Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto IV is without a doubt Rockstar's most ambitious attempt in the GTA franchise and for the most part it meets expectations. Meets, but does not exceed. The hero, Niko Bellic is a compelling protagonist, and he's probably the most compelling main character we've seen thus far in a GTA game. Niko is a genuinely likable guy who is forced to do bad things because of his circumstances. The circumstances in which he finds himself are Liberty City and it's corruption. Perhaps the game's other most impressive aspect is Liberty City itself. The city is a serviceable standalone character with it's bustling streets and seemingly bottomless corruption. So in that regard the game is most impressive. The world truly does feel alive and actions you take in the story modify the vast city to a degree.
In contrast to this realism though is the fairly grinding story that never really changes. Niko arrives in the city with the goal of finding a specific person and that goal never really changes throughout the game. Niko is forced to take on a number of illegal jobs in order to make ends meet and find this person because Niko claims that violence is all he's good at. However the missions start to blend into one another as they all require an element of "drive here, shoot those guys, drive here". Also no matter how much money you seem to rake in, during the cut scenes Niko always seems to be hard up for cash. By the end of the game, with the amount of money I had I could have paid people like Niko to do most of the missions for me. Additionally sometimes the creators went too far in trying to simulate the living, breathing world by adding small touches like TV and mini games like bowling and pool. When I fire up my PS3 I don't do so with the intent of watching in-game television. Don't get me wrong the little I did watch was funny but it's not why I'm playing GTA.
Enough with the negatives though GTA is an impressive game, the imagery is stunning and there is a somewhat compelling story to play though if you're willing ot put enough time into it. Personally I think I myself might end up enjoying a game like Saint's Row more because I would rather just light people on fire than probe the deeper intricacies of the problems of modern day America. The story is compelling, but I play a GTA game to kill people indiscriminately.
All in all Grand Theft Auto IV sets up an interesting story, with interesting characters, in a very interesting city but even with all of these interesting factors it plays like a normal GTA game, just one that's taking itself more seriously.
