A more condensed focus can really improve a game. Lately, after putting like a hundred hours into Way of the Samurai 2 (which takes place over 2 in-game weeks) I finally got my hands on WoTS 1 (which takes place over 2 days), and simply due to the incredibly focused, tight, little storylines, WoTS1 ends up being more personal and - in the end - way more epic than 2 ever managed.
Edit: also, I like the idea of obeying traffic laws and lights. And while I'm kinda' dissappointed no GTA has ever done it, I can appreciate that the decision was made in favor of fun. It would get real old, real quick I reckon.
Chance on
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
Edit: also, I like the idea of obeying traffic laws and lights. And while I'm kinda' dissappointed no GTA has ever done it, I can appreciate that the decision was made in favor of fun. It would get real old, real quick I reckon.
Yeah, I've been thinking about that. In GTA IV they blare their siren at you but you don't get a wanted level if you're running a red or driving on the wrong side or whatever. I'd really like to see a mission where you had to be absolutely law-abiding, though. Even no jaywalking or whatever. :P
I seem to remember Shawn Elliot talking about an online RP server for San Andreas where people did just obey the rules.
Willeth on
@vgreminders - Don't miss out on timed events in gaming! @gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
I think there's something to be said for having a casual driving game. There are the races, and the chases too, but most of GTA was just taking a nice stroll through Liberty City. At the end of the day, when I wanted a play a next gen game, but had nothing else that interested me, or just wanted some time to kill, and have fun doing whatever I wanted, whether in mission or not, I could almost always pop in GTA IV and have fun.
Though at game's end...
I ended up getting the (personally believed) lamer ending. The final mission was less intense, and the weight of the resulting loss didn't feel too appropriate. I kinda wished I had got the other ending, which would have felt more right. Though, they made such a big deal at certain times about "choice" bu the only choice that made any impact (other than side missions) was at the end. All said, I still enjoyed their more tragic take on the GTA hero, though CJ was much more likable.
Mafia was great fun, dunno about the console versions but I'd highly recommend giving the pc ones a blast. Looks a little dated nowadays though. I also wasn't a fan of GTA4 but I went off the series after GTA3 (loved that one but after that they felt the same and added features I couldn't care less about).
Well I wasn't trying to say that no game has been as true-to-life or immersive as GTA IV - even with the amazing city and graphics, I can't say that's true. I've hardly played every game, but to me the single-most-immersive game, the one that really made me feel like I was there in that place and time, was Thief: The Dark Project. I loved everything about that game, especially the earlier missions where you're basically breaking into a manor house or something.
Also: I loved everything about San Andreas. My favorite part of that game was just getting a Sabre or the Buffalo and cruising around the countryside. It was the video game I had imagined the very first time I played a driving game.
I pray Rockstar does something similar (city + wild country, highways, small towns) with the GTA IV engine.
Chance on
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
Playstation 3 owners who haven't played Bioshock yet might want to check out this coupon I got emailed. http://www.2kgames.com/coupon/
This basically makes Bioshock about 29.99 at stores like Target and Gamestop. I'm not sure if I wanna use mine for Bioshock or Civilization Revolutions, but that's 10 bucks to choose a great game regardless.
Bringing this up again to say thanks, for I will be picking up Bioshock today (as it's past midnight, so technically today) providing the store I go to accepts the coupon. Which, they will. Oh, they will.
I picked my copy up last week at best buy. They had to stare at the coupon for a minute or three but they accepted it, and boy is this game amazing! It's quickly becoming my favorite PS3 game. The atmosphere is so perfect for what a ruined underwater utopia would be like. Flooded hallways, creaking walls, and dripping water everywhere.
And the citizens, they are truly twisted mentally and physically. Every time I hear footsteps or someone talking to themselves or a grown man calling for Mommy and daddy I cringe. The sound is truly creepy.
If you missed it on PC or Xbox, I strongly recommend it. I'm not big on FPS but it's something I am definitely overlooking to play this, it's alot like an RPG.
Mafia and Saints Row 2 are the two games that actually go the distance to achieve what they have in mind. GTA IV, on the other hand, seems to be confused.
That's my take on GTA4 as well. I don't really know why they took the realistic approach and yet still have their 'goofy' humour in there (Brucey and the radio stations for instance).
But yeah, I finished GTA4 (first GTA I'd finished actually) and liked it but it still wasn't even in my top 20 games of 2008. The city was dull, the cars handle like ass, the missions are so linear they may as well not be in an 'open-world' and the controls are STILL horrible. Like I said, it was still a decent game but it wasn't anything really special.
What I'd like to see in a GTA are controls like Uncharted's, car handling like Burnout's and non-linear missions like Fallout 3. The chances of any of that happening are slim to none though.
Mafia and Saints Row 2 are the two games that actually go the distance to achieve what they have in mind. GTA IV, on the other hand, seems to be confused.
That's my take on GTA4 as well. I don't really know why they took the realistic approach and yet still have their 'goofy' humour in there (Brucey and the radio stations for instance).
But yeah, I finished GTA4 (first GTA I'd finished actually) and liked it but it still wasn't even in my top 20 games of 2008. The city was dull, the cars handle like ass, the missions are so linear they may as well not be in an 'open-world' and the controls are STILL horrible. Like I said, it was still a decent game but it wasn't anything really special.
What I'd like to see in a GTA are controls like Uncharted's, car handling like Burnout's and non-linear missions like Fallout 3. The chances of any of that happening are slim to none though.
I want my fucking mass property ownership, character customisation, countryside, desert and vegas style city back. And planes, jetpacks and all the fun shit that didn't involve me working my way up a building to save Roman only to get capped near the end and have to do the whole tower again.
See, that's the thing. The kind of story that they tried to tell with IV just doesn't mesh with the GTA formula. Seriously, Rockstar, this guy just killed a bunch of people 'cause his boss called him disloyal. Do not try to make me sympathize with him.
This is it, they sacrificed gameplay to fit the story instead of the other way around. But it wasn't a particularly good story.
And a Jamaican talking stupidly isn't enough to entertain me as it is apparently for some.
If I want gritty with lack of freedom I'd play the Getaway. Saints Row 2 is not meant to be better than GTA but it is, massively, and I despised the first one, possibly irrationally because it felt like such a rip off, but its brighter, more open and just a lot more fun. Its not perfect but its good and there are a lot of nice touches that GTA for all its 90 degree tilt turns while walking cannot compare to.
( about GTA IV: ) I want my fucking mass property ownership, character customisation, countryside, desert and vegas style city back.
Well shit, I actually agree with Dark Warrior about something. That's fucked up.
The desert in SA was IMO the best thing they'e done with the series. Lots of good looking scenery, little towns, random things, lots of ramps, shacks, the ghost town. If they were able to actually populate these little towns with people, REAL people and not just walking NPCs, it'd be perfect.
I always expected by this point in the series I'd be able to walk past a store and see someone holding it up. Then I could walk on, go in and save the day, go in kill the guy and take the money for myself, go in and just kill everyone and walk away or go in, help the guy and be lead to his gang or whatever who givre me some side missions.
But the interactivity is still so horribly shallow.
This is it, they sacrificed gameplay to fit the story instead of the other way around. But it wasn't a particularly good story.
Nah I can't really agree with that. IV is just more focused than any of the others. The story-telling is top-of-the-line. The voice work, the writing, the camera angles, the direction, the mocaps are all awesome. The story structure is where it falls apart - but I'm more than willing to forgive an imperfect narrative for open world gameplay.
I expect things like Bioshock, MGS, Uncharted - I expect linear games to have good pacing and story. I've never expected it of an open-world game.
The desert in SA was IMO the best thing they'e done with the series. Lots of good looking scenery, little towns, random things, lots of ramps, shacks, the ghost town. If they were able to actually populate these little towns with people, REAL people and not just walking NPCs, it'd be perfect.
Well I agree with that too, but for me it was those tall forests and the winding mountain roads. When I was a wee child and I first got my mitts on a driving game, for a brief moment I imagined I could drive down this road I was on and come to a little town or gas station. I could get out, go in and buy a candy bar (I was a kid), and get back in my car and keep exploring. It took like fifteen years for them to finally make that game - and I thought the style of Los Santos and Las Venturas in particular were perfect - but the between-city areas, the small towns, were just awesome.
I always expected by this point in the series I'd be able to walk past a store and see someone holding it up. Then I could walk on, go in and save the day, go in kill the guy and take the money for myself, go in and just kill everyone and walk away or go in, help the guy and be lead to his gang or whatever who givre me some side missions.
Weird, I never thought that - beyond a dedicated RPG like say, Oblivion (which isn't even as deep as that) I never imagined a game getting to that point. That sounds like an MMO with player-character NPCs. But if someone made the game I imagined when I was like nine, I'm sure one day they'll make the game you imagine too.
Now, if someone could just get started on my free-roaming Samurai dream-game.
Chance on
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
I know this is nigh-impossible right now, but I would've really have liked to be able to talk to all the people roaming around in Liberty City, Oblivion-style. I find it pretty cool that when I go into the docks, I see a person taking inventory, another guy sweeping stuff etc. Sadly, the only meaningful interaction you can have with a person is punching them in the face.
Mafia and Saints Row 2 are the two games that actually go the distance to achieve what they have in mind. GTA IV, on the other hand, seems to be confused.
That's my take on GTA4 as well. I don't really know why they took the realistic approach and yet still have their 'goofy' humour in there (Brucey and the radio stations for instance).
But yeah, I finished GTA4 (first GTA I'd finished actually) and liked it but it still wasn't even in my top 20 games of 2008. The city was dull, the cars handle like ass, the missions are so linear they may as well not be in an 'open-world' and the controls are STILL horrible. Like I said, it was still a decent game but it wasn't anything really special.
What I'd like to see in a GTA are controls like Uncharted's, car handling like Burnout's and non-linear missions like Fallout 3. The chances of any of that happening are slim to none though.
I want my fucking mass property ownership, character customisation, countryside, desert and vegas style city back. And planes, jetpacks and all the fun shit that didn't involve me working my way up a building to save Roman only to get capped near the end and have to do the whole tower again.
That's fine that you want that, but they said from the beginning before the game even came out that it wouldn't be like that, so you don't really have the right to bitch about it.
That's not to say I didn't like the over-the-top style of San Andreas (I preferred it to III and Vice City, actually), it's just that it was apparent from developer interviews and such that GTAIV would be a different beast altogether.
To someone saying it's hypocritical that Niko would become a soulless killer whenever the player had control of him; you're right, that stuff is basically not canon. It's not applicable to the story. That's why there's the sleep mode option on the cell phone as well, they're basically telling you "Hey do whatever you want if you please, it will have no bearing on the story."
Also, plenty of Jamaicans actually talk that way, I know quite a few. It was actually kind of cool to see it in a game.
I think he means more in the vein of Way of the Samurai which is freeroaming but divided up by sections. A slightly larger area, not talking anywhere near the size of a GTA or Oblivion here with the same depth as WOTS would be a great game. Was really fun, you collected swords from everyone you beat and there were dozens and each had unique movesets and could be upgraded.
Now, if someone could just get started on my free-roaming Samurai dream-game.
I remember someone posting about that, guess it was you. It seems like a cool concept, but it'd just feel a little empty, like Oblivion did.
Not if I directed it. Or any good cinephile.
Fully third-person, simple but stylish swordplay, and storylines-via-locations like Fallout 3. Then have like, 3 main factions + the honorable rout that the MC can support and have win whatever war is coming and support his master gaining the Shogunate. But you start out as just another lice-ridden, unemployed, wandering Ronin.
Pipe in some random events - bandits are attacking that traveler! Help the traveler or the bandits? Honor +/-1!
Another dream idea is that the character ages - so by the end you would be this tiny old man who's just un-fucking-stoppable with a blade, so great is your knowledge and experience - and persistent scars. I think it would be awesome if your character could say, lose an arm (lets say in a cutscene, as one possible ending to a sidequest), and then have the option to learn a legendary one-handed swordstyle. Lolz.
Edit: @ Dark Warrior - no, I'm talking like a third of the main island of Japan, but like the MiniGolf version of it. I'm talking the size of San Andreas, plus you have to walk everywhere. The graphics don't have to be top-of-the-line, but the art direction does.
Chance on
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
If it was a third of the size of SA I'd follow you but I jus think that as big as SA is too much empty space. Back then wouldn;'t there be massive gaps between each settlement?
Yeah but that's why it's the mini-golf version of Japan. The main cities could be as far apart as they are in San Andreas - let it take an hour to walk there, but throw in a 'hire a palanquin' option for insta-warps. And between the cities you've got small towns with their own problems (7 samurai-style storyline!), you've got a little way station where the lone family living there is terrified of the spirits that live in the forest, which turns out to be a small clan of ninjas working for a greedy Daimyo who wants to evict the family but won't act directly against the family's father and order him out, as the old man was an honored vassal to the Daimyo's father.
You could fill that place up.
Chance on
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
Spoiler'd for OTness. Chance's Nonexistant Dream Game...
Well, sort of an RPG, sure. But more RPG-like. An action game, very much like GTA, but all the action is melee combat with, perhaps, the option to learn a bow & arrow or - if you go with the Ninja side-quest, throwing stars. Lots of games nowadays have RPG aspects. Heck, San Andreas had gyms where you could learn new fighting moves, you had to level up your driving skill, and lift weights to gain strength.
I don't mean Fallout in terms of gameplay, but in terms of occasional quest structure. Having that kid run up to you out of nowhere screaming about "them!" was a great way to start a quest line. Stumbling on a little town with like seven residents and slowly discovering they're all cannibals was another good one. In that way it's not so-very-different from the way plots and quests appear in most RPGs.
Really the only difference between any action-RPG's quests and an open-world action game's missions are that one's called a quest and the other's a mission.
Gaining skill with the sword would be another huge RPG-style aspect of it. You could have several disciplines you could choose to follow - texbook perfect elegantce, brute strength, or a Mugen-style madman (or others). Why not have a Zatoichi-esque sheathed-sword style? Costumes providing stat bonuses wouldn't be wise, I reckon - a Samurai should wear the uniform kimono of his master - but follow the WoTS rout and allow such bonuses to be tied to your chosen sword alone - with certain weapons favoring a certain style.
Also, walking. Just walking or some form of warp, unless you become a very high-ranking Samurai. I could be wrong, but horses were only allowed to Daimyos or very important persons.
Also, Fallout 3 was as big as Fallout 3 and you didn't get a horse or car or motorbike.
Anyway, to sum up the last few pages:
GTA IV is very polarizing.
*
So how excited are we for Sony's lineup in '09? Me? I'm real excited. It's not even February and I can list off a dozen titles I can't wait to get my mitts on this year:
-Uncharted 2
-Heavy Rain
-Prototype
-inFamous
-Ratchet & Clank Future 2
-Final Fantasy Versus XIII
-Brutal Legend
-God of War 3? Maybe?
*I won't actually get SFIV, but I'll feel remorse when everyone else is talking about it.
Edit: And speaking of Killzone 2, someone's selling a press kit on Ebay. So if you can't wait a month and have 300+ dollars to spend, here's your ticket!
Chance on
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
So how excited are we for Sony's lineup in '09? Me? I'm real excited. It's not even February and I can list off a dozen titles I can't wait to get my mitts on this year:
-Uncharted 2
-Heavy Rain
-Prototype
-inFamous
-Ratchet & Clank Future 2
-Final Fantasy Versus XIII
-Brutal Legend
-God of War 3? Maybe?
*I won't actually get SFIV, but I'll feel remorse when everyone else is talking about it.
I am excited for all the bolded. I guess that only leaves F.E.A.R. 2 that I could give a shit less about. But is Ratchet and Clank Future 2 confirmed for this year? Or FF Versus XIII?
And no maybe for God of War III, they confirmed it's quarter four, I believe.
Edit: And speaking of Killzone 2, someone's selling a press kit on Ebay. So if you can't wait a month and have 300+ dollars to spend, here's your ticket!
heh, i like how printed really big on the disc it says "NOT FOR RESALE"
I know Future 2 is '09, I believe that's what it said at the end of Quest for Booty. That's good news about God of War!
And yeah I won't buy F.E.A.R. 2, but it gets a rent. Versus XIII hasn't been confirmed, but I'd be very surprised if it came out after XIII. And I base this on absolutely nothing.
But still - even with the bolded part and ignoring Versus XIII, that's already a pretty damn good lineup! Let's see... 60 times 10 plus 30 for Sonic, $630, plus tax $705.60.
Oh gaming. It's a good thing I love you so much, 'cause you're an expensive bloody habit. Smoking dope was cheaper than you.
Chance on
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
Edit: And speaking of Killzone 2, someone's selling a press kit on Ebay. So if you can't wait a month and have 300+ dollars to spend, here's your ticket!
heh, i like how printed really big on the disc it says "NOT FOR RESALE"
Ugh, I know. Fucking EB was selling a copy of MGS2:Sub that came with the Essentials Collection, and it says right on the box "part of a set, not for individual return or exchange".
Chance on
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
Playstation 3 owners who haven't played Bioshock yet might want to check out this coupon I got emailed. http://www.2kgames.com/coupon/
This basically makes Bioshock about 29.99 at stores like Target and Gamestop. I'm not sure if I wanna use mine for Bioshock or Civilization Revolutions, but that's 10 bucks to choose a great game regardless.
Bringing this up again to say thanks, for I will be picking up Bioshock today (as it's past midnight, so technically today) providing the store I go to accepts the coupon. Which, they will. Oh, they will.
I picked my copy up last week at best buy. They had to stare at the coupon for a minute or three but they accepted it, and boy is this game amazing! It's quickly becoming my favorite PS3 game. The atmosphere is so perfect for what a ruined underwater utopia would be like. Flooded hallways, creaking walls, and dripping water everywhere.
And the citizens, they are truly twisted mentally and physically. Every time I hear footsteps or someone talking to themselves or a grown man calling for Mommy and daddy I cringe. The sound is truly creepy.
If you missed it on PC or Xbox, I strongly recommend it. I'm not big on FPS but it's something I am definitely overlooking to play this, it's alot like an RPG.
Yeah, when I went into Meijer's and picked up the game, I intentionally went to the person who would check me out first and went "Look. I have this coupon from the company's website. Look at it and tell me if you'll accept it." So she did and went, "Well, it look's like a coupon, so it should work." So I got the game, we scanned it, the coupon worked wonderfully, and bam, I have Bioshock.
But...I haven't even put it in my PS3 yet. I'm a really really terrible PS3 owner, because I have Valkyria Chronicles, Resistance 2, and no Bioshock, and they have not seen the inside of the system. Because of, like, LittleBigPlanet. (Which doesn't make me totally terrible)
Argh, and your list, Chance, fills me with dread. A few things:
Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection (Feb 10): Is this different from the Collection that has, like, Comix Zone and Phantasy Stars and such?
F.E.A.R. 2 (Feb 10) : I probably would've got the original if they hadn't appparently ported it horrendously and never patched it. So instead, I watched Helloween's Let's Play of F.E.A.R. and had the overall best experience one could have with the game.
-Uncharted 2
-Heavy Rain
-Prototype
-inFamous
-God of War 3
These are the games, from that, that I really really want. (Aside from the Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection, if it's what I was talking about) Maaaaaan.
Well I guess I was worried about nothing. My fiancee absolutely LOVES LBP with a passion. She hardly, if ever, wants to come over to my place to play video games. But the passed 3 days she's asked to play "that one game" at my house. I thought she'd like it, but she loves it to death.
urahonky on
0
ArminasStudent of LifeSF, CARegistered Userregular
edited January 2009
What sort of downloadable content should I be looking at on the PSN?
See, that's the thing. The kind of story that they tried to tell with IV just doesn't mesh with the GTA formula. Seriously, Rockstar, this guy just killed a bunch of people 'cause his boss called him disloyal. Do not try to make me sympathize with him.
Nearly all of the choices were pointless. Killing or letting people ago made no difference. They could have at least had them show up later if you didn't kill them.
See, that's the thing. The kind of story that they tried to tell with IV just doesn't mesh with the GTA formula. Seriously, Rockstar, this guy just killed a bunch of people 'cause his boss called him disloyal. Do not try to make me sympathize with him.
Nearly all of the choices were pointless. Killing or letting people ago made no difference. They could have at least had them show up later if you didn't kill them.
In GTA IV?
(Spoilered, just in case)
Most of them did show up later, if you didn't kill them, as Random Characters, but they weren't necessary for 100% completion. One of them, though, if you didn't kill him in the story, you had to kill him as a Random Character.
Which just shows how shallow everything you can do in GTA4 is.
Its my own fault, I let the previews overwhelm me. With the first trailer and all the people and the near photgraphic reality and the previews all reciting the same mission "You go to the area but theres a large group of people and you have to phone the mark and spot him with your rifle then take him out"
I led myself to believe (based on this) that I'd be looking down at a scene similar to the cross junction from the first trailer with people flowing back and forth and a few static people, one of them being hte mark waiting for his pay off. And I'd search and search and search possibly using a QTE to prolong the conversation successfully.
What I got was me, stood 10 feet away from the guy, with a sniper rifle and a crowd of about 15 people, what a fucking let down. Same with that business meeting. "Oh you can take certain missions that take place over days! IT ROCKS!"
Its one mission and I dont care if you can nut the guy or stab him or shoot him, its very basic and then incredibly linear following straight after. Its not just realism, not juist shallow choices, its backwards design that isn't half as fun as most of the stuff from GTA:SA, VC or III.
Posts
Edit: also, I like the idea of obeying traffic laws and lights. And while I'm kinda' dissappointed no GTA has ever done it, I can appreciate that the decision was made in favor of fun. It would get real old, real quick I reckon.
Well, if you want, I could start comparing Saints Row 2 or B:Paradise's cars to GTA's.
Listen, maybe you like slowing to a crawl before every turn in cars that handle like soap, so if that's your thing, enjoy it.
Listen: I wasn't talking about how much fun it is. I was countering Chance's point that no game has ever gone for immersion as much as GTA IV.
Yeah, I've been thinking about that. In GTA IV they blare their siren at you but you don't get a wanted level if you're running a red or driving on the wrong side or whatever. I'd really like to see a mission where you had to be absolutely law-abiding, though. Even no jaywalking or whatever. :P
I seem to remember Shawn Elliot talking about an online RP server for San Andreas where people did just obey the rules.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
Though at game's end...
PSN: Toma84
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
He should have just bought the whole goddam place and installed schools and shit but no Sweet talks so lets go shoot shit.
Also: I loved everything about San Andreas. My favorite part of that game was just getting a Sabre or the Buffalo and cruising around the countryside. It was the video game I had imagined the very first time I played a driving game.
I pray Rockstar does something similar (city + wild country, highways, small towns) with the GTA IV engine.
I picked my copy up last week at best buy. They had to stare at the coupon for a minute or three but they accepted it, and boy is this game amazing! It's quickly becoming my favorite PS3 game. The atmosphere is so perfect for what a ruined underwater utopia would be like. Flooded hallways, creaking walls, and dripping water everywhere.
And the citizens, they are truly twisted mentally and physically.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESvgZi8gE3A
If you missed it on PC or Xbox, I strongly recommend it. I'm not big on FPS but it's something I am definitely overlooking to play this, it's alot like an RPG.
That's my take on GTA4 as well. I don't really know why they took the realistic approach and yet still have their 'goofy' humour in there (Brucey and the radio stations for instance).
But yeah, I finished GTA4 (first GTA I'd finished actually) and liked it but it still wasn't even in my top 20 games of 2008. The city was dull, the cars handle like ass, the missions are so linear they may as well not be in an 'open-world' and the controls are STILL horrible. Like I said, it was still a decent game but it wasn't anything really special.
What I'd like to see in a GTA are controls like Uncharted's, car handling like Burnout's and non-linear missions like Fallout 3. The chances of any of that happening are slim to none though.
I want my fucking mass property ownership, character customisation, countryside, desert and vegas style city back. And planes, jetpacks and all the fun shit that didn't involve me working my way up a building to save Roman only to get capped near the end and have to do the whole tower again.
Well shit, I actually agree with Dark Warrior about something. That's fucked up.
And a Jamaican talking stupidly isn't enough to entertain me as it is apparently for some.
If I want gritty with lack of freedom I'd play the Getaway. Saints Row 2 is not meant to be better than GTA but it is, massively, and I despised the first one, possibly irrationally because it felt like such a rip off, but its brighter, more open and just a lot more fun. Its not perfect but its good and there are a lot of nice touches that GTA for all its 90 degree tilt turns while walking cannot compare to.
The desert in SA was IMO the best thing they'e done with the series. Lots of good looking scenery, little towns, random things, lots of ramps, shacks, the ghost town. If they were able to actually populate these little towns with people, REAL people and not just walking NPCs, it'd be perfect.
I always expected by this point in the series I'd be able to walk past a store and see someone holding it up. Then I could walk on, go in and save the day, go in kill the guy and take the money for myself, go in and just kill everyone and walk away or go in, help the guy and be lead to his gang or whatever who givre me some side missions.
But the interactivity is still so horribly shallow.
I expect things like Bioshock, MGS, Uncharted - I expect linear games to have good pacing and story. I've never expected it of an open-world game.
Well I agree with that too, but for me it was those tall forests and the winding mountain roads. When I was a wee child and I first got my mitts on a driving game, for a brief moment I imagined I could drive down this road I was on and come to a little town or gas station. I could get out, go in and buy a candy bar (I was a kid), and get back in my car and keep exploring. It took like fifteen years for them to finally make that game - and I thought the style of Los Santos and Las Venturas in particular were perfect - but the between-city areas, the small towns, were just awesome.
Weird, I never thought that - beyond a dedicated RPG like say, Oblivion (which isn't even as deep as that) I never imagined a game getting to that point. That sounds like an MMO with player-character NPCs. But if someone made the game I imagined when I was like nine, I'm sure one day they'll make the game you imagine too.
Now, if someone could just get started on my free-roaming Samurai dream-game.
That's fine that you want that, but they said from the beginning before the game even came out that it wouldn't be like that, so you don't really have the right to bitch about it.
That's not to say I didn't like the over-the-top style of San Andreas (I preferred it to III and Vice City, actually), it's just that it was apparent from developer interviews and such that GTAIV would be a different beast altogether.
To someone saying it's hypocritical that Niko would become a soulless killer whenever the player had control of him; you're right, that stuff is basically not canon. It's not applicable to the story. That's why there's the sleep mode option on the cell phone as well, they're basically telling you "Hey do whatever you want if you please, it will have no bearing on the story."
Also, plenty of Jamaicans actually talk that way, I know quite a few. It was actually kind of cool to see it in a game.
Not if I directed it. Or any good cinephile.
Fully third-person, simple but stylish swordplay, and storylines-via-locations like Fallout 3. Then have like, 3 main factions + the honorable rout that the MC can support and have win whatever war is coming and support his master gaining the Shogunate. But you start out as just another lice-ridden, unemployed, wandering Ronin.
Pipe in some random events - bandits are attacking that traveler! Help the traveler or the bandits? Honor +/-1!
Another dream idea is that the character ages - so by the end you would be this tiny old man who's just un-fucking-stoppable with a blade, so great is your knowledge and experience - and persistent scars. I think it would be awesome if your character could say, lose an arm (lets say in a cutscene, as one possible ending to a sidequest), and then have the option to learn a legendary one-handed swordstyle. Lolz.
Edit: @ Dark Warrior - no, I'm talking like a third of the main island of Japan, but like the MiniGolf version of it. I'm talking the size of San Andreas, plus you have to walk everywhere. The graphics don't have to be top-of-the-line, but the art direction does.
You could fill that place up.
variety of different vehicles including horses, walking, walking and horses.
I don't mean Fallout in terms of gameplay, but in terms of occasional quest structure. Having that kid run up to you out of nowhere screaming about "them!" was a great way to start a quest line. Stumbling on a little town with like seven residents and slowly discovering they're all cannibals was another good one. In that way it's not so-very-different from the way plots and quests appear in most RPGs.
Really the only difference between any action-RPG's quests and an open-world action game's missions are that one's called a quest and the other's a mission.
Gaining skill with the sword would be another huge RPG-style aspect of it. You could have several disciplines you could choose to follow - texbook perfect elegantce, brute strength, or a Mugen-style madman (or others). Why not have a Zatoichi-esque sheathed-sword style? Costumes providing stat bonuses wouldn't be wise, I reckon - a Samurai should wear the uniform kimono of his master - but follow the WoTS rout and allow such bonuses to be tied to your chosen sword alone - with certain weapons favoring a certain style.
Also, walking. Just walking or some form of warp, unless you become a very high-ranking Samurai. I could be wrong, but horses were only allowed to Daimyos or very important persons.
Also, Fallout 3 was as big as Fallout 3 and you didn't get a horse or car or motorbike.
Anyway, to sum up the last few pages:
GTA IV is very polarizing.
*
So how excited are we for Sony's lineup in '09? Me? I'm real excited. It's not even February and I can list off a dozen titles I can't wait to get my mitts on this year:
-Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection (Feb 10)
-F.E.A.R. 2 (Feb 10)
-Street Fighter 4 (Feb 17) *
-Killzone 2 (Feb 27)
-Riddick: Dark Athena (April 7)
and TBA
-Uncharted 2
-Heavy Rain
-Prototype
-inFamous
-Ratchet & Clank Future 2
-Final Fantasy Versus XIII
-Brutal Legend
-God of War 3? Maybe?
*I won't actually get SFIV, but I'll feel remorse when everyone else is talking about it.
Edit: And speaking of Killzone 2, someone's selling a press kit on Ebay. So if you can't wait a month and have 300+ dollars to spend, here's your ticket!
I am excited for all the bolded. I guess that only leaves F.E.A.R. 2 that I could give a shit less about. But is Ratchet and Clank Future 2 confirmed for this year? Or FF Versus XIII?
And no maybe for God of War III, they confirmed it's quarter four, I believe.
heh, i like how printed really big on the disc it says "NOT FOR RESALE"
And yeah I won't buy F.E.A.R. 2, but it gets a rent. Versus XIII hasn't been confirmed, but I'd be very surprised if it came out after XIII. And I base this on absolutely nothing.
But still - even with the bolded part and ignoring Versus XIII, that's already a pretty damn good lineup! Let's see... 60 times 10 plus 30 for Sonic, $630, plus tax $705.60.
Oh gaming. It's a good thing I love you so much, 'cause you're an expensive bloody habit. Smoking dope was cheaper than you.
Ugh, I know. Fucking EB was selling a copy of MGS2:Sub that came with the Essentials Collection, and it says right on the box "part of a set, not for individual return or exchange".
Yeah, when I went into Meijer's and picked up the game, I intentionally went to the person who would check me out first and went "Look. I have this coupon from the company's website. Look at it and tell me if you'll accept it." So she did and went, "Well, it look's like a coupon, so it should work." So I got the game, we scanned it, the coupon worked wonderfully, and bam, I have Bioshock.
But...I haven't even put it in my PS3 yet. I'm a really really terrible PS3 owner, because I have Valkyria Chronicles, Resistance 2, and no Bioshock, and they have not seen the inside of the system. Because of, like, LittleBigPlanet. (Which doesn't make me totally terrible)
Argh, and your list, Chance, fills me with dread. A few things:
Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection (Feb 10): Is this different from the Collection that has, like, Comix Zone and Phantasy Stars and such?
F.E.A.R. 2 (Feb 10) : I probably would've got the original if they hadn't appparently ported it horrendously and never patched it. So instead, I watched Helloween's Let's Play of F.E.A.R. and had the overall best experience one could have with the game.
-Uncharted 2
-Heavy Rain
-Prototype
-inFamous
-God of War 3
These are the games, from that, that I really really want. (Aside from the Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection, if it's what I was talking about) Maaaaaan.
Nearly all of the choices were pointless. Killing or letting people ago made no difference. They could have at least had them show up later if you didn't kill them.
In GTA IV?
(Spoilered, just in case)
Its my own fault, I let the previews overwhelm me. With the first trailer and all the people and the near photgraphic reality and the previews all reciting the same mission "You go to the area but theres a large group of people and you have to phone the mark and spot him with your rifle then take him out"
I led myself to believe (based on this) that I'd be looking down at a scene similar to the cross junction from the first trailer with people flowing back and forth and a few static people, one of them being hte mark waiting for his pay off. And I'd search and search and search possibly using a QTE to prolong the conversation successfully.
What I got was me, stood 10 feet away from the guy, with a sniper rifle and a crowd of about 15 people, what a fucking let down. Same with that business meeting. "Oh you can take certain missions that take place over days! IT ROCKS!"
Its one mission and I dont care if you can nut the guy or stab him or shoot him, its very basic and then incredibly linear following straight after. Its not just realism, not juist shallow choices, its backwards design that isn't half as fun as most of the stuff from GTA:SA, VC or III.