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Mini-Review of GTAIV for PC [Ranting]

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p3lb0x:
What I love the most from the videoes I have seen from GTAIV (Since I haven't played the game) are the ragdoll physics, it looks absolutely hilarious when you run people over

wreckedcarzz:
I slammed into a truck and killed a guy (long story...) over the course of several minutes and during this time one of the police units was on the other side of the intersection, watching. I nearly hit him in my SUV (I practically pressed my spacebar (e-brake) into the keyboard tray) and he just kept on going. I don't like being chased for red lights and speeding and stuff though, that's where Driver lost me.

It was amusing hitting a guy whom gave me the finger and then watching his head bounce off the hood with blood on the grill/hood... no, no anger issues here ;D :P

If only it would run another 5 FPS faster *sigh* :(

PC Gamer:
Although it’s not my kind of game,
It’s a great review!
The combination of Text and Pictures makes it actually perfect!
Keep going on doing such a great job!

I myself reviewed Grand Theft Auto: Vice City .

Innuendo:
GTAIV is a sandbox/action/roleplaying game where you take on the roll of Niko Bellic.-wreckedcarzz
--- End quote ---

Okay, this is my OCD rather than a problem with you personally, but my OCD demands I type this for fear my head will explode: You take on the ROLE of Niko Bellic. Role as in role-playing (which you correctly spelled earlier) and not roll as in a kaiser or other bread product. Again, sorry...my pet peeve urge is strong. :)

Now, back to your review....I'm not a GTA player and never will be. It's not my kind of game. Give me something like Sacred 2, Fallout 3, any Silent Hill game, etc. and I'd be much happier than if I had to play GTA. My nephew, however, loves the series so I'll be relating his viewpoints regarding gameplay rather than my own.

GTA IV is a pig. Run it on the recommended requirements and it is a pig. Run it on top of the line hardware and while it'll run better, it's still a close relative to a pig. Run it on hardware that is below the recommended requirements for the game like you're doing, you're doomed to feeling like you're trying to push around a 30 pound concrete block around your living room using only your nose.

That's not a slam against you or your hardware. I've bought games before that had minimum hardware recommendations I didn't meet & I was always able to tweak the settings to get something playable out of it. Such is not the case with GTA IV. Optimizing the code in any significant way obviously didn't enter the minds of the Rockstar guys at all.

What's worse is that even if you are willing to put up with the sluggishness you are not left feeling rewarded for your efforts at all. It looks like a GTA game. It sounds like a GTA game. It plays like a GTA game. But it doesn't 'feel' like a GTA game. You're running around feeling like some of the magic is gone or that something you can't put your finger on got left out. However, my nephew has played all the GTA games so maybe he's got a jaded "been there, done that, seen it all" outlook, but I don't think so because he still plays GTA 3 a lot.

And  yes, of all the versions the PC version is the most poorly ported and the poorest performing. However, it's still the version to buy because in a year or two  when you get a new computer it's going to play the game more smoothly. The console versions are locked in time. They are tied to platforms that will never improve so the performance you are getting now is all the performance you will ever see.

Your list of gripes was long. It would have been nice to see a screenshot or two backing up your words.

wreckedcarzz:
@Innuendo:
I didn't notice I put the wrong spelling of role :P I'll fix that now

I've played GTA2, GTA3, Vice City, Liberty City Stories, San Andreas and now a tiny bit of GTA4 and I still find it fun, but I'm in it for the free roaming world and not the actual storyline or anything. (GTA3 was the sh*t, I still play it as well)

I got off of console gaming due to my want to mod/hack/tweak/etc, but the point of consoles not being upgradable (the next big thing? :-\) is something to point out as well.

I might go and re-install GTAIV and grab some images (with Xfire In-Game on, showing the horrible FPS count) and maybe use my small camera/camcorder to get some video (letting the CPU take video as well would lead to a possible hard lockup). It took me the better part of 45 minutes to get from the menu through the first mission :tellme:

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