My impressions so far: (PS3)
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First impressions were, they're certainly taking the art style to a new height. The game reeks of of aesthetic prowess. There are probably about a million filters running amok (think Killzone 2 the vibrant, colourful and diverse version). There's a dreamy look about it all, super slick, smooth and glowing with charisma and energy. That's not to say I liked the visuals straight away. In-fact, off the bat I thought they were rather lacklustre. Sure the lighting was immense (shadows, variance in lighting, the dynamics of it all) however, I think they may have gone a bit OTT with the filters. GTA IV shares the same issue that bugged me in Lost Odyssey. This overt depth of field and focusing that can be off putting. Some things are actually blurry when they go out of focal range, to give the scene that cinematic appeal. Some may love this, but at first I hated it. It's definitely grown on me though. The more I play, the more immersed I get in this truly riveting city that almost feels alive with personality. I still don't think the visuals are close to a 10. Frame rate has been pretty solid, not a single bit of pop-in yet and loading times have been very swift.
Gameplay wise, I haven't really felt anything too different. Just feels like every other GTA but with an added layer of slick, and with slightly more depth in mechanical and technical implementation as well as a this time more progressively developed story. The characters are just sublime. While the voice acting is rather cheesy (intentionally I'm guessing), often rather derogatory and vulgar (again intentional) you really get a feel for the characters and their specific characteristics. Niko is also quite the bad ass. Probably the best GTA character yet. He just oozes personality and a kind of controlled aggression and ruthlessness that makes us almost have a level of respect and admiration for him. You can see his potential. An intelligent, humorous, charismatic but dangerous man with serious balls and an ambitious thirst.
So far so good. I haven't been blown away yet, but perhaps that's the point. The game is slowly luring me in, with it's powerfully visceral potency, immersive world and likeable characters.
Oh and one last thing, the soundtrack is just fantastic. A nice range of sounds of all different genre's that all really add to the mix. There's the regular funny radio bites, now with additional funny TV shows, that are both entertaining and long. The songs chosen to be played for specific parts of the game are also cleverly picked. They add just the right bite and mood to each specific scene, again drawing you in to the game whichever way Rockstar intended.
If you have any questions, feel free to fire away with them. My current image set up is brightness +2, contrast +1, saturation default. I find this looks best on my calibrated Kuro.
Pics
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