14 DAY TRIAL // There is a pandemic going around in the world and it's called the GTA IV bug. I don't want to be misunderstood, I really liked this latest title from Rockstar but I feel that all the editors in the world, with very few exceptions, are attending group therapy in a brothel. I also don't want to imply there's a black contract between the publishers and all the major gaming sites (maybe that's a good idea for another time) because the purpose of this article is entirely different.
All I have read this past week was how "great" this game is and how the small bugs can be overlooked 'cause it's such a "great" game. I thought the same and I said that to myself ever since I put the DVD in. I first thought the game looked amazing, the dialogs were awesome and the action was over the top and some other epithets, but small things started to annoy me, like some really bad, bad pathfinding, main character walking through air, occasional clipping, cars that miraculously turn back on their wheels after a crash, like a freaking turtle and a lot of other minor problems. My point is this: the first reason in my argument is that Xbox 360 and PS3 owners are nothing more than beta testers (at least in this particular case). When the game is going to come out on the PC, all of these bugs will probably be phased out.
The second reason has to do with the whole "here is 50 million dollars" Microsoft involvement. You may think this has something to do with all those complementary episodes that will be exclusive to Xbox 360 and it's true for the most part. Microsoft is also involved in the "Games for Windows" program and is part of the "PC Gaming Alliance". They will not ignore the potential of several million more copies that can be sold on the PC market. All those episodes will be on the PC and I wouldn't be surprised to see them included for free in the PC version. It's quite possible the Xbox 360 gamers will have to pay.
The third reason is linked to the amazing power of the consoles and how all that beauty is just fading away, as PCs are just getting more and more powerful. Suddenly everything that gets ported has better textures, better lighting, more missions and with 6 months of development (or porting) in sight, I wouldn't be surprised to see, with all the Microsoft backing, a DirectX 10 version for Vista.
The fourth reason is all about control. I'm not saying it's not fun to drive the cars with a gamepad and, unlike other schemes I've seen implemented in various games, this one is pretty much close to perfect, that is, if you discount the autoaim, and the clunky free aim, and shooting while driving, and the system cover and ... I think you get the picture. It might be OK for a console (even indicated in some cases) but the autoaim will be optional on the PC version and I will use the mouse to shoot from a car and, with the autoaim gone, I wouldn't use that cover system so much. The entire experience will get better on a keyboard and you don't have to take my word for it; just pray the multiplayer won't be cross platform.
The fifth and final reason is the modding community. I haven't actually counted all the mods for San Andreas, but there must be hundreds of good ones out there and, with the anticipated success of GTA IV on the PC, I'm pretty sure it will easily surpass that number. I don't even want to think about all the maps for multiplayer. The console owners will be drooling for this kind of diversity and Microsoft and Sony will be happy to satisfy their lust, given the right price of course; you're not getting those maps for free!
I'm not trying to lobby for the PC, I'm just saying that all the time I was playing it on my "trusty" console, one particular thought kept crossing my mind on a regular basis: "Man, this game is gonna rock on the PC."