Have you played GTA IV lately?

[DaRkL3AD3R]

I have been a huge fan of every single GTA since 3 came out over 12 years ago (when I myself was only 14 years old) and GTA 4 was no exception to me. I thoroughly enjoyed the story far more than any game previous to it. It definitely was lacking in content compared to say, San Andreas, but it was worth it given the massive leap in pure technological advancement moving into the HD era. For the past 5 years I have been drooling at GTA 4 through my PC and how gorgeous the game looks and plays. Then came GTA V...

 

Even with me transitioning back to the console, I am simply blown away by GTA V. The sheer amount of engine upgrades this game possesses is astonishing. There are so many little details that go unnoticed, which is quite frankly a damn shame.

 

When's the last time you stopped and watched a flag flapping in the breeze, only to notice that the little ribbon on the end of the coastguard's hut also moves in a similar direction as the USA flag due to real time wind calculation?

 

Or how about the ability to shoot out virtually EVERY light bulb in the world? Sure it doesn't have much affect on the stealth mechanics quite yet, but the work is there. And man someone put in a lot of time to do it.

 

And then there's the insane amount of physicalized objects lying around the map. You can walk into a guard booth in the underpass of the La Puerta Fwy and find television and radio sets lying about that when shot, actually make interesting effects.

 

 

These are just the simple world details that I've noticed, I haven't even begun to talk about the actual gameplay differences, and my goodness this is where the real improvements shine. First let's talk about vehicles, the numero uno hot topic prior to the release of GTA V when comparing to the previous title.

 

Vehicles handle amazingly in GTA V. Yes, they lean towards the arcadey aspect, but at the same time it makes more sense here. In GTA V, a stock sports car handles pretty damn nicely and turns like a dream. Yet on the flip side, a pickup truck or crappy sedan handles pretty poorly and takes corners at high speeds insufficiently. Now compare this to back in GTA IV's world where the top tier sports vehicles cannot take a 90 degree turn at anything more than 25mph without going into a fishtail. It's unplayable now.

 

Then there's the gunplay. First off, the weapon wheel concept from Red Dead Redemption was a miracle to the GTA universe. Yes, it's also definitely arcadey to carry around dozens of weapons such as RPGs, Miniguns and massive sniper rifles, but let's be real here. GTA IV allowed you to do more or less the same, just limited to one weapon per category. That's not fun, and it's not realistic, so why bother? Being able to carry all weapons at all times and not lose them after they run out of ammo is a win/win for the player.

 

And of course there's the Max Payne 3 style shooting that is just oh so sweet. I love slightly pulling the shoot trigger and entering a readied stance with my weapon shouldered, flashlight engaged, and moving at a quick pace ready to fire by just a short further squeeze of the trigger. Beautiful. And the actual impact of bullets hitting you and the enemies are both a massive step up to the rather flat physics we had in GTA IV. You just "feel" the devastation these weapons cause onto opponents.

 

 

Last but not least there is the graphics. Even though I spent at solid 4+ years playing GTA IV on a beast gaming PC, only to drop back to the pathetic hardware of a console from 2005, GTA V STILL blows my mind visually. Damn the frame-rate, damn the resolution, this games f*cking gorgeous. Period. A lot of people have this bitterness towards the graphics, but that's really not fair given the recent demonstrations of next gen consoles we have all seen. You have to remember the life GTA V's world possesses, from the physics, to the AI, to the unbelievable car modifying and driving mechanics, to the smooth as butter gunplay, and THEN couple it with these simply beautiful graphics and get it all to run on 256MB of RAM and a GPU that's worth exactly 6% of modern day GPUs, and it's just jaw dropping.

 

 

I wish more people examined GTA V as deeply as myself and few others, because Rockstar have really outdone themselves here with this game and deserve recognition. The pure talent these programmers, artists and modelers have shown is just unparalleled in the business. The shame of it is people are only interested in playing through the game as quickly as possible and burning themselves out on it. They don't take the time to notice all these fine details in the game and really appreciate it. I sincerely hope Rockstar keeps pushing on and doing things that other game developers won't, because I will be truly sad if the day ever comes that they give up caring about these micro level details and start focusing on cranking out game after game with no love poured into it.

 

Either way, if you're finding yourself burnt out on GTA V and don't think much of the improvements this game possesses, I strongly recommend you load up GTA IV and take a look back at what this game and engine started off as. It's truly a marvel at what these wizards over at Rockstar North are able to accomplish.

[AtomicPunk]

I didn't think I could stomach going back to IV but I did to compare vehicle damage and a few other things. I played for a couple hours but I'm so burnt on that game cause it is boooooring like V. Oh, and IV's collision damage makes V's look like mario kart.

[Johan]

I've been really craving to play it lately but nervous about messing up myself whenever I decide to give V a chance again (obviously because of the weird driving in V)

I miss Niko and his legit story, this one is just too horrible

[b00f01]

been playing it more than V only because of mods. have to flick the computer on for abit of sideways shenanigans around liberty city.

[StarVisitor]

GTA IV feels archaic compared to V. It's so bland and colorless. The map feels sluggish... the movements feel outdated. V is just a masterpiece, there is no other way to put it.

[GtaIvFanboy]

Im Playing It Right Now

[727gta]

I felt myself going back to more games than I'd imagine after playing GTA V

[CatDog96]

Or how about the ability to shoot out virtually EVERY light bulb in the world?

 

false there are many light bulbs that can not be broken even with the use of a grenade.

[Ben73]

my 2 brothers played IV over the weekend while at my dads house.

They were not impressed.

The younger one absolutely loved IV, now he can't stand it.

[The Jungz]

I did. I was horrified.

It made me wonder if I was actually going to buy GTA SA on PSN. Call me a fanboy all you want, this game knew how to make me have fun.

[IntoGloryRide]

I may revisit it sometime soon. Absolutely love IV but I have been unable to break away from V since release. There's still a lot left to explore and I'm doing another playthrough to try and nail some things I missed the first time. Both are great games for their own reasons.

 

The main issue I would have going back is having to re-adjust to classic controls unless standard is similarly set up like V, but I wouldn't know since this is the first time I've played using a different control option.

[IveGotNoValues]

I can't really see myself going back to IV any time soon, It would just feel dull after playing the masterpiece that is V. Maybe in a few years i'll reboot it for old times sake.

[spamtackey]

I may revisit it sometime soon. Absolutely love IV but I have been unable to break away from V since release. There's still a lot left to explore and I'm doing another playthrough to try and nail some things I missed the first time. Both are great games for their own reasons.

 

The main issue I would have going back is having to re-adjust to classic controls unless standard is similarly set up like V, but I wouldn't know since this is the first time I've played using a different control option.

 

GTA V and GTA IV have similar control schemes when using default controls.

 

I played a little of GTA IV recently and it's just as good as I remembered it. Both GTA IV and GTA V have different strengths and weaknesses, so I find both fun.

[Sacrifizzle]

After I completed GTA V and played the Online for a few hours I started playing IV again.

[Racecarlock]

Compared to V, IV just seems like someone reading a tale of two cities while a bunch of people in clown masks run around killing cops in the background.

[DaRkL3AD3R]

Don't get me wrong guys, I definitely still love GTA IV and it will always be a special point in the series for me, but after a long month of tearing up GTA V and really digging into it, going back to GTA IV is just a nightmare in the gameplay department. In particular, the driving is absurdly bad now to me and I USED to be a huge proponent of it's driving physics. I actually used to defend it as being damn near perfect. Oh how wrong I was. Sure it was realistic in the sense that a minivan can't corner like a sports car, but the problem was even the sports cars couldn't corner properly. It was a step in the right direction and through it's creation we were able to see further development and tweaking in the form of GTA V, but man was it just wrong.

 

What I am happy about right now in exploring GTA IV again is that I am confident that we will be seeing Rockstar forward-port Liberty City from the HD universe into GTA:Online. Just imagine cruising around the map with all of GTA V's engine upgrades and tweaks, and man is it a happy thought. The city still holds up well visually, but optimization would definitely be one area they'd need to work on heavily. GTA V runs beautifully compared to GTA IV, so I'd be very surprised if they do manage to port the city over and get consistent frame-rates.

[Algonquin Assassin]

I've played GTA IV recently on PS3 and 360 and it's just as great as it was before GTA V.

 

I'm kinda surprised actually. I thought GTA V would make GTA IV feel very obsolete, but it hasn't really.

 

Though what helps GTA IV is it has core elements that GTA V lacks like being able crouch, roll, grab and hold onto ledges etc.

 

Might not sound like a lot, but when you notice this stuff missing in GTA V it puts GTA IV in a greater light.

[RyanBurnsRed]

I've played GTA IV recently on PS3 and 360 and it's just as great as it was before GTA V.

 

I'm kinda surprised actually. I thought GTA V would make GTA IV feel very obsolete, but it hasn't really.

 

Though what helps GTA IV is it has core elements that GTA V lacks like being able crouch, roll, grab and hold onto ledges etc.

 

Might not sound like a lot, but when you notice this stuff missing in GTA V it puts GTA IV in a greater light.

 

Are you SERIOUS?

Those things are gone from GTA V?

[JonnJonnz]

I usually go back to past GTA games after a while. I replayed VC and SA this summer, IV and III are next and then VCS and LCS.

 

Personally I think that IV+ episodes is a much better game than V content wise. In V they removed too much stuff, only to add them in online...smh

[Lelouch The Zero]

Im Playing It Right Now

Me too. And so far I'm getting used to the city again. The map still looks good and visually detailed.

[iKevhawk]

 

I've played GTA IV recently on PS3 and 360 and it's just as great as it was before GTA V.

 

I'm kinda surprised actually. I thought GTA V would make GTA IV feel very obsolete, but it hasn't really.

 

Though what helps GTA IV is it has core elements that GTA V lacks like being able crouch, roll, grab and hold onto ledges etc.

 

Might not sound like a lot, but when you notice this stuff missing in GTA V it puts GTA IV in a greater light.

 

Are you SERIOUS?

Those things are gone from GTA V?

 

You can still roll, he lied.

 

Things missing from GTA V that were in GTA IV:

- crouching

- holding onto ledges without going over them

- leaving your car running after exiting (without wanted stars or being in a gunfight)

- picking up and throwing any item (only one you can is Chop's ball in Singleplayer)

- fast food restraunts

 

Major difference between GTA IV and GTA V: GTA IV actually lets you go inside buildings after and before doing the mission for them as well as in online. In GTA V it feels like R* felt that functioning doors took up too much space.

[DaRkL3AD3R]

 

 

I've played GTA IV recently on PS3 and 360 and it's just as great as it was before GTA V.

 

I'm kinda surprised actually. I thought GTA V would make GTA IV feel very obsolete, but it hasn't really.

 

Though what helps GTA IV is it has core elements that GTA V lacks like being able crouch, roll, grab and hold onto ledges etc.

 

Might not sound like a lot, but when you notice this stuff missing in GTA V it puts GTA IV in a greater light.

 

Are you SERIOUS?

Those things are gone from GTA V?

 

You can still roll, he lied.

 

Things missing from GTA V that were in GTA IV:

- crouching

- holding onto ledges without going over them

- leaving your car running after exiting (without wanted stars or being in a gunfight)

- picking up and throwing any item (only one you can is Chop's ball in Singleplayer)

- fast food restraunts

 

Major difference between GTA IV and GTA V: GTA IV actually lets you go inside buildings after and before doing the mission for them as well as in online. In GTA V it feels like R* felt that functioning doors took up too much space.

 

 

Yep this is a pretty solid list of things I do in fact deeply miss from GTA IV. Why Rockstar removed even a few of those is well beyond me, as they aren't even an issue with disc capacity but rather simple tweaks in the programming of the game. No excuse especially for leaving the car running by tapping exit instead of holding, no excuse at all for that one.

 

These things aside (which if we're lucky might get patched in time) I am still far happier with the world we have in GTA V. I used to think GTA IV felt alive, but man it is a dead zone with horrendous AI compared to V. Just wait until they port Libery City to GTA Online and the game takes on a whole new re-imagining.

[Tefzors]

I went on it 3 weeks ago for some random reason for only 5 minutes.

I spawned a helicopter and I've noticed how small the map is.

 

and how dark and dull the colors are.

[iKevhawk]

These things aside (which if we're lucky might get patched in time) I am still far happier with the world we have in GTA V.

Hopefully, I posted a question to R*'s site about interiors and didn't even really get much interest.

 

Honestly it's not like any of these are limited by controllers. Like you said they could've just added a function for holding down Y to leave the car running. Items could've been put into the weapon wheel. Etc.

 

You can even go to the Lifeinvader office which has glass doors and windows and see that an interior is still there. R* just doesn't want you to go through it for some reason.

[RyanBurnsRed]

 

 

I've played GTA IV recently on PS3 and 360 and it's just as great as it was before GTA V.

 

I'm kinda surprised actually. I thought GTA V would make GTA IV feel very obsolete, but it hasn't really.

 

Though what helps GTA IV is it has core elements that GTA V lacks like being able crouch, roll, grab and hold onto ledges etc.

 

Might not sound like a lot, but when you notice this stuff missing in GTA V it puts GTA IV in a greater light.

 

Are you SERIOUS?

Those things are gone from GTA V?

 

You can still roll, he lied.

 

Things missing from GTA V that were in GTA IV:

- crouching

- holding onto ledges without going over them

- leaving your car running after exiting (without wanted stars or being in a gunfight)

- picking up and throwing any item (only one you can is Chop's ball in Singleplayer)

- fast food restraunts

 

Major difference between GTA IV and GTA V: GTA IV actually lets you go inside buildings after and before doing the mission for them as well as in online. In GTA V it feels like R* felt that functioning doors took up too much space.

 

 

I never really picked up misc objects in GTA IV, and I already knew about the fast food restaurants, but the first 3 are pretty minute details that I find important.

I hate the cover system in GTA, especially in MP.

Holding onto ledges I've never really used much, but doesn't that mean less exploration in terms of buildings?

And I'm guessing when you exit a car now the engine turns off always? It was a pretty cool feature to turn off the engine when you wanted. Why would they change it? :$

[iKevhawk]

And I'm guessing when you exit a car now the engine turns off always? It was a pretty cool feature to turn off the engine when you wanted. Why would they change it? :$

If you're in a gunfight or have a wanted star your engine will stay on when exiting. You can also replicate this by firing a round, getting into your car immediately, then getting out.

 

Other than that, they randomly got rid of the ability to leave it running.

[78 lil red express]

 

Im Playing It Right Now

Me too. And so far I'm getting used to the city again. The map still looks good and visually detailed.

 

 

 

Im Playing It Right Now

me also. this game is timeless

[spamtackey]

Things I miss from IV:

1) Interiors.

2) Buying Food off of Vendors.

3) Grabbing Ledges.

4) Vigilante Missions.

5) Bowling and Pool.

6) Friend Rewards. I can understand scaling the friend mechanic back. People didn't like it. (Personally, I'm more bugged by the stupid businesses constantly messaging me for help in V) They still should have given us an incentive to hang out with people like Lamar and uhh... Jimmy uhh... why is there so few cool characters to hang out with now that I think of it?

7) Multiple-Day Missions. In GTA IV we had two missions where we had to set up appointments and later on do the mission. The concept would have been nice to explore further rather than dumping it entirely. Imagine having to set up a heist over multiple days to gather information and make a plan.

8) Car Thefts. Okay, Brucie isn't in GTA V single player, but why couldn't we do repos for Simeon?

I know they had the falling out but that never really goes anywhere so yeah...

 

9) Multiple E-Mail Responses.

10) Car Damage. I don't mean visual damage. Cars in GTA IV would sputter out and completely die on you after taking enough damage. We see a glimpse of this kind of system during one mission where a car breaks down and you drive it to a repair shop... why can't that just happen as you play? Instead we have cars that randomly explode for no reason rather than actually take any kind of damage.

11) Leaving Cars Running. In GTA IV if you got out of a car it was still running. You hold down a button and it turns off. Honestly, there is no reason to force us to turn off the car except to make it take longer to get going on the road again, which is just pointless.

12) Picking Up Objects.

13) Dating. Whether you enjoyed it or not they wrote it out of the game. Sure Trevor and Michael wouldn't date but Franklin probably would if they hadn't written in a mostly-off-screen love interest for him to have a one-sided relationship with.

14) Arcade Cabinets. We can see QUB3D in the LifeInvader office but can't play it.

15) Crouching.

Edited October 21, 2013 by spamtackey

[IntoGloryRide]

Re: The roll...are you talking about rolling into cover or when you do the roll with a weapon drawn? Haven't actually seen either one. Going into cover that way looked pretty sweet in IV.

Edited October 21, 2013 by IntoGloryRide

[woggleman]

IV is a great game but today it feels like sort of a test run for the Rage engine. I really do wish they did more with the whole dark NY vibe because I loved it. I agree with you on V though. It has it's flaws but so much of it is just amazing.