# GTA IV Reviews start pouring in **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 29, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349 "2008-04-29T14:05:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/81 "2008-05-01T18:40:06Z")
One other thing, for a tutorial on the cover system, go to Multiplayer on your cell phone and pick Tutorial. It was a pretty handy match against bots that explained the cover system pretty well. Afterwards I much more handy in a fight. Has anyone tried the multiplayer? I have a so-so EVDO connection, at best it’s about like 512K DSL. It wasn’t clear how to host a game vs joining one. Both times I tried joining, I checked Ready but a few seconds later I got a message saying something like “One or more players lost their connection to the server.” I don’t know what that matters, unless the player was me? I figure things might be shaky on their servers for a few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/82 "2008-05-01T18:48:44Z")
[QUOTE=Kalibakthegreat] Also, has anyone blown up a gas station yet? I was in the middle of a three-star police chase last night and I ended up jamming my car between the pumps. Low on life and seeing no way out, I started unloading into my own car, hoping to blow it up to kill the cops that had me pinned down. When that car blew up, the ENTIRE SCREEN just went up, and when I could finally see - through the B&W slo-mo death glaze - I was nowhere _near_ the gas station and bouncing off of a building. Amazing. [/QUOTE] I saw it in multiplayer. It was a giant mushroom cloud of death. Me likey. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/83 "2008-05-01T18:55:00Z")
[QUOTE=Kalibakthegreat] Also, has anyone blown up a gas station yet? I was in the middle of a three-star police chase last night and I ended up jamming my car between the pumps. Low on life and seeing no way out, I started unloading into my own car, hoping to blow it up to kill the cops that had me pinned down. When that car blew up, the ENTIRE SCREEN just went up, and when I could finally see - through the B&W slo-mo death glaze - I was nowhere _near_ the gas station and bouncing off of a building. Amazing. [/QUOTE] Hmmm…I’ll be…right…back.. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/84 "2008-05-01T18:57:46Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] One other thing, for a tutorial on the cover system, go to Multiplayer on your cell phone and pick Tutorial. It was a pretty handy match against bots that explained the cover system pretty well. Afterwards I much more handy in a fight. Has anyone tried the multiplayer? I have a so-so EVDO connection, at best it’s about like 512K DSL. It wasn’t clear how to host a game vs joining one. Both times I tried joining, I checked Ready but a few seconds later I got a message saying something like “One or more players lost their connection to the server.” I don’t know what that matters, unless the player was me? I figure things might be shaky on their servers for a few weeks. [/QUOTE] Nope. They’re good. I’ve played a bunch of multiplayer games already. It’s probably you. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/85 "2008-05-01T20:06:10Z")
On a console, lets say a PS3 since that is what I have, how do the graphics compare to Assassins Creed? ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/86 "2008-05-02T18:10:46Z")
So is the multiplayer only online? I’m wondering if, say, me and hubby can play at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/87 "2008-05-02T18:14:58Z")
Online only I’m afraid. Getting to be more of a trend with games for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/88 "2008-05-02T18:39:16Z")
Bought it for PS3 today during lunch. Can’t wait to get it home. Initially I was torn between PS3 and X360 versions. Hope I made the right choice. Who am I kidding? I’ll probably scoop up the X360 version, too, so I can play it downstairs while my wife is sleeping. (PS3 is in the bedroom.) ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/89 "2008-05-02T20:11:51Z")
Hey, what do you New Yorkers think of this game? The guy they have for Weasel News is a dead ringer for 1010 Wins’ John Montone. I wonder if it is actually him sometimes. Anyone notice any celebrity voices? I wish I could get a list of them somewhere… ---
**Author:** ![filmyak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@filmyak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmyak)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/90 "2008-05-02T21:04:00Z")
[QUOTE=neutron star] …I called 911 and pressed 2 for paramedics. They showed up, checked me out as I stood over her, then got back in the ambulance and left, totally ignorant of the near-dead hooker…I called again. Same thing. [/QUOTE] A perfect example of the Uncanny Valley theory. (As games become more and more realistic, we begin to expect realistic responses from the games. When characters in these realistic games respond in non-real ways, the anomaly really stands out much more than if a less realistic game was to have a similar response. So realistic paramedics ignoring an injured NPC because they weren’t programmed to respond otherwise really stands out in this game, versus had the same scenario occurred in the purely-hypothetical GTA 1/2 had it come out on the Atari 2600 in 1984. The blocky graphics would have made it easy to overlook the strange behavior.) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/91 "2008-05-02T21:21:06Z")
[QUOTE=filmyak] A perfect example of the Uncanny Valley theory. (As games become more and more realistic, we begin to expect realistic responses from the games. When characters in these realistic games respond in non-real ways, the anomaly really stands out much more than if a less realistic game was to have a similar response. So realistic paramedics ignoring an injured NPC because they weren’t programmed to respond otherwise really stands out in this game, versus had the same scenario occurred in the purely-hypothetical GTA 1/2 had it come out on the Atari 2600 in 1984. The blocky graphics would have made it easy to overlook the strange behavior.) [/QUOTE] That’s not quite what the [Uncanny Valley](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley) is. ---
**Author:** ![filmyak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@filmyak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmyak)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/92 "2008-05-02T21:38:53Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] That’s not quite what the [Uncanny Valley](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley) is. [/QUOTE] I know, but a few years ago I read an article that explained the theory in video game terms. Same concept. They explained it in terms of an FPS (first person shooter). How the writer’s squad was following orders and interacting in an amazing way, until the player went and shot up a soda machine in the game, knocking it over. The squad was completely indifferent to the action as they weren’t programmed to react to it. The unrealism of that moment really took him out of “suspension of disbelief” mode… prior to that he was almost dealing with a near-Turing machine that responded as a human would, and the sudden stop was more jarring than had it been a completely mindless, robotic squad that never appeared realistic in the first place. I think it’s just another aspect of the Uncanny Valley theory. Same concept, different implementation. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/93 "2008-05-02T21:46:04Z")
[QUOTE=Merkwurdigliebe] Hey, what do you New Yorkers think of this game? The guy they have for Weasel News is a dead ringer for 1010 Wins’ John Montone. I wonder if it is actually him sometimes. Anyone notice any celebrity voices? I wish I could get a list of them somewhere… [/QUOTE] You can. On Wikipedia, IMDB or the instructions that came with the game. [And it is John Montone.](http://www.nypost.com/seven/05012008/gossip/pagesix/know_that_voice__108891.htm) The Beat 102.7 DJs are from NY’s Hot 97 (Not KTU as I orignally thought…like there is much of a difference) So far it definitely has a New York feel to it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/94 "2008-05-02T21:58:04Z")
[QUOTE=filmyak] I think it’s just another aspect of the Uncanny Valley theory. Same concept, different implementation. [/QUOTE] Not really. What you’re talking about is something that’s hardly unique to video games. In any media, the harder the work attempts to hew to realism, the more glaring the errors become. The Uncanny Valley is not just a matter of near-perfect simulations still not being perfect. We’re not talking about watching a gag reel, here. It’s an actual feeling of visceral revulsion that many people experience when confronted with something that’s almost, bu not quite human. In other words, the phenomenon does not refer to physical shortcomings of the simulation itself, but to a particular psychological, and apparently instinctual, reaction in the observer himself. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/95 "2008-05-03T16:48:26Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] You can. On Wikipedia, IMDB or the instructions that came with the game. [And it is John Montone.](http://www.nypost.com/seven/05012008/gossip/pagesix/know_that_voice__108891.htm) The Beat 102.7 DJs are from NY’s Hot 97 (Not KTU as I orignally thought…like there is much of a difference) So far it definitely has a New York feel to it. [/QUOTE] That’s very cool that they use actual NYC DJs. The magic of GTA is the details. ---
**Author:** ![Stringer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Stringer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringer)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/96 "2008-05-03T19:50:24Z")
I just bought a PS3 and GTA4 last night and I’ve been pretty unimpressed. The game is BUGGY! First it froze when I went to my map for the very first mission when you drive Roman home from the dock. Then I restarted and it froze during the cutscene in Roman’s apartment. Then I guess my installation got corrupted because I had to delete all the GTA data from the drive and reinstall. At least there will be patches, but it is near unplayable for me so far. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/97 "2008-05-03T20:04:52Z")
The only time GTA4 has acted weird for me is when I had a Rock Band guitar wireless USB box plugged in. GTA4 loaded and started loading my saved game, and just kept going forever on the black Loading screen. ---
**Author:** ![Stringer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Stringer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringer)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/98 "2008-05-03T20:09:05Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] The only time GTA4 has acted weird for me is when I had a Rock Band guitar wireless USB box plugged in. GTA4 loaded and started loading my saved game, and just kept going forever on the black Loading screen. [/QUOTE] Thanks for this tip, I have the wireless USB box for RB plugged in, I will unplug it for GTA. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/99 "2008-05-03T20:12:12Z")
The first time I played it my GTA was freezing a bit too. The second time I loaded it up it was fine. Also, if you’re getting stuck on the initial loading screen try signing out of PSNetwork. That’s what worked for me. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349/100 "2008-05-03T20:35:28Z")
[Try clearing the system cache if it does it in your Xbox 360](http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/11131/Xbox-360-Cache-Clear-Code-Revealed/). I’ve never had anything buggy like you guys are describing happen to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gta-iv-reviews-start-pouring-in/447349.md?page=6)