First Impressions: GTA IV
May 2nd, 2008
I’ve played a little Grand Theft Auto IV since purchasing it earlier this week. I certainly wish I had more time with it, but with my schedule as of late, the hour or two I’ve invested is all I could muster up. Now, let me start out with the good. The game looks great, I hesitate to say that it’s the best looking Grand Theft Auto to date, simply because it’s on the newest generation of consoles. In addition, the acting is phenomenal, and the expressiveness of the characters are fantastic.
Because I am so early in the game, I can’t speak for all the gameplay, but I wish the driving mechanic was better. I’m sorry, it isn’t the driving that’s getting to me, but the camera. I can not, for the life of me, orient the camera fast enough. I expect it to be inverted, and it is on the Y axis, but I would also like it inverted on the X axis. Also, the car almost seems to block the view of road more than I would like. I wish the camera would push back a little just so I can see what’s ahead so I don’t ram into cars in front of me.
The hand to hand combat is wonky and stilted. I feel a delay when I push the button to when Niko actually punches, or kicks. As for the dodging and blocking, I wonder whether or not this is actually working. In one instance, I basically stood stationary as a character was slashing me with his knife while I’m trying to frantically dodge and disarm to no avail. Another attempt during the same instances, I stood stationery as the same character continued to try and slash me with his knife, but I took no damage. All I had to do was punch him a few times and he went down.
In regards to reviews this game received from the press, I think they are bloated. I understand the sheer scope of the game is massive, but from what I’ve played so far, it’s Grand Theft Auto with a few improvements but many of the same faults as the previous games. Still, the game does deserve many accolades, but I certainly wouldn’t have given a perfect score to a flawed game.
