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    Grand Theft Auto IV

    Game » consists of 25 releases. Released Apr 29, 2008

    Take on the role of Niko Bellic, a Serbian immigrant who comes to the US at his cousin Roman's request, to find a better life, search for "that special someone" and participate in lawless activities in an upgraded generation of Liberty City.

    kibblez's Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360) review

    Avatar image for kibblez

    Wholeheartedly deserves your time, money and undivided attention.

    Liberty City has been in vogue before. Circa 2001 – Grand Theft Auto III for PS2. Rockstar North had unflinchingly created a landmark video game that was so ambitious and fresh in its free-roaming 3D world, the retired top-down view of GTA2 had become stale as consoles moved on graphically and technically. The sequels, sun-drenched '80s Vice City and gang-torn state San Andreas, were later released to critical acclaim and sold several million copies. Rockstar's stature as a creative and formidable developer in mature gaming was enforced; collating a massive, adoring fan-base. Fast forward to 2008 – Grand Theft Auto IV. New hardware breeds new possibilities, and the opus falls on Rockstar to once again manifest a now familiar genre and still keep the concept relevant to games that have worked and re-worked the formula to death. Did they succeed? Yes.
    An Eastern-European with an equivocal past, you are Niko Bellic. Niko ventures to Liberty City in chase of the hopes and promises that your exaggerative cousin Roman told you about in letters and emails: The American Dream. Fast cars, beautiful women that lust for you and possibilities that never seemed imaginable back in the Old Country. So, when Niko steps off the boat into Liberty's Docks, it's fair to say Niko is somewhat disheartened by Roman's actual demise. Suffice it to say, things aren't as expected for Mr. Bellic, and from there your journey begins.

    I think what is most important to mention in GTAIV is the sheer passion and influence that has gone into telling the story through setting and character that the game achieves so well. In narrative stance, playing this game has shown me just how shallow previous GTA games had been. Despite always being charming with their interesting characters and crime underworld hyperbole, the polarisation in morality that GTAIV presents to you, as a video game player, is one of daring contrast. Without being too fantastical myself, it seemed impossible for a game of such mature content and excessive violence to be any in shape or form capable of questioning your intent, but because of the likeable characters and the brilliant script that supports their fervent personalities, there is a connection between player and world that is an utter rarity in video games, past or present. While this may not be a sensation every one that plays GTAIV will encounter, I did, and without telling in preservation of spoiling it all, throughout my 30+ hour completion of the storyline, I felt satisfied and justified with not only the linear plot twists, but the ones that you are able to manipulate with consequences, which are just as compelling. When it was all finished, I felt excited, intrigued and, from my own endeavours, even bereaved with the events that followed from the beginning.

    But, arguably, more important than storytelling is gameplay. Criticised for their flawed shooting mechanics, to comply with comparing previous GTA iterations once more is fair judgement. Targeting was always a pain and often broke down when confronted by several opposing enemies. Fortunately, this issued has, for the most part, been alleviated. Thanks to an effective cover system, much-improved targeting and manual aim system, the act of shooting is far more satisfying this time round. There are fewer weapons than in the previous games, but there's no love loss, as all the standard shooter weapons are included and pack a punch to an even more explosive degree than before. Rifles tear through large waves, rocket launchers create explosions and raging fires like you've never seen, and even the standard pistols can be effective thanks to a clever reticule assist that lets you manoeuvre your aim for a quick headshot when locked onto someone. There is less chance you'll lock onto a random pedestrian on the street in the middle of a fire-fight, and the fist-fighting has been developed further with a dodge mechanic that allows you to pull off combos, which isn't 100% perfect, but you'll rarely combat anyone anyway – story missions or other wise – if you're not packing heat. Car combat has also become more tolerable; thanks to the new-fangled ability to free aim with smaller weapons and unabashedly drop grenades when at the wheel. Moreover, the new industry tech darling "Euphoria" is put to good use with some excellent vehicle and environmental damage coupled with some of the most amusing ragdoll physics I've seen in a game.

    At its core, GTA has predominately revolved around the driving experience as opposed to just the on-foot. Thankfully, the handling model for vehicles in IV has been significantly improved, creating more enjoyable and diverse car chases that can lead to some great cinematic moments. Planes, bicycles and the more superfluous (albeit fun) vehicles such as tractors have all been removed from the vehicle roster in IV, but the new approach to GTA's handling will make these detractors seem more viable from a geographical and gameplay standpoint. Helicopters are still in, though, and they still kick ass. At first use, the new car handling will take some getting used to, as building up speed, taking corners and dodging traffic can be more erroneous when learning the way. For example, a slow but sturdy pick-up can handle corners well but a speedy sports car may find the task more incomparable, and how making the right decision when looking for a car to steal during a chase can either help or hinder you greatly. This aspect isn't necessarily anything new to GTA, but occasionally having to bust open the window of a parked car and hotwire it as fast as possible can combat any feeling of rote gameplay that the previous games spent several years rehearsing but never changing dramatically.

    Even now, the alterations in the way the game plays (not only driving, but as a whole) made the notion of car-jacking and criminality seem fresh and exciting – a concept that has clearly been positively refined rather than made totally indifferent. The addition of the search radius shown on the map when wanted by the police (a system still dictated by a 6-star scale) adds another layer to the blend of driving and on-foot action. Dodging police blips on the map, changing vehicles when unseen to the law's eye and taking refuge down hidden alleyways thus essentially losing your wanted rating is an unprecedented mechanic in open world games, which works just as it should. At times, however, when you've only got a 1-star wanted level, there is indeed a sense of anti-climactic disillusion when you can merely hurtle down a long road for a good 10 seconds to get away from the search radius, but it far beats the monotony of having to find a Pay 'n' Spray like in the previous games (although there are still a small number in Liberty City if you're so inclined).

    What's most striking about GTAIV, though, is the city of Liberty itself. Run by Rockstar's own RAGE engine, a coming together of the atmosphere and technical prowess makes your experience in this city really mesmerising. From the bustling, bright and exciting downtown metropolis of Algonquin, to the run-down, poorer districts of Broker, the essence of a living world is truly brought to life through exceptional graphic detail. Pedestrians of the city will roam around the city, talk to each other, purchase food, use newspapers as a shield from the rain; cars will beat music from the radio and chat stations that inhabit varied modern music and well-written, comedic talk shows; and the architecture that Liberty is built on - a deliberate carbon-copy of New York City - captures a fantastic sense of scale and immersion. Weather also plays an important role in developing atmosphere – when it's sunny, cars will shine accordingly and when it rains... oh boy, when it rains, not only does it look gorgeous, but it sounds even better. Walking down an alleyway and hearing rain-drops patter onto a rubbish container or glaring at the incandescent bridge lights reflect on the pristine-looking water at night-time are just a couple of examples of how sensationally the world hems you in. As a slight non-sequitur, there are points in the game through dependent relationships with storyline NPCs that let you soak in the activities on offer in Liberty City. You can date women or do things with friends, such as getting wasted at a local Irish tavern, visiting a classy cabaret club or taking in the sights on a heli-tour. Bowling with your average chauvinist gangster may seem like a deprival of the game's overall content, but nonetheless these activities make the experience anything but diffident and you'll soon identify Niko as a guy that would probably want to go to relax and play darts after a murderous mission for the Mafia. Ultimately, however, whether or not you find all this fun is purely subjective and not always necessary for completion of the main story.

    With all the extravagant talk, it's hard to believe that GTAIV has any issues. Well, this isn't true. It makes sense that the introductory missions were probably designed to give you general insight on the game's characters and setting, but in truth it all starts off fairly slow, taking perhaps a bit too long to introduce you to everything, and as mentioned above, the new driving model may be a slow burn for some. Some missions are a little too scripted, as well, up to point where the free world approach seems a little negated and although provide for entertaining missions, can hurt the heart a tiny bit. Furthermore, for players now in common terms with regenerating health systems in games, GTAIV may seem like a slap in the face with its atypical approach, but in reality the advent of cops-'n'-robbers wouldn't work as well without it. As the game goes on, new ways to regain health become available, so it's definitely not a huge revoke of fun when playing, but will more than likely catch a few players off guard for the worse. Certainly, these complaints are minor and if anything only showcase the game's stronger points.

    Like always, GTAIV poses the challenge of gaining 100% completion through stunt jumps, hidden "packages" and the like, and although there are no Vigilante or Rampage missions from the older games, let's be honest, who's going to miss those anyway? Instead, if you grow tired of the main game (which should take you a good 30 hours to finish), GTAIV now includes a fully-fleshed online multiplayer component for 16 players (that can also be played over system link, but not split-screen). As well as being able to roam around the entire city with friends - peds and cars 'n' all - some inventive game modes such as Cops 'n' Crooks have been implemented, which involves one team of Cops preventing the Crooks' boss (a randomly-assigned player) from reaching a certain destination in Liberty. There's no doubt the game translates well to an online arena, with hilarious car chases and intense shoot-outs making for some great online experiences. Perhaps not for the dedicated multiplayer players, however, seeing as a fairly immature matchmaking system and some balance issues can cause a little grief now and again. You may run into some lag issues periodically, but very rarely anything game-breaking. With all that said if you don't take it too seriously, you can have definitely a blast playing the game online and proves without doubt to be a welcome appendage to the franchise.

    Rockstar North was always clever with the technology available on previous consoles and continued to make brilliant and involving action games despite limitations. So, despite abundant financial benefits, it's inspiring to see a developer able to create a game of such structured formula and successfully reprise it as something other than a typical jingoist cash-in. There is passion, influence and love seeping through all its stronger aspects – a quality that is not often perceived in most games. Grand Theft Auto IV is by no means perfect, but through pertaining exceeding elements of design and technicality, the quintessential direction remains the same, but yet is completely different. Without hitting every possible grandiose note, here's the summary: GTAIV is a fitting example of just how advancements through technology and experience can better the playability of games that carry any kind of reception indigenous to mature titles; a game that wholeheartedly deserves your time, money and undivided attention.

    Other reviews for Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360)

      To live again in Liberty City... (TLAD) 0

      It’s a bit weird how this generation has introduced the inclusion of downloadable content, as on the one hand it theoretically allows games to be expanded in fantastic ways, but on the other hand companies like Namco Bandai and Electronic Arts have made DLC rear its ugly head. Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned not only proves a good justification for the existence of DLC, but also expands on the idea of what DLC can really do and sets a lead that all other developers and publishers should fo...

      22 out of 24 found this review helpful.

      The Lost and Damned Review 0

      The Lost and Damned is a download available on the Xbox Live Marketplace, PSN, and for download for PC for $20, respectively.  The expansion, while still being an expansion, is an entirely new game with new characters, story, weapons, vehicles, activities, and multiplayer modes.  While there are no new areas to explore, TLAD features the Rockstar brand of storytelling that everyone has come to know and love. Johnny Klebitz, VP of The Lost The Lost and Damned stars Johnny Klebitz, the Vice-Presid...

      8 out of 10 found this review helpful.

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