Grand Theft Auto IV, the title alone brings shivers to the many anticipated fans, and now the many satisfied fans. To call GTA4 just a game is surely an understatement. GTA IV literally became a world wide cultural phenomenon, to be honest the games "hyperbole" transcended hype, it reached a new plateau; but what happens after the hype? When you actually get to play the game? I'll tell you my own revelation.
You start off with an all too familiar character by now named Niko Bellic, an eastern european; an immigrant, looking to get rich and looking for some one who has wronged him. Although his origin isn't clearly mentioned, tell tale signs may point that Niko is either Polish (Many times Niko being referenced as "Polak" another name for a Polish person) or Croation of some sorts.
Story:
The story is deep, rivaling that of a acclaimed Hollywood movie.
The script could have used a more thorough examination but sufficed to say, it's better than any game released so far in 08' and possibly 07'. Rockstar made sure there are no plot line holes, essentially it is top notch, with only a few extremely corny moments but to an added affect, hilarious moments in the story.
You'll find yourself wanting more, even after you completed the 30 hour story line. You might even start seeking out the random missions found in Liberty City just to try to push your comprehension of the story that much further. Make no mistake the story here is deep, deep enough for a direct sequel? Possibly, although unlikely for Rockstar to continue the canon directly.
Game play:
A lot of the game play mechanics can be hit and miss, causing much frustration, or hilarity depending on the person or situation. The controls are fairly standard, nothing too hard, or out of reach, the layout is acceptable.
The cover system is one aspect that has been fundamental in "next-gen" gaming era. The over hauled "battle" system featured in GTA IV is hit and miss, the cover system is clunky at best, sometimes to slow going for cover, sometimes not even being able to shoot over top an object although clearly your eyes would tell you otherwise. Grenades may not go where you want them to go and even sometimes Rocket launchers are better at blowing yourself up than your opponents.
Running is a little wonky (yes wonky) to begin with, it's not exactly sluggish but it's not exactly optimized, although passing satisfactory I'd like to see a minimal upgrade in the next installment.
The new engine for driving has got a lot of people upset, many preferring the old arcade feel of the previous GTA's. No longer can you skid around a corner at 120 K/M without consequence, you must take adequate response time in smashing the brakes or for the best result, pumping the brakes. The crash collision is top notch, damage on vehicles looking not overly realistic but just enough to look convincing. Damage responds to the area affected as expected. Wheels can take on significant damage which can affect your driving performance. An interesting detail Rockstar added in GTA IV is the ability for your car to stall if it has taken on enough damage.
The weight of the car feels like it should, according to the type of car your driving you will not have the same experience, that being said smashing into a bus in a Ferrari will not cause that bus to roll over, however many times you attempt it, in the real world phsyics that is. However in GTA IV driving that Ferrari fast enough might just cause that 18-wheeler to flip over and send it spiraling in the air. The collision mechanics in this sense spark laughter beyond belief, however minor it may seem this isn't acceptable.
Graphics:
The graphics while feeling next-gen do not ring true, many textures found in the game are almost San Andreas like in quality. It also seems more selective graphical styles are seen through out more popular places, almost masking the graphics to an effect. The cars look rather detailed and extremely pleasing to the eye. However one thing that stands out is everyone who isn't Niko Bellic and the select cast, seem to be rendered in significantly less polygons, almost comparable to San Andreas.
Arguably the best time you see the graphics engine peak is while driving at high speed, the blur effect acts as a substitute that makes you forget about some of the textures, and very visible jaggies caused due to lack of anti-aliasing. Seeing the city in divisions from a Helicopter is impressive, suffering only minor texture pop-in depending on camera angle.
The game engine is satisfactory, it doesn't border impressive, but it isn't necessarily below standard. Once you take in the full size and scale of the city, I'm sure you'll be impressed and most graphical anomalies can be forgiven.
However the camera angle hasn't received an overhaul as suspected, which is a disappointment. The camera angle can cause some dastardly frustration in the midst of a fire fight, or high speed car chase.
Conclusion:
Is GTA 4 worth a buy? Of course it is, it's a truly exceptional game for this generation, actually of any generation. However that's not the question people want answered. Every one is aware that the GTA franchise of any installment is an instant buy and a classic, the question here is... Is this the BEST game ever made?
The answer is subjective and it's always different according to each person. While GTA IV isn't innovative in anyway other than pushing the sandbox to a whole new level, its fun factor is off the charts. This is a game truly made with gamers in mind, it can turn the most casual gamer into a hardcore not-showering-for-a-week-gamer.
This game is good, so good it can't be judged routinely by other games in the the PS3/Xbox 360 library. It can only be compared to other games in the category, that category being sand box games and what other grace is it to compare GTAIV to another GTA, GTA:San Andreas arguably the best sand box game ever created. While GTA IV was a-blow-my-pants-off-my-ass experience, I'm going to have to hand this off to GTA:SA. Nothing quite captured my staying up four days in a row to beat GTA:SA. Rockstar spared no undone details in GTA:SA. The game is so immensely packed with activities and details that it kicks GTA IV in its teeth. Even with San Andrea's horrible aiming and lock on mechanics, the game was a damn near flawless experience. There were literally weeks of material after you finished the game, while GTA IV offered only hours.
Whether or not you liked GTA IV, it is THE game to remember for the hype, the fun factor and controversy.
Huzaifa from eXputer: "2008 was home to the likes of Call of Duty: World at War, Dead Space, GTA 4, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, and many other hits, which is outright remarkable."
Here here
Those that were around before 2000's i am sure are like me that think we entered a world of non readers or those that follow without question.
I can not wait to see fallout 3 a goty game even though it was about water with non content until you add the dlc/updates then you got the performance/crashing
1998 - the best year in gaming! Metal gear solid, crash bandicoot 3, medievil, half life, ocarina of time, thief, tenchu, resident evil 2, Spyro, tomb raider 3, oddworld abes exodus, banjo kazooie.
It was a different breed of a gaming era. You’ll never understand what it was like back then. The aura of gaming, it was different!
I second this. Gaming was a lot more varied and fun than it is today. I'm 35 so getting on compared to some here but I got to see all the changes from NES up to now but I've never felt so disappointed in any generation than I have this current gen. I was expecting more from this generation rather than prettier versions of games that came before it. Game mechanics have become so refined that alot of games feel the same and has done for a while now.
Maybe it's time to have a break for a while. I love gaming but I don't feel I get much fun in the traditional sense out of it anymore.
Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, Abe’s Exodus, and Ocarina of Time are the only things from that list that I liked.
Here’s the 2023 game releases that I personally liked… and big releases that I didn’t care for:
- Dead Space Remake
- Wo Long Dynatsy
- Resident Evil 4 Remake
- Diablo 4
- Fire Emblem Engage
- Hogwarts Legcay
- Street Fighter 6
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Like a Dragon: Ishin
- Octopath Traveler 2
- Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters
- Final Fanatsy XVI (actually ended up not liking this, but it was still a big deal release)
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
- Lies of P
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Starfield (Ended up hating this one, but big release)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (I’m an old-school Zelda fan, but didn’t really enjoy this game)
- Alan Wake 2
I mean, honestly I’ve never seen a year of major IP releases like that, ever.
Isn't it just a generational thing realistically.
I've been gaming since way back and I some of my favourite games go as far back as the late 80s for me each generation has a year or two of game changing releases one after another before an inevitable dry spell.
I kind of agree gaming had a different feel games hit different because we didn't have the internet nothing got spoiled and you really had to put in the effort to beat a puzzle which could set entire groups of people looking for a solution. But most importantly games were experimental and not as cookie cutter as today even basics like controls were not universal today r2 is shoot l2 is ads garunteed you can't deviate from that in a shooter back then it could of been square, R1 or R1 and circle nothing was standard.
But as time moves on a new generation picks up their controller they are going to be interested in different things that PS1 demo disc with the t Rex blew our primitive 16 bit brains back on launch but to kids today it's laughable.
The new gen of kids coming into to hobby seem to value different things to us there seems to be a huge focus on online play, streamers, gaming personalities, and social experiences, convience of digital downloads. To me I value none of that but that's ok like my parents not liking the band's I would listen to its just the natural cycle.
Just about every year in the 7th generation was great and something we most likely won't experience again.
2009 for example had Assassin's Creed 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dragon Age: Origins, Uncharted 2, Halo 3: ODST, Killzone 2, Borderlands, Bayonetta, and Demon's Souls to name a few.
It still amazes me we got over 7 rockstar games ps2/ps3 but 3 for the ps3/ps4/ps5
Dragon age 1-3 and mass effect 1-3 in 7ish years what a generation.
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.
I enjoyed your review, although I don't quite understand why it was reported.. Every thing seems to be in check.