Gettin' Mad at GTA

I don't think I can take it anymore. Take what, you wonder? Glad you asked. Grand Theft Auto 4. GTA4 on the PC is a mess. The system requirements are ridiculous (I'm running it at settings I thought I'd left behind around the middle of last decade) and worse, the game is buggy as fuck - which I have no doubt is largely responsible for the first complaint.

It's really too bad, because it's obviously an excellent work in most other ways. The characters and the script are absolutely brilliant. Much of the gameplay is hugely fun. But between the rampant glitches and the incredibly frustrating inability to save mid-mission - and on a PC, that should never be the case - is making it too much trouble.

I can't complain too much. I paid 20 bucks for the thing and already have more hours sunk into it than I'd get out of most modern FPSes. In terms of bang for my buck, I've come out alright. But I'm not happy, because I feel like I'm being forced to quit a game I want to keep playing. Nobody's got a gun to my head, sure, but how long do I want to keep struggling with this when there are so many other games out there waiting to be played?

Comments 4

True Aug 3, 2010

Completely off that subject, I saw your song choice and checked it because I know Placebo did their own version. It's...different, but if you like that song you may enjoy it.

Malygris Blogger Aug 4, 2010

Funny, I never realized that anyone else had done this song until last night when someone mentioned it on Twitter. It put me in the mood to hear it again.

I suppose I should check out this Placebo cover at some point, too. ;)

zippdementia Aug 4, 2010

I was disappointed in GTA4. I thought it proved quite nicely that grit and attempted realism don't often a better game make.

Compared to previous installments, or just in general? The only other GTA I've played (besides the original) was San Andreas, which I also really enjoyed but felt suffered from many of the same shortcomings. It was better technically but many of the missions were even more frustrating than what I've seen so far in GTA4 (which apparently holds true throughout the game, from what I'm told) and I ultimately went the same way with it that I expect I'll go this time: Get bored, drift away from it and never go back.

It kinda kills me, because so much of the writing is just so goddamn good and I absolutely love these characters. But I'm tired of fighting with the game.