Not a Ten
Top Ten Reasons Why GTA IV is not a Ten
I feel that I must start with a disclaimer: I like GTA IV. It's a great game and easily the best in the series so far. I have fun playing it and by no means do I think it's a *bad* game. But I can't say it's a game that deserves a perfect score, at least not by Gamespot's definition.
I don't expect anyone to agree with all of the points below, I only hope that you can agree that GTA IV has flaws. Most are not serious, but all are more than trivial if one is to consider the end product a "Masterpiece" and reward it a perfect score.
And so, without further ado...
10) Character Movement/Combat
-The "new" combat system was touted and trumpeted as revolutionary. But other games have already discovered the concept of lock-on targeting and those same other games have done it better. While the new combat mechanic is certainly a step up, it feels like it's still just not quite perfected. Even basic movement in this title is still not quite right. In every single GTA since III, character movement has been a bit wonky. It's difficult to describe, but while running straight forward may be easy, it feels as though you cannot turn on a dime. There is a sort of "walk in a wide circle" that takes place. If you've played any GTA games you probably know what I'm getting at. Yes, you get used to it, but shouldn't it have been corrected by now? How many iterations of GTA have there been? How many opportunities to get it right??
9) Car Control
-Compared to previous GTA's the cars are downright sloppy. Nevermind the fact that I hate the new default control scheme, or that switching to the old control scheme leaves the gas pedal and answering your phone mapped to the same button. In previous GTAs I could power slide, J-hook and just plain drive the snot out of each car. Obviously a "Corvette" handled a lot better than a Garbage Truck, but each vehicle had its own personality and finesse. This time around the gas pedal is way too sensitive, cars float all over the road, and getting through town at any speed is just a chore.
8 ) Camera
-When driving, why does the camera insist upon dropping to the pavement almost immediately after releasing the analog stick? Heaven forbid you should want to see what's ahead of you as you tear through town! I understand the need to keep a camera perspective- after-all, it would be worse if the camera didn't reset it's perspective at all. However, compared to previous entries in the series, the camera is a step backward.
7) Maintaining Relationships
-I'd really appreciate it if game designers would respect the fact that real life has enough boring and repetitive errands. I'd love it if they would kindly refrain from forcing me to spend what little gaming time I have grinding out chores to keep all of my NPC friends happy. If I wanted to spend a significant portion of my gaming experience maintaining relationships with my cyber-buddies I would play the Sims.
6) Music/Soundtrack
-GTA is well-known for its soundtracks. Previous entries in the series have really done a great job of capturing the essence of the game musically. Let's face it, this soundtrack sucks. I can only stand one station out of how many, and even that one is only tolerable about half the time. I understand that music is a huge matter of taste and I don't expect to enjoy 100% of the tunes, I'm simply stating that the previous entries did a far better job of music selection.
5) Balancing/Luck
-There is a tendency for random chance to dictate the outcome of many tasks. This is directed at multiplayer but does still apply to the single player experience. As an example, during Mafia Work an objective may spawn right next to team A while team B is halfway across the map therefore making it pretty much impossible for team B to have a snowball's chance at completing the objective first.
4) "New" Wanted System
-First of all, the so-called "new" wanted system isn't really new or innovative. The concept has been used on previous games, even in the previous generation of consoles. What makes the system frustrating is the ridiculous density of police. I'd like to know what Liberty City's law enforcement payroll looks like with a cop at every corner and a cop car every other block. After many missions I found myself spending five to ten minutes driving around in order to clear my wanted level until I finally just started letting myself get busted- at least I can get on with the game that way.
3) Auto Aim/Lock
-While on foot I have the option of locking onto a target or using free aim, but while driving free aim is the only option. Does that strike anyone else as odd? Aiming while driving is a true test of multitasking ability and seems to warrant more need for an auto-aim feature than running around on foot. The lock-on itself is flawed in several ways as well. Often times, once you've locked to a target, the game refuses to switch targets despite your best efforts. Also, while I originally thought the Crackdown-esque ability to aim at discrete parts of your target (i.e. headshots vs legs) would be an improvement, the precision required to make a headshot on a moving target leads to a lot of misses, which in turn incents me to choose quantity over quality- abandoning precision aim altogether in favour of unloading a hail of gunfire on the target's centre of mass.
2) Checkpoints, or Lack Thereof
-Most missions are activated in one area, but require you to travel to another destination before things really heat up. Why then, am I required to drive the same three minutes of map over and over every time I take an unlucky bullet to the noggin just before I complete the mission? Checkpoints are not a new concept. Why doesn't GTA IV incorporate them?
Drumroll, please...
1) Expectations
-The deepest cut of all is that the original release date was pushed, accompanied by an explanation from the developer that the game just needed a bit more polish. If this is what half a year of extra polish looks like, I cringe at the thought of what the game would have looked like if it had released on time.
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So let me summarise by reiterating that I enjoy GTA IV. It's not a bad game at all. It's exactly what one comes to expect from a sequel- the same core formula that made you love the game in the first place, with a few new additions to keep things fresh. My argument is simply that achieving a perfect score requires more. It requires well-thought and totally fleshed out concepts. It requires a degree of polish that makes it hard to find fault. It requires innovation that redefines the very essence of gaming- it must be mindblowing. And as much fun as GTA IV may be, it is not mindblowing and therefore is not a ten.
