Comments on: The RPS Electronic Wireless Show 36

By: jsutcliffe

jsutcliffe — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:26:52 +0000

San Andreas had a similar problem — all the early missions with CJ were excellent, then it all went to hell when he left the city and suddenly seemed to care more about flying planes through glowing red hoops than fixing his ‘hood.

It makes me wonder if a Starcraft-style handoff between different campaigns would work well, e.g. (and this is a terrible example – I’ve not played GTA for ages) after Nico befriends that Playboy chap, making Playboy the player’s character for a bunch of missions, before handing off to another person higher up the crime ladder.

By: The Dark One

The Dark One — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 04:30:24 +0000

Sherlock Holmes IS in the public domain, which is why awesome/horrible things like this can be made:

http://www.theasylum.cc/product.php?id=164

By: Schmung

Schmung — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:34:12 +0000

I still maintain that GTA IV would have worked a lot better if Nicos story had made up only a third of the game and that you became someone else. There was too much stuff that the game wanted/needed you to do to fit into one persons story. Hence it was a bloody convoluted mess that dragged on for far too long just so it could show you all the fun stuff they’d put in Liberty City. If they’d have narrowed down the focus of the story or shorten Nicos journey then it would improve things dramatically. Lost and Dammed is far more enjoyable for precisely this reason.

oh and jolly good to hear mention of Naumachia. There’s going to be a pre-release beta of it at some stage, but details of how you apply and indeed how it’ll be structured are a bit thin at present.

By: terry

terry — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:08:09 +0000

Entertaining listen. “Obviously, Activision have turned into giant lunatics” made me laugh.

By: Kadayi

Kadayi — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:46:32 +0000

@Funky Badger

I don’t think Denerims great either (personally, I prefer open worlds to closed), but I’m not so foolish to mistake flashing lights, beeping horns or the inclusion of strip clubs as proof of a games actual narrative depth, or find them an excuse for it’s ultimate shallowness (3D virtual tits..woo hoo o/).

There existed an opportunity for R* to deliver a game with a tight focussed narrative, with believable characters that weren’t drawn from the great book of loud stereotypes you ultimately don’t care about, and undoubtedly purely on previous reputation alone they’d have cleaned up financially. Instead we ended up with this awkward halfway house, that strived for meaning in a game world devoid of it.

Would it have been that terrible a thing for them to have focussed the game more so that you as Nico were more lead in how you progressed through the game, in terms of who you meet and where and when? Rather than the game allowing you to open up myriad different branches that then ultimately compete for your attention, to the point where the phone becomes your enemy rather than your aid?

By: Kadayi

Kadayi — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:57:23 +0000

Really? Well I can’t say I bothered much with Kate, as I’d given up worrying about the girlfriends by that point. The only one who seemed useful was the lawyer because she could reduce your wanted rating.

Also please let’s end the KG meme, it was funny for all of about 5 minutes, now it’s just become tiresome.

By: Funky Badger

Funky Badger — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 15:15:07 +0000

Kadayi: its still the best there is, Denerim? Doesn’t even come close…

By: Kadayi

Kadayi — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 12:45:49 +0000

@Funky Badger

Most realised? I mean sure it’s a great take on New York architecturally, but then for some reason they decided to cover it in a layer of one dimensional in your face jokes that undermined the whole affair.

@Man Raised By Puffins

That’s a pity. I think principally it’s a case of them handing over the writing to different people who can bring something fresh to the franchise, as well as a structure to it.

By: Man Raised By Puffins

Man Raised By Puffins — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 12:13:56 +0000

@ Kadayi:

As I understand it the L&TD & TBoGT are much tighter experiences, so when they do eventually come to the PC (as seems to be the scuttle bucket) I’m interested to see how they’ve evolved from GTA IV.

Well, they’re shorter. Gay Tony is probably a bit more focused, as the diamond heist is more central to the story, but they both suffer from some haphazard plotting. I doubt you’re going to see much evolution in that regard so long as the Housers remain at the helm.

Also: Roman didn’t die, you greedy basts!

By: Muzman

Muzman — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:33:50 +0000

You’re right LK, that worked a treat. Cheers.
It seemed for a while there you’d have to have the best blooming trees perfectly managed right from the start just to get past Famine. Little did I know I was just over amping myself. The game does explain how to do things pretty well, if obliquely. But I doubt I would have got that one by myself.

And now I’ve unleashed all these brothers on the place, who I only seem to piss off and who like to wreck my stuff.
‘Tension’ is a good name for this game.

By: mrrobsa

mrrobsa — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:20:31 +0000

@mrrobsa:
Ah, first time Reply has failed for me :(
This is in response to Kadayi.
Sorry for confusion!

By: mrrobsa

mrrobsa — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:18:13 +0000

SPOILERS AHEAD:
Do you guys know that Kate or Roman die based on whose advice you listen to at the end?
Obviously since Roman is far more likable character than Kate I’m guessing most people would listen to him, and thus the game becomes ‘Roman’s Tragedy’. I felt this was a great narrative touch.