Grand Theft Auto IV

Gta 4 is probably the most highly anticipated game of the year. With the game being out for almost 2 months it has shattered sales records and has received massive critical acclaim. With good reason to, because very few games can fully live up to the hype they deliver, but rest assured Gta 4 does. Let me start by saying that Gta 4 hugely improves upon its predecessors making it the best game of the series.

Graphics: The graphics are awesome when considered that this is a sandbox game which really cant be held up to the standards of other games. The aspect of the graphics that really shine through (no pun intended) is the lighting. The lighting is just flat out amazing. When you step outside in the game you almost feel like the light is actually shining in your eyes. One of the most technically amazing things in this game is the explosions. There is nothing more satisfying than taking your rpg to a cop car and watching it explode into sheer awesomeness. Now with all these good graphics in such a open world you cant expect it to be perfect because its not, but the problems are only minor and barley hinder the game play. These problems are a few frame rate issues, but this is due to fact that the game mainly runs at 60 fps and when it drops down to 30 fps (which still isn't bad) you can tell. The other issue is some minor clipping issues, but both of these problems can be easily overlooked.

Sound: The Gta series has always been known for its amazing soundtrack. This one is no different Rockstar is amazing at selecting music that sets the mood of there game. The sound effects in this game really set the city off making it feel alive and breathing. Examples of this are screaming pedestrians, honking horns, and powerful sounding guns.



Gameplay: Now the gameplay is what has really made this game so much better than the gta games before it. Rockstar has added quite a lot to enhance the gameplay. The major improvement is the combat. They went with an over the shoulder view this time which works rather well. You can free aim or you can lock on. While this has vastly improved the combat its not perfect. While the lock on works you have the usual problem with lock on targeting. Prioritising. sometimes it just doesn't lock on to the enemy who is the most threat to you. Now to remedy that you can use the free aim, but this is also a little flawed. I noticed the aiming to be a little to jerky (for lack of a better term), and it also feels really akward and hard to use at close range. One of the new additions to the combat is the cover system. Which works extremley well. You can take cover behind almost anything in all of Liberty City. Which in itself is a true feat. Now with any cover system there is a certain stickiness to them, but not nearly as bad as Gears of War. The driving has also been changed. Its now more realistic than arcade like which can be a love it or hate it thing. Although the content has been reduced when compared to San Andreas its all been refined. They went for quality or quantity. As for the Multi player I am so impressed with what they did. It has 15 modes and you can use all of liberty city. Almost every aspect from the single player has been carried over. Meaning cops, pedestrains, traffic, all except the story line. All in all the gameplay is amazing. It cant be held up to games that only focuse on 1 aspect because its when all these things come together that this game becomes great.

Fun Factor: Now this is what gta is known for, just being a overall fun game with limitless things to do. Gta 4 still has that and more. Everything in this game has just been fine tuned and the level of detail in this game is absolutly amazing, and the story has been completely rethought and it makes it great. no longer do you get a charater who is just a total meat head but you actually feel a connection with Niko.

In conslusion, this game is just an outstanding game it really shows why gta is the king of sandbox games, and why its going to stay like that for years to come.

Graphics: 9

Sound: 10

Gameplay: 9

Funfactor: 10

Final Score: 9.5