Opinion: GTA IV was Boring, GTA V Needs San Andreas Humor

Grand Theft Auto IV wasn't as funny as the other games in the series. So with GTA V will Rockstar look to reverse that trend and return to the more "exaggerated" type of laughs that we saw in games like San Andreas?

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

I thoroughly enjoyed GTA IV's story and wasn't bored at all.

[Root]

I didn't hate the story but it was a little boring

I just hated Niko....he was flat, boring and his voice just got on my nerves.

He had nothing on CJ or Tommy

Shame reviewers didn't notice this...I think at the end with a next gen GTA game and after how amazing SA was we all got sucked into the hype.

[LOL_WUT]

Niko's voice was the main problem for me and I also agree about it being too boring. Oh and let's not forget little Jacob I hated him! ;)

[NukaCola]

I got tired of GTA IV after a while. It was so dreary and depressing. The world felt so empty and hollow as well. You were basically going from cutscene to cutscene via yellow markings and circles. Characters in Rockstar games also need to stop always throwing their hands up sayi,ng "Fine, I'll complete your retarded requests;" and walking out.

[ape007]

@LOL_WUT

I completely disagree, niko's voice and accent are very special and a fresh change from the typical accent, it made want to listen to every word he says and niko is one of the best gta characters ever, you can feel the emotion

[xXBlondieVanHarlowXx]

Niko had nothing on Tommy or Cj? I loved Tommy & Cj but,,, seriously!!?!

Niko was a far deeper, well written character than Tommy or Cj were put together. Tommy was basically Liotta's(<3) character Henry Hill from the Goodfellas. As for having a problem with Niko's voice, well that just sounds a bit nitpicky.

[omi25p]

Nikos my favorite protagonist and Little Jacon was my favorite friend in GTA IV.

GTA IV was brilliant, It was just a more advance version of GTA 3 and GTA Vice.

People always seem to look at GTA 3 And Vice through nostaliga glasses. I've been recently replaying them on my GS3, They are both just older versions of IV.

Sure San Andreas was more advanced. But R* had alot more time to get used to the last consoles and what they can do.

[Wuket]

Niko was BORING. Trevor on the other hand...

[showtimefolks]

i know hating on GTA 4 is cool thing to do but when it came out it was one of the best games of that year. now going back to it yes its boring and you see some issues but when the first time i played it i was amazed

[HorrorGod]

I agree. Sure, it wasn't as "funny" as previous GTA's, but I did still enjoy it. I loved the 2 DLC episodes as well.

I think we can all agree that it was the Liberty City (ahemNEWYORKahem) setting that people didn't enjoy as much a second time around (4th time, if you count GTA1 and GTA: Liberty City Stories).
Vice City and San Andreas just have a better vibe.

[Trenta27]

I look at it as it was Rockstar's first big game on the current consoles. Once they did that, they went on to make RDR (which was absolutely fantastic) and so forth. I have high hopes for GTA V.

[Wuket]

Andreas was more Saints Row-ish.

[LarVanian]

Actually, Saints Row was more San Andrea-ish :).

[dcortz2027]

GTA IV has to be the most boring game I have ever played. Gameplay was sluggish and graphics were terrible for a next-gen game. I hope GTA V is what GTA IV should have been, a true next-gen GTA experience!

[ape007]

lol wut, GTA IV imo is a Masterpiece, yes it missed some things and yes the control was sluggish but the gameplay quality, the atmosphere, the attention to detail,the density of it is second to non

and the gfx were amazing at the time, im sure u got the ps3 version, the gfx on xbox 360 are awesome at the time and still is in some aspects, you simply cannot find an open world game environment so compelling and deeply inspired as R* North's

[NYC_Gamer]

I enjoyed GTA4

[Mutant-Spud]

So did I, up to a point, the constant, aggravating cell phone calls and the wonky combat became too much and despite trying three times over the course of about two years I never got much past the halfway point in the story before getting fed up and putting it away. That said, the game had an incredible atmosphere and the rare moments when the phone wasn't ringing or everything around you exploding were golden, driving about at night listening to the radio, getting caught in the rain, walking around a quiet part of town etc, it's one of the few open world games of which I have memories of actually doing things just for the sake of it.

[MeatAbstract]

My go to game for messing around is GTAIV. Sure there's less stuff to do when compared to games like Just Cause 2 or Saints Row but I just like it. The driving feels just right, I love cop chases and with the trainer on you can really just mess around with stuff. I can still have fun the multiplayer as well.

[xXBlondieVanHarlowXx]

I still go into the multiplayer section now & then and run other players over with a helicopter, or a fast car...
:p good times.

[MeatAbstract]

Exactly. Free mode, all weapons, cops on and go nuts. Can be hilarious.

[Lucreto]

I hated all of the GTA except GTAIV. The older games were all parodies of gangster movies.

GTA4 was them stepping out of that shadow and I loved it. I ignored the others until I was told it was much better and they were right.

I hope they keep to it and not sink back to it low levels. Saints Row can handle that from now on.

Also leave Packie out of the negative discourse. He was good people.

[ExitToExisT]

It's been 5 years and all i want is to play a GTA title on my pc no matter its boring or not:)

[nevin1]

I thought GTA 4 was boring too.

I had a few laughs during online play though.

[Sketchy_Galore]

I actually thought the level of humour was fine, it was the same old chase/kill missions over and over and over that really pushed me away. The game was at least a dozen hours longer than it needed to be. The disconnect between the identifiable character of Niko and the fact that you had to play like a psychopath was a little jarring but I don't think returning to the old super silly style is the answer.

To be honest I'm not sure there is an answer to the GTA thing. I recently bought Vice city stories for the Psp/Vita and San Andreas as a PS2 classic and honestly, I gave up on both of them quite early on. I was blown away by the 2nd GTA5 trailer but after running back through the series I can't help but reach the conclusion that Rockstar just don't make enjoyable missions and their games just are not well paced. The whole, 'drive here, watch a cutscene that feels somehow removed from the actual gameplay part of the game, then go perform the task that was asked of you in the cutscene' style of gameplay has been feeling archaic since San Andreas.

I really hope GTA5 is as amazing as that trailer made it look. I really hope the majority of missions are at least closer to the big bank robbery mission in GTA4. IE, mid mission cutscenes and NPCs that actually behave in original ways relevant to the mission they're in. Rather than the old formula of watching a cutscene, then driving somewhere and shooting some people, possibly with an NPC that just follows you and gets in the passenger seat of your car.

[Psychotica]

Absolutely loved GTA 4 and still play it quite a bit..

[Y_5150]

Running over people is endless fun to me...

[2pacalypsenow]

GTA IV was lame San andreas is still the GTA king

[kevnb]

GTA iv was great, but the worst in the series since GTA 2. Its just that strong a series.

[Stallion]

I thought the GTA IV story was fine. My problem with the entire series was the atrocious driving and the non existent checkpoint system.

[TheSaint]

Game-play wise it felt like a step back from San Andreas.

You couldn't even choose what colour your car came out of the paint shop with.

A small thing I know but it is indicative of the problem I had with GTA IV.

[black911]

100% agree also why did they go back to liverty city??? Really the smalkest gta location. They shouldve went went to bigger bew location. GTA4 was a huge step backwards they took rverything out.

[mrman7]

Niko was about as charismatic as a Tetris block, an ugly-looking caveman with the trashiest clothes on the planet. GTA is escapist fare, and I miss the glamour and glitz of Vice City and Las Venturas. I yearn for the awesome absurdity of jetpacking in a tuxedo over the San Fierro Bay. If I wanted need to wear a windbreaker while wandering through dirty alleys, I could do that in real life. New York in general is totally played in sandbox games. All of the major sandbox franchises, True Crime, GTA, Mafia, The Godfather, GTA, Spiderman have been to New York at at least once, sometimes twice in the past decade. The sandbox games of the current gen that have stood out have gone somewhere different. Red Dead Redemption, Saboteur, and Sleeping Dogs took us to places we haven't seen in games before. When I first played GTA IV at a friend's house I was amazed. When I finally got a 360, it was the first game I bought, but I was disappointed and have played it less than any GTA game before. In preparation for GTA V, I've been playing around in all of the previous Rockstar Sandboxes. All of the other games in their canon have been revolutionary. GTA IV was evolutionary. I think that GTA V might be the best game they will ever make. I certainly hope so. See you all on launch day.