As I am in between projects and I am sick (glandular fever), I have been playing Grand Theft Auto 4. I completed it an hour ago and have since run around shooting everything I can and mucking about a bit.
It is a great game, the graphics are awesome and the gameplay is great. I find it is not that innovative. Nearly everything has been done before, just not so well. The two things about it the most (apart from multiplayer) is the small details it puts in. Cars get scratched, your phone interferes with the radio and such. Secondly is the story-line. You get to make small changes and you watch Niko make some well informed decisions but always the wrong ones.
For instance, there is small choices you can make ( would prefer there were more) and as opposed to games like Fable and Star Wars, i feel connected to Niko so I want the best things to happen to him, so you generally choose the good path.
X-Play had suggested that it would take 100 hours to complete. I think this includes running around and doing the jumps, flying under the bridges and such small “hidden achievements”. I have completed the game 70% (the storyline is completed) and it has taken me 35 hours.
There are a few things I dislike.
- If you muck up a mission, you start from the very beginning of that mission. You have to do the chase and such again, and there are some LONG missions.
- Learning how to disarm someone at the beginning of the game is only useful for that perticular scene, onwards from that you never need to use it again.
- Often you will cover behind an object in the wrong manner, exposing yourself.
Stats
- Playing time 35 hours
- Longest game: 7hrs 30mins
- Cash: $580,756
- Missions attempted: 150 (all tries on all missions)
- Missions passed: 94
I just completed the main story line Thursday.