Ok, I just finally beat both endings of Grand Theft Auto IV. It's getting semi-late, and I'm usually crawling into bed with a book at this point. But I have a plethora of miscellaneous points swirling in my head that if I don't get down will evaporate.
I was going to say something about how "The first thing I noticed was the story...", but that isn't quite true. The first thing I noticed was the long, tedious, and inconvenient installation. So I'm going to get the big ugly thing out of the way. The package that this game comes with is the COMPLETE definition of what is wrong with PC gaming. For starters, there were THREE patches I needed to find and download right from the get-go. Games for Windows Live... Okay, I need to take a step back here.
I've been with Steam since the beginning with Counter-Strike 1.6. I waded through the looooong download lines to get the program in the first place. And with the plethora of bugs, performance problems, and the unreliable Friend system, it really reminds me of what Games for Windows Live is now. Kinda pointless and shallow and one more thing I need to open in order to get at the game I want to play. But that being said, I had to login to Steam to access a multiplayer game, so this felt like a relatively appropriate process. I also got a server browser and automatic patching.
With GFWL, however... It feels too much like "let's pay these developers so we can force open our market share." It doesn't add anything to the experience. One more thing to login to. And when you are logged in, the interface isn't quite as intuitive as it should be. There are some fundamental options that are entirely absent (how do I close my account? How do I change it to be associated with another email address?). The fact that the official GFWL site doesn't even have support or contact information shows how unimportant this service is. So what is Game for Windows Live's crime? Well, if you look at Steam, it's so much more than a simple platform. Right now it's elegant, well supported, and has a fantastic catalogue. It gets patched frequently, and makes it so effortless to keep all the games I have in my account up-to-date.
No, GFWL feels like too much like one more attempt to spread the Windows branding to another market. I'm sure if I had an XBox and regularly used Live then this service would be of use. But I don't. I just want to play the single player campaign. The fact that you need to use a Hotmail or MSN email address summarizes everything. I need to have an inferior account to access the less-than-stellar program in order to access the content and features on the very disc I hold in my hands. A Microsoft email address. Really guys? It shows they have zero interest in PC gaming as a whole, and are just pursuing it because they need to. It's so shallow and transparent.
And as a parting thought on the subject, there's one last strike against GFWL. You can tell it isn't at the same stage as Steam right now. It's not nearly as usable or convenient. And when you decide to market a product or service in an already occupied market (see also XFire and Direct2Drive), you need something on par with those in order to offer something worth while. But no, there's nowhere near that amount of polish. What the point of entering a tight and competitive market when you're not going to make the effort to learn from your competitors?
But no, this is Microsoft we're talking about. Some big wig says "I WANT THAT MARKET THERE LOLOLOLOL" and then they throw money and manpower at it just because they can. I see potential here, I really do. But the direction and purpose behind it are so pathetically obvious that I just can't bring myself care. It highlights exactly what is wrong with these big corporations. If Microsoft really truly wants to bring the PC gaming market together under one banner, they need to drastically step up their game or step back and throw support under another existing banner.
/exhale
Moving on, there's two more things to cover regarding the software's "packaging". Rockstar Social Scene: TOTALLY POINTLESS. If you want to get into that stuff, great. But if you don't care for sharing and viewing other people's content, this program has no other use. Simple as that. Unless I'm missing something, the sole purpose of signing up for this program is sharing content. Great Web2.0 crap, but making it mandatory just further bloats your game with unnecessary junk.
Any yeehaw, I have SecuRom on my machine now. Yay. Guess what, every time I want to play the game I need to reinsert the disc into the drive before it detects. Heaven forbid they let you register or use your account info to track what disc goes where. But no, the crappy DRM that breaks things and is impossible to disable or uninstall is the best answer. Even if it doesn't actually stop any piracy. I need to look further into it to see if it does it with all games in that drive, but I'm unimpressed.
Ok, to summarize what's wrong with the entire "suite" of software... In order to access all the content you must have THREE accounts (Microsoft address, GFWL account, Rockstar Social Scene), none of which are beneficial to the person who just wants to play the single player and try out multiplayer a few times. In addition to the spyware/DRM management, you end up installing WAY more than any rational person should for a single game. At the very most, there should only be ONE program that governs the multiplayer, content sharing, and DRM. At two it gets excessive. At three it's starting to show how you lazy you are and have no idea what you're doing. There's no logical reason why all that needs it's own program for each function. Just. Plain. RETARDED.
If anyone from Rockstar or Microsoft reads this, I have a message for you. I have been a PC gamer since Commander Keen and NHL95. I truly stand behind this platform as my preferred method of partaking in my favourite medium. This is my system, and I love it. And you, fine gentlemen of Rockstar and/or Microsoft, have caused me to doubt and believe all the negative arguments against PC gaming. The next time I want to play GTAIV, the discs are going to stay in the dusty box on a dusty shelf. The next time I want to play GTAIV I will download it, in hopes that I can get around the slew of utter crap you've wrapped this game in. I hope that one day instead of the almighty dollar you'll instead try taking a quick glance at what would make an enjoyable experience. I'll see you in the torrents.
And now it most definitely is my bed time. I guess I'll make a Part II to detail the actual content of GTA IV itself.
-Cril
Forfeit the game
Before somebody else
Takes you out of the frame
Puts your name to shame
Cover up your face
You can't run the race
The pace is too fast
You just won't last
Linkin Park (feat. Jay Gordon) - Pts.Of.Athrty
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