Viewing Thread:
"Well colour me impressed"

Nope, nothing to do with colour, but I couldn't bring myself to come up with a poncy topic heading like "Hype-A-Go-Go" or some cheese.

Nope, although this is along one of the regular "Hype" type posts.

I've been playing GTA3 solidly since about 10pm tonight, and most of yesterday.
Why was this not advertised heavily and promoted and so on and so forth like GT3 was?
Or MGS2 is?
Why do those genuinely amazing games not get the backing that others do?
We all knew about GT3, counted down the days, read reviews, talked about it and reviewed the demo.
Same with MGS2, we've talked about everyhing you can think of.
But GTA3 came along and suprised the hell out of us all eh?

Not much advertising, not much hype, it just quietly slipped onto the shelves and suddenly
BLAM!!!!!!!!
We're all calling it the best game on the PS2 ever.
With a good reason.
Top gameplay, excellent plot, non-linear gameplay, awesome graphics and blah blah blah (this isn't a review of GTA3, go somewhere else you damn dirty reviewers).

No. My point is, I don't get why the really class games can appear with little fanfare.
On the PC, Black and White was hyped for months, reviews/features/demos/previews, until we all thought it was the 2nd coming.
And it was good, but not massively brilliant.
And Max Payne came out and redefined the 3rd person shooter.
Yet there was no hype for it, no promo.
It just sat on the shelf and said "Hello. I am Max Payne" in a quiet, understated voice.
And now it's regarded as one of the most impressive titles on any platform, ever.
Damn right it is, as you console monkeys will discover soon enough.

So why was GT3 given a promo budget larger than the Manic Street Preachers Drummer's waistline?
Sure, it's a good game. Nice graphics etc, but it's still just a racing game. And a sequel, nothing changed about it.
"Start race/win race/buy better car/repeat".
And then there's GTA3.
Same principle of the other 2 games, but it's The Daddy.
If you own a PS2, you should have this game.
If not? Tsk Tsk, shame on you.

But we didn't really get excited over it did we?
Why not?
Why did Max Payne and GTA3 just come out quietly and politely?
These games make having a PC/PS2 worthwhile.
If I were the developers/distributors of these games, I would have been tub-thumping for months, to get us excited and queing up to buy it asap.

Didn't happen though.
And I like that to be honest.
It feels like I found this game by myself, I wasn't led by the marketing machine.
It was my own little discovery and I feel glad I got it.
Maybe that's the appeal?
Like with some movies, the thrill of knowing that you found it yourself, and you get to promote it to your mates?

Dunno.
Just find it amusing that crap gets magazine ads etc, whilst GTA3 and Max Payne slunk out and just sat there, smiling smugly because they knew they owned the shelves, they were just waiting for you to realise it too.

GTA rocks.
Big time.
I now work for the Yakuza and The Yardies.
I can't show my face in the 1st map, because The Triads hate me and shoot at me as soon as I drive through Chinatown.
The Mafia want to kill me, because they think I got it on with Salvatore's mistress, and The Diablos?
They yank me out of the car the moment I stop in their turf.
(Ok, so maybe I shouldn't have taken 2 Yardies on a drive-by spree, but they asked nicely).

Tell your mates about GTA3, tell them to get a PS2 if they need to.
Just tell people, because the developers didnt.
And god knows why.

Yeah, I think YH probably got it right there.
If you advertised this game, it would be the subject of the usual hysteria from the worry-worts.

I love the fact that I wasn't really going to get this, I thought "I played the other 2 and they were ok".
Then just thought "Oh what the hell, I'm bored so I'll get it."

And it has been the single most impressive title since Max Payne, purely for doing something new.
I think this is the 1st title to really show the PS2 and it's capabilities.

It's the little touches that make me sit slack-jawed.
The reflection of the rain and smearing of the lights as you pass, the fog settling in real-time.
The plot?
fantastic.
But you can just do what the heck you want to, and no penalties for not playing along with the story.

Ali said that GTA3 even took SR by surprise, and I think that's pretty much true for everywhere.
MGS2 we know is going to be good, we know it's going to sell like nothing else and we know it will make us giggle with glee.

But for my money, GTA3 is the single most entertaining game I have played in a looooooooong time.
And it just crept out onto the shelves.

Fantastic.

I first saw Deus Ex about two or three years before it was released. It looked utterly amazing.

Next time I saw it was a review on IGN. It got a high mark.

Then I saw it, bought it. What an amazing game.

I'd NEVER heard of Deus Ex until I saw it in the shop. I thought it looked good, so I got it. Turned out it was PC Game Of The Year.

Half Life was the same. There was a single crappy advert with a baby with a "h" thingy on it's eye, and it's probably of the best games on the pc.

Also, have you noticed that there are no children in GTA3?

I guess the developers thought it would be a bit much if you could beat a child to death with a baseball bat, then steal their pocket money.

But is that any different from beating and old person up and stealing their pension?


Hmmmmmm.

Max Payne was hyped up a little in the PC press. It was revealed at E3, and after that there were a few features and stuff run in magazines. Nothing anywhere near the extent of GT3 or MGS 2 though.

However, could the lack of advertising be because of the content of the games?

GT3 is just a driving game, no violence, no swearing. Just cars. Going fast. MGS2, you play the hero, only doing what you need to do to save the world.

GTA3?

Do whatever the fudge you want, as long as it's illegal.

See? What would the adverts for GTA3 been like? "Hey, your Boss p!ss you off today? Don't worry, when you get home you can steal a police car and run over old women to make yourself feel better! GTA 3, available NOW."

I suspect that it is because of this GTA 3 just got released. No hype, hardly any features in magazines, no demos. Just review, then a box on the shelf next time you go into town.

I personally think that, right or wrong, the game would not have been the same had it been hyped up, with every one knowing you could do drive by shootings etc.

Which is good, in my view the game is pretty damn perfect. I'm still on the first Island, just messing about most of the time. Got to the Mission for Toni where you have to kill the Triad Leaders. It's made difficult as whenever I go into ChinaTown, everyone starts shooting at me.

I need to get it done as I want to open up the rest of the game, but it's more appealing to see how long I can outrun the police when I have 4 stars and there's a helicopter and stuff chasing me.

Yep, GTA3 even caught us by surprise. Still haven't got my copy yet.

That's my point Tarrant.
You are introducing this game to your mates, most of my mates haven't even heard of it.
This is a game that we bought because we thought it looked good, not because of some massive ad campaign.

GTA3 rocks, and we all found out for ourselves, through people recommending it to us.

I like to bring people to my house, well ones that have at least a foot in the gaming world, put GTA3 on pass them the pad, then sit and watch them as the game begins.

Oh its funny! The looks of sheer delight that spread across their faces, the fact that they then feel the need to assure me that they're getting a PS2, oh it brings me such amusement.
Then they tear off around the city and see all the tiny little bits of detail that I noticed on my first go, then say things like;

"Did you know you can do this...?"
"Wow, have you seen it when you let go of the accelerator he shuts the door...?"
"Cool. You can kick that old granny in the crotch for ages after she's dead!!!"

We all saw, we all appreciated and yes as Goaty says, we were all glad we bought it. Sadly I didn't quite get to feel like it was my own find, as it was YH claiming he'd be better than me at it that eventually convinced me to get it. So the only praise I give myself is for being wise enough to take YH's advice.

You've probably already got it and goofd on you, if you don't then do what it takes to get it!

A world without regrets!

Yes, GTA3 didn't get much hype at all. One day/night (aAll the same to me :oP) People were talking about it then next day/night people were saying how good this game was.

Shame I don't have a PS2, It looks excellent.