Consolation Prize

And so Niko Bellic’s story has come to an end, for the time being at least. I’ve finally managed to complete all the story missions in Grand Theft Auto IV and it only took 56 hours. Yeah, I’m sure there are plenty of readers out there that whipped the game in less than half that time but it’s not how fast you get there (at least that’s what I’m telling myself), it’s the journey, and boy did I have fun.

It’s a great game, no make that absolutely fantastic, but unfortunately not without some flaws. My chief gripe.. checkpoints, or lack thereof. Yes, Rockstar have introduced the ability to instantly start the mission again if you fail via the clever integration of a text message sent straight to Niko’s mobile, but that’s little consolation if you’ve still got a 10 minute drive to the location before the actual action starts. You could flag a taxi, but the point is you shouldn’t really need to. Niko in all respects is invulnerable, if you die you just spawn at the nearest hospital, you can repeat a mission ad-infinitum so where’s the harm in just integrating a decent checkpoint system? It seems bizarre and I’m pretty sure I remember checkpoints in San Andreas.

Can I be bothered completing the rest of the game? Probably not. I did manage to finish the racing, and deliver all of Little Jacobs packages post story completion, but to be honest it felt like a grind just to get the achievements and for me that’s the sign to move onto something new.

In stark contrast to Grand Theft Auto IV is God of War: Chains of Olympus, which I also managed to complete recently. Why the comparison? Well unlike GTA IV this game is very short, clocking in at about six and a half hours to finish the main game. However, it has got an amazingly good checkpoint system, even going so far as incorporating checkpoints into boss battles. It makes the game no less difficult, it just removes the tedium repetitiveness’s from the game and keeps the action flowing smoothly, something that ought to be commended.

Even though I think GoW: Chains of Olympus is a good game, with a great story that melds excellently into the mythos of Kratos, I somehow feel a little short changed by its brevity. Another six or so hours and it would have been a decent length, but I suppose I’ll just have to make do with playing through again using one of the alternative costumes. “Spud of War”, here I come.