GTA 4, a great excuse for lazy bloggers |
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| BY Thom Dinsdale May. 26th, 2008 | More on: |
If there is one thing more irritating that the cavalcade of over-hyped promotional writing that went on during the build-up to Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto IV, it’s the amount of needless filler that the game’s release has left in its wake.
The game been out for almost a month now, and still I see a new variation of the “Top 10 things to do in Liberty City” article on a daily basis. I know there’s a beating heart in the statue of happiness! I know you can pay a cab driver to go faster! I know if I beat up the car it’ll stall! I know all this because I’ve played the game, just like everyone else.
Granted, Grand Theft Auto IV could be the biggest game of the year, if not the decade, and for that I can forgive the all-pervasive and self perpetuating build up. Yet, the come down from the release feels so poorly covered and lazy. The vast majority of these list articles are examples copy-paste journalism at its very worst. Perhaps writers and bloggers were expecting the game to be more expansive than it is, that they would each discover their own beating heart in the Statue of Happiness. It seems they’ve been let down.
There is so much untapped discussion still locked tightly within GTA 4. It contains social commentary and satire of the very highest order. Every day I play, I trip over another little surprise which makes me think so much longer and harder than any of these utterly unremarkable statements like “wow, i herd sumthin on the radio and thn it wuz on the intrnetz”.
For example, I noticed today that all the streets surrounding the projects in Bohan are named after famous prisons. Isn’t that such a profound statement on poverty and the socio-economic climate in urban America? Yet, that goes practically unnoticed while “I walked into a club and saw Ricky Gervais!” is front paged on N4G.com.
Maybe it’s too much to ask for writers to think twice before they churn out more articles that really don’t contribute at all to the literature and discussion surrounding this or any game. Uninspired articles that state the obvious without delving beneath the skin look like nothing more than cheap shots at getting their website, whether well-known or obscure, its 15 minutes of internet fame.
[See also: Grand Theft Auto IV gallery]
May 26th, 2008
at 7:36 pm
Well go on then. Go beyond criticizing and touching the surface………..
I agree, but i expected this to be the opening paragraph to a more inteligent piece of writing?
May 27th, 2008
at 6:04 am
“I know all this because I’ve played the game, just like everyone else.”
EDIT: Except Rain*
May 27th, 2008
at 7:37 am
There’s no editing comments. Busted! But ya, I’m one of what must be very few who haven’t picked this up, and I’m not in a hurry either.
May 27th, 2008
at 9:45 am
Hey, it’s nice to hear about such intelligent things about GTA IV, because the game ist more intelligent and satirical than every other game I know. And I know LOTS of games! :-)
In my Blog (unfortunately it’s in german only) I mentioned the great neologism of “TerrOIL - Striking for America” as ONE example for diabolical criticism of the world’s crasyness amentia and especially the american one. I really love that I will try to uncover more of this. If you want to take a look to my Blog - there are a lot of pictures of GTA IV, too… :-)
gregormeister.blogspot.com
May 27th, 2008
at 9:51 pm
I didn’t purchase GTA IV either. I bought the first GTA III and eventually got bored of doing the same type of frustrating missions over and over again, so I stopped playing before finishing the story. Vice City came and went (and I didn’t buy it), then 3 years later I bought GTA: San Andreas when it released because it had supposedly “come so far” from GTA III. After the initial surface of the game was scratched, I realized very quickly that very little about the game was different enough to make it any more compelling to finish the story.
After watching GTA IV from the sidelines, I think I can safely say that after the effect of the new graphics improvements, physics improvements, and polygon boobs wear off, it’s going to still be the same old game. A game that’s certainly good for some quick chaotic fun, but not a game I can get into enough to want to finish. Certainly not worth purchasing for the 3rd time in a row.
May 28th, 2008
at 3:12 am
Good stuff Thom, we’ve all been talking about this behind the scenes, and the GTA IV spin/pretty hype machine has been in full swing. Do I think it’s a great game? Absolutely. Do I think it’s revolutionary and worthy of all the jock licking and 2nd coming of Jesus on a Harley Davidson smoking a spliff praise it’s getting? Not really. GTA IV could’ve launched with no commercials, no blog hype, nothing, nada and it would’ve still been a MEGA HIT.
But the aftermath left in the wake of the release of the game was EMBARASSING. Hell it made me feel some type of way being a blogger. I mean once SNL, Conan O’brian, and all major media outlets are reporting “Things to do in Liberty City when you’re drizzunk!” You know it’s getting ugly. But all in in all it’s a great game and I’m about to beat that shit as we speak.
Laters, I’m out!!!
May 28th, 2008
at 4:38 am
I have had about 4 80gb ps3s in and right back out of my house. I would keep one but the only game that is worth playing is GTA IV! DUH! I haven’t even played it but I know that it is probably just as awesome as the previous versions. Can someone tell me if it is as good or better than GTA 3? Thanks, Alec
Oh yea, want to learn how to get a Free Playstation 3? It’s easy! Just go to my blog and I’ll explain it all to you. But first, tell me if GTA IV is better than GTA 3!
May 28th, 2008
at 2:43 pm
Hey Alec, GTA IV is much better than 3 just in terms of the progression that it brings to the table, from a technical standpoint and the story and characters actually aren’t that bad either. Every character has a bit of depth to it, not like previous installments in the series where characters where there for seemingly no reason at all except to provide you over the top comic relief, or get to the next mission.
So on that note yeah, but for me the series hit it’s peak with San Andreas which I believe should’ve received the universal acclaim and critic jock riding this game got. While this game is indeed good and wouldn’t be a bad purchase, in the end it’s just more of the same (with a lot of less features that were in San Andreas) with a little “next-gen” polishing. In my opinion anyway.
But play the game for yourself, if you’re a fan of the series I’m sure you’ll like it.