You Don't Rob a Bank in Grand Theft Auto IV

[Cuzzzin]

Obviously Niko Bellic robs a bank. In fact, the mission in which he does so has stood out as one of the highlights of Grand Theft Auto IV. The thing about the mission is that it wasn't so much about robbing the bank as fighting your way out of a bank robbery gone wrong. And that is amazing. Fighting your way out of a bank into Chinatown and down on the subway tracks only to take part in a car chase that spans multiple boroughs is wonderful. Still, it makes me curious when Rockstar says that they're going to make a game centered around several large heists since there was so little player interactivity in Three Leaf Clover. Most of the heist was a cut-scene. Technically the player walks Niko to the money, but that's the closest we get with actually taking part in the robbery. The bulk of the mission is the shootout.

 

Part of me expects Grand Theft Auto V to be more of the same. The player might shoot his way into a location, shoot his way out of a location, or get in a great chase, but there will be little in terms of the actual robbery being interactive. That's really fine.

 

Still, we know at the very least Michael is going to be able to scale buildings which is definitely an interesting mechanic. I am curious if there are other game mechanics that Rockstar can include to increase the interactivity of the robberies. Here are some ideas that I had:

 

Stealth

Replaying San Andreas, I forget that there were actually stealth sections of the game. Red Dead Redemption's single stealth mission was fun and made me disappointed that there weren't more sections like that. It would be great to do a portion of a mission in which you have to not make your presence known, maybe even get away with the stash without anyone knowing it's gone. Having stealthy throat slitting, using small objects like bricks to knock people out, or using silenced weapons would be fun.

 

Choices

Rockstar has spoken to this a bit in terms of the game being set in terms of how things play out, but there being some variation on how the player gets from point A to point B. It might be nice to be able to choose between multiple ways to handle a situation. I'd like to see more than kill the guys in Hallway A or kill the guys in Hallway B.

 

I'd like to see more rewards for players who think outside the box. In GTA IV there were a few little cool things that you could do to make a mission play out differently. When you kill the lawyer, killing him with a melee weapon and jumping out the window avoids a whole gunfight. Similarly, one of your other targets can be sniped from a crane across the street from his highrise rather than Niko having to fight his way up the building. I would like to see more stuff like that.

 

Red Dead Redemption also had an interesting mission in which Marston chooses places for dynamite to be planted in order to destroy a delivery of supplies. If you pick the wrong places or set off the explosion too quickly then you don't instantly lose. You just have a bigger gun fight on your hands. It wasn't the best mission, but I enjoyed the thought of having the playing be strategic.

 

Hostage Management

This is something that I would adore to see and did exist in the GTA IV games. Leading a guard at gunpoint to open a vault, having a large group of hostages and having to be strategic at who you keep the gun pointed to in order to keep them at bay, it would all really give the feeling of taking part in a robbery.

 

Hacking/Lockpicking/Safecracking Etc. Mini-Games

For whatever reason having mini-games that abstract the action of disabling cameras or breaking into a vault seems weird to me. They've existed in Bully, RDR, and Chinatown Wars. For whatever reason they seem a bit out of place. I think Rockstar tends for a level of realism that these sort of mingames don't represent. They abstract the action in a way that could be problematic. Still, they allow the player to be involved in the action instead of seeing it just performed in a cut scene

 

Other thoughts on how interactive you expect heists to be and how they can be made more interactive?

[orbitalraindrops]

I never knew that. If you kill Goldberg with a bat are people alerted?. Also in reference to the crane mission are you on about assasinating Tenny Benividez?. You learn something new everyday.

[The-Edgar]

What about a whole group of people you can manage for the Heists?

 

IN the GI Articel, it was said that random encounters could be usefull for the Missions.

 

Mabye if you help somebody, who was in trouble, he also gives you help for some heists, and you can manage what he will do: E.g in the first Trailer, the 'Pest Control' Heist featured a third Character, who didn't seem to be Trevor.

 

This would give the heists a huge add for a Managing Part, so you can prepare for the Next Bank Robbery.

[japse123]

Chop will help out on the heists.

 

They strap bombs to him and make him run towards the police and then they blow up chop

[BlackNoise]

These are some good ideas. The main thing I want when it comes to the heists, is different levels of success. I don't want cops to automatically come every single time I replay a mission. It would be cool if you could pull off the perfect heist.

 

 

[BigKush]

 

I never knew that. If you kill Goldberg with a bat are people alerted?. Also in reference to the crane mission are you on about assasinating Tenny Benividez?. You learn something new everyday.

On the mission "North Holland Nights" where you have to go to the project high-rises in uptown and eliminate a target, you are able to climb a crane down an alley-way across the street, snipe him from there and simply walk away, Mission Completed.

 

This skips the climbing of the high rises, the half-dozen or so enemies you have to fight, and the subsequent 4 star wanted level and police chase.

[Cyfa]

Well, the story is centered around 6 central heists. While Three Leaf Clover was pretty much a cutscene and some shooting, GTAV's 'filler' missions will most likely be you getting blueprints from so and so or a special drill from another person. Rockstar just liked the general idea of a heist because who doesn't? I can assure you that at least 60-70% of the missions that are not the central heists are something that have to do with each heist.

[Chukkles]

Good ideas, and you do learn something new every day. (High rise mission)

 

You got me thinking, a hostage situation would be awesome.

You could mess things up and swat will rush in or take things smoothly and get out with more money (takes more time this way).

 

[Severe]

I never knew that. If you kill Goldberg with a bat are people alerted?

It's been a while since I played it, but as I recall it, I stabbed him up good and then just walked out the front door without any heat. I felt slick as hell. Knives are cool.

[Cuzzzin]

Well, the story is centered around 6 central heists. While Three Leaf Clover was pretty much a cutscene and some shooting, GTAV's 'filler' missions will most likely be you getting blueprints from so and so or a special drill from another person. Rockstar just liked the general idea of a heist because who doesn't? I can assure you that at least 60-70% of the missions that are not the central heists are something that have to do with each heist.

I definitely agree with you, and I think it will ultimately make the narrative stronger. Still, a lot of those lead-up missions could simply be a bunch of shooting sections with a cutscene in which you get blueprints or a drill. My bigger concern is that there is no gameplay which lets the player act out the robbery besides shooting people and driving away.

[Cyfa]

 

Well, the story is centered around 6 central heists. While Three Leaf Clover was pretty much a cutscene and some shooting, GTAV's 'filler' missions will most likely be you getting blueprints from so and so or a special drill from another person. Rockstar just liked the general idea of a heist because who doesn't? I can assure you that at least 60-70% of the missions that are not the central heists are something that have to do with each heist.

I definitely agree with you, and I think it will ultimately make the narrative stronger. Still, a lot of those lead-up missions could simply be a bunch of shooting sections with a cutscene in which you get blueprints or a drill. My bigger concern is that there is no gameplay which lets the player act out the robbery besides shooting people and driving away.

I think Rockstar will definitely fix that. While we're most likely not going to have to figure out jigsaw-like puzzles for security codes, I think each heist will be interactive in it's own right. The whole point is that you get so many supplies and spend all of your money on that one/several tool(s) to help you with the robbery. You know the game Payday: The Heist? How each member has to go plant C4 while one works/defends the drill? I have a feeling we're going to see that sort of interactivity. Rockstar are artists of the video game industry so I know for a fact we won't be disappointed. Believe me buddy, I've been wanting a great heist game since I saw Heat, and Rockstar is going to deliver that and go even further beyond our expectations.

[Have Mercy]

Nice topic but in order for V to be a good game, shooting and moving cannot be the main aspect of heists.. We need stealth, planning, and a getaway driver! ( Lol Beat 102.7 )

[Elyobo893]

Nice topic but in order for V to be a good game, shooting and moving cannot be the main aspect of heists.. We need stealth, planning, and a getaway driver! ( Lol Beat 102.7 )

Found a getaway driver...

 

 

[TheGodDamnMaster]

Well since there are multiple characters to choose from during any given mission, they'll let you choose which part of the heist sounds the most exciting.

 

I would probably play as the guy cracking the safe; it was be really tense trying to get it open quickly before the cops arrive.

[Sborges91]

Nice topic but in order for V to be a good game, shooting and moving cannot be the main aspect of heists.. We need stealth, planning, and a getaway driver! ( Lol Beat 102.7 )

Found a getaway driver...

 

 

I wonder if Chop had to run after him for him to agree to be the driver.