GTA IV & Thoughts

So GTA IV finally arrived, and I've played (or watched RoboRoommate v.2 play) for 4-5 hours. I haven't finished it, but I feel like, to those one or two of you who haven't gotten the game, I have some thoughts to share.

I've never been a huge fan of previous GTA games. Usually they're too non-linear, and it's really easy to be distracted and not accomplish anything. The "action" system, ie. shooting, was always lame, and controls in general were shoddy. There wasn't anything keeping me in the game. That's the problem with a sandbox, as opposed to a roller-coaster. You can get out of the sandbox whenever you want.

Controls are somewhat improved. Niko, the protagonist, still sort of "drives like a truck," so to speak, leaning into turns, running into walls, etc. I don't understand why there's a "run" button when there are analog joysticks -- couldn't you just press the thumbstick further to make him run? There are a bajillion buttons that do a bajillion things, and they aren't necessarily very intuitive.

As for the new action control scheme, it's better than before... but still not great. Crackdown is an xbox 360 Sandbox-type action game that implements targeting in a similar manner to GTA IV, but better. Gears of War implements a cover-and-shoot system, but better than GTA IV. I don't understand why no one who developed GTA IV just didn't combine the two.

In GTA IV you can take cover behind objects, lean out and shoot. Good in theory. You can also (theoretically) target different parts of a person's body. It is not super effective. So the verdict on the controls is a modest improvement from previous versions.

As for the gameplay... I think the most amazing thing about GTA is the world they've created. Incredibly dense and involved. But the gameplay itself is much like previous GTAs. The world is more dense... but why would I want to play bowling in GTA, when I can turn on the Wii and play bowling on it much more intuitively and entertaining? Or when I can, you know... just go bowling. Or darts. Etc. There's not enough keeping me involved in the main storyline.

Also, the driving controls still suck.

So I'm going to keep at it, but it's not the "most-amazing-game-ever" that so many reviewers have said. It's the "most-amazing-game-world-ever." The game itself still needs some work. 

Like that's going to stop you.

I also haven't had a chance to listen through the entirety of the new REM, The Long Blondes, or the Raconteurs' albums, but reviews and thoughts are forthcoming. As for a first impression, the new REM is good, with some great songs, but mostly it falls into the "good" category; The Long Blondes have changed their sound so much that I was disappointed with the album, but I'm going to give it another listen to see if it grows on me now that I know what I've gotten myself into; and the Raconteurs' sounds a lot like the White Stripes with more instrumentation than the previous album, but still quality.

LOST tonight.

-RoboNixon