Three years after the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar Games has finally released their newest version of the Grand Theft Auto Series, and to the rabid gaming public who eagerly awaited the release, it was certainly well worth the wait. From the opening cutscene and credits, players are immediately given the impression that this will not be just another GTA game, but rather a cinematic experience all to itself, and rightfully so.
Players assume the role of Niko Bellic, a European immigrant war veteran with a somewhat secretive past. Niko arrives in Liberty City by boat and is met by his eccentric, Americanized, debt-ridden cousin Roman, and almost immediately thereafter he is thrust into the crime-filled employment of mob bosses and street thugs the series is known for.
Missions are mostly derived from past games in the series, as well. Assassinations, robbery, and (of course) car thefts are all part and parcel, but players can rest assured that these various tasks have all been carried over quite well in next-gen fashion, especially with the game’s new and improved control scheme. As with previous installments, there is no difficulty setting--mission difficulty remains on par with predecessors--but it should be noted that there are a few unexpected annoyances scattered around that may leave frustrated players with a desire to send their controllers screaming through their TVs or monitors. NPCs seem to have no lack of control overt themselves, especially during escort missions, and police seem to come from the absolute corners of nowhere to send repeated shotgun blasts to your forehead. Fortunately, the game has been equipped with a new replay feature, in which players are given the option to quickly revert back to the last mission failed.
If missions are becoming tiresome, or if players just want a simple change of pace, GTA IV also provides players with an ability to experience the city like never before, and it’s safe to say that Liberty City is a living breathing entity all to its own. There is so much more to do and experience compared to previous titles, and players may often lose track of time simply roaming the streets, but a built-in GPS navigation system ensures players will always be able to get back to where they need to with relative ease. Street races, scrap dealers, and hidden “packages” all remain true to the series, but Liberty City’s citizens roam the streets in lifelike fashion, and seem to carry on “lives” of their own, to the point where players could very easily assume that the city may very well carry on without their presence, long after the game has been turned off. This environment also leads to some pretty entertaining developments when wreaking general cop-inducing havoc.
Another interesting addition to the series comes in the introduction of an in-game cell phone. Though the device may seem a little archaic and out-of-date, it comes with some fantastic uses. One of the most notable is the friend feature, in which players may arrange outings with the main characters. Slightly similar to the dating feature in San Andreas, dates may include dinner, bowling, bar-hopping, and other real-life activities, and in turn, help boost your standing with each particular NPC, which can lead to some very helpful rewards along the way. These rewards are only limited to main characters throughout the game, but players may even choose to take out various women via an online dating service if they feel so inclined. Unfortunately, friends may call a little more often than necessary, which can lead to a little bit of frustration, especially while being feverishly chased in hot pursuit by the infamous LCPD.
In terms of visuals, GTA IV is absolutely breathtaking. It is quite apparent that the developers spent a painstakingly large amount of time modeling the city, cars, and pedestrians down to the very last awe-inspiring detail. In terms of consoles, it should be noted that the X360 version is slightly smoother and cleaner, but fans of the PS3 will not be let down in the least. Players of both versions may not even notice a difference unless specifically looking for one.
The audio is exactly what one would expect from a game of this calibre, as well. Ambient city noise is authentic and lifelike, and the hours of dialogue and voice acting is top-notch. The in-car radio has once again also delivered as expected. Numerous stations play countless hours of unrepeated music, and there is an in-game phone number players can dial to find out the names of the songs/artists that are currently playing. In addition, there are even some audible cameo appearances from the past that may make older fans of the series feel a little nostalgic.
One of the most surprising and welcomed additions to the series is the implementation of an online multiplayer system. Supporting up to 16 players, games range from simple Team Deathmatch and Street Races to more co-op team based matches. The amount of variety continues in that players can choose which portion of LC to play in, whether or not police are present, car selection, and much more. There is also a leveling and ranking system in which players are able to unlock new character models and clothing styles for use in multiplayer matches. Unfortunately, the leveling system almost seems tacked on, as it can be a little confusing trying to determine when players will level-up; however, it should be noted that this doesn’t take away from the sheer and absolute joy and chaos that a 16-player GTA match of any style provides.
At this point it may go without saying, but Grand Theft Auto IV is definitely a must-play, and certainly the best in the series. With it’s engrossing story line, lifelike visuals, addictive multiplayer, and constant surprises, players should have no problem finding plenty to do in the crime-laden, open-ended sandbox juggernaut that is Liberty City.
Grand Theft Auto 4 is an important game for Rockstar, not least because it was the first title in the franchise to use the newly created RAGE engine.
There’s never a bad time to relive its magic, and with rumours of a potential Grand Theft Auto IV remaster making the rounds, why wouldn’t you?
Not sure tbh.. I'd say 3 was the most overrated. It's pretty rough to go back to, it was quite rough even trying it just after Vice City. Lack of humour and vehicles that had the weight of polystyrene with top speeds to match.
VC & the stories games (even LCS) were all fun. I remember there being a lot of praise for GTA 3 on TV and in game mags, saying it was a Dreamcast killer of a game or words to that effect, and honestly after playing it on PC I didn't think it was that special and kind of dull, had the odd moment of fun but hardly anything. I heard they cut online multiplayer at the last moment for PC, shame because it could've made all the difference.
Would've loved to have seen what kind of cartoony GTA style game they could've done on Dreamcast as a competitor, I bet something along the lines of Simpsons Hit & Run would've worked well.
@numberz How can the game that defined a generation and was copied by everyone be overrated? Was a asinine comment
For me 4 was better than 5 was more realistic and the physics was on another level! 5 was a major let down in that department!
@blacktar you have your opinion i have mine. I found the game dull, and it is for the most part. It set the foundation for the much superior SA and VC however.
You say GTA III is overrated because it's rough to go back to and rough to play after Vice City. Your entire opinion is in hindsight. Of course it's rough going back to it today. It came out over 20 years ago. That doesn't take away from the fact that it pioneered a lot and was a paradigm shift for a lot of trends in game development today. Vice City in a lot of ways is just a more refined version of III. It was San Andreas that took the big leap forward from a design perspective. If III doesn't release, who knows if the open world genre would be what it is now. How can that be overrated?
Not at all. My most played game of all time. Truly stunning accomplishment in gaming and with PC graphics mods it just took it to levels beyond anything that came before and possibly even after.
People who moan about it generally tend to be people who played it on under powered consoles and couldn’t handle the more realistic car physics. It was the slightly more realistic approach that made it stand out more. Absolutely love it. In fact I always said Vice city was my favourite of all time. But after going back to the remaster I realised 4 was actually the best.
I'm no critic and I consider it the best games in the franchise after recently replaying every entry it's story when paired in conjunction with it's DLC was and still is amazing.
Lol. Fun fact. That dlc cost a certain green colored console 50 million for exclusiveness. Un heard of back then. Just to point out the hypocrisy of the 3rd party exclusive agenda going on.
Anyway how the dlc better then the base game by a mile. Lol imo
San Andreas holds a special place in my heart. Honestly, I couldn't get into IV at all. Didn't even finish it. I had some pride in playing it at first because I'm originally a New Yorker, but it just didn't do it for me.
To each their own.
Gta sa for sure. To this day my favorite. My least fav is gta 4 easily. Gta 4 made me feel like the dude in next friday trying to take the cd back talking about i cant get jiggy wit this.
Maybe looking back it would be 3 but 3 did so damn much for gaming in general. . My first gta was of course the top downs so the series has came a long way.
Yeah I remembered falling asleep playing the last mission in GTA4.. the most boring protagonist (out of all the voiced protag), and the town is too small.
Not really
Overrated
Boring
Liberty City despite being a reimagined version for the HD era lacked any variety
Lacked the GTA fun charm overall
Niko was bland compared to past protagonists like Tommy, CJ or Victor
GTA 2 was the best, lol my only owned GTA game. Vice city was alright when I rented it back then. I cant really say which is the best cause those the only 2 games i played but GTA 2 was fun on PC back in the day. Closes game to it that I enjoyed was SR3 and I dont care what people say. That none serious tone was fun enjoyable.
Like hell it is. San Andreas was far better, much more fun and a better game overall.
Nah, it's a masterpiece in attention to detail and the amount of immersive systems at play. But it really isn't very fun, ESPECIALLY when compared to the previous games in the series. Like tons of things are just wonky and actively kneecap lots of experimentation, or is just lame. Like why do I take huge damage when falling into water, why can I only stand in very specific large trucks when they are moving but not smaller trucks and vehicles, why is the melee combat such a massive down grade from GTA SA and GTA IV, why is the euphoria nowhere near as reactive, why is being drunk using a rasterized animation of staggering rather than the far more entertaining euphoria GTAIV and RDR used when you were drunk, why do npc vehicles barely react to you popping there tires even at high speed, etc etc.
I've always loved playing around in GTA games world. Like the campaigns are great but the majority of my time was always spent just playing in the open world. Yet GTAV is the only game in the series I never really returned to after beating it, it just lacks that fun factor the others have, I spent more time in GTA SA remastered than GTAV
It's one of my least favourite GTA games. It's clunky, the ai is exploitable, it's far too long and the writing is absolutely awful.
On the GTA 4 15th anniversary we look back at the Rockstar Games open-world opus and how GTA 4's radio stations showed Liberty City in a special light.
Insane rockstar hasn't remastered this gem. Still stuck on PS3 and 360. How is that even possible?
GTA 5...
Rockstar have let so many games slide so that GTA 5 can be put on a new console
very detailed review. I liked it.
Good review. I loved the soundtrack to this game. K109 and the Vibe along with IF 99 and Fusion Fm were great! I think some missions were annoying; when you had to kill people at a certain time for example the biker mission when you chase them through the tunnel the last one had to be killed after you got out of the train station. The best mission was Three Leaf Clover.
The detail in this game is very good. Brucie was funny and my favourite character from the game.
Online was funny in some cases but the glitches and servers made it a nightmare sometimes (I did reach level 10 lol).
Great review.
It's a coincidence that I just started playing this game again on PS3 last weekend after watching the movie King of New York. It's great to revisit it, and I'm being reminded why it's one of my favourite all time games.
Nice review. Keep it up
Thanks to everyone for the praise. Makes me feel like it's less of a waste of time and more like I'm doing some sort of good in the world.