Powerful Story Telling - But You May Not Like the Story
No matter what your opinion of previous Grand Theft Auto games, GTA 4 is worth playing (at least for the first half of the game).
The gameplay is satisfying and nicely varied between vehiclular and pedestrian action, but this is the least you can expect from a AAA game title. What sets GTA 4 apart is it's story and strong narrative.
In the opening act, the main character Niko evokes the player's sympathy. He is haunted by his past, which includes the violent deaths of family members and war crimes he commited while in the army (of a fictional eastern block country). You curse his drunken, gambling cousin Roman for bringing trouble back into Niko's life, while at the same time appreciating how effective Nikko is at wielding violence.
The second act progresses both the gameplay and the story. More of the city opens up for exploration and missions, and the dynamics between the cousins change. It becomes clear that the seemingly bumbling Roman has managed to build a legitimate life in his adopted city (debt to loan sharks aside), while Niko never raises above being a mere instrument of violence.
It should also be noted that the games environment, Liberty City and its denizens, is a character in its own right. The amount of detail is staggering, the streets, alleyways, parks, backyards, roof tops, hot dog stands, etc. The the behavior of the citizens is both varied and subtle (seeing a pedestrian tap on you hood for getting too close is a trip, especially when you consider that you could just run them over, or get out and beat them up).
Up until about the midpoint of the game it appears that the player has some control over Nikko's destiny, allowing you to choose sides in some story lines.
The people on the street you can stop and talk to exemplify this sense of freedom. You choose who to help, and for your own reasons. Want to help a junky get home? Want to help a man dispose of his cheating wife's body? Its all up to you and the kind of character you want Niko to be.
No matter what your choices, however, the game continues to progress down a path of increasing violence. For me the result was the evaporation of all sympathy/empathy I had for the Niko through the second half of the game. That this game managed to alienate me (I actually stopped playing for several months) is amazing. GTA4's place in gaming history is well deserved.
