After spending 40+ hours with Grand Theft Auto IV, I thought I experienced enough of it to really share my views on this monolith sized game. Like many folks out there, I adore the game. More so than the previous installments where I found much of the praise to be misplaced — they were good games, but for good the sum of their parts and not the finer details. Did GTAIV change all that? Mostly.
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Another record was set by GTAIV. This one, however, is quite significant. After a week of sales, Rockstar’s baby raked in $500 million. That’s a lot of millions. Pirates of The Carribean: At World’s End did $404 million and Halo 3 did $310 million. As for copies sold? 6 million units were sold worldwide.
Shit. I was shocked.
I strongly believe the release of Grand Theft Auto IV is a step forward for the video game medium. Not because of its record breaking development cost or its near flawless critical accolades, but because they are talking about it as well.
You know who they are. Your dad, your neighbour, the mainstream media anchors of the evening — they’re talking about GTAIV along with us. Not all of it is kind or correct, but they are acknowledging its presence in the entertainment world. Why is this more important than say… Halo 3’s launch? Because of the fact that not all coverage for GTAIV has been about the evils of this so called “murder simulator”. Shooting aliens is one thing, but people? This is the fourth numeric installment from a franchise rife with controversy — the material is there for the media to rip into, but they don’t.
Are people becoming more understanding? I mean, they are talking about the possibility of GTAIV rivaling summer blockbusters and breaking sales records. Or is it a sign of our beloved medium maturing?
Notice anything different with the title? Yeah, it’s not longer “No_Style’s Checkpoint”, because I’m claiming the entire ‘Checkpoint’ thing as my own now. The rest of you QSF5 editors can find your own schtick.
First, I’d like to point out this hot deal for a Pink, Onyx or Polar White Nintendo DS for $99.99 — that’s $30 - $40 off depending on where you’re looking. If you enjoy different kinds of games and aren’t afraid of experimenting with your gaming orientation: pick one up.
My is on its way here– it’s in the hands of the Canada Post. If I had to garner a guess, I’d say it’s coming anytime this week. In the meantime, I’ve had the pleasure of reading reports of GTAIV freezes. Imagine going to EB Games or Best Buy at 12 AM only to come home and play a freezing mess.
For both the Xbox 360 and the PS3? That’s according to Kotaku.
According to some PS3 owners, they could fix their problems if they re-install the game data. Good advice, if it works, but if it doesn’t: Rockstar can’t help you yet. I have no idea how widespread this problem is, but if it is indeed a problem, I hope Rockstar fixes it before I get my copy.
I also hope they fix the PS3 online issues which have risen.
Metal Gear Online is now live for everyone meaning I’ll be spending time with it – the amount of time will depend on its quality. So expect something written up about this. As for the game, I have some idea what to expect, but it’s all very vague. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if I just don’t get what MGO is all about.
Grand Theft Auto 4 is just around the corner and reviews are beginning to crop up. IGN’s review is lengthy, but I didn’t bother reading it since it’s just a lot of anecdotes which you shouldn’t be reading, but experiencing for your own. IGN gave it a 10/10. Shocking? No. As for the differences between the PS3 and XBOX 360 versions, it appears that speculation of the PS3 version being “technically superior” appears to be true:
What is this? Spam?! No, just some stuff you may like to sign up for.
Meanwhile, I’m still trying to create my Konami and Game ID’s for the Metal Gear Online Premiere Beta.
Instead of making to small posts about these trivial things, let’s make it into one.
First, an in-game shot of GTAIV featuring its simplistic HUD courteousy of GTAGaming.com. Pretty simple isn’t?
Next, a screenshot from the latest build of the PlayStation 3 “exclusive”, Haze, courteousy of Shacknews:
Looks pretty good to me, but I won’t get my hopes up until the demo is released in early May. The demo will feature 4 player co-op and a taste of the game’s single player.
Here it is. The final GTAIV trailer. Improved framerate confirmed.
I have my pre-order. Do you?
Not sure what to think of this. BioShock was an excellent experience, but should it have a sequel? Ken Levine is involved, but to what degree? 2K Marin, newly founded by some former developers of the original BioShock team, are the lucky (or unlucky?) developers which have been tasked with bringing a worthy sequel to one of 2007’s finest games. I wish them all the best. No news on platforms, but we can safely assume the PC and XBOX 360 are definitely in the picture
Other Take Two news include the 2009 fiscal release window (between Nov. 1st 2008 and Oct. 31st 2009) for both Mafia 2 and Gearbox’s Borderlands. Apparently, Mafia 2 was delayed thanks to GTAIV. Sadness.
