Grand Theft Auto IV's Post-Game Purgatory

Bob Mackey — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Grand Theft Auto IV is a game completely dependent on--and some would say subservient to--its story and characters. Sure, other games in the series have their share of colorful cast members and interesting twists, but IV decided to scale back on the gameplay a bit in exchange for hours upon hours of babysitting Niko Bellic's friends. It was novel at first, but soon became disappointing after the realization that the limited content of these artificial social interactions replaced the endless playground fun of GTAs past.

So what happens when the oh-so important characters of GTAIV run out of recorded lines of dialogue? The answer is about as unsettling as anything else in the bleak life of Nico Bellic.

Jumping back into the game after its finale results in a few perfunctory calls from Nico's friends about the tragic events of either ending; but after that, nothing. There are no new people to meet, or anything for Nico to do besides live a completely aimless life in Liberty City. I really didn't expect Rockstar to throw in a lot of post-game content--after all, I'm surprised I even finished the damn game--but trying to play GTAIV after the final mission just feels wrong and empty. Maybe this is a testment to how important Nico's social network is to the game--or maybe the removal of said social network reveals the game for what it really is.

It could also be that, in some stroke of genius, Rockstar was somehow able to convey how unsatisfying revenge actually is, but I think that's giving them too much credit.

So is anyone else out there having similar problems getting back into GTAIV after finishing the game? I still have a few (non-story) things left to do, but I really don't want to make Nico find pigeons for me after being sentenced to such an empty existence. Yeah, he's a sociopathic mass murdered--but he's got heart.

Related Links:

The 61FPS Review: Grand Theft Auto IV, Part 1
Yahtzee Rolls With the Big Dogs, Takes the Piss Out of GTA4
61FPS EXCLUSIVE: Peaceoholics Protest Rockstar Games and Grand Theft Auto 4

The End Has No End

Derrick Sanskrit — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:30:00 GMT

I recently played through Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction and, while I had a long list of problems with the game, the conclusion cinema was certainly a troublesome concern. More than anything else, the massively disappointing finale made me realize how intensely narrative-driven the game was, even more than the New York Times' claim that the game was an interactive Pixar movie (which, for the record, it totally is not). Ever since games first became produced on discs rather than cartridges the focus on cinema-centric storytelling has been undeniable, most notably with early Playstation games like Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid.

The resolution (or lack thereof) of R&C:ToD did, however, bring me back to a simpler time – a time when games just sort of... ended. You beat the game, congratulations, now try it again. Here now, a sample of some of the worst endings in the history of the NES:

Related articles:
Would You Play A Final Fantasy VII Remake? Hmm?
Metal Gear Solid: Hideo Kojima's Inability to Show Instead of Tell
Up All Night: Bad Dudes

61 Frames Per Second : endings

Grand Theft Auto IV's Post-Game Purgatory

The End Has No End