GTA4 vs SR2.... FIGHT!
I bought Grand Theft Auto IV because my house mate, Jakob, was raving about it for so long. I like the GTA games, don't get me wrong, but I wanted to wait for it to come down in price a bit before getting my grubby mits on it.
I'd seen some trailers for Saints Row II and it looked great. I then read that there was almost total character customisation and thought I had to get it!
After a few dozen hours I have to say I prefer GTA4. I love the customisation of SR2, I love the outfits you can put together, the way you can tailor the colours to your exact taste, the way you can even change your underwear and socks to fit what you want. However, the physics are terrible. I drive a sports car into a tree at top speed I expect that car to be history, or as close to history as possible. I don't expect to be able to slap it into reverse and shoot off.
I like GTA4's controls better too. The cars handle like cars, rather than like weird alien tech which is magnetically connected to the road. I like that the acellerator and breaks are on the trigger buttons and can be applied either a little or a lot. The SR2 option of using the digital buttons means you're either foot to the floor or you're not, there's no gentle middle ground.
I also like GTA4 because, between missions, I feel like it's actually real. Sure, the missions are forced and artificial (such as one mission where I was to assassinate a hoodrat, the mission clearly wanted me to confront him man to man but I wanted to snipe his ass and get on with things, as soon as the sniper sight went near him he ducked for cover and ran), but the free game is wonderful. Popping in to the comedy club and watching a show is ace, being able to do everything you want without having to enter a spcial, artificial, contrived mode is bliss.
I really like SR2's reputation system, where everything 'cool' you do gets some recognition. You're driving at top speed in the wrong lane? Cool, have some rep. You're weaving in and out of cars without hitting them at top speed? Cool, have some rep. You've just launched your car into space off a jump? Cool, have some rep. The notoriety system needs some work, but there are aspects of it that I like more than the star system in GTA4. For example, if you hide where the police can't get you, it shouldn't matter if it's just over the road or ten blocks away, you're lying low and that should count. It does in SR2, not so in GTA4, you just need to escape the circle and stay out of it for a little while. I didn't like that I could stay just ahead of a cop and have them eventually give up the chase though. Needs work, but it's more interesting than the GTA version.
I think I want a melding of these two games. The reality and physics of GTA4 with the customisation of SR2. The ability to choose my character, to customise the look and attitude of that character, and the ability to have them dress exactly how I like was great. GTA4 seems to have less of this fun than its previous incarnations had, which makes me wonder if they maybe wanted to bring out the new engine more than they wanted to expand on the games they'd made previously.
If I had to give one of these games away, it would be SR2. I can go back to GTA4 over and over, but SR2 seems to already be gathering dust on my shelf and I've not had it even half as long as I've had GTA4.
I'd seen some trailers for Saints Row II and it looked great. I then read that there was almost total character customisation and thought I had to get it!
After a few dozen hours I have to say I prefer GTA4. I love the customisation of SR2, I love the outfits you can put together, the way you can tailor the colours to your exact taste, the way you can even change your underwear and socks to fit what you want. However, the physics are terrible. I drive a sports car into a tree at top speed I expect that car to be history, or as close to history as possible. I don't expect to be able to slap it into reverse and shoot off.
I like GTA4's controls better too. The cars handle like cars, rather than like weird alien tech which is magnetically connected to the road. I like that the acellerator and breaks are on the trigger buttons and can be applied either a little or a lot. The SR2 option of using the digital buttons means you're either foot to the floor or you're not, there's no gentle middle ground.
I also like GTA4 because, between missions, I feel like it's actually real. Sure, the missions are forced and artificial (such as one mission where I was to assassinate a hoodrat, the mission clearly wanted me to confront him man to man but I wanted to snipe his ass and get on with things, as soon as the sniper sight went near him he ducked for cover and ran), but the free game is wonderful. Popping in to the comedy club and watching a show is ace, being able to do everything you want without having to enter a spcial, artificial, contrived mode is bliss.
I really like SR2's reputation system, where everything 'cool' you do gets some recognition. You're driving at top speed in the wrong lane? Cool, have some rep. You're weaving in and out of cars without hitting them at top speed? Cool, have some rep. You've just launched your car into space off a jump? Cool, have some rep. The notoriety system needs some work, but there are aspects of it that I like more than the star system in GTA4. For example, if you hide where the police can't get you, it shouldn't matter if it's just over the road or ten blocks away, you're lying low and that should count. It does in SR2, not so in GTA4, you just need to escape the circle and stay out of it for a little while. I didn't like that I could stay just ahead of a cop and have them eventually give up the chase though. Needs work, but it's more interesting than the GTA version.
I think I want a melding of these two games. The reality and physics of GTA4 with the customisation of SR2. The ability to choose my character, to customise the look and attitude of that character, and the ability to have them dress exactly how I like was great. GTA4 seems to have less of this fun than its previous incarnations had, which makes me wonder if they maybe wanted to bring out the new engine more than they wanted to expand on the games they'd made previously.
If I had to give one of these games away, it would be SR2. I can go back to GTA4 over and over, but SR2 seems to already be gathering dust on my shelf and I've not had it even half as long as I've had GTA4.