ROCKSTAR GAMES...Ya Really Blew It With GTA V

GTA IV vs GTA V:

Both games' multiplayer are extremely repetitive, but GTA IV never felt boring. I could play those same three co op missions over and over again and never feel bored. GTA V has many more co op missions, but I have yet to play one which even compares to any of the three from GTA IV and I've played a good amount of them as I'm currently rank 43. I know there's a good amount of missions I haven't been able to play, but if they couldn't get a single one right so far, I can't imagine the rest are any better. It has nothing to do with the challenge of the mission, but more so with the way the missions are designed. They all feel exactly the same regardless of where they take place on the map. So, co op missions, that's one part of the multiplayer, but what else is there? Well, when I get on I'm placed into the free roam world and I ask myself what should I do. My options are limited to a few things. Those horrendous co op missions, matchmaking, collect a bounty, gang attack, crate drop, customize a vehicle, stand in a property, retrieve a vehicle for a job, attack a bank truck, kill other players, or roam around the map.

Collect a bounty- This never gets old, but they don't happen that often.
Gang attack- I keep finding ones I haven't completed. They're alright, but they're getting old fast.
Customize a vehicle- So I can use it in one of the horrendous co op missions, drive it around in free roam, or use it in a race. Doesn't add much to the multiplayer.
Attack a bank truck- I rarely see these pop up. I'd compare these to collecting a bounty, but once again...they rarely show up.
Killing other players in free roam- Boring
Buy a property- So I can stand in it or use it to store my vehicles? WORTHLESS!
Retrieve a vehicle for a job- Got old after the 20th time.
Crate drop- These rarely occur. They've also gotten old in my mind.
Roam around the map- Boring

So, what have I yet to mention? MATCHMAKING!
The matchmaking system is probably the worst I've ever seen. It's completely broken. HEY ROCKSTAR, TAKE A LOOK AT CALL OF DUTY'S MATCHMAKING! THE GAME MAY BE TERRIBLE, BUT AT LEAST THE MATCHMAKING WORKS! I can't believe they ####ed up this bad with the matchmaking. It's horrible. I think back to GTA IV's matchmaking and realize it wasn't the best either, but AT LEAST I ALWAYS FOUND A GAME! I sometimes find a match in GTA V, but rarely does it consist of more than 3 players. GTA IV's matchmaking always filled up. If you started a team deathmatch, within a minute it would be nearly full if not filled. If you started a race or looked for a race you'd find one right away and they usually were nearly full by the time the match started. Everything else in GTA IV's multiplayer was great as well. All of those team based games and their non-team equivalent were perfect. They also never got old. I never once said to myself "This is starting to get old, or boring," when I played anything in GTA IV's multiplayer. Cops and Crooks from GTA IV? A GREAT GAMEMODE! WHY DID THEY REMOVE THIS!?!?! The better question is WHY DID THEY REMOVE EVERYTHING WHICH MADE GTA IV's MULTIPLAYER SO GREAT???

None of the game modes in GTA IV felt boring or lacking. They were perfect and matches actually filled up. Now with GTA V they've thrown a whole new list of game modes at you. Most are horrible no matter how many players are in the match. Some would be comparable to GTA IV if they'd actually fill up. The races would be great in GTA V.....IF YOU COULD ACTUALLY FIND A MATCH WITH MORE THAN 3 PLAYERS!!!

The cause of all these problems is due to the fact that most of the developer's time and effort went to basing the multiplayer around the free roam world. Very little effort went into creating good co op missions and it's competently obvious nearly no time went into creating a functional match making system. Rockstar should wipe the board and start from scratch on this game's multiplayer because they've really screwed up. I wish OH DO I WISH i could just turn enter the multiplayer and be greeted with a matchmaking screen. Oh it's so glorious picturing it in my mind right now. I'd see a screen where I could chose to search for a certain game mode and after a few seconds I'd be placed in a lobby which would fill up in no time. Back on the match making selection screen I'd see all the game modes from GTA IV along with the good ones from GTA V. They'd all be there lined up in a column and there at the bottom would be FREE ROAM. I wouldn't have to be placed into free roam automatically and suffer the realization that all effort went into making sure the free roam worked while shoving everything else to the side. Oh this vision is so beautiful, but sadly it will never be a reality.

What ever happened to being able to play any of the missions from the single player game in multiplayer? I swear I heard this was going to be the case, but I have yet to hear anything more about this. They certainly haven't implemented this in the online. Another thing they haven't implemented is a single heist type mission in the online. I thought this game was all about "The Heists"? The "Complex Missions"? Single player is great. If they would just swap all of the current multiplayer co op missions with all of the single player missions we'd be moving in the right direction.

I've dragged my feet all the way to rank 43, but I don't see myself making it much further if something doesn't change. I never thought I'd consider buying Battlefield 4, but it's starting to look pretty likely.

ROCKSTAR, YA BLEW IT!

I would add, they blew it beyond all reason in being Console-Exclusive on this one. I checked before replying here and the latest 'news' seems to indicate 2014 for PC release of GTA V. One even said SUMMER of 2014?? Wow... Why bother, by then? It's pretty clear that aren't simply behind on a PC version, they're making one...seemingly from scratch as a port over, by the shifting dates and now, that looooong timeline.

That's really a shame too. I've got the whole series and have really enjoyed the movement between structured playing and open world, almost sandbox play they allowed.

I'm not one of those people who will say Consoles suck and PC's rule. That's a tired and totally silly debate. The two are just too different for pros and cons.

I will say this... The amount of money invested in equipment has little comparison. What I wouldn't give for a replacement computer for my son to be anything close to the much lower price of the cutting edge console. (My own system is justified in other ways, so the gaming at ultra is a side bonus).

It's a very mature, well established and ...wealthy... market to have just written off and ignored. They blew it alright ...and in more than one way. They blew it beyond all recovery on this one, IMO.

I lost interest in GTA after GTA IV.
I don't know if my interests changed or what, but its the same game over and over again.
I probably won't ever buy it.

Oh, I forgot some things.

The whole "good sport" "bad sport" system they've implemented. If you blow up another player's vehicle, meaning a vehicle they've insured and is now linked to that player, if you blow it up you're told you're playing like a "bad sport" and have to pay a certain amount of money depending on the insurance type they have on the vehicle.

WHAT ON EARTH!?!?!?!?!

I'm playing GRAND THEFT AUTO! A game where you kill people, steal vehicles, crash vehicles, run down people with your vehicle, rob people, etc. and I'm considered a "bad sport" if I blow up another player's vehicle? This has got to be one of the worst decisions ever made in a video game. You're playing Grand Theft Auto V Online. I understand in some situations it is REALLY cheap to just blow up someone's vehicle to kill them, but I've experienced many situations where blowing up their vehicle made the most sense.

For example, I'm cornered and here comes a vehicle with four people down a alley. I might be able to kill all four by blowing up the vehicle they're in so I give it a shot because I know I'm screwed otherwise. IT WORKS and I live, but not without being considered a "bad sport" (it actually says this on the screen) and having to pay for their vehicle.

Another example: I'm in a helicopter which can shoot rockets and I'm attempting to kill a guy. He runs to a vehicle which happens to be "his vehicle". He drives away and I pursue him in the air. Shortly after I score a direct hit with a rocket and it blows up his vehicle and kills him. It was semi difficult to hit him with the rocket as it doesn't lock on in this situation. Guess what? I'm considered a bad sport and have to pay $12500 to pay for his "super car". RIDICULOUS! What was I supposed to do, ask him to please step out of his vehicle so I can kill him? HAS ROCKSTAR LOST THEIR DAMN MINDS!?!?!

You can buy a tank in the game, but for what reason if I'm not supposed to use it to blow up everything in my path? So you're telling me if I save up enough to buy this tank, I better be careful not to blow up someone's vehicle as I wreck havoc across the city? HAVE THEY LOST THEIR MINDS!?!?!?!

One last example: I have a bounty on my head. Some guy is coming to kill me so he can collect it. He pulls up in his vehicle and I kill by shooting him through his windshield. Within 5 seconds he's going to respawn nearby. I'm planning to continue to flee across the land and I know he's just going to jump back in his "fast" car to chase after me. There sits his vehicle and my options are to blow it up so he can't use it to chase after me and kill me or leave it sit there so he can get right back in it and continue to chase after me. Hmmm...it only makes sense to hinder his pursuit so why not blow up his vehicle? BECAUSE IF YOU DO YOU'LL BE CONSIDERED A BAD SPORT AND HAVE TO PAY A LARGE SUM OF MONEY! I know this is the case, but I do it anyway because I say "Screw this nonsense, I'm doing it anyway," and I do. "You blew up another player's vehicle. You're being a bad sport. If you continue to do this you'll be designated an official bad sport and will only be matched with other "bad sports"." -This is pretty much what it says on the screen. UNBELIEVABLE!!!! "Please step out of the vehicle so I can kill you sir." GOD OH GOD!

Let's talk about another horrible idea implemented in the online. What is it? Not being able to steal another player's vehicle. Let me remind you I'm playing the video game GRAND THEFT AUTO. (Def: Motor vehicle theft (sometimes referred to as grand theft auto by the media and police departments in the US) is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a car.)

If you approach another players vehicle you are given a message which tells you the vehicle is owned by another player and you can't get into it because of this.
NOT ALLOWED TO STEAL ANOTHER PLAYER'S VEHICLE BECAUSE THEY OWN THE VEHICLE!?!?!!?!?!?!?
When I first saw this message I knew Rockstar had really blew it. I knew this multiplayer was completely screwed. It was obvious. When I saw I couldn't steal another player's vehicle in the game 'Grand Theft Auto' I knew the world was screwed. They had managed to completely destroy a game which had potential.

I'd like to have the necks of every single person who thought these ideas were worth implementing.

reply to post by SeriousIndividual


Wow. It's like you are playing a different game than I am. I love the missions, customization, matchmaking, free-roam, and the entire construct of mission/free roam mechanics. I even love the good sport / bad sport system (I'd like to see them let the vehicle thing slide though if they kill you first)

Only complaints I can think of:

- RDR was a bit more dynamic and fluid when entering hide outs and starting matches. Had a much more organic feel to it.

- Would like volume control for all of those mouth-breathing mic users (instead of just muting).

- Would like a quick-chat where you can type open-world. Texting on phones is cool but I'd like the typing equivalent of those jack-asses who blast their terrible 50 Cent crap through their mics.

- Wouldn't mind having a notation system so you can personally mark players as jerks or cool guys that would carry over through any future sessions.

- Can't wait for them to start implementing the heists!

I will have to disagree with you. I love this game. I've played every gta since it was on p.c.

The other day I got in a car, some dudes picked it up with a cargo bob, I then planted sticky bombs to the bottom of the helo as insurance, sure enough they dropped me, I blew them up. It was hilarious. The freedom in it is awesome. Have you played the survival missions?

Are you kidding? This game is the most ground breaking, visually stunning, VAST exploration game to DATE on consoles.

This game was able to do the unbelievable, and brought next gen graphics to past-gen (OLD) hardware.

This is the largest, most eventful, busiest GTA game in the series.
In my opinion, for what it is, before any of the DLC comes in, as it sits the game is very well played out (beat the game) and there's plenty of diversity. I see no real reason to even try to complain about this game.
This game is a must own for anyone that's ever enjoyed GTA.

It's slightly graphically scaled down on the PS3, xbox 360 version has the most eye candy. (easily noticeable in the sky/cloud detail) So if you have the choice, get it for 360.

Rockstar did a phenomenal job with this. Adding many different things that were never even fathomable in any previous GTA. Of course they can't be perfect, but name one game that is? I dare you. The polish in this game is amazing, hardly any glitches and for me, I found it to be outstanding.

What other game exists that allows you to go skydiving, explore ship wrecks, get abducted by aliens, go biking, jet skiing, fly aircraft, sneak onto military bases, play tennis, golf, go see a movie, and on and on and on. The list just goes on.

Yes the online portion needs help, but honestly, it's already on it's way to being better more smooth every update.



And to add to this OP... NEVER CONSIDERED BUYING BF4!!?!?!? AHHHHH Battlefield is the best game ever... BF4 is an amazing game, however if you have a beefy gaming PC get it for that. Or PS4. Current gen systems are a waste to play it on.

Haha, iv'e just lost my dunce hat. I really enjoyed planting sticky bombs outside of LS customs and wait for people to drive up, then kaboom! I'm a bit bored with online mode now though. I'm level 58, have a fully customised Adder, the attack chopper and $7,500,000. Nothing left to do really.

reply to post by porschedrifter


You just described everything that makes the single player good. All of those things can be in the online, but they don't make for good multiplayer. GTA Online was half assed, there's no better way to put it.

You want to know a game with better multiplayer?

GTA IV.

reply to post by CallYourBluff


I'm surprised I haven't gotten the dunce hat yet. I've only ever been told I'm on my way, but I guess I let enough time pass and it reset. Shame on this game.

reply to post by SeriousIndividual


Yeah I get you. They are really trying to improve the online play. Lets hope patches and DLC will bring it up to speed.

reply to post by porschedrifter


True, it's bound to only get better with every update. And I just got that 50 grand put into my bank account. C'mon attack helicopter!

Question for all you gamers...

I've never played any version of GTA, I, II... so on so forth....

Is it possible to just up and start playing V or do I need to start at I and
work my way up?

I'm not sure that I'm going to play, was just thinking about it.

Thanks,

Until Battlefield 4 comes out with a patch I wouldn't bother. It's freezing pc's, ps3s and xbox 360s. Would be nice if developers could finish a game instead of releasing games with numerous bugs.

reply to post by elevatedone


I haven't played for a while, but you can jump right in. The games don't interconnect. You don't need to have played the previous games to follow and play the more recent ones.

reply to post by Cuervo


I hope an update in the near future gets rid of the "good sport"/"bad sport" system, having to pay for blowing up another player's vehicle, and not being able to steal another player's vehicle.

There are way too many instances where these things just ruin the game rather than doing any good. Just look back at my second post and you'll see. It should be the owner's responsibility to protect their vehicle, not the game. If you drive up to kill me and I kill you, tough luck. Now I'm going to steal your car and if you care about it, you better come take it back. This would be a great part of the online if it could happen, but the game completely blocks the possibility. If you drive up on me with the intention to kill me and I kill you, your punishment is the loss of your vehicle either as I drive it away or blow it up. You're the one who thought it was a good idea to try to kill me. Turns out it wasn't and now I'll take my reward, your vehicle. Do you know how many times someone's vehicle gets caught in the crossfire and someone gets screwed because they accidentally blew it up? Do you know how many times examples I described in my second post occur? The answer is all the time. I thought this game was supposed to be an open world where I can play how I want? What if I want to play like a criminal? Maybe a car thief? Oh, whoops, I guess I can't...that's not allowed. It's honestly ridiculous. Those three things I named completely take away from the game. They basically remove options from the game. I guess their idea of a good game is one with less to it.

That's quite the rant. You sure are a Serious Individual.

I, for one, think GTA V is a significant improvement over GTA IV in terms of both single player and multiplayer gameplay.

SeriousIndividual
GTA IV vs GTA V:

Both games' multiplayer are extremely repetitive, but GTA IV never felt boring. I could play those same three co op missions over and over again and never feel bored. GTA V has many more co op missions, but I have yet to play one which even compares to any of the three from GTA IV and I've played a good amount of them as I'm currently rank 43. I know there's a good amount of missions I haven't been able to play, but if they couldn't get a single one right so far, I can't imagine the rest are any better. It has nothing to do with the challenge of the mission, but more so with the way the missions are designed. They all feel exactly the same regardless of where they take place on the map.

The co-op missions all follow the same formula with a little variation, based on what I've seen so far:

1. Drive to location
2. Eliminate all hostiles
3. Retrieve drugs/vehicle and/or destroy a certain target
4. Return to base
5. Profit

Most of the early level gang-bangs are quite simple and easy, and don't pay very much, so I try to avoid them. I still enjoy the more difficult ones which involve storming a highly-fortified area and retrieving a plane or a helicopter. They're short and sweet, pay out a good amount of cash and RP compared to competitive modes, and leave me with a nice sense of accomplishment.

It would be nice to see more varied missions, and I do believe that Rockstar is adding more content so maybe they'll find a way to cater to your extremely Serious appetite.

Collect a bounty- This never gets old, but they don't happen that often.

Agreed. Usually when I see a bounty, a ton of other players are already trying to collect it so I don't bother. I've pulled off a few really smooth hits which were immensely satisfying though.

Gang attack- I keep finding ones I haven't completed. They're alright, but they're getting old fast.

Nice little chunk of RP for little effort and gives you something to do when you're just wandering, no complaints there.

Customize a vehicle- So I can use it in one of the horrendous co op missions, drive it around in free roam, or use it in a race. Doesn't add much to the multiplayer.
Attack a bank truck- I rarely see these pop up. I'd compare these to collecting a bounty, but once again...they rarely show up.
Killing other players in free roam- Boring

These things go hand in hand for me. I usually only spend time in Free-mode after completing at least 1 survival, a couple missions and deathmatches. I hit the town for the shopping, usually a few people try to kill me and get deeeestroyyyyed. Three guys were camping an Ammunation one time. I think they were a crew. Took em down real easy, bought my upgrades and picked up some armor and tested out my new gear while I fought off the 3 of them and the mercenaries that they called in for backup. Even pissed them off enough to earn a $9000 bounty.

Good times

Buy a property- So I can stand in it or use it to store my vehicles? WORTHLESS!

I had an apartment. Useful for activities like watching tv, watching my avatar shower in a bikini, taking bong hits...pointless boring crap. I traded it for an 8-car garage so at least I can accumulate a variety of vehicles, most of which I will never use Really, I only need like 3 vehicles. A dirtbike for offroading, a sports car for cruising the city and missions a 4-door car for drivebys.

Retrieve a vehicle for a job- Got old after the 20th time.

Meh, easy money when I'm bored. Wish they'd give a pic of the cars they're looking for though. I'm not going to memorize every freakin' car in the game and looking them up is tedious.

Crate drop- These rarely occur. They've also gotten old in my mind.

Doesn't pay off enough to warrant driving out to the obscure drop locations. I've given up on these. Unless I'm already in a helicopter.

So, what have I yet to mention? MATCHMAKING!
The matchmaking system is probably the worst I've ever seen. It's completely broken.

Matchmaking in general is just a bad idea, IMO. I'd much rather be given a menu showing ALL the available games, complete with WHICH GAME MODE, WHICH MAP, HOW MANY PLAYERS AND HOW BAD IS THE LATENCY. I'd much rather choose the best game than be stuck in a lobby with 2 guys waiting for a map I don't like (and evidently no one likes because they keep leaving!) or to be randomly sorted into a FFA deathmatch, Team deathmatch or even a freakin air-vehicle deathmatch (god I hate those.)

So I agree with you here. This is a fail. But its something that nearly the ENTIRE game industry is failing at so I can't blame Rockstar alone.

Cops and Crooks from GTA IV? A GREAT GAMEMODE! WHY DID THEY REMOVE THIS!?!?! The better question is WHY DID THEY REMOVE EVERYTHING WHICH MADE GTA IV's MULTIPLAYER SO GREAT???

Still exists, sort of, in a variety of forms, under the category of "missions" (which is stupid, makes it hard to differentiate competitive missions from co-op missions)

None of the game modes in GTA IV felt boring or lacking. They were perfect and matches actually filled up.

Turf War: always empty.
Co-op missions: always empty.
Deathmatches: filled up fast but were full of hackers using auto-aim in auto-aim-disabled games.
Races: Not my area of expertise
Free-Roam: Literally nothing to do but harass other players or try to make friends (and usually get killed for merely existing)

These issues were probably just because I was a year late for the party...

Now with GTA V they've thrown a whole new list of game modes at you. Most are horrible no matter how many players are in the match. Some would be comparable to GTA IV if they'd actually fill up. The races would be great in GTA V.....IF YOU COULD ACTUALLY FIND A MATCH WITH MORE THAN 3 PLAYERS!!!

Just keep switching game modes, waiting through horrendous load screens, maybe start your own game and bake a cake while you wait. You'll get to play eventually

I thought this game was all about "The Heists"? The "Complex Missions"? Single player is great. If they would just swap all of the current multiplayer co op missions with all of the single player missions we'd be moving in the right direction.

Heists are coming eventually, or so we've been told. Also there's a content creator coming soon but that only allows players to craft races and deathmatches.

ROCKSTAR, YA BLEW IT!

I think Rockstar did a decent job. It's not TEH GR8EST GAEM EBER, but its a solid improvement and they're still working on it. I give them an "yyyyeah alright" out of 10.

SeriousIndividual

The whole "good sport" "bad sport" system they've implemented. If you blow up another player's vehicle, meaning a vehicle they've insured and is now linked to that player, if you blow it up you're told you're playing like a "bad sport" and have to pay a certain amount of money depending on the insurance type they have on the vehicle.

I'm not bothered by the bad-sport system. You're not actually considered a bad sport unless you destroy a TON of personal vehicles. Camping at a mod shop and blowing up anyone who exits/enters will make you a bad sport. I'm glad they took some steps to deter buttholes in this way.

I've destroyed quite a few personal vehicles and have never been actually labelled a "bad-sport". I don't even mind paying the insurance (it's like the cost of 2 body armors, which is what I would spend if I let the stupid bastard chasing me in his car kill me) It's still worth it to blow up a car for anything higher than a $1000 bounty. Just don't like blow up every single car you see. You have guns too. Use them.

People keep jumping to conclusions about this bad sport system and what it actually means. Just calm teh phoque down. Its a gaem.

I think the problem is that they actually have multilayer.

It really annoys me that game developers are obsessed with online play to the extent that it affects the single payer experience. I love games like CoD , Battlefield, Fifa and all the rest of them for their online play but they have their place, online.

GTA really is about the single player experience if they would put more work into amazing single player experiences and less into mediocre mulitplayer I would be happy.