GTA IV anyone?

[ZacFields]

Has anyone gone out and bought this yet? Oh who am I kidding? Of course you have.

Well, to make a long story short, in my further attempts to be "green" I preordered GTA IV a few weeks ago from Best Buy who was offering free shipping. I figured I could use my gift cards from Christmas finally, and I wouldn't have to drive all the way to the other side of town to go to Best Buy and pick it up.

Boy, did I ever make the wrong decision. GTA IV came out on Tuesday. It is now Wednesday and I still do not have my game. It should be here on Friday. Usually this wouldn't be a big deal, but the internet is LOADED with people who have nothing but great things to say about the game. IGN, who never rates games with a "10" gave GTA IV a 10 and released a nice 5-minute video talking about how it's the best game ever.

Is everybody else at least enjoying your copy? lol

[Drifte]

i havnt scheduled any video game time, so its not really something I'd do anyway. Im surprised matt didnt buy it its the only video game he plays.

[biohazard]

I'm having fun with my copy. I've been playing online free roam with one of my friends on Xbox Live.

[NewSpeedSteed]

Got it today after work and played about 15min then I ran out of game time. Maybe this weekend I'll have some free time, but from what I've seen its incredible and I'm looking forward to getting into it.

[DustinsDuster]

its 8pm, and i just got home from work not too long ago. i went in at 5:30am. this isnt that rare of an occurance. i have no time for video games. oh well.

[DragonUSMC]

If you are going to pre-order you seriously should go with a store like Gamestop or something. They actually will have the game you pre order. Unlike big box buy where they are not positive on the actual shipment number.

But no i wont be joining you in GTA... i'm not a fan of them.

[Ashley]

well they shipped his game last friday, before it was even released.. so we assumed it would be here by now. but no, best buy standard shipping is some weird ups/usps alliance thing.. where ups takes it to the usps and the usps delivers it.. incredibly slow. apparently it's like a 7-10 business day timeframe. argh.

[Domestic Disturbance]

should have just preordered in store. i picked mine up from best buy at the midnight release monday night/tuesday morning. definitely my favorite. very different from the others including more complicated controls. once you get the hang of them though, they are nice to have.

[RandomHero]

i havnt scheduled any video game time, so its not really something I'd do anyway. Im surprised matt didnt buy it its the only video game he plays.
too much money and its not a priority.

[Drifte]

how much is this game and what formats does it come it?

[RandomHero]

i think its like $60 and from what I saw its only PS3 and 360

[Domestic Disturbance]

special edition is $85, with a lockbox, buffle bag, sound track, keychain, concept drawings. basically shit you don't need, so I had to get it

[NewSpeedSteed]

special edition is $85, with a lockbox, buffle bag, sound track, keychain, concept drawings. basically shit you don't need, so I had to get it


Same here, I pre-ordered from gamestop or w/e that place in Westdale is called now and forgot I ordered the special edition. Got home and found all that stuff, its all kinda neat but when I realized that I spend $85 on it I feel kinda cheated.

[TbTalon94]

even $60 i feel cheated. Probably why I haven't bought a video game for probably a year or so. I guess i've boughten a few Wii games but they are like 30-40 and one of them i got an extra padell with :)

[RandomHero]

for Wii all you need is Wii sports and your set.

[amoander]

I am avoiding the purchase till the end of finals (3 weeks away). That game is like crack to me, therefore I am avoiding it till then. Also I hope people will have advice on it by then.

[ZEE]

I'm still in PS2 hell. Guess I'll have to upgrade soon.

[ZacFields]

even $60 i feel cheated. Probably why I haven't bought a video game for probably a year or so. I guess i've boughten a few Wii games but they are like 30-40 and one of them i got an extra padell with :)

Actually it's been proven that video games at $60 a pop are some of the best value you can get for entertainment. You will probably spend 30-60 hours trying to beat GTA IV for just $60. You can go to the bars on a Friday night and drop $60-$100 on drinks in about 3 or 4 hours very easily.

You all know that I'm all about being economical so I can save as much money as I can... video games (including the consoles) are some of the best value you can get for entertainment. Almost nothing you can do for 30-60 hours is going to cost you less than $60. If you think of all the money you'll save not driving, partying, spending other money in those 30-60 hours you'll get it :)

[TbTalon94]

yea except...playing video games gets old. And if your spending 30-60 hours playing that one game, there is an old saying that comes to mind "you need a life". Going out with friends and having a good time is MUCH more enjoyable then playing some games for hours on end...and believe me I've done my fair share of playing games for hours on end. Ask Andrew.

That being said, if I suddenly feel an urge to play games I may go out and get GTA4 or Halo3. More then likely halo3 because it's fast paced, shooter, strategy and all the little kiddies get mad when you shoot them in the head.

[Malibu]

I agree with Zach, video games are a good value for entertainment. I bought CoD4 for 360 and I have played it quite a bit. I would rather play a video game then watch TV. We'll see if GTA can hold my attention as well as CoD did/still does.

Aaron

[ZacFields]

yea except...playing video games gets old. And if your spending 30-60 hours playing that one game, there is an old saying that comes to mind "you need a life". Going out with friends and having a good time is MUCH more enjoyable then playing some games for hours on end...and believe me I've done my fair share of playing games for hours on end. Ask Andrew.

That being said, if I suddenly feel an urge to play games I may go out and get GTA4 or Halo3. More then likely halo3 because it's fast paced, shooter, strategy and all the little kiddies get mad when you shoot them in the head.

That's all in the eye of the beholder. The whole "need to get a life" theory doesn't hold water to me. I see an awful lot of people who's sole purpose in life is to get as drunk as possible on friday and saturday nights with their buddies, wasting tons of money and making a fool of themselves. I'm not criticizing anyone for doing that, but I don't see where that's much more of a life than hanging out with your friends playing a video game or even playing by yourself.

IMO, it's cheaper and I can save/invest my saved earnings. I'll admit I don't hang out with friends much. Not because I don't want to, but more because I'm working full time and going to school full time. Just don't have the time or money for it.

[Drifte]

Well my friday-Saturday involves some drinks at home, guitar hero. Then we walk to the bars or get a bus ride to em. Spend about $12 and get loose. Hang out at the clubs/bars, then go home.

so i get to hang out with people, rock out on a plastic guitar. And meet people, and only spend a little money.

Zac idk where your getting drinks, but $100 is outragious. Last bar I was at spent $12 (weird its always 12) and was doing fantastic, and those were jack and cokes and a captain and coke for the lady.

[ZacFields]

Colton it's just an example. A small captain and coke at the bowling alley is $4.00 and I could probably drink 12 of those before I started to get really drunk (the cups are really small). I actually refuse to drink alcohol anywhere except for my home or somebody else's home where it's cheap.

Just making the point that a $60 video game that will occupy you for 30-60 hours (or realistically 2 months of friday/saturday nights is a lot cheaper than most of the alternatives. Two tickets to the movies for one stinkin' movie (with popcorn) will run you $20.

I was just writing a term paper (completely unrelated) and happened to stumble on to some reading about the value of video games versus other forms of entertainment. They said by comparison, GTA IV priced relative to other forms of entertainment like movies/drinking/etc would cost you $300-$400 for the game. Basically saying if you had to pay that much, you spent an equal amount of money (approximately) compared to most other forms of entertainment using time versus cost.

I don't play very much video games at all anyways. I have yet to beat Halo 3. And I just spent my spring break beating Bioshock and Saints Row which I've had for several months. Games like these just keep me from going out (in the little bit of spare time I have) and wasting money on something else.

[Drifte]

yea understand. i wish video games were fun for me, I really do. I have a hard time just watching a movie, I want to occupy myself with something else at the same time. I may go see Ironman or whatever that new movie is, rocket..guy.

Reminds me of this theater nearby. The 1080p+ projectors Im used to at Wynnsong/carmike make this place look like a joke! I almost walked out when I couldnt see what was on the screen, then they shut the lights out and it was ok. (saw computer monitor rated 2080h)

[TbTalon94]

what I meant was, I would much rather go hang out with friends (not necessarily drink) then play a video game by myself.

I've always been a gamer, but just lately I always find myself wanting to do something else. Like fiddle with my car, play with my dogs, do work around the house, or hang out with friends. Plus it's hard to actually sit down and play a game for awhile when you got a lot of stuff going on and your lady friend doesn't like to sit and watch!

[Drifte]

dont lie you and nat are wii addicts.

[ZacFields]

I feel ya trev. I can usually only sit down and play for about 1 hour at a time at most before I need to get up and do something else. That's why this game is going to last me for months before I beat it :)

[Snowman]

I felt that I would chime in here about playing games. I personally think games are a great way to spend your free time. For example, I'd rather play a game and keep my mind active, have to use strategory and team work, and focus. TV won't do that. TV is mind numbing. Games get you involved. I will admit that I've probably crossed the line on how much a person should play. But for a person like me, who doesn't like the bar scene, or large crowds of stupid obnoxious people, games are a great escape from stress. Now I don't sit down and play for extended periods of time, but I've had days where i probably spent 20 hrs out of 24 playing games. I know dustin can vouch for how much i've played. I do agree with Zac, that spending $60 on a game is a wise choice vs constantly spending money at the bar, if that's your thing. But it is nice to see your friends every once in a while. I do miss seeing mine as often as i used to, but we've all grown apart a bit and priorities have changed. Sorry, off topic, it's late.

As for GTA IV, i haven't been able to put it down. Last i checked total gametime, i've got about 24 hrs invested, and i'm about 30% done. I have been working on achievements though. I was never a fan of the GTA series before, but this one is pretty good. I really liked being able to go to the internet cafe and hop online. Nice touch. I also really like hopping in the bus's and semi's and driving them around. Pretty decent soundtrack, but I wish there was a main menu to navigate instead of always being thrown into the game and having to use the cell phone.

Crap, I've gone on too long. I love video games, wish they would make more violent ones. I'd like to see one where you're a serial killer, and it was you against the cops. Manhunt was good, but I'd like something a bit more graphic. I also think that any games rated higher than M-Mature, needs to be sold at an adult shop, that way you know only adults are buying it. I hate how games at dumbed down for the general public, it takes away so much. My rant is done.

Wally

[DustinsDuster]

i dont know how i'd feel about buying a game thats displayed next to a huge array of dildos and cock pumps...