Which plot is better? GTA V or IV?

[Bulleto]

Lately, everyone is saying that GTA V Plot wasnt that good, and GTA IV plot was the best.

This hate between GTA V and GTA IV story made me do this thread to put a end in this.

Here is both stories. (Details were omitted)

GTA V

Bank Robbery in Lundendorff

Brad is dead

Michael makes a deal with the guy who shot him (Dave)

Trevor gets away and thinks that Michael is dead and Brad is jailed.

Nine years later

Franklin meets Michael because he was robbing Michael's Son.

Michael owes money to Martin Madrazo.

To get money, Michael contacts Lester to rob the Jewelry Store.

Trevor Phillips realises that the jewelry heist was Michael's handiwork.

Trevor finally meets michael.

Michael, Franklin and Trevor helped the the FIB (not their choice).

Michael's family leaves him.

When doing a job for Madrazo, Trevor gets angry and kidnapps his wife.

They hide in the desert.

After some more heists for FIB, Michael gives Madrazo his wife and a statue.

Michael returns to LS

Trevor finds out that Brad is dead.

They get wanted by Chinese ppl and Merryweather.

They do one last job, the big one. (a lot of money)

Franklin has to choose if he kills Michael, Trevor, or save both and kill the bad guys.

GTA IV

Niko Bellic comes to Liberty City because of Roman tales of riches and luxury.

Niko defends several times Roman from loan sharks.

Niko after working for Vlad (loan shark). He eventually kills him.

Roman and Niko get kidnapped by Mikhail Faustin and Dimitri Rascalov. (Liberty City Bratva members)

Niko starts working for Faustin.

Faustin asks Niko to kill Kenny Petrovic (powerful man in the Liberty City Bratva)

Petrovic's family threatens retaliation.

Dimitri aks Niko to kill Faustion.

Dimitri betrays Niko.

Niko meets Ray Bulgarin who accuses Niko of stealing from him.

Dimitri's men destroyed Roman and Niko apartment and taxi company.

Niko's girlfriend Michelle reveals that she works for government.

Niko starts working for government in exchange of assistance in fiding the traitor of his unit (war)

Niko meets the responsible for his unit's betrayal. Niko chooses to kill him, or dont kill him

Niko is then faces with two choices:

Strike a deal with Dimitri

This ends up with an assassin sent by Dimitri to kill Roman, which is sucessfull. After some time, Niko kills Dimitri.

Seek revenge on him

Niko kills Dimitri and Pegorino kills Niko's girlfriend Kate.

Niko tranks Pegorino down and kills him.

Conclusions: (facts, not opinions)

GTA V characters have more story background.

GTA IV has one "bad guy" almost from the beginning.

GTA V doesnt have any "bad guy".

GTA IV and GTA V describe NY and LA. (Both did a nice job)

My personal opinion:

I think that GTA V Plot was much better than IV's plot. All characters were unique and most of them, funny. Alot of easter eggs. Each main character was fun to play with. Niko wasnt (remember that this is my personal opinion).

Niko was just some guy that wanted money and revenge and he got both (bad late night story for kids)

GTA V Characters wanted money, but that only brought trouble. (nice late night story for kids)

----

Please show your opinion, remember that you should respect others.

Edited November 27, 2014 by Bulleto

[matajuegos01]

So only because you find the GTA V characters funny that makes the story better?

 

The characters from GTA IV also have backstory, just check the LCPD database, the conversations with friends when you go out with them and the EFLC.

[Gnocchi Flip Flops]

I found V's storyline fun and engaging but the plot was sorry. It's kind of like a great action movie with a storyline that either makes no sense or just sucks but no one cares because we all watched the movie for the action and the action only. So I try not to focus on how bad I thought the plot was in V because it was at least fun. IV's gameplay was decent, not that engaging, but it's story pulled me in and the characters felt like real people. In V, I didn't really find anybody likable, not even Michael, and the humor didn't help at all. In fact the humor made the storyline feel silly.

 

I'm going to make a comparison:

GTA V is like the Transformers series

GTA IV is like The Godfather series

 

I do value gameplay, I really do, but I like substance and to me the storyline is the substance. So I prefer IV.

[Drunken Cowboy]

 

 

I know a lot of fanboyism goes around on these forums, but I thought there were some consensus among us on the difference between these games.

 

GTA IV has a way better story, plot, and characters and more.

GTA V has way better visuals and more.

 

GTA V was loaded with annoying, inconsistent, token characters. Major plot points were forgotten half way through the story. Villains sucked. The story was totally uncompelling. Drama like Weston attacking Michael's family or Franklin having to kill someone seemed completely forced and unreasonable. Not to mention the theatrics like robbing planes in the middle of the air and un-GTA elements of that Splinter Cell mission and crap. I didn't even find GTA V's story entertaining in a cheese fest way, especially when I hated two of the protagonists.

 

GTA IV was so much more grounded in a good way. Characters felt much more genuine and act as advertised. You cared about them, especially Niko. The pacing was a lot better and not to mention the way Johnny and Luis' stories were so well intertwined into the diamonds affair.

Edited November 27, 2014 by Drunken Cowboy

[ryan_J]

V's was more comical, video-gamey and cliché whereas IV's was a darker, grittier more personal tale. I really like both but I think IV had better character stories, in V even though the characters had their own story it wasn't fed to the player in an effective way. I'm surprised you argue that V has more story background and even more surprised that you presented it as fact rather than opinion.

Either way both are great stories I can't pick a favourite but I can say that IV had a more lasting effect on me and V had a more in the moment effect, both are great and I'd rather just be grateful I've had the opportunity to play both than argue about which is better.

[Frantz Fuchs]

Define what you mean by 'plot'. V's story was engaging and fun, but if you think about the actual plot, it's pretty sh*tty.

[Pavle]

The plot was better in IV. It had drama and bowling. V's was okay.

[tranceking26]

I like both games and their stories, but I've always thought the plot for IV is better.

 

I doubt this thread will "put a end in this" - people on here will always be comparing them, and probs still will be even after the next GTA is out.

[donnits]

IV's characters have LESS background than V's?! Do some more research, my man.

 

Niko was just some guy that wanted money and revenge and he got both (bad late night story for kids)

GTA V Characters wanted money, but that only brought trouble. (nice late night story for kids)

Niko wanted revenge, he didn't care about money. In fact, when he finally had a chance revenge, it was my favorite moment in the GTA series because it was actually a challenging choice. It presented a mirror to GTA and games like it, in the most metaphoric way possible. Kill a junkie or let him live. Easy, right? Not at all. If you ACTUALLY put yourself in Niko's shoes, it's really quite amazing. When he had money and got past his need for revenge, all it did was destroy one of those closest to him. Yes he got both, but it also brought more trouble than he ever thought. Why didn't you mention this?

Edited November 27, 2014 by thekillerdonuts

[Moving Idiot]

I think that 99% of the people around here will agree with me when I say:

 

Gameplay: V > IV

Story: IV > V

[mr quick]

GTA V's story was so poor it could've been written by me:

 

"hey bro i thought u was dead i mourned u and u screwed me over and ruined my life"

"dude wtf chill"

"lets drive a truck"

"yes"

"best friends FOR EVER!!!"

Edited November 27, 2014 by Marwin Moody

[Moving Idiot]

GTA V's story was so poor it could've been written by me:

 

"hey bro i thought u was dead i mourned u and u screwed me over and ruined my life"

"dude wtf chill"

"lets drive a truck"

"yes"

"best friends FOR EVER!!!"

 

Please send this to one of the Houser brothers via e-mail, at least then we'll know for sure that VI's story will be a lot better than V's. Not that your writing is any good, it's literally crap, but hey, at least it's not diarrhea anymore.

[Curtis]

the only thing that bothers me in the IV Story is that Niko doesn't even care about Bulgarin and never kills him himself.

[Maxxeine]

I'm pretty sure the choice is obvious. It isn't you say? Let's compare Antagonists and backstories instead of the entire stories of both, as it will save time, and won't get confusing.

 

GTA V. What do we have Antagonist wise? Well, some very unusual characters. Martin Madrazo, Devin Weston, Steve Haines, Wei Chang, Stretch (who only has screen time of maybe not even 35 minutes) and that's it. Note that some of these people only show up for their own screen time, and there are only 69 main missions in GTA V. Yeah, not good for character development, right?

 

Now here's a brief rundown of GTA V's plot. Michael fakes his death and goes into witness protection with the help of Dave Norton. Later on Michael tears down Martin Madrazo's balcony, and is forced to pay him back. Michael robs jewel store. Tells person that "You forget a thousand things everyday" and that same person tells the newscaster, Trevor watches the news, hears that line, realizes Michael's alive, finds him (who just so conveniently lives in the same state) then they do heists together with the help of Franklin and Lester.

 

Let's run through their motives real quick.

 

Martin Madrazo - Mad Michael tore down his Vinewood Hills balcony, forces him to payout the reconstruction costs. Seems pretty logical, right? Except here's the kicker. When Michael cases the jewel store to collect the money to pay him, Trevor recognizes his line and thus goes on a sort of obsession for a few days to find him. Just so conveniently happens, doesn't it?

 

Also, you later have to shoot down Madrazo's brother later on in the storyline. Also, Trevor kidnaps his wife. Then he becomes the antagonist.

 

Wait a second, Martin is now the antagonist because one of the protagonists provoked him by kidnapping his wife? But I thought...exactly.

 

Steve Haines. High up in the FIB and forces Michael, Franklin, and Trevor to do dirty work for him. Same with Dave Norton. Not particularly an antagonist, once again limited screen time. No motives at all. Except, once again. he therefore becomes the antagonist because Trevor kills him. Whaaa?

 

Devin Weston. Basically, he has Michael and T and F steal cars for him in exchange to meet Solomon Richards, and to get payed. Not bad right? Except he doesn't pay. Oh boy.

 

Then he sends mercenaries after Michael's family and then he's the antagonist.

 

Wei Chang. I don't even know how to explain how he's one of the antagonists.

 

Same with Stretch.

 

Now, here's GTA IV's plot.

 

Niko Bellic is someone who fought in the Yugoslav War, present day Serbia. Later in the war, his squad was betrayed, and only three survived. Niko, Florian Cravic, and Darko Brevic. Some years later, he travels to Liberty City to meet his Cousin, Roman, who has told Niko that he "owns a Mansion, and a sports car" Niko arrives, and notices that his Cousin was covering up his gambling addiction, living in a small apartment, in debt with the Russian mafia, and owns a Taxi company. Not bad, right?

 

Now let's get into the Antagonists.

 

Dimitri Rascolov. Member of the Russian mob, has Niko do certain things for him, and even has him kill his, once ago, friend, that was also his brother for life, with the same tattoos on themselves. Afterwards, it was a trap. After Niko kills Mikhail Faustin, Dimitri asks him to meet in a warehouse to pay him. Niko arrives, with Little Jacob as backup. Instead, it was a trap, and a person that Niko owed money years ago, arrived; Ray Bulgarin. Then, Niko escapes, with the help of Jacob.

 

Darko Brevic. The traitor of Niko's squad. You later meet him, with the help of the United Liberty Paper Co. He explains that he sold Niko and his squad off for $1000 to support his drug addiction. He is obviously not fond of life, and afterwards, Niko is given the choice to kill him, or to let him live.

 

Vlad Glebov. The first antagonist you meet in the game, and later kill to keep your cousin Roman safe. Except, that leads into meeting Dimitri Rascalov. He has you do some dirty work for him by forcing people who haven't payed Vlad back to pay him.

 

Jimmy Pegorino. This is depending on what ending you choose. If you choose Revenge, Jimmy asks you to give the Russian Mafia some drugs, to help him restore the Pegorino name by potentially getting a huge payout. Except, Niko, realizing he said Russian mafia, makes him suspicious, and more reluctant to help them out, as Dimitri Rascalov is in charge of the operation. Instead, Niko pays them a visit, and kills them all; including Dimitri. Angered, Jimmy comes to Roman and Mallorie's wedding, with the intent to kill Niko, but instead, killing Kate McReary. Filled with hatred, and regret, Niko now seeks revenge on Pegorino. With the help of Little Jacob and Roman, they eventually track down Jimmy, who is at the abandoned casino in North Alderney. Niko chases Pegorino to Happiness Island, and kills him.

 

If you payed attention to both plots, you would know that GTA IV's is better, in terms of backstories, plot, story, and premise. GTA V's just feels like a parody, with paper thin antagonists.

Edited November 27, 2014 by The7thOne

[Raiden1018]

This is a hilariously stupid thread. GTAV has no 'bad guy' lol!! V characters have more depth double LOL!

[Algonquin Assassin]

I thought GTA V's story started off pretty good, but it lost its steam when Trevor came into the picture. However in saying that I thought the way Michael met Franklin and took him under his wing felt forced and rushed. The first time I finished GTA V's story the majority of the characters were forgettable to me.

 

I don't know how you can write that the characters in GTA V have more of a background as a fact when mataluegos01 mentioned the police database in GTA IV. Essentially you can find out information about characters that aren't seen in the game.

 

Anyway GTA IV has the superior plot. I found the conflicts between Dimitri/Faustin, PBX/Dwayne, Derreck/Francis, the diamonds etc far more interesting than anything in GTA V and Niko destroys Michael, Trevor and Franklin combined for likeability and feeling care about his circumstances IMO.

 

On its own I suppose GTA V's story isn't that bad, but the problem is it came off the back of R*'s recent masterpieces like GTA IV, TLAD, RDR and MP3 in regards to story telling. People expected more I guess.

[Drunken Cowboy]

I think that 99% of the people around here will agree with me when I say:

 

Gameplay: V > IV

Story: IV > V

If you like buying masks, shooting people with airsoft guns, and driving floaty arcade cars.

[The Dedito Gae]

Double post.

Edited November 28, 2014 by Midnight Hitman

[The Dedito Gae]

I didn't appreciate working for the FIB in V, it felt really weird all those missions related to the FIB , they don't feel GTA for me, i missed to follow every order from some criminal boss that betrays you at the end instead of robbing a chopper to rob a unknown "bio-hazzard super weapon" crap or buying masks and stealing cars to steal a armored car, some "missions" are a sad attempt for a filler.

And it seems that Trevor gets a lot of justified hate in here, frankly i couldn't stand the character at first, but then i realized that they need 3 different characters and they just can't create 3 "responsable" criminals a la Niko or Vic Vance, they need a hateful disgusting, psichopatic character that contrasts with the other two protagonists.

That said ,you guys are in every right to hate trevor because that's what the character is for, to be unpopular and hated, not all people in the criminal life are kind and calmed, Trevor's character doesn't constitute for bad history writing, they are just trying something new and if you don't like him, there other 2 characters very different to choose.

Edited November 28, 2014 by Midnight Hitman

[woggleman]

IV probably has a better story and I certainly understand why fans of gritty crime dramas like it more. That being said V has a much deeper story than people give it credit for and I really wish the critics would at least try and look at it instead of dismissing it because it is the opposite of IV.

[Homemade Dynamite]

What kind of fanboy does it take to say that GTA V's muddled, coke-fueled, inconsistent, Michael Bay-esque story is better than the masterfully crafted, well-executed story of GTA IV that proved video games are art?

[woggleman]

Maybe it takes a fanboy who has a different opinion and taste than you do. They have every right to that view as you do.

[zuckmeslow]

My opinion

 

STORY:

 

characters = gta IV

 

Dialogue= gta V

 

Pacing = gta IV

 

Plot = gta IV

 

Protagonists = gta IV

[Algonquin Assassin]

IV probably has a better story and I certainly understand why fans of gritty crime dramas like it more. That being said V has a much deeper story than people give it credit for and I really wish the critics would at least try and look at it instead of dismissing it because it is the opposite of IV.

 

What makes it "deeper" than it's given credit for?

[Gnocchi Flip Flops]

IV probably has a better story and I certainly understand why fans of gritty crime dramas like it more. That being said V has a much deeper story than people give it credit for and I really wish the critics would at least try and look at it instead of dismissing it because it is the opposite of IV.

Who is dismissing it because it's the opposite of IV? We're dismissing it because it we think it's trash and not that deep at all. Does that make us elitists or fanboys to you?

[Tycek]

"You all hate V, because it's complete opposite of IV" - woggleman.

[woggleman]

I would go into why it's deeper than it's given credit for but what's the point? Not everything has to be melodramatic and brooding like IV to be a good story.

[[...]]

GTA IV's plot is better than V, beacuse it's less boring.

[Homemade Dynamite]

I would go into why it's deeper than it's given credit for but what's the point? Not everything has to be melodramatic and brooding like IV to be a good story.

The point is that you said it was deeper than it's given credit for. Prove that to me.

[woggleman]

If I said why you or the IV fans wouldn't be convinced anyway so what is the point?