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This thread has been linked to the game 'Grand Theft Auto IV'.
Grand Theft Auto IV
XBOX 360
Here goes nothing, the review of GTA IV has long been in my mind since queueing up outside my local game at midnight for several hours - like a few million other people were that night. The build-up was huge and again highly anticipated. The one question here isn't” Deal or no Deal”, but “worth it or not worth it”.
The game centralises around Niko, an Eastern European immigrant settling down (well actually far from that) in Liberty City. Invited over by the promise of a good life in America, by his colourful cousin Roman, Niko soon gets himself into the world of crime. Hijacking, murder, drug dealing, theft and mugging are all in a day’s work in Liberty City. That's what makes the Grand Theft Auto series great.
Niko gets introduced a metre wide variety of individuals, each more corrupt than the previous. All are interesting and memorable and with a broad sense of personalities. Some are main/storyline mission-based, others just a random people that need your assistance on the many streets of Liberty City. This “random character” set of side missions combined with the procedural missions such as drug dealing, car thefts and vigilante style missions provide plenty of opportunities to remove yourself from the main story if you fancy a change of pace.
More on the subject of characters, certain ones became your friends with Niko and what do friends usually mean? Spending quality time hanging out with one another. At random times during the game your phone will ring and often it will be your friend asking you to do things with them. This could be visiting a strip club, playing a game of pool or darts or just going to a bar and getting hammered (beware the dangers of driving drunk...).
You don't have to wait until they call to hang with them, if you're bored then just give them a call and arrange a visit. Just remember not to call them at an unsociable time. They do not like being woken up at 4 AM when you fancy a pint and a lap dance. Get them to like you enough and they may just be able to assist you in other ways...
This leads me nicely onto the phone function. It will be your hub of social interactions. You can use it to call friends, order a police car or ambulance and emergency and even use it to ID any song on the in game radio. Fail a mission and you can instantly restart it via a text message. Later on you can upgrade it to a camera phone and bling it up with wallpaper and ringtones. You'll find yourself using it more than you would imagine.
With respect to transport, certain vehicles have been cut. Noticeably, there are no planes and no tank. However, great amount of detail has gone into the vehicles available. Trains have made it over to the next generation version, as have the helicopters, making for a more unusual way to travel. Likewise, the inclusion of the taxi as a driveable vehicle may not sound much alone, but taxis can now be stopped by raising your hand and whistling before hopping in the back seat and being driven to your destination. The drive can be skipped so you can emphasise more on the missions in hand, rather than the sandbox distractions you meet driving to your mission destination. It's pretty cheap as well!
The damage engine has greatly improved since the previous games as well. It is more realistic and fun. I decided to try and burning tyres and to my amazement, about 30 seconds of smoke and burning rubber gave me a blow out. Not only do the vehicles take damage, the scenery acts well to the damage engine as well. Crash into a fire hydrant and the water gushes up, lifting up the car as it drives over it. What a nice touch!
Whilst on the subject of nice touches, GTA IV has plenty of them to discuss. The water effects are stunning - you can see the reflection of the skyline, along with the beautiful effect of rising or setting sun. Moreover, the weather was more realistic as well. Sometimes the weather is sunny, other times cloudy with the odd thunderstorm, (which does like to play havoc with the gamepad’s rumble features). Instead of classic fogging techniques that are used to hide away the unprocessed map, the game has a blurring technique instead. This means that scenery becomes focused as you near it -with an amazing blend between background and foreground. You have to see it to understand it and fully appreciate it.
The age old mini-game of collecting packages is back, but in the formidable form of the pigeon (or as the game likes to call them “flying rats”). 200 of these flying rats currently reside in Liberty City and all 200 of them need to be shot. Yes, you guessed it; you have a job of doing that! There are also 50 stunt ramps that need to be jumped from and both of these tasks renew a couple of percent towards your 100% game completion.
On the Xbox 360, the achievements can be quite tough. There is one known as the “Liberty City Minute”, which awards you 30 points or completing the game in less than 30 hours. The 100% achievement is also going to be a killer although it is worth, quite rightly, 100 gamerscore points. There are a few nice ones to go for however – one for escaping a high wanted level, flying under all 14 bridges (that cross water) in the game and one achievement that encourage you to perform a 500 foot wheelie! It is also one of those games when the majority of the achievements unlock near the end of the game, so not a game to earn points quickly on.
Nearing the end of my review now, I do have to give credit to the fantastic soundtrack Rockstar have given us in our game. There are more than 12 radio stations, all filled with decent music and the expected un-PC banter between DJs, along with the outrageous advertisements. Very well done yet again!
So you are looking for something to keep you occupied for about 40 to 50 hours, whether it be spent while in a top-class story, random carnage, living out your sickest fantasies (I'm referring to that interview on the news where the anchor on about having sex with prostitutes and then murdering them...) or just to get cheap thrills from racing up and down the streets of Liberty City then GTA IV is the game for you! It even comes packaged with an online multiplayer - that is a real blast (quite literally!).
78%
XBOX 360
Here goes nothing, the review of GTA IV has long been in my mind since queueing up outside my local game at midnight for several hours - like a few million other people were that night. The build-up was huge and again highly anticipated. The one question here isn't” Deal or no Deal”, but “worth it or not worth it”.
The game centralises around Niko, an Eastern European immigrant settling down (well actually far from that) in Liberty City. Invited over by the promise of a good life in America, by his colourful cousin Roman, Niko soon gets himself into the world of crime. Hijacking, murder, drug dealing, theft and mugging are all in a day’s work in Liberty City. That's what makes the Grand Theft Auto series great.
Niko gets introduced a metre wide variety of individuals, each more corrupt than the previous. All are interesting and memorable and with a broad sense of personalities. Some are main/storyline mission-based, others just a random people that need your assistance on the many streets of Liberty City. This “random character” set of side missions combined with the procedural missions such as drug dealing, car thefts and vigilante style missions provide plenty of opportunities to remove yourself from the main story if you fancy a change of pace.
More on the subject of characters, certain ones became your friends with Niko and what do friends usually mean? Spending quality time hanging out with one another. At random times during the game your phone will ring and often it will be your friend asking you to do things with them. This could be visiting a strip club, playing a game of pool or darts or just going to a bar and getting hammered (beware the dangers of driving drunk...).
You don't have to wait until they call to hang with them, if you're bored then just give them a call and arrange a visit. Just remember not to call them at an unsociable time. They do not like being woken up at 4 AM when you fancy a pint and a lap dance. Get them to like you enough and they may just be able to assist you in other ways...
This leads me nicely onto the phone function. It will be your hub of social interactions. You can use it to call friends, order a police car or ambulance and emergency and even use it to ID any song on the in game radio. Fail a mission and you can instantly restart it via a text message. Later on you can upgrade it to a camera phone and bling it up with wallpaper and ringtones. You'll find yourself using it more than you would imagine.
With respect to transport, certain vehicles have been cut. Noticeably, there are no planes and no tank. However, great amount of detail has gone into the vehicles available. Trains have made it over to the next generation version, as have the helicopters, making for a more unusual way to travel. Likewise, the inclusion of the taxi as a driveable vehicle may not sound much alone, but taxis can now be stopped by raising your hand and whistling before hopping in the back seat and being driven to your destination. The drive can be skipped so you can emphasise more on the missions in hand, rather than the sandbox distractions you meet driving to your mission destination. It's pretty cheap as well!
The damage engine has greatly improved since the previous games as well. It is more realistic and fun. I decided to try and burning tyres and to my amazement, about 30 seconds of smoke and burning rubber gave me a blow out. Not only do the vehicles take damage, the scenery acts well to the damage engine as well. Crash into a fire hydrant and the water gushes up, lifting up the car as it drives over it. What a nice touch!
Whilst on the subject of nice touches, GTA IV has plenty of them to discuss. The water effects are stunning - you can see the reflection of the skyline, along with the beautiful effect of rising or setting sun. Moreover, the weather was more realistic as well. Sometimes the weather is sunny, other times cloudy with the odd thunderstorm, (which does like to play havoc with the gamepad’s rumble features). Instead of classic fogging techniques that are used to hide away the unprocessed map, the game has a blurring technique instead. This means that scenery becomes focused as you near it -with an amazing blend between background and foreground. You have to see it to understand it and fully appreciate it.
The age old mini-game of collecting packages is back, but in the formidable form of the pigeon (or as the game likes to call them “flying rats”). 200 of these flying rats currently reside in Liberty City and all 200 of them need to be shot. Yes, you guessed it; you have a job of doing that! There are also 50 stunt ramps that need to be jumped from and both of these tasks renew a couple of percent towards your 100% game completion.
On the Xbox 360, the achievements can be quite tough. There is one known as the “Liberty City Minute”, which awards you 30 points or completing the game in less than 30 hours. The 100% achievement is also going to be a killer although it is worth, quite rightly, 100 gamerscore points. There are a few nice ones to go for however – one for escaping a high wanted level, flying under all 14 bridges (that cross water) in the game and one achievement that encourage you to perform a 500 foot wheelie! It is also one of those games when the majority of the achievements unlock near the end of the game, so not a game to earn points quickly on.
Nearing the end of my review now, I do have to give credit to the fantastic soundtrack Rockstar have given us in our game. There are more than 12 radio stations, all filled with decent music and the expected un-PC banter between DJs, along with the outrageous advertisements. Very well done yet again!
So you are looking for something to keep you occupied for about 40 to 50 hours, whether it be spent while in a top-class story, random carnage, living out your sickest fantasies (I'm referring to that interview on the news where the anchor on about having sex with prostitutes and then murdering them...) or just to get cheap thrills from racing up and down the streets of Liberty City then GTA IV is the game for you! It even comes packaged with an online multiplayer - that is a real blast (quite literally!).
78%
i love xbox 360s they r legend best thing ever soo stuff it up urs sony and ps3
Grand Theft Auto IV
XBOX 360
Here goes nothing, the review of GTA IV has long been in my mind since queueing up outside my local game at midnight for several hours - like a few million other people were that night. The build-up was huge and again highly anticipated. The one question here isn't” Deal or no Deal”, but “worth it or not worth it”.
The game centralises around Niko, an Eastern European immigrant settling down (well actually far from that) in Liberty City. Invited over by the promise of a good life in America, by his colourful cousin Roman, Niko soon gets himself into the world of crime. Hijacking, murder, drug dealing, theft and mugging are all in a day’s work in Liberty City. That's what makes the Grand Theft Auto series great.
Niko gets introduced a metre wide variety of individuals, each more corrupt than the previous. All are interesting and memorable and with a broad sense of personalities. Some are main/storyline mission-based, others just a random people that need your assistance on the many streets of Liberty City. This “random character” set of side missions combined with the procedural missions such as drug dealing, car thefts and vigilante style missions provide plenty of opportunities to remove yourself from the main story if you fancy a change of pace.
More on the subject of characters, certain ones became your friends with Niko and what do friends usually mean? Spending quality time hanging out with one another. At random times during the game your phone will ring and often it will be your friend asking you to do things with them. This could be visiting a strip club, playing a game of pool or darts or just going to a bar and getting hammered (beware the dangers of driving drunk...).
You don't have to wait until they call to hang with them, if you're bored then just give them a call and arrange a visit. Just remember not to call them at an unsociable time. They do not like being woken up at 4 AM when you fancy a pint and a lap dance. Get them to like you enough and they may just be able to assist you in other ways...
This leads me nicely onto the phone function. It will be your hub of social interactions. You can use it to call friends, order a police car or ambulance and emergency and even use it to ID any song on the in game radio. Fail a mission and you can instantly restart it via a text message. Later on you can upgrade it to a camera phone and bling it up with wallpaper and ringtones. You'll find yourself using it more than you would imagine.
With respect to transport, certain vehicles have been cut. Noticeably, there are no planes and no tank. However, great amount of detail has gone into the vehicles available. Trains have made it over to the next generation version, as have the helicopters, making for a more unusual way to travel. Likewise, the inclusion of the taxi as a driveable vehicle may not sound much alone, but taxis can now be stopped by raising your hand and whistling before hopping in the back seat and being driven to your destination. The drive can be skipped so you can emphasise more on the missions in hand, rather than the sandbox distractions you meet driving to your mission destination. It's pretty cheap as well!
The damage engine has greatly improved since the previous games as well. It is more realistic and fun. I decided to try and burning tyres and to my amazement, about 30 seconds of smoke and burning rubber gave me a blow out. Not only do the vehicles take damage, the scenery acts well to the damage engine as well. Crash into a fire hydrant and the water gushes up, lifting up the car as it drives over it. What a nice touch!
Whilst on the subject of nice touches, GTA IV has plenty of them to discuss. The water effects are stunning - you can see the reflection of the skyline, along with the beautiful effect of rising or setting sun. Moreover, the weather was more realistic as well. Sometimes the weather is sunny, other times cloudy with the odd thunderstorm, (which does like to play havoc with the gamepad’s rumble features). Instead of classic fogging techniques that are used to hide away the unprocessed map, the game has a blurring technique instead. This means that scenery becomes focused as you near it -with an amazing blend between background and foreground. You have to see it to understand it and fully appreciate it.
The age old mini-game of collecting packages is back, but in the formidable form of the pigeon (or as the game likes to call them “flying rats”). 200 of these flying rats currently reside in Liberty City and all 200 of them need to be shot. Yes, you guessed it; you have a job of doing that! There are also 50 stunt ramps that need to be jumped from and both of these tasks renew a couple of percent towards your 100% game completion.
On the Xbox 360, the achievements can be quite tough. There is one known as the “Liberty City Minute”, which awards you 30 points or completing the game in less than 30 hours. The 100% achievement is also going to be a killer although it is worth, quite rightly, 100 gamerscore points. There are a few nice ones to go for however – one for escaping a high wanted level, flying under all 14 bridges (that cross water) in the game and one achievement that encourage you to perform a 500 foot wheelie! It is also one of those games when the majority of the achievements unlock near the end of the game, so not a game to earn points quickly on.
Nearing the end of my review now, I do have to give credit to the fantastic soundtrack Rockstar have given us in our game. There are more than 12 radio stations, all filled with decent music and the expected un-PC banter between DJs, along with the outrageous advertisements. Very well done yet again!
So you are looking for something to keep you occupied for about 40 to 50 hours, whether it be spent while in a top-class story, random carnage, living out your sickest fantasies (I'm referring to that interview on the news where the anchor on about having sex with prostitutes and then murdering them...) or just to get cheap thrills from racing up and down the streets of Liberty City then GTA IV is the game for you! It even comes packaged with an online multiplayer - that is a real blast (quite literally!).
78%
XBOX 360
Here goes nothing, the review of GTA IV has long been in my mind since queueing up outside my local game at midnight for several hours - like a few million other people were that night. The build-up was huge and again highly anticipated. The one question here isn't” Deal or no Deal”, but “worth it or not worth it”.
The game centralises around Niko, an Eastern European immigrant settling down (well actually far from that) in Liberty City. Invited over by the promise of a good life in America, by his colourful cousin Roman, Niko soon gets himself into the world of crime. Hijacking, murder, drug dealing, theft and mugging are all in a day’s work in Liberty City. That's what makes the Grand Theft Auto series great.
Niko gets introduced a metre wide variety of individuals, each more corrupt than the previous. All are interesting and memorable and with a broad sense of personalities. Some are main/storyline mission-based, others just a random people that need your assistance on the many streets of Liberty City. This “random character” set of side missions combined with the procedural missions such as drug dealing, car thefts and vigilante style missions provide plenty of opportunities to remove yourself from the main story if you fancy a change of pace.
More on the subject of characters, certain ones became your friends with Niko and what do friends usually mean? Spending quality time hanging out with one another. At random times during the game your phone will ring and often it will be your friend asking you to do things with them. This could be visiting a strip club, playing a game of pool or darts or just going to a bar and getting hammered (beware the dangers of driving drunk...).
You don't have to wait until they call to hang with them, if you're bored then just give them a call and arrange a visit. Just remember not to call them at an unsociable time. They do not like being woken up at 4 AM when you fancy a pint and a lap dance. Get them to like you enough and they may just be able to assist you in other ways...
This leads me nicely onto the phone function. It will be your hub of social interactions. You can use it to call friends, order a police car or ambulance and emergency and even use it to ID any song on the in game radio. Fail a mission and you can instantly restart it via a text message. Later on you can upgrade it to a camera phone and bling it up with wallpaper and ringtones. You'll find yourself using it more than you would imagine.
With respect to transport, certain vehicles have been cut. Noticeably, there are no planes and no tank. However, great amount of detail has gone into the vehicles available. Trains have made it over to the next generation version, as have the helicopters, making for a more unusual way to travel. Likewise, the inclusion of the taxi as a driveable vehicle may not sound much alone, but taxis can now be stopped by raising your hand and whistling before hopping in the back seat and being driven to your destination. The drive can be skipped so you can emphasise more on the missions in hand, rather than the sandbox distractions you meet driving to your mission destination. It's pretty cheap as well!
The damage engine has greatly improved since the previous games as well. It is more realistic and fun. I decided to try and burning tyres and to my amazement, about 30 seconds of smoke and burning rubber gave me a blow out. Not only do the vehicles take damage, the scenery acts well to the damage engine as well. Crash into a fire hydrant and the water gushes up, lifting up the car as it drives over it. What a nice touch!
Whilst on the subject of nice touches, GTA IV has plenty of them to discuss. The water effects are stunning - you can see the reflection of the skyline, along with the beautiful effect of rising or setting sun. Moreover, the weather was more realistic as well. Sometimes the weather is sunny, other times cloudy with the odd thunderstorm, (which does like to play havoc with the gamepad’s rumble features). Instead of classic fogging techniques that are used to hide away the unprocessed map, the game has a blurring technique instead. This means that scenery becomes focused as you near it -with an amazing blend between background and foreground. You have to see it to understand it and fully appreciate it.
The age old mini-game of collecting packages is back, but in the formidable form of the pigeon (or as the game likes to call them “flying rats”). 200 of these flying rats currently reside in Liberty City and all 200 of them need to be shot. Yes, you guessed it; you have a job of doing that! There are also 50 stunt ramps that need to be jumped from and both of these tasks renew a couple of percent towards your 100% game completion.
On the Xbox 360, the achievements can be quite tough. There is one known as the “Liberty City Minute”, which awards you 30 points or completing the game in less than 30 hours. The 100% achievement is also going to be a killer although it is worth, quite rightly, 100 gamerscore points. There are a few nice ones to go for however – one for escaping a high wanted level, flying under all 14 bridges (that cross water) in the game and one achievement that encourage you to perform a 500 foot wheelie! It is also one of those games when the majority of the achievements unlock near the end of the game, so not a game to earn points quickly on.
Nearing the end of my review now, I do have to give credit to the fantastic soundtrack Rockstar have given us in our game. There are more than 12 radio stations, all filled with decent music and the expected un-PC banter between DJs, along with the outrageous advertisements. Very well done yet again!
So you are looking for something to keep you occupied for about 40 to 50 hours, whether it be spent while in a top-class story, random carnage, living out your sickest fantasies (I'm referring to that interview on the news where the anchor on about having sex with prostitutes and then murdering them...) or just to get cheap thrills from racing up and down the streets of Liberty City then GTA IV is the game for you! It even comes packaged with an online multiplayer - that is a real blast (quite literally!).
78%