I just got Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and I am not happy.
While I am enjoying the game, I am a little frustrated that, in such a high profile game, there are technical glitches which cause freezes and game issues.
Today, I tried to put the game in sleep mode and it just wont turn off. Then when I tried to restart the game, it froze and I had to turn it off, and that’s not all. A quick Google search reveals other glitches and faults that people have found in the game, including this video posted by YouTube user fire2box showing how he lost complete control of the game.
I hijacked this drug van from the passenger side door, in the process I got a wanted star for the crime. Anyways the driver of the van never got out and so I became stuck in the passenger seat. The cops give chase to the van and the game is thus unplayable for me since I can’t even bail out of the van.
All I could do was really just save the game and turn it off and come back and start from one of my safe houses.
While some people may say that I am just being picky, I think it is unacceptable that a product can be put on store shelves with such problems. Especially when the game industry is trying desperately hard to catch the film industry as the premier entertainment format of choice. It becomes even more ridiculous when you realise that no one in the gaming industry is trying harder to match the film industry than Rockstar Games.
Would you pay to see a film that suddenly froze in the middle for no apparent reason? Obviously not, so why do we happily accept games that do these things?
There are plenty of games that ship with serious glithces and faults, some which actually render the game unplayable. In the grand scheme of things, my complaints about Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars may be minor, but if we can’t expect the latest installment of one of the biggest game franchises in history to deliver a technically flawless experience, then what hope do we as an industry have of ever being taken seriously by the mainstream?
Tags: Chinatown Wars, ds, faults, glitches, Grand Theft Auto, Nintendo DS, problems, rockstar games, sleep mode
21 March 2009 at 9:47 pm |
You’re being picky. The Xbox 360 has the red rings, I’ve seen a PS3 overheat and break, and even a Wii. The consoles themselves (more important in a way and a lot more expensive) have hardware flaws that can mess up about any game and that annoys me a lot more than glitches in one. I have never had a hardware issue with my DS (phat).
I am aware of bugs and I hate the idea of releasing a game then quickly patching it up, continuing over time. That is the reason why I don’t even bother buying some games.
I bought Chinatown Wars yesterday and let me tell you it’s the most fun I’ve had with a game in years. Don’t let these details spoil it for you. It’s a gem.
(I don’t really care about the replies to this comment, I just felt I had something to say before the trolls invade this comment section.)
21 March 2009 at 9:49 pm
To gr9yfox: I am having fun with it believe me, but I am disappointed that it shipped with these flaws.
21 March 2009 at 10:30 pm |
You obviously don’t know anything about game development. Movies aren’t the same medium, so no we wouldn’t expect them to just freeze in the middle of playing, but games have so much more factors going into it at all times.
And I wouldn’t say Rockstar is trying to be like the film industry, if anyone is, its quantum dream with heavy rain.
You kinda don’t have much to say that has weight to it, you are just making bias, unjust claims.
I haven’t played gta:chinatown wars, but I can’t imagine it being more buggy than gears of war 2.
21 March 2009 at 10:32 pm
To ikaris: Just because they are more complicated doesn’t mean we shouldn’t expect the highest standards. Cars are pretty complicated, yet we still expect them to work flawlessly.
21 March 2009 at 11:04 pm |
Even biggest movies have several flaws although they don’t of course stop the film from rolling (unless, of course, projector or film has some physical flaw). Although I have been several times in theaters where movie have just stopped in the middle of the film.
Titanic and Lord of the Rings have hundreds of flaws but most are just hard to find. One of the biggest flaws in Titanic is in the script. There is one long talk about a artificial lake which was created dozens of years after the accident (strange that no one had noticed before release). And first Lord of the Rings had one scene where you could see a CAR in the distance. Later DVD releases had that part fixed and several other technical flaws. It is actually normal to remove some technical flaws in the DVD version of film.
Every movie ever released has at least some technical flaws so it is not just games which have problems. It is impossible to make technically flawless movie or a game. And games are much more complex technically (sound incredible but so it is) which is why you see more technical flaws too.
22 March 2009 at 2:14 am |
“the game is thus unplayable for me”
“All I could do was really just save the game and turn it off and come back and start from one of my safe houses.”
So basically, this guy is complaining because the game “froze” even though he had the ability to save, and thus, lose absolutely no progress.
Do people just complain about everything these days? If you aren’t losing anything in the game (Other than a few minutes of your time, boohoo) then why are you complaining? Sure it’s a glitch that forces you to restart, but just about every game has those.
And to the author of this article, I love how all you write about is the game’s faults yet never mention anything of the game’s amazing gameplay. There are thousands of games out there with glitches yet I don’t see you ripping on them. Not even “masterpieces” like Shadow of the Colossus, Super Mario 64, and Legend of Zelda: OOT are devoid of glitches, yet you are singling out Grand Theft Auto for no apparent reason. You claim Rockstar is trying to make games more like motion pictures, but I have my doubts that Chinatown Wars was meant to follow that same idea (The story isn’t as up to par as GTA4′s was). But it more than makes up for it with outstanding gameplay.
“but if we can’t expect the latest installment of one of the biggest game franchises in history to deliver a technically flawless experience, then what hope do we as an industry have of ever being taken seriously by the mainstream?”
The “mainstream” as you put it doesn’t take Grand Theft Auto seriously to begin with. Chinatown Wars isn’t going to change that, and even if it did, nobody is going to denounce the game because their DS froze one time during play.
22 March 2009 at 8:57 am
To Cheeseknight28: You obviously missed the part where I said I was enjoying the game. I wasn’t singling out GTA, I was making a comment on all games and the whole industry.
22 March 2009 at 10:39 am |
You said you were “enjoying it” but you left no specific details at all. There is little to suggest that you have even played the game, other than the one bug you mentioned (Which I have yet to encounter).
You also claim you are not singling out GTA, but this article never mentions a single other game, only the “gaming industry.” Logically, if you weren’t “singling it out” you would have included other examples. That is not the case here.
Also, games with bugs are not the barrier between them and the mainstream. Anyone who hasn’t approached gaming yet isn’t going to start later on down the road simply because games are “bug free.” Why would you even think that was the case? If they aren’t taking gaming seriously, why would the reasoning be bugs? People take Microsoft seriously but you don’t see their products bug-free. People also take novels seriously but you not every novel is going to be free of typos. People take doctors seriously but you don’t see every patient getting cured.
22 March 2009 at 1:16 pm
The reason for my “What’s wrong with…” posts is to point out what is wrong with particular games and gaming in general.
Is it too much to expect that the games I buy (good or bad) should at least work correctly?
I expect Microsoft to provide bug-free software, I expect my novels to be typo-free, and I especially expect my doctor to do his/her job properly. If they don’t I will go elsewhere, and/or be very dissatisfied. I don’t use much Microsoft software for this very reason.
Software quality is one of the things that this industry needs to improve to be taken more seriously by the mainstream. There are plenty of other things as well, so keep an eye out for more of my “What’s wrong with…” posts if you want to hear my opinion.
23 March 2009 at 10:16 am |
[...] What’s wrong with…Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars? I just got Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and I am not happy. While I am enjoying the game, I am a little frustrated [...] [...]
5 May 2009 at 2:37 pm |
“Just because they are more complicated doesn’t mean we shouldn’t expect the highest standards. Cars are pretty complicated, yet we still expect them to work flawlessly.”
What kind of car are you driving, and where can I get one?
5 May 2009 at 7:51 pm
A three year old Toyota Corolla.
It works, every time.
When I turn it off, it doesn’t stay on like my copy of GTA: Chinatown Wars does.
16 May 2009 at 11:39 pm |
I’ve had this problem on numerous occasions… It doesn’t matter what side of the van you get into though… Unfortunately, due to the hardware nature of the game, there’s nothing that can be done about it…
3 August 2009 at 5:29 am |
Been playing for a week now… absolutly loving the game play…totally addicted to it as usual, put up with the annoying freeze ups especially when in high speed pusuits!! just saved a lot more often…Now i’m at 25% it seems to freeze every 2 minutes and can’t seem to get any further…. Very dissapointed now