We're talking about GTA IV vs. 3D era now? Alrighty then.
The reasoning behind this was especially a slap in the face (Niko is an immigrant, he wouldn't care about flying planes, using military weaponry and equipment, using parachutes, upgrading and customizing vehicles, etc. etc. after San Andreas had CJ doing all that shit).
While you're objectively right about IV being drastically different than previous GTAs (and I agree), I feel with R*'s intent for the next generation and scope, it was a necessary decision. R* stated that they originally wanted to be ambitious with IV, but
technological limitations with the new engine and hardware had them scale things back a bit.
The only problem with the story is that it doesn't make sense at all when taken into context of the open world, a problem that only matters because they were so god damn serious about making the open world grounded for the sake of the story.
Personally, I felt IV's Liberty City matched the tone of Niko's story. Although I will say that many locations felt similar to one another save for a few landmarks.
"da fren activitiy replace da gameplay"
They didn't replace shit. They were an expanded version of that shit from San Andreas with the gilfriends. SA literally had the same thing, right down to playing billiards at dates and shit.
Correct. IV expanded on the girlfriends mechanic from San Andreas and made it better. I never cared much about the girlfriends in SA, but an underrated aspect with the friends/girlfriend system is the character development between Niko and them. Characters exist outside of being mission givers; they have actual character.
Ambulance and all the other crap got cut because they were fucking terrible. 10 'levels' of the same 30 second gameplay loop to waste your time for half an hour. Only reason you would ever play that shit in the old games is to get infinite sprint or the hp boost, or whatever other bonus they gave.
Agreed, I despised the gameplay loop of Ambulance more than Taxi and Firefighter. Driving to, picking up and dropping off peds on a time and damage limit isn't the best use of your time. Especially with GTA SA being so vast with dead space in between hospitals.
Vigilante got turned into an actually fun diversion in IV instead of the old crap one.
You could leave the car when you get to the mission marker AND call for backup. I found them a nice replacement to Rampages with a purpose. One, you could do as many as you wish thanks to procedural generation with the side mission.
The "mission structure scripting and variety", is just the biggest horseshit argument too. IV has the same mission design as San Andreas.
- Missions that are based around/introduce a mechanic
- Gimmick mission
I recall three gimmicks with GTA IV's mission structure: the cell phone, tailing and those "choices" at the end of missions.
Anyways, for all the talk about GTA IV's great story, I still feel like it would have been far more impactful if at the end Niko did have all the shit Roman promised him at the expense of either his best friend or an innocent woman he loved. The line "So this is what the dream feels like. This is the victory we longed for." probably would have had a lot more impact if Niko actually did achieve the "dream" and didn't just wake up in a shitty apartment with absolutely nothing.
The "dream" for Niko was to leave behind the past in Liberty City. But his past kept creeping up behind him at the expense of him and the people around him.
And here I am enjoying both San Andreas and GTA IV, am I an outlier in the GTA community?
I enjoyed both. San Andreas for the gang environment and IV for the story. But neither have aged well as time progressed and similar games outdid both in mechanics and execution.
Notice he didn't go into my main point about how boring the fucking open world was. I'm sure he'll come back with "but Euphoria physics!1!1!" like some sort of autistic Valve fanboy.
One big gripe with IV is after you're finished with the story, what's left to do? It leaves you thinking all Niko did was for nothing. You can't do much with your money. The city is too claustrophobic. The game doesn't even reward you for going to 100% completion. An achievement and "limitless ammo," wow thanks. I shot these hard to reach birds only for you to give me an achievement? Thanks Ubisoft, I mean R*.
Somebody mentioned that GTA IV is a competent third person shooter. Causing mayhem in IV feels like a survival game with the cover system, heavy driving, weapon mechanic and search function of the LCPD. It's not "fun," just a challenging chore.
