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The most helpful favorable review
The most helpful critical review
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Works great on my average PC
After reading the other reviews here, was leery of trying the PC version. Figured it was cheap enough that it was worth the risk.
Arrived yesterday and I set it up last night, and then installed the latest patch. Looked absolutely beautiful. I had the XBox version as well - IMO, this version blows away the XBox version. I could never see what was going on...
Published 1 month ago by Joseph Ellis
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165 of 192 people found the following review helpful:
Buyers beware...
Buyers beware - The PC version is not a better choice than the console version, this time around. As a faithful GTA fan for years, I was eagerly awaiting this game - only to find out that it's a poorly coded console port that fails to deliver satisfactory performance even on a modern system. In addition, the product is crippled by bugs, requires two separate online...
Published 13 months ago by Reitsuki
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165 of 192 people found the following review helpful:
Buyers beware..., December 4, 2008
Fun:
Buyers beware - The PC version is not a better choice than the console version, this time around. As a faithful GTA fan for years, I was eagerly awaiting this game - only to find out that it's a poorly coded console port that fails to deliver satisfactory performance even on a modern system. In addition, the product is crippled by bugs, requires two separate online accounts to play (even to play offline), and installs invasive, difficult to remove SecuROM monitoring software into your computer.
Rockstar, shame on you.
To anyone considering this game, I highly suggest you pick it up for the 360 or PS3 instead - and that is the very first time I've ever made that recommendation about any game before.
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215 of 252 people found the following review helpful:
SIngleplayer/registration disappointment, December 4, 2008
Fun:
I was taken aback when I found that I could not save ANY progress in single player mode without signing up for Windows Live. It says that these "services", such as Live and the Social Club, are only required for multiplayer mode. They lie on the box and again during the install.
It is only after you wade through their registration requests, the insistence upon registration requests, refusal to even load the game until you update windows live, you finally get to playing.
Then it tells you you cannot save any progress unless you sign-in to windows live. What a shaft job.
I called Take2games and they confirm that you cannot save unless you sign-in.
What a let down. I have uninstalled the game and am now working on a refund. lol.
I have played every GTA so far, mostly on PC. I have GTAIV on the PS3 and was looking forward to playing on the PC with great graphics.
I do not like a company who seems like a spyware vendor out to capture my machine.
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140 of 163 people found the following review helpful:
Terrible performance, even on high end PCs, December 3, 2008
Fun:
We all know the game. It's Grand Theft Auto 4. Enough has been said about the game itself, love it or hate it. The PC version could have been great, but it's crippled by poorly optimized code and forced bloatware.
My PC lets me run any game I want. Most modern games run at 720p, 60 frames-per-second, 4xAA on my 46" HDTV. This includes Fallout 3 and Dead Space. Other games, like Far Cry 2 are more taxing, but I still manage to crank out a solid 30 frames-per-second. GTA4, simply put, performs horribly. I am only getting 15 to 20 FPS on average. I can't picture someone without a hardcore gaming PC getting anything close to a playable experience with it.
Also, to install the game you're forced to also install Rockstar Social Club, Games for Windows Live, the SecureROM service (DRM). Plus you need a Windows Live account to even save your game. Terrible, terrible port. Shame on you Rockstar.
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51 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
How A Great Game Gets A 1-Star Rating on Amazon, December 8, 2008
Fun:
The problem with Grand Theft Auto IV PC is it's not what the fans of the GTA series wanted.
The fans didn't want SecuROM, Windows Live, Rockstar's Social Club, and ridiculously high system requirements.
What the fans WANTED was a great video game, and while there's no denying GTA IV PC is a great video game, its greatness will be overshadowed by the virtual shackles Rockstar have imposed on it.
The DRM has been beaten like a dead horse, and we all know it's there and what it does, and it's too bad Rockstar has adopted such a broken, anti-consumer friendly system like SecuROM. However, they're not trying to hide the installation of SecuROM, and listed it as a requirement on both the outside of the box and immediately after inserting the install disc.
As for system stability, the SecuROM software is only active when the game is running. Upon exit, the DRM closes, too. SecuROM has not negatively impaired my ability to use my computer, and the hidden stuff can be removed with a special SecuROM uninstaller (but only after you're done playing your SecuROM protected games). No, I'm not happy it's there, and I do not see reason for it being there, but either you accept it, or you don't play the game.
GTA IV PC is further encumbered by the Rockstar Games Social Club and Games for Windows Live, two unnecessary and annoying pieces of software that make the simple act of playing a video game overly time consuming and downright painful. The social club (minus the social part -- seriously, there are no chat rooms, message boards, or other ways to socialize) provides a place for players to compare their in-game stats with complete strangers. Ditto for Windows Live, a similar and equally pointless "Let's Compare Sizes!" website that contributes nothing to game play but is required. You'll also be required to sign-in to Windows Live (offline mode is available) in order to save your game, something that is becoming increasingly more common these days. Live will also track achievements, and if connected to the net they'll be posted for all the world to see and shared with Rockstar's Social Club site. Prepare to be mocked by the world for your gaming failures.
Finally, GTA IV PC's stupidly high system requirements will force many to put the game back on the shelf, or purchase the XBox version. While the game can be played on the minimum system requirements, it looks awful and can cause a bit of nausea due to dropped frame rates.
The game also requires access to a computer with an internet connection to register the game and download additional software updates. The offline registration requires a 10 MB zip file from the SecuROM website. The offline activation software is flaky and the directions are fuzzy.
When you start the game you can run a benchmark test under the game options. A short demo will run and reveal your frame rates, and the game offers suggestions for improving texture and detail quality.
The game itself, despite everything you'll have to go through to get it playable, is fun. Really, really fun. And if you're willing to put up with the BS and jump through the hoops Rockstar has established for us, you'll be playing a very fun, very awesome game. Remember, not all of Rockstar is evil, and the folks who actually made the game are an incredibly talented group, and they made an equally incredible game.
The overall artwork is more realistic and less cartoonish than previous GTA games. The characters are well detailed, their mouths move and form the proper shapes for different words, and they even have working fingers now. People on the street obey the laws of physics and no longer fly into the air when hit by your car: they now bounce off the hood, hit the windshield and roll across the road like a ragdoll. Cars take more unique damage -- everything from bullet holes to differing extremes of impact damage, and after taking X amount of damage, they won't necessarily explode anymore; they may simply stop working and you'll be forced to abandon them on the road. Police chases are more fun and evading and escaping your wanted level is now possible with the changes made to the police system. The missions (so far) have been entertaining and enjoyable, with just the right mix of challenging objectives. I have yet to feel frustrated by having to repeat a mission -- it's clear to me what I did wrong, and how I can do better. And the city is gorgeous, and huge, and if you tried walking from one end to the other it would probably take the better part of a day.
Multiplayer, especially with friends, and especially with some sort of voice chat, is also very fun. There is a free roaming option, which is just player created chaos (watch out when your friend picks up a rocket launcher) and there are also multiplayer missions and races to accomplish, too.
From a purely game play perspective, there is almost nothing wrong with this game, which is why it's sad GTA has been tainted by this nasty DRM fiasco.
GTA IV PC will probably take home Game of the Year from nearly all video game reviewers, despite SecuROM, poor system performance, and Rockstar's other bad choices. And I think it may actually deserve that title. Even with a 1-star review (mostly from fans feeling personally attacked by Rockstar, and rightly so), many fans of the series will overlook the laughable system requirements and DRM shackles for the incredible game buried (deep) beneath. It's worth your money, if not today (either you lack the system requirements or are waiting for them to drop the DRM, which won't happen) then down the road. It's just sad and disappointing that we, the gamers, are wrongly and unfairly treated by Rockstar like the criminals in Grand Theft Auto IV PC.
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65 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
Utterly Pathetic Excuse for a Personal Computer Game, December 15, 2008
Fun:
Let me preface my review with a brief story: When GTA IV came out in May for consoles, I purchased a brand new PS3 just to play it. To this day it's the only game I own for my PS3, which sits largely unused but as a testament to Rockstar's masterpiece. I'm not much of a console gamer, but Sony and Rockstar made well over $500 from me on the release of GTA IV alone... but after seeing this incredible mess pushed out I do not think I'll ever purchase another Rockstar product.
I suppose it's also important to say I have not actually purchased GTA IV for PC, although I do have firsthand experience with this travesty. A good friend of mine called me over the weekend and asked if I wouldn't mind taking a look at his computer, because according to him, his rig was running GTA IV very slow. When I arrived I could hardly believe this product was from the same company I gave my money to.
Everything you read here is accurate. SecuROM, with or without "teeth," is always to the detriment of honest consumers and here it is in full effect. But not satisfied with that, Rockstar apparently made it possible to play the game if and only if you agree to Byzantine Windows Live and Rockstar Social Club contracts. That is frankly unacceptable by any standard. And to top it off, on a computer with a Quad-Core, two 8800 Ultras in SLI, and 8 (yes, eight) GB of RAM the game runs worse than it ever did on my PS3. And it looks about the same. For a game developer, the words "code optimization" mean very little to Rockstar.
Perhaps the most heinous injustice about this whole shameful affair is the warning included that, summarized, warns "... most current hardware will not be able to run this game at high settings." Unbelievable. When did releasing games, especially games which ran acceptably well on inferior consoles, incomplete with a requirement to spend hundreds more dollars on future hardware become acceptable? To me that is the lowest form of terrible work ethic and is the main reason I feel I cannot buy another Rockstar product ever again. Is it not enough to completely ruin a product by making the consumer sign away his privacy just to play it? When did Crysis, whose infamy cannot even measure up to this abomination, become the golden standard for a successful game release? If the market into which you're releasing your product is "unprepared" for the "requirements" of said product, then there is something wrong with your product, not the market.
But here Rockstar really shot itself in the foot because the game has already been proven to run, with over 10 million witnesses, on inferior hardware. I told my friend to get his money back and now I'm thinking of selling my PS3. The most successful PC games have always been the ones that are not laden with malware and actually run on consumers' PCs. PC gaming is in dire straits if the biggest developers think people actually want to have to deal with insurmountable mountains of red tape just to play a video game. It's a video game- nothing less, but especially nothing more. Playing GTA IV on PC is worth far less to me than the actual time it would take to accomplish said goal.
I consider myself a Grand Theft Auto fan. I played GTA IV an unhealthy amount over the summer. But merely seeing this stillbirth of a title that Rockstar threw onto PC gamers makes me realize I can live without. Do not purchase this under any circumstances. It is far cheaper, in terms of money and life lost in frustration, to buy a new console to play GTA IV. If you want a new PC game, I recommend the excellent Left 4 Dead or any other title by Valve. I beseech you not to give money to companies who treat their costumers like this.
Rockstar, you have released an utterly pathetic excuse for a personal computer game. I hate to say this is another nail in the proverbial coffin for PC gaming, but even I feel a little dismayed that almost every new title for computers is burdened with SecuROM, doesn't run well on hefty hardware, or is some unholy combination of the two. In short, Rockstar has taken everything that is "killing" PC gaming and mixed it into one completely miserable experience. Caveat emptor.
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28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
Grand Theft PC, December 27, 2008
Fun:
As a fan of the Grand Theft Auto series since it was a 2D top down perspective game for the PC nearly 11 years ago, I was very eager to try the latest episode as I'd heard great things about the console version.
I thought GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas were superb games that were funny and entertaining with a good mix of shoot'em up, adventure/quest and interactivity to suit most tastes. Those titles stayed on my hard drive for a long time and provided me with much entertainment.
I'm sorry to say that GTA IV lasted on my hard drive for about 6 hours. The vast majority of which was spent trying to get the thing to work.
I'm sorry I didn't come on Amazon and check out the negative reaction that this game has generated before shelling out my hard earned cash for this incredibly disappointing waste of time and money. The sheer number of 1 star reviews here would have warned me away from the game, like the plague.
Like many other reviewers here, I feel cheated out of my money by "Rockstar" games and I'm very angry about it. "Rockstar" have gone about their business in a very underhanded way. There should be clear stickers on this product declaring that various online accounts are needed to play the offline game. I and I'll wager the vast majority of users don't want a "Windows Live" account, nor do I particularly want "Rockstar Social Club" account either. The "Windows Live" account is mandatory, to enable the user to save their progress! Never in my many years of PC gaming have I come across such an idiotic and deal breaking device before. I'd love to have been at the meeting where that "feature" was suggested.
On top of that, the user is required to download and install Windows Service Pack 3 for XP users. Why? I don't know. I've no idea why any PC game would need a Windows Service Pack to simply run. Obviously this is at Microsoft's insistence, but it is yet another reason to leave the game on the shelf. There are some people who just don't need, or want Windows Service Pack 3 on their machines. I was one of them until I bought this game. Oh, by the way, "SecuROM" is included too! The "SecuROM" anti-piracy spyware, like "StarForce" before it, is something I just don't want on my machine.
What I and every other PC user would like to do is simply install the damn game and play it. A game like the GTA series is primarily designed for Offline users and that is the target audience, so why is "Rockstar" trying to push Online to the games detriment? GTA is, in essence, a story based adventure game for a single player.
After the irritation of trying to install the game, the real show-stopper makes its appearance. I'd heard that the game was resource hungry, but really, that's an understatement. My current PC exceeds the recommended requirements by some degree and I had a lot of difficulty getting the game to even accept my assigned display preferences, even in 1024 x 768! On top of that, there were missing textures from the start of the game. So much so that the game was unplayable. I've run recent releases which are heavy, like Fallout 3 etc, with no problems. But GTA IV is just ridiculous. After much messing about, included unloading NVidia drivers and installing new ones, then fooling about with the preferences again, I finally got the game to run. But it was far from the experience I was expecting. I could barely get it to run at 20 frames per sec, which would plummet to about 8 or so in a car. So, in short, it was pointless.
According to Gamespot, "Rockstar Games insists that the problems experienced by users are extremely low". I simply don't believe them. They are lying and a casual overview of the reviews on Amazon proves that very clearly. "Rockstar" have stated that they were trying to `future-proof' the game! But this is bunkum. Games should be designed to run on current hardware, not some rig that won't exist until 2014, when few pwople will be actually playing this title.
The simple fact is that "Rockstar" have simply rushed out a lazy port of the console version for the Christmas sales and they don't give a toss about the public doing the buying. It comes across as extremely badly optimized code and the end result is an unsatisfying whole, to what should have been this years masterpiece. There may be some hope to rescue this sinking ship with patches, but at the moment I am not holding my breath and GTA IV has been deleted from my Hard Drive. I've lost 6 hours of my life and 40 Euro and have had to put up with an extremely frustrating and ultimately miserable experience that just wasn't worth the hassle.
I've never said this about a producer before, but I can honestly say that I will never by another title from "RockStar Games" again, nor anything that has "Games for Windows" emblazoned across the box.
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37 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
Unrealistic System Requirements, SecuROM, December 3, 2008
Fun:
SecuROM aside, you are going to need a very recent build in order to play this. Most people will not be able to enjoy the amazing graphics and flow, so don't expect to be blown away.
Next, I'm surprised they did not learn from SPORE. Spore has 1.5 stars after 3000+ ratings, and now they slap that malware on GTA4, one of the most anticipated releases? Come on Rockstar, you're killin' yourself here!
We paid, we should be able to enjoy a malware-free game. Besides, they already made tons of profits on the ps3 and xbox360 versions, why can't they just be that "cool" company that the internet loves and get rid of securom? it's too bad.
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26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
In GTA IV, car drive you!, December 8, 2008
Fun:
Let me start by saying that I have played and loved many of the previous GTA titles. When this game was released on consoles months ago I was excited by how realistic and fun the game was. This is important because I am a strict PC elitist who believes that consoles are for inferior, primitive gamers. Alas, I was taken aback by how good this game was on PS3.
Moving on to the PC version, I am running a Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz, single 8800 GT, 2 GB RAM, and 2x WDC 500 GB HDs. By no means a supercomputer but nothing to scoff at either. All the software and drivers are up-to-date as well. I run FarCry 2, Crysis, COD4, Left 4 Dead, and Fallout 3 at near-highest settings with no problem.
I have no idea how this game would run on the highest settings because I can't even adjust the settings beyond 800x600, low textures, and a draw distance that looks worse than my vision without contact lenses.
SecuROM. Why? I was hoping that this game wouldn't come with it but I knew I should have been worried after it was bundled with Crysis Warhead and Far Cry 2. It serves no purpose as it only harms legitimate customers. It's also funny how the cracked game is already online within a few days of the game's release, available to all on BitTorrent, furthering the worthlessness of SecuROM. Well, I guess if you find the idea of some Big Brother type figure watching over your computer at all times appealing, then that's fine.
What are Social Club and Games for Windows Live? I'm still not sure what function they serve beyond making the user angry when they can't save in single player mode without being logged in. I have never encountered having to log into something in order to play a game; Steam doesn't count. Just more useless stuff running in the background.
All in all, a great game that was horrible ported to PC. Don't let it ruin any previous experiences you had with the far superior PS3/XBox360 versions. Save your money, at least until they recall this trash or release some big patches to fix its many problems/remove SecuROM.
In GTA IV, car drive you!
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51 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
Needs XP SP3, December 2, 2008
Fun:
My specs pretty much allow me to play anything at 1920x1200..Crysis (with shadows off), COD4, Left for Dead, Fallout 3..but GTA IV brings my dual core 3ghz to its knees and then some. I thought Rockstar was taking the extra time to properly optimize the code for PC users, but it is woefully evident that any one of us with ati cards in the 3850 range and up are in for an eyesore. Never mind the clearly unstable Games for Windows program or the Rockstar Social program you have to install (mandatory) alongside GTA IV. Wasn't SecuROM online authentication enough for Dan Houser's sadistic needs? What is next, a microchip in our right hand's to "authenticate" our purchase?! Puleeze!
I won't delve into the DRM too terribly much..save to say that you know its here in all its devilish glory, but also be aware that other programs are installed as well automatically. They are not optional, unless you do not want to save your game. A curse on Dan Houser of Rockstar Games for outright LYING to PC gamers, promising a "beautiful" experience. He went on and on how PC users were in for a royal treat, with spectacular eye candy coupled with excellent framerates and a customizable graphics tool. And did we get saddled with? Poor performance with state of the art video cards (ati 4870HD) and NO SLI support. People with top of the line rigs can barely ekk out 30fps. It also does not support the Logitech line of gamepads.
As for the gameplay itself (provided you dont mind a slideshow), it is certainly up to par with previous entries in the gta franchise, although there does seem to be a serious lack of..airplanes. A.I is decent, but nothing ingenious. Voicework is adequate and the story is detailed, if uninspiring. Yes, the grand detail is there but it lacks a..whats the word...soul? Like a Ridley Scott film re-directed by Uwe Boll. It lacks staying power. The voice actor who played Niko (game's main character) was reportedly quite upset when he had heard of the game's stellar following, from which his work was paid in pennies next to that of Houser. Surprise surprise.
Lastly, this product needs XP SP3 (service pack 3). Be careful about installing/updating up your pc. I have heard more than one pc user report a hellish experience with it. You really have to ask yourself if GTA IV for pc is worth the 30% chance that SP3 will trash your system. Go to GTA IV forums (google it) and search therein for the details on other's experiences. It ain't pretty, and it does seem akin to playing russian roulette.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
Buyer Beware, December 4, 2008
Fun:
I have been a huge fan of every thing that Rockstar has made. all of the gta series and the manhunt titles. this is the first time i have ever been upset with a product that Rockstar has produced.
Like many other games that have been release of late, GTA 4 is just another example of rentware. even looking past this fact that it installed secuROM, I tried to give it a chance. after hours of updating my windows XP sp3 (which i have since uninstalled), installed social club (why oh why, GTA used to be a great single player game), and downloading and installing microsoft LIVE only to find out it was not worth it.
like many other posts i also have a system that will run Crysis quite well and more importantly my system requirement meet that which is printed on the box. after tweaking setting i could not get my game to run better than 15 fps.
another very important note, one other interesting feature/feature that is completely disabled if you do not log into live is SAVING YOUR GAME. within the first few minutes of the game you are prompted about 4 time on whether or not you want to log in and if you are sure you do not what to log in.
it is very sad to see Rockstar take this route. this is just another company that i will not purchase any products from anymore.
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