Yes, I did play the game, but I forgot to mention all the crap I had to go through to get to that point. First off, the biggest complaint that everyone has about this game is the inclusion of DRM in the form of SecuROM. Now, I've never really had any trouble with this before, since I do not run any virtual drives or Daemon Tools type programs... I purchase all my games and don't use cracks or anything since they crack down so hard nowadays and I don't feel like getting caught up in that BS.
Well, I heard the same crap about DRM for Far Cry 2, and I bought it and had no problems installing it or anything... But they did something... different, or maybe Far Cry 2 didn't have SecuROM or whatever, but the fact of the matter is once I had the game installed, and registered an account for Windows LIVE, and registered an account for ROCKSTAR Social Club (yeah, they make you register to play if you want to save your freaking game)...
Once I log into Windows LIVE, I start getting tons of warnings from my antivirus (I have both Symantec, and AVAST, and both were going crazy with TROJANS). YES that's right. TROJANS. MALWARE. I don't know if it's Rockstar's Club program, or Windows LIVE, but someone figured out how to either hack it, or *gasp* the game publishers are trying to install trojan horse files on our computers.
OK, trojan files aside, my antivirus blocks them. SO I attempt to log into my Rockstar Club account, and PLAY the game I just purchased for $50, and BOOM, I get some sort of Fatal Error. I looked this error up online and apparently, Rockstar is having problems with their servers... Which means that MULTIPLAYER IS UNAVAILABLE. I can log into my Windows LIVE account to save my game and play single player, but then I get trojan horse alerts from AVAST.
So after an hour or so, I finally get the game running (though now my computer takes twice as long to boot up).
The game itself... Well here's the thing. They have better visuals, but the graphics suck in terms of anti-aliasing... Stuff that is far away is pixilated, rather than blended in a way to make it look nicer. I can run Far Cry 2 and Crysis with no problem on the higher settings (Far Cry 2 I had maxed with no frame rate loss) but GTA IV just doesn't seem as optimized. I get a lower framerate than I'd like, but meh, moving on to gameplay.
Gameplay... Controls are different than what they've used in the past. I can no longer bind the ENTER key, which I don't use WASD, I use the arrow keys, so I always use the ENTER key to enter vehicles... But not anymore, I have to hit F or something, which totally ruins the flow. Speaking of driving, they also seem to have gotten rid of the follow camera... Now, you have to constantly have one hand on the mouse in order to rotate it around the camera or else when you turn, you will be looking at the side of your car, rather than in front of you.... It's a pain in the ass to get used to, but not bad. Cars feel very light and hard to maneuver. I can't make a quick turn without having to use the hand brake, and it just seems a lot touchier than I remember San Andreas being... It's just not quite... right.
The game has a tutorial system that after an hour and a half of playing is still giving me tips, just because the game is really that big.
Dating is now a lot more involved. I went on a first date with a girl I met in-game, and for bowling, you actually have a bowling mini-game that takes up about 5 minutes... Sheesh. I would skip dating altogether for the time investment, but they unlock guns and bombs and useful things like that if you get to know them better. The female models are a hell of an improvement over their older GTA counterparts! They still put red and blue stars over nipples so you'll see boobs, but no nips. Which is odd, because it leads back to the argument of how weird America is about nudity versus violence and swearing... You hear the word "f*ck" on the radio, from characters, on TV (YES you can watch TV now haha, Rockstar humor has never been better!!!)
Yet they get flack if they show low-res nipples in the game. They do push the envelope whenever they can though..... Just going to the bowling alley, you'll notice the two bowling balls next to the pin representing a certain male organ.
Anyway, still playing.
Right now I say hold off on buying the game, just because there is so much **** attached to it. It's sad, because people will buy the console versions to avoid the SecuROM... which will decrease PC Sales, which is probably what they want to do since Consoles are easier to program for.... meaning the Death of the PC market
The whole thing stinks of conspiracy.
Definitely do not buy it on Steam. For the same price, buying it in the store, you get the manuals filled with Rockstar humor, along with a giant map and poster in the case that you probably don't get by downloading it through Steam. I mean if you're going to pay $50 for a game, why not get a box and manual to put it in, eh?
