Grand Theft Auto IV Review Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Genre: Third Person, “Sandbox”/Free Roaming Progress: Game Completed by Author Experience: Played on PlayStation 3 version Release Date: 2008 It’s back to Liberty City in the fourth installment of Rockstar’s popular (and controversial) sandbox series, Grand Theft Auto. Does Rockstar keep the quality of gameplay and excellent script writing, or does it fail to reach the standards set by hype? GTA IV’s plot revolves around Serbian protagonist Niko Bellic, an illegal immigrant who came to Liberty City as a reboot of his life, so he could get away from the bad memories of crimes and of the Bosnian War. Also, Niko’s cousin, Roman, foretold of riches and women in Liberty City. To Niko’s surprise, the “land of opportunity” is not what his cousin told of, and that Roman needed help from debt and gang involvement. As Niko does oddjobs and solves Roman’s problems, more issues appear, and the plot begins to unfold. Niko is probably the only main character in the GTA series that is actually likeable (with the exception of the recent Chinatown Wars for DS), with a smart aleck sense of humor and a sympathetic nature. He is the first character in the series that feels like a person you can feel for, and not some mindless criminal. The game later presents “choice” events in the plot, where you choose between killing someone or not, or choosing between which of two characters you will kill. These choices effect the outcome of the ending and could change gameplay. For example, if you kill a certain specific character in GTA IV, you’ll get his apartment, and the other character option will thank you for not killing him and offer you backup henchmen that you can call for assistance at times. The plotline is an excellently written story, with great voice acting and humorous dialogue. You take control of Niko Bellic on his adventures in Liberty City. The storyline alone amounts to about 20 hours or so for the average gamer, and there is so much more to do in the city. You can do side-missions, go on a mindless killing spree (it’s what GTA is known for, right?), enforce the law by fighting crimes with a Police car crime computer, watch TV, go to Internet Cafes, and so much more. You can even have a girlfriend, who you can take on various activities (you can also do this with other characters), such as bowling, playing darts, playing pool, or eating at a restaurant. The sporting activities are all very engaging mini-games, and it’s very immersive. The epic size of the city is very realistic, and the atmosphere is incredibly believable. Walking around Liberty City, you see citizens jogging, a group of guys on park benches nonchalantly talking to each other about “last night’s game”, people jaywalking, bad drivers, chatty businessmen talking on cell phones, people eating a hotdog from the food stand across the road, and more, way more. The city’s population moves and acts like a real city would, and it all feels real. What adds to the atmosphere is an awesome physics system. The Euphoria engine used in-game is very precise, and makes for realistic driving handling (especially when you popped a tire or two), explosion results. The gameplay is like a regular “nothing special”-type of third person shooter, in terms of variety. You carry around all sorts of weapons, like melee weapons, automatic guns, sidearms, a rocket launcher, and a standard affair of weapons. However, the amazing physics system, coupled with a great atmosphere, make for some intense car chases and firefights. Epic gunfights with lots of enemies is a thrill, and when swerving with a car on three wheels and dodging on-coming highway traffic while avoiding hostile cop cars, it’s pretty awesome. Driving is extremely realistic, with handling that will take time to get used to. The series is also innovated with an onscreen mini-GPS display that really helps getting around the city, a smoother and less awkward auto-aim targeting system, a cover system for gun fights, and a police star escape system. In the previous GTA games, the only way to avoid the cops was to hide from the police until they give up and the stars displayed onscreen disappear. However, now you have to avoid a radius of cop-vision, and the cop circle varies in size depending on how many stars you have. If seen by the cops, the circle will keep updating to where Niko is and makes it harder to escape. Once out of the circle, you have to stay out of the circle until they give up. This system generates very intense and frantic moments that are filled with fun. Even when caught, you can escape the handcuffs and make a break for it, in exchange for increasing your star rating by one. Aside from the single-player mode, there is also a series of multiplayer modes (both competitive and co-operative), that can be accessed through your in-game cell phone. There are 15 multiplayer modes, and the co-operative missions are unique missions that cannot be played in the single-player mode. Some examples include standard Deathmatch affairs, Team Car Jack City, where 2 to 8 teams compete to steal cars and earn money for keeping them undamaged, Turf War, involving two teams who compete to take control of designated areas of the map and control them for as long as possible, and Cops n' Crooks, with a team of cops who must compete against a team of crooks. All of the competitive modes can be customized with weather conditions, civilian presence, cop presence, and more. It’s very accesible, and it has a large online community, especially on PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. The graphics are great, as it’s impressive to keep such a huge city running smoothy, looking great and moving realisticly. GTA IV really astonishes me because it has so much going on at the same time and it still looks great and runs without any framerate issues. Occasionally, the camera cramps up in buildings and shows some odd graphical problems, but that happens very rarely. The soundtrack is extremely catchy, and the non-originally composed songs are well picked songs to listen to on the radio while driving in a car. The voice acting is absolutely top notch, with great signs of enthusiasm and emotion, while keeping great accents. The sounds from in-game, like gun shots, car crashes, environment-based sounds are all very well done. Kudos to the sound director on this game! Overall, it’s an amazing game, and this fourth installment does not disappoint. Graphics: 9.5/10 Impressive graphics aren’t exactly perfect due to graphic glitches, but otherwise…awesome! Sound: 10/10 Catchy music, both composed and from real life, sound effects are amazing, and the voice acting are just pure awesome. Presentation: 9.5/10 Situations are well presented and very epic, but it goes shy of being perfect because some missions can be frustrating. Gameplay: 10/10 Even though the weapon selection is on the generic side, the gameplay is great fun, thanks to the realistic physics, sounds and atmosphere of the game. It stands out from other third person shooters, for sure. Lasting Appeal: 10/10 With a vast online community and lots of replayability from going on mindless crime-fests, you’ll have a hell of a time playing this game for hours on end, even after plowing through the extremely extensive storyline. Overall: 49/50
My opinion differs from yours. I didn't enjoy GTAIV because it strayed far away from the GTA formula from before. Also I'm disappointed that you used the arbitrary numbers.
I used the template cause it fit. If it didn't, like an MMO, I'll change it. I don't like the template either, but I hate people (users) nitpicking about it.
You're definitely getting better with your reviews, Masterchef. Just one suggestion: regarding screenshots, captions would definitely help for each. Also, make sure that they fit within the flow of your review. For example, when you talk about playing mini-games with the girlfriend, include a screenshot of that feature along with the caption.
Yeah, I was wondering about relevance of screenshots for some paragraphs. My Google Images senses fail me. It's better for PC reviews, as I can grab my own screenies.
I'm just about to buy this game yesterday. But, something prevents me.... hm... Anyway, Nice reviews as always. Maybe you could improve it more. More screenshots perhaps?
-Storyline takes about 30 hours, for an advanced GTA player.(I think) -You can choose better pictures. -Trophies/Achievements ... -And I played the game for plat(100G) and I have to say, it is not that perfect. Some graphic bugs and some gameplay bugs drove me crazy! But, I have to respect your thoughts....
