LBP is a side scroller, I haven't seen anything dealing with sand box and that game, their are some cool... (grain of salt) things in the game like taking pictures of stuff irl, but theirs not enough fun factor to get me to buy it. (That I've seen)

of course thats opinion however the side scroller part isn't, it's not a sand box game.

Let me paraphrase/summarize the reasons to see how many are relevant:

1- Smaller (but more detailed) playing area
2- Liberty City... again? (though this time it really feels like New York)
3- Less recognizable music.
4- More realistic driving controls (potentially less fun for some)
5- The plot is not "rags to riches" style.
6- The protagonist's not as fun
7- Previous GTA characters don't appear in the game.
8- Less movement freedom (no planes, swimming, etc)
9- Multiplayer: Not a MMO, no co-op.
10- You can't customize Niko's appearance.
11- No celebrities in the voice cast.
12- The game's increased realism may make you feel guilty for some of your actions.

Now for my opinion on each:

1- It's probably good enough, I hear the playing area is still very big.
2- No problem for me.
3- No problem for me.
4- Great, means I have to practise more, which will probably make it more rewarding.
5- No problem for me.
6- Not enough information here, I'll see how it is later.
7- No problem for me.
8- It would be cool to have those, but it may be a good thing if they nailed the movement options which *are* in the game.
9- No problem for me.
10- No problem for me.
11- No problem for me, as long as the existing cast is talented.
12- I don't think so, but we'll see. I've been decapitating Ninjas in Ninja Gaiden Black for the past few days.

So we have 6 and 12 as the only potential problems for me. All in all, these reasons don't make me even a little bit worried about not liking this game.

Feel free to enumerate your opinions on each item too.

@NJ5 - Nice, now I'll steal your idea

Let me paraphrase/summarize the reasons to see how many are relevant:

1- Smaller (but more detailed) playing area
2- Liberty City... again? (though this time it really feels like New York)
3- Less recognizable music.
4- More realistic driving controls (potentially less fun for some)
5- The plot is not "rags to riches" style.
6- The protagonist's not as fun
7- Previous GTA characters don't appear in the game.
8- Less movement freedom (no planes, swimming, etc)
9- Multiplayer: Not a MMO, no co-op.
10- You can't customize Niko's appearance.
11- No celebrities in the voice cast.
12- The game's increased realism may make you feel guilty for some of your actions.

Now for my opinion on each:

1: Yeah, that's a problem. I loved the chases through the country-side in SA and the mix of town, countryside, city. Being stuck in a city only seems like a regression.
2: Don't care
3: No classic rock? No recgonizable music at all? WTF? Not a deal breaker, but it's a let-down.
4: Might be okay, might even be better. Doesn't really matter.
5: I don't care, I never played through a GTA story, but my son was really disappointed by this.
6: Since I don't follow the story that's irrelavent to me, but disappointing for my son who does.
7: Don't care
8: What? To me that's a huge part of what made GTA so much fun. No flying, no jetpack, no tank, no silly cheats... WTF? Makes this just another generic sandbox game (if an extremely good one). This alone makes me lose interest in the game.
9: The multiplayer looks to be one of the best things in the game. My only concern here is - is it online only? While I'd likely play some online, I'd much rather play with/against my son/friends at home. While I havn't reviewed everything on this game, it appears to be online only, and that's a real disappointment and again a regression from GTA on PS2.
10: Yeah, customizing was fun, this isn't a deal breaker, but another scarifice for the sake of reality I'd rather wasn't made.
11: Don't care, as long as the cast is good.
12: Ultimately, I guess I'll have to play it to see how it is really, but this has long been a concern for me.


I loved GTA:SA is was one of my favorite games (and aside from SSBMelee about the only game) I played last generation. I'd love to play GTA IV one day and while I'll reserve final judgement until after I've played it, it's looking more and more like they're taking the series away from everything I loved about it.

Am I the only one to feel this way?

GTA and FUN don't blend well.

I think you're trying to convince yourself that you don't want it but deep down you really do. As for removing the fun I don't think anyone said that a person couldn't screw around in the game. In fact there are collectibles, stunts, etc, and what appears to be very fun multiplayer.

As for the humor just judging by the review there are going to be some laughs in it. I mean just look at this part from OXM's review:

"Like the time you drive halfway across town with two dead bodies in the boot (which opens if you hit anything, so you've got to nip it out and shut it before anybody notices) to a bent doctor, who just looks at the bullet holes in their heads and says "Ah, natural causes."."

Surely the last part made you laugh...

Crackdown destroys GTA in the FUN aspect.

GTA IV will be fun and realistic

The city being smaller than San Andreas doesnt matter because its very detailed and looks like NYC.

Also get it on the PS3. I f you get it on 360 thats the only game you will be playing until Gears 2

None of the concerns worry me at all. Although I can see how some people ould be a bit miffed at losing some of the fetaures from previous games. However the people who criticse it for changing too much would probaly be the same people who would crtisce it for being GTA:SA 2.0.

 Crackdown is pure arcade, it doesn't really have much of a story.  I think it lacks the diversity and humor that makes the GTA games special.

Actually IF I get a 360, it'd be for Mass Effect, Fable 2, Crackdown, Bioshock, Burnout and GTA IV.  Currently PS3 only has Burnout and GTA IV as far as games I want.