tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post2598164442245232229..comments2024-02-05T05:56:50.392-05:00Comments on Insult Swordfighting: Let's nitpick about Grand Theft Auto IVMitch Krpatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15987162934932391765noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-8452760443235371082008-05-08T08:44:00.000-04:002008-05-08T08:44:00.000-04:00Inso, you're right. The game gives you all these o...Inso, you're right. The game gives you all these opportunities to be the "good guy," relatively speaking, but even if you do that there are still plenty of times where you just slaughter people. Collateral damage, I guess. But I never really have a problem with violence in games when I'm fighting criminals, or even just when my character is acting in self-defense.<BR/><BR/>Strangely, the scenario in the "Out of the Closet" mission was later replayed almost exactly with a lawyer, and there I had much less of a problem with it. In that case, I also didn't stick around to find out if I had any other options. I did enjoy making my escape through the lawyer's office window, as well.Mitch Krpatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15987162934932391765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-6309639679773131972008-05-07T20:56:00.000-04:002008-05-07T20:56:00.000-04:00My personal nitpicking: I just beat the game today...My personal nitpicking: <BR/><BR/>I just beat the game today at around 70% completion and I'm left wondering where certain features are that existed in San Andreas: mini-games and money sinks.<BR/><BR/>Where's the pimping, fire, ambulance, and police missions? I know you can use the police database, but it's not really a mission near as I can tell. <BR/><BR/>And where's the property to buy? Or the car mod shops? About halfway through the game I had over a million dollars and nothing to spend it on.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11524562781080804093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-80730171977106743702008-05-07T15:54:00.000-04:002008-05-07T15:54:00.000-04:00Oh, I definitely agree about the checkpoint thing....Oh, I definitely agree about the checkpoint thing. To be honest I just want to unlock the rest of the city, nothing more. Some of the missions are fun, but too many of them aren't and I've even had the game cheat on me a few times (such as when I swam to get rid of the cops, and then my companion who had so far been swimming beside me quite happily spontaneously drowned, failing me the mission ... unfair)<BR/><BR/>As for that closet mission, I have to say, I didn't think so much about it. It seemed to be a bit more senseless than other missions, but I'm gay and I didn't find it offensive for THAT reason. <BR/><BR/>GTA's morality has always been a little schizophrenic, but never more than in this game I think. It keeps on making efforts to give you lesser of two evil style choices, but too often you're forced to carry out the just-plain--no-foolin'-evil. It doesn't really make sense as a game if you're really trying to 'roleplay' Niko (which I started out more or less wanting to do).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-81021952022284894142008-05-06T10:15:00.000-04:002008-05-06T10:15:00.000-04:00Thanks for all the great comments. It sounds like ...Thanks for all the great comments. It sounds like I didn't listen long enough for French Tom to show his own uglier side. If nothing else, Rockstar are equal opportunity offenders.Mitch Krpatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15987162934932391765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-69327230263818782092008-05-05T20:17:00.000-04:002008-05-05T20:17:00.000-04:00Ahh, I hadn't thought too deeply about the mission...Ahh, I hadn't thought too deeply about the mission "Out of the Closet", you know. To me, that was just another mission and it could have been a chick, or a dog, or yeah, a gay guy.<BR/><BR/>In fact, I still don't really have a problem with it. Admittedly, I sat there and listened to him, as I did with a certain lawyer later, and found that his constant self-profession of greatness fucked me off for me to want to shut him up, but then again, I had the same urge with one of the female characters you can date later (SoHo or something?).<BR/><BR/>Still, I didn't have a problem with that mission, I actually just assumed the reason Brucie didn't want to do it was because he was scared of his sexuality. However, now you've brought it up, I didn't pay that much attention to it either because I thought of it more as a side mission.<BR/><BR/>Regarding the AI, I've had similar experiences. Sometimes the police with force someone into their car, other times they'll get stuck on the door of their vehicle. Sometimes characters will walk around in circles, and other times whole traffic will pop in from no where.Daniel Purvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15678228002879207522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-8360202964417799322008-05-05T18:40:00.000-04:002008-05-05T18:40:00.000-04:00I haven't completed that missions yet myself, but ...I haven't completed that missions yet myself, but the first part bothered me a little as well. If I recall correctly, Brucie goes as far as using the word "buttmonkey" at one point, or something similar. Things get complicated with a game that's intentionally sarcastic, but the words and attitude didn't sit very well with me (joking or not.)Matthew Gallanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01592343625367336913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-83232159419540242192008-05-05T17:17:00.000-04:002008-05-05T17:17:00.000-04:00I'm not sure it counts for anything, but the game ...I'm not sure it counts for anything, but the game is a tad apologetic for that. Later on, Niko confronts Brucie and it turns out that the first two missions were basically done due to his roid rage. So in essence, the game does answer the earlier 'Did I REALLY have to kill this guy?' doubts. I'm not sure if that makes it any better XD<BR/><BR/>The Bernie missions, I don't know. I never noticed the pink mission icon. And as far as swishy caricatures, that generally goes the same for the other characters. They're all caricatures if you really think about it. It's whether or not the caricatures are a bad thing is what's to be debated.Turtlepantshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12160846700975074930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-50789168719107752762008-05-05T16:07:00.000-04:002008-05-05T16:07:00.000-04:00I was thinking the same thing about the "Out of th...I was thinking the same thing about the "Out of the Closet" quest. But then when you get to the date with the guy he's not just a queen. He's also a bigoted asshole. Listen to the stuff he says about handicapped people. After a couple of his off-hand comments I was ready to kill the guy, gay or not.<BR/><BR/>I fully realize that Rockstar is up to provocation here. I think they're trying to say that nobody is untouchable just because they're a minority group that's frequently and unfairly prejudiced against.<BR/><BR/>It's a complex and incredibly loaded situation to be sure.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07596738392616233487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-25938174741006589802008-05-05T16:00:00.000-04:002008-05-05T16:00:00.000-04:00The AI observation is a great example of the diffe...The AI observation is a great example of the difference between true AI and scripting, and I think it shows where the technology's at at this point. I've also been wondering for a while if the difference really matters. Would you have cared if the ATM/crook episode happened as a triggered script instead of a random AI-generated situation? In this case, I'm assuming you'd probably have preferred the script because it would have actually worked. I think in the end, an AI system that acts like a real life city will be incredible, but I think it's always going to be secondary to other game elements.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-14846962582417069032008-05-05T15:19:00.000-04:002008-05-05T15:19:00.000-04:00Lemmer, I guess I haven't made it that far yet. Ca...Lemmer, I guess I haven't made it that far yet. Can't wait.<BR/><BR/>Aeazel, it's a Match.com type of site. When you log in, you can choose to look for women or men, and then it's just headshots and profiles. I haven't looked at any of the profiles except for the one that was necessary for a mission, but it was actually pretty straightforward.Mitch Krpatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15987162934932391765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-44494228056186482332008-05-05T14:57:00.000-04:002008-05-05T14:57:00.000-04:00Thankfully my future roommate has this game, so I ...Thankfully my future roommate has this game, so I shall be able to test it out and see this more in depth (though I had had no plans to play before you mentioned this "Out of the Closet" mission). It's curious that such a 'realistic' game still gets caught up in such portrayals as the only ones. Why can't we have a gay bear every once in a while? New York is definitely not unknown for its large and fairly diverse gay community.<BR/><BR/>This also makes me wonder what manner of internet dating site the game uses. Is it something more along the lines of Match.com or Manhunt? The latter would seem to fit the game's themes more, while the former seems to still put the realm of gay interactions squarely in a 'straight' realm.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-48037529939390709142008-05-05T13:43:00.000-04:002008-05-05T13:43:00.000-04:00I totally agree about "Out of the Closet", but it ...I totally agree about "Out of the Closet", but it sounds like you haven't seen the worst of it. Without spoiling anything, you're later tasked with performing errands for what has to be one of the most stereotypically swishy caricatures I've ever seen in a video game or otherwise. He even comes complete with a pink mission icon. Niko spends a lengthy amount of time relating his sympathies to this character's troubles, but it almost seems like a pithy concession on Rockstar's part -- given all of the reasonably levelheaded satire present in Autos 4, French Tom and this character in particular come off as huge blights in an otherwise great game.xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01339243336103077903noreply@blogger.com