza delivery. That was fun in VC. Also agree it was the best GTA).

[Niten_Ryu]

BUT, they linked those friends to bonuses... Dwayne gave you a crew of homies, your cousin gave you a taxi service, Little Jacob gave ya guns, and packie blew stuff up. Not to mention the girlfriends (who could get heat off you and raise your hp in times of need if you called em).

 

That's what's really bothersom.

 

Those bonuses are really pitiful outside roleplaying purposes. I didn't use Dwaynes crew more then once (just to see what they did... and they barely did anything), Taxi drivers dialogue was hilarious but ultimately stealing car or hailing normal cab was much faster, most of the time you could drive (or take taxi) to normal gun shop faster then wait for Jacob to spawn... to sometimes less then optimal location. Packie carbomb was extremely fun to use when fooling around, but really time consuming to get. Brucie helicopter transport was just way too slow, compared to just about anything.

 

Lawyer chick bonus was same as Packies brother ( -2 stars max and at that points cops are no problem), Up town girl bonus ( -50% cloth sales for a day... well, money ain't problem at that point of game anymore). Nurse bonus was ok ( full health after small rest), but missions were usually easy enough or had armor / health packs.

[Jackalmonkey]

Wherefore this business about GTA IV being the most "realistic" of all the entries in the series? What does that even mean? Thus far it's only the most inconsistent. GTA III and its two follow-ups were all staggeringly juvenile and stupid, but at least they were juvenile and stupid through and through - the world and all of its characters were essentially slapstick, with some Thug Life dashed on so that players could feel macho despite the complete twerpiness of the humor.

 

GTA IV attempted to preserve that world - all the inane radio shows, sex puns, and stoner humor - while trying damned hard to inject real honest-to-goodness pathos into its main character. Pathos! Nico Bellic suffers for his past. He is haunted by it. He becomes disillusioned by, of all things, the American Dream. One supposes that the Rockstar designers thought this would somehow elevate the rest of the game's content ("Oh, that internet cafe called Tw@? Now that's satire, see?"). But it merely clashes. And I reckon that the majority of the world's Nico Bellics all pretty much work like this: they do a hit and run on a few dozen pedestrians, shoot down a police helicopter, explode a handful of FBI SUVs, and then walk into a bar and weep about how you can never escape your past while their 6-star wanted rating miraculously vanishes.

 

From its trailer, GTA V looks like it'll be more of the same. A world is only as realistic as it is consistent - which is to say, that it obeys the rules it sets for itself.

 

The thing about Saint's Row is that it gets it, and it rolls with it, and it owns it - "it" being the thoughtless joy of penalty-free anarchy an open-world sandbox. The thing about GTA is that Rockstar's writing staff is comprised of five or six aspiring ****-joke comedians and one longsuffering 15-year old who is trying very hard to explain How the World Really Works.

[Hurlshort]

There is no argument here. Anyone who has played both knows SR2 is better than GTA4. They are trying to do two different things, and SR2 is much better at what it is trying to do.

[Morgoth]

I actually made the effort to watch a couple of SR2 gameplay movies to understand what all the fuss is about...

 

Okay.

 

The game looks dog**** ugly. I guess I can live with that.

 

But the game also runs like a dog. I guess I can live with that too (hey, I managed to get through Cryostasis so why not)

 

But the game actually plays and feels like a totally lousy amateur job, and that, meine Damen und Herren, is totally inexcusable for today's standards, not to mention for my refined standards.

 

Final verdict: GTA >> SR

Edited November 4, 2011 by Morgoth

[Hurlshort]

Watching a couple gameplay movies does not = playing the game. Thank you for sharing your uninformed opinion though, it is important to have people with wrong opinions because it makes those of us that are right feel superior and warm inside.

[Morgoth]

I did play it a year ago, but only for 10 minutes.

 

Yes, I can make a decision upon that, 'cause I know what too look at when making a decision whether investing more time into a crippled and dumb game or not.

[C2B]

Watching a couple gameplay movies does not = playing the game. Thank you for sharing your uninformed opinion though, it is important to have people with wrong opinions because it makes those of us that are right feel superior and warm inside.

 

Don't you question Morgoths magical ability at judging games.

[Morgoth]

There are some games that do need a bit more time and investment to "warm up", but in the case of SR2, it's really not hard to make judgement. If it looks like a turd, smells like a turd, then it is not by any long stretch certain to say, it is a turd.

 

@ C2B

 

Daymn straight!

Edited November 4, 2011 by Morgoth

[entrerix]

saints row seems to have a target audience of which I am not a part. no skin off my back, just not interested in what they are marketing. I'm only mildly interested in GTA, so a knock-off would have to really be selling something amazing to get me interested, purple dong bats isn't it.

[Nepenthe]

Watching a couple gameplay movies does not = playing the game. Thank you for sharing your uninformed opinion though, it is important to have people with wrong opinions because it makes those of us that are right feel superior and warm inside.

[Crazy Tuvok]

SR2 and GTA are just two totally different kinds of games (at least the more recent GTA games). SR just does not appeal to me in the least, but I get why people might enjoy it. I for one love the direction that the GTA games have been taking graphically, narratively, writing and gameplay wise. I think every iteration better than the one before. Except that I wish they had not dropped the stat building from SA.

 

I do however think that objectively the GTA games certainly look a whole lot better than any SR game.

[Niten_Ryu]

There is no argument here. Anyone who has played both knows SR2 is better than GTA4. They are trying to do two different things, and SR2 is much better at what it is trying to do.

 

Have to disagree with that.

 

I love the contrast in GTA games. Player characters try to be sane (and often failing) in the insane world. It's like warped european view point of the Fox News americana. Personally I'd like it for to be even more subtle, but real-life republican party debates (seriously, that recent Herman Cain ad could be from GTA 4 ) and tea party movement make that impossible.

 

In Saints Row universe everyone know it's insane and act like it. I'd say it's too direct and goofy. No highs and lows. Maybe it's the way of the future and those who love such games will have jolly good time with 'em. I hope GTA brand still continues with it's current path.

[Morgoth]

Yes, humor is a very important part in GTA.

 

It also happens to be that SR series is from an American developer, so maybe I just don't feel so fond of this sort of brutish and unrefined "humor".

[C2B]

These comments are hilarious.

 

The "Not getting Saint's Row 101"

 

But I guess you would actually need to play it to be able to understand it.

[Hassat Hunter]

I neither like the direction GTA takes, nor the one SR has. I am so screwed

 

Then again, there is the golden middle Just Cause. Wonder if they make a III there.

[Calax]

I imagine him as talking like Christopher Walken.

 

Who knows what tone they'll actually take with GTA V. I just hope it has more FUN things to do than IV (IV had a lot of things to do, sure, but not many of them were actually... fun).

[CoM_Solaufein]

No more spam bot. Continue on with the discussion.

[meomao]

There is no argument here. Anyone who has played both knows SR2 is better than GTA4. They are trying to do two different things, and SR2 is much better at what it is trying to do.

 

Red Dead Redemption is better than both, imho. If only for the atmosphere.