GTA IV Cops 'n' Crooks 2.0 Montage Part 1
15My montage for the revolutionary 2.0 era of Grand Theft Auto 4 Cops 'n Crooks All For One games online (PC Version). Click "Show more" for the details!
Almost 10 years ago, when I published my 10th, and what I thought was my final montage, I stated in the video description "There has simply never been a better game I've ever played."
That was true then, and it still is now now. And I suspect it will always be true for as long as I live.
It's hard for me to put into words (and a 5,000 character limit) to do justice for just how special this game was. Cops 'n Crooks All For One was immense. I've always enjoyed computer games, and can recall so many excellent ones spread over almost 40 years. But this was in different league to everything else - nothing could come close.
Whether by design or miraculous chance, it brought together so many elements that made it spectacular. There was the all or nothing nature of it that created tension and excitement: the Boss would escape or die, there was no middle ground. Whether you were a cop desperately attempting to take out the target on the switch, a crook trying to defend your main man, or the Boss himself - knowing everyone was counting on you to stay alive - you always felt the pressure, and the relief and reward of succeeding under it. You had to master all skills in the game - shooting (being proficient with all weapons), driving and piloting: all were essential for survival or take down. You had to know the map - the game could go anywhere, and great CnC player knew how to ensure they were in the right place at the right time. And then there was the team work, strategy and communication: something at a level I've simply not witnessed in anything else. As the Crooks, you had to protect one guy to win, and somehow take out Cops you couldn't see on the radar to secure the getaway vehicle. A team that communicated and worked as a coordinated unit made all the difference, and any victory more shared and satisfying. At the same time, there was still space for moments of individual brilliance to tip the scales and win a match. I've seen my friends do incredible things in this world I came to know so well. Some of those moments are in this video. CnC was my personal gaming Everest. I was never the best at it, with plenty more players being more skilful than me. But at my peak, on a good day, I felt I could compete with the very best, and help make a difference on my team. It's the game I know and love more than any other.
And while the first part of the montage is dedicated to these moments as seen from my eyes, parts 2 and 3 are dedicated to the players. Because as amazing as the game was, it was members of the CnC Club who unlocked the full potential: without them, it would have been great, excellent even, but not the magnificent masterpiece it evolved into. A case in point is some of our old "on foot" attempts against random players I recently uploaded. There's some lovely skill on display and they were good fun. But the truly epic things only happened when there were great players on the other team who knew the game just as well as you. See for example, the closing getaway switch in this video on the top of an Algonquin skyscraper. Everyone from both teams arrive at the end game in helicopters. Only one team can win the encounter, but a moment of such cinematic quality would never have happened at all if both sets of players weren't at the top of the game.
As a tribute to this amazing group, I have found clips of 99 players I spent the most amount of time with in over a decade of CnC matches. Thank you for the games friends, it was a pleasure to play with an against you. I thought that Montage 10, published just before the first launch of GTA V, would be my final video. A send off to immortalise our times together. Surely, I reasoned, we would all be playing CnC in Los Santos when the mode arrived there. But it never did, and a hardcore group of players kept coming back to Liberty City. Thousands more amazing games do not deserve to be lost in time to be forgotten. One more montage now, to preserve them.
Due to my personal life, and becoming a Dad for the first time, I'm on an extended sabbatical from gaming, and I haven't played CnC since 2019. But I have no regrets about all the time I invested in All For One, and fond memories our games and the players I came to know. If there is one thing I feel sad about, it is that so many people never knew this game mode existed, or experienced how wonderful it could be if you learnt how to play it at the highest level. Maybe this video can provide a window for some to what it was like, as well as memories for CnC Club members.
All the best,
Jimbatron (AKA Jim7998) - a regular guy who found a path to some happiness in life and gaming nirvana along the way.
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