NEWS CATEGORIES:



NEWS ARCHIVE >>
SOFTPEDIA REVIEWS >>
MEET THE EDITORS >>
Home / News / Games

Games


Peter Molyneux Praises GTA IV, but Thinks It Was Difficult

He analyzes the sandbox game

By Andrei Dobra, Games Editor

6th of January 2009, 09:00 GMT

Adjust text size:


Grand Theft Auto was well appreciated by Peter Molyneux
Enlarge picture
The Grand Theft Auto franchise is probably one of the most popular series of games out there. It has single-handedly shaped the genre of sandbox titles, and has won over thousands of fans across the world. With its latest release, Grand Theft Auto IV, the developers at Rockstar took the realism it portrayed in other games to a whole new level, creating the most impressive and lifelike world in the form of Liberty City.

The title gained critical acclaim and won over quite a lot of fans when it was launched. One of those enthusiastic admirers is reputed games designer Peter Molyneux, the one who is responsible for releases such as the Fable franchise. He recently talked to the BBC about the titles that shaped the last year, and went on to praise Rockstar's latest title for its innovation.

“On the gaming front, GTA IV was a real milestone for the industry. Rockstar nailed how you characterize a game and their engine and cut sequences are state of the art. However, only a few people actually saw all the cut sequences, because the game was so tough to play. Are we making games too difficult? That's a question the industry has been asking itself of late.”

While he does appreciate the open world sandbox game, Molyneux indeed makes a significant point when he talks about the difficulty levels it involved. While GTA IV offered a great experience and presented one of the most memorable stories, the game did have its  moments of drawback when some missions were a bit outrageous and required a lot of replays until the player could finish them.

What do you think? Was Rockstar's latest game a bit too hard to complete? Or did its innovations and story make you forget about those problematic key points when it became a bit difficult. Let us know in the comments section below.

TAGS:

Peter Molyneux | Grand Theft Auto IV | Rockstar | GTA IV | Sandbox
Read by 1,626 user(s) | Add comment | Link to this article TWEET THIS


Article rating:
Very Good (4.3/5) 6 vote(s)    

Subscribe to news | Print article | Send to friend

© Copyright 2001-2009 Softpedia
Contact:

 

 

SEARCH THE NEWS ARCHIVE :




Today's News
| Yesterday's News | News Archive


MORE RELATED ARTICLES:


Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Gets Release Date and Box Art

Rockstar Says a Grand Theft Auto IV PC Patch Is Coming

Take Two Boss Talks About GTA IV DLC and GTA Chinatown Wars

Developer Says GTA: Chinatown Wars Will Change DS Games

Here Are the Winners of the 2008 Video Game Awards

Take Two's Refusing Electronic Arts, One of the Worst Deals of 2008

Sequels Saved The Year for Games

User opinions:


Comment #1 by: Tom on 08 Jan 2009, 05:27 GMT reply to this comment

GTA iv is very dull in my opinion
I love the GTA series but this episode reminded me of "the phantom menace"


Comment #2 by: Mik on 08 Jan 2009, 19:17 GMT reply to this comment

Loved GTAIV. Loved the story, characters, graphics, freeform gameplay, biting social commentary, the whole bit. It was my first modern 'sandbox' game since the dear departed Star Wars Galaxy (at least it's glorious, buggy early iterations).

I thought the overall difficulty level inGTA wasn't an issue at all. It was jus the frustration when you took a wrong step or were trying a mission the first time to have to replay all the long boring bits of the mission before getting to the good stuff.

That isn't difficulty, it's just poor design decisions for replaying missions. I'm not some 20-fingered ADD kid who can finish TTFAF on Expert either. Just a middle-aged guy with some game experience. Mission difficulty is not GTA's problem. It's the seemingly institutional British Programming Eccentricity that is the real culprit. I'm going back to the Psygnosis days here, but every British-made game I've ever played has always had the most peculiar, non-standard, backwards or downright unfriendly interface / save-game implementations I've ever seen. Rockstar is merely upholding that dubious tradition to the highest level... =)

If they had merely put in more checkpoints during missions (mostly after the 'drive to this place' or 'follow that dude' parts), before the inevitable shootout begins, you wouldn't have nearly so many complaints on the difficulty front I think.

Comment #2.1 by: aidan on 20 May 2009, 19:45 GMT

i think you are very right Mik. I found this article searching google for "GTA 4 difficulty level" because i wanted to know if i could set it so it would be harder, because it's too easy for me now. however, you cannot. regardless of this i think they made GTA 4 well in terms of the actual game that you play but they could have made saving easier.


Comment #3 by: tom on 21 Feb 2009, 16:40 GMT reply to this comment

I played GTA4 twice last Fall, and just started playing it again recently. Some missions are difficult and may require some good luck to complete. Bruce's race ("No. 1") stands out as an example. I've tried it more times than I can count, and only won when somehow, my car jumped out to the lead even though I did nothing different from what I usually do.

Not having checkpoints is the only really major flaw in the game, IMO.

I should add that many missions can be completed in more than one way. Often, the obvious way is not the easiest. Examples:

"The Snow Storm" -- Sneak in the back (up a ladder) and leave some thugs to help fight the cops.

"Hostile Negotiation" -- Again, go around back, climb the stairs, and snipe at the enemy from the windows on each floor.

"Final Interview" -- You can use a gun and have to fight your way through an army of cops, or use a knife and walk right out.

And these are just a few of many. In addition, missions are always more difficult if you go charging in than if you take cover and go slowly. Even "Three Leaf Clover" is not that hard if you take your time.

Now some bad news -- If you complete (or nearly complete) the game, it seems to play harder the next time through, although this may be a result of randomness and luck in the game.

Share your opinion:

Your Name:
Your Email Address:
(will not be used for commercial purposes)
Solve this to prove you're not a bot: =
Your review/opinion:

 




Windows tabGames tabDrivers tabMac tabLinux tabScripts tabMobile tabHandheld tabGadgets tabNews tab

SUBMIT PROGRAM   |   ADVERTISE   |   GET HELP   |   SEND US FEEDBACK   |   RSS FEEDS   |   ENTER NEWS SITE   |   ENGLISH BOARD   |   ROMANIAN FORUM