Video Games : Grand Theft Auto IV

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Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Welcome to Liberty City
Lets skip all the video game politics and ethical diatribe, Grand Theft Auto IV is some serious fun. That is, if you can handle heavy satire, hours of enjoyment, and a massive city as your personal playground.

For its very first foray into the next generation of gaming, the Grand Theft Auto series goes back to a wholly different Liberty City. Modeled after New York City (catch the funny play on names like the GETALIFE building), Liberty City is a living, breathing world that is detailed like never before. In fact, one of the most impressive aspects of GTAIV is its realistic portrayal of human beings. Of course, there is a huge layer of stereotyping and satire involved, but as far as their actions and movements go, everything feels so real that it is quite hard not to get sucked into the game.

For the 4th installment in the Grand Theft Auto 3D universe, Rockstar trimmed the fat and injected more realism and emotion into the game. Gone are the heavy handed quasi-RPG elements of 'San Andreas' (I kind of liked them, but oh well). Planes are also gone, as are bicycles; GTA IV feels more like GTAIII, eschewing most of what 'Vice City' and 'San Andreas' brought to the table, much to the chagrin of many fans. I think this is a good thing. Instead of a mish-mash of half baked concepts and ideas thrown together, we get a very focused and in depth game with a variety of options. The Story lines in GTA games have always been lacking, but GTAIV aimed to change that. It did.

You are Niko Bellic, a foreigner seeking resolution and the American Dream. You come to Liberty City and immediately find yourself in the midst of crime and betrayal. I'm not going to say anything else about the story other than it is actually really good! The dialogue is really good, the voice acting is really really good. Ever since I got this game I have been completely engulfed by it, absorbed into the world of Niko Bellic and Liberty City.

Like in 'San Andreas' your character has his own voice, his own emotions, motivations and mannerisms. Niko Bellic feels, acts and sounds like a real person. He gets angry, he gets happy. And the really cool and nicely done cut scenes show off all of this. In fact, this game would have been a snore fest had the main character been a cardboard cut out or a voiceless murderer. Giving the main character a true sense of purpose and identity is what makes this game a very enjoyable experience. You get a grip of what Niko wants, and you can really connect to him. That is something that is unfortunately missing in most of the games flooding the market today.

Your in game cell phone plays out like your menu. From your phone you can contact friends, get work, get to the options menu, take pictures, and access the multiplayer feature. Its a neat way to hide a menu, and it can actually work as a phone as well. You can call the police, the fire dept and the paramedics. These can work to you advantage if you find yourself in a jam with the more seedier folk. Being chased by some gun totting gangsters? No problem, just call the police, and they will take care of it. But make sure you are not shooting when they arrive, or they will probably chase after you.

Friends play a crucial role this time around, and to be honest you will spent most of your time pleasing your friends. They will call you wanting to hang out. Chill with them enough and they may even grant you special favors (i.e helicopter rides and gun trafficking). Ignore them too much and they will lose respect for you and may even start to dislike you. They also have various side quests for you to tackle. Your friends have their own personalities, their own attitudes, beliefs and interests. Rockstar did an awesome job fleshing out each character. However, there is a downside to the whole friends business, they never leave you alone! They always seem to call you right when you are in the middle of a mission. It can get really tedious at times trying to satisfy both friends and a girlfriend, but hey thats life. And GTAIV certainly does feel like a second life.

One thing that GTAIV does borrow from 'San Andreas' is the dating sim, which has been drastically improved. Not only do you meet various woman through the main story line, you can even go online (yes, this game has an in-game internet!) and meet people online. There are a host of things to do with your date as well, such as bowling, comedy clubs, strip clubs, dining, pool, darts, and drinking. You can even get intimate with your dates, which results in a semi-funny cut scene (no they don't show you anything).

Hookers are still in the game as well, and I still have a heck of a time using and abusing them. Which leads me to another fun aspect of GTAIV; playing the game how YOU want to play it. Sure during missions you have to complete the objective, but outside of missions the city is your playground. You can pretty much do anything you want, within the limits of the game. As always, you can go on killing sprees, see how many stars you can obtain, see how many police you can kill etc. These can sometimes be fun, however you have to take the violence with a grain of salt. Its a video game. Remember that.

Graphic wise, GTAIV is definitely a step up from its predecessors. Is it true next generation graphics? Not really, but for the sheer size and scope of the game they more than serve their purpose. Details is where this game shines. From murals painted on buildings to the glitz and glamor of Liberty City's equivalent to Times Square, everything is heavily detailed. Every time I play this game I am amazed at how realistically detailed the city and its inhabitants are. Kudos to Rockstar for such a fine job.

Not only are the graphics a definite upgrade from its predecessors, but the A.I is much improved. Pedestrians act more realistic, answering their cell phones, on their daily routines, drinking coffee, causing trouble. You can even spot civilians getting into shootouts with the police, or resisting arrest. The pedestrians and enemies in GTAIV are some of the smartest and most realistic in the series, and part of that has to do with the new physics engine used for the game.

Dubbed the 'Euphoria' engine, this powerful program causes every single object in the game world to react to real physics laws. This means that every single character in the game moves with a realistic sense of weight. Get hit by a car and your body will go ragdoll, smash into something head on in a car and watch your body fly through the windshield and onto the pavement. When you shoot someone their body reacts to the specific spot where the bullet hit them. Overall the new physics engine is something to rave about, and I am willing to bet we will be seeing that engine in use in the future (Star Wars: Force Unleashed will be using the Euphoria engine as well).

The combat has been greatly improved as well, though the auto aim is still rather annoying. Thankfully you can now toggle the auto aim on/off. The new cover system, similar to Gears of War and even more so Metal Gear Solid 4 really adds new life to the combat. Being able to duck behind virtually any object and wall in a heated battle is a godsend. You can even peek around corners and fire. There are still times when the whole ordeal gets a little clunky, but its a much needed improvement over the previous GTA titles.

At last, we come to the most interesting aspect of GTAIV, the multiplayer. For the first time gamers can roam the immensely detailed streets of Liberty City via Xbox Live. You and some friends can start a Free Roam game and do whatever you want. You can reign terror on the city, have death matches, races. Quite literally, you can do what you want. If the Free Roaming gets boring, you can always join in on a Ranked or Unranked deathmatch and the even more exciting Team Deathmatch. I have to say that team deathmatch in the sprawling Liberty City is epic! You can even have up to four or five teams battle each other at once!

If online shootouts aren't your fancy, you can take to the streets, racing style. Since the courses all take place in the streets of the city, there are no designated paths that you are forced to take. You can get through the check points any way you want (except backwards of course). And if you decide to give up you can always work towards making the other drivers lives very miserable by setting up roadblocks and causing all kinds of trouble.

Speaking of online, one of the coolest things about GTAIV is the level of developer support it will get. Rockstar have already promised gamers some downloadable content this fall. As to what it will be is anyones guess, but suffice it to say the the options are literally limitless. They could do anything from add new missions to new sections of the city. They could even add new weapons, stores, songs on the radio, and a whole host of stuff. This is most beneficial to the gamer, especially if this content is cheap or free. I am very excited to see what Rockstar have cooking.

Oh yeah, one more thing. The radio, as always, rocks! On it you will hear the classic talk show radio stuff that hilarious, and a multitude of music that spans across all genres and styles. Some songs you will recognize, and others you may not.

Grand Theft Auto IV is THE controversial game of this generation,. and in many ways it is also one of the best GTA titles in the series. With endless fun, endless options, an amazing A.I and physics system, and a whole host of missions, side quests, friends and relationships Grand Theft Auto IV brings the GTA series to the next generation. As always, this game is rated M, as this is a very violent game. But there is always a tinge of humor to every action taken.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Good, but overhyped
Overall:
A very good game. It's all the things everyone says it is, but it has some serious flaws. Since you can find the positives anywhere, I'll focus on the negatives.

Positives:
Very fun, entertaining game. It's easy to get hooked.
The gameplay is very detailed - there are a lot of things to do.
The graphics are stunning.
The subtle and not-so-subtle humor throughout the game is terrific.

Negatives:
Biggest negative thing is the combat mechanics. The auto-aim works well in most situations, but it seems to break down when you have targets that get really close. It's easy to die in a firefight when it won't target the guy who's right next to you, and occasionally you'll end up shooting at an innocent.
Ditto for using cover. Works well most of the time, but sometimes it's infuriating.
Be prepared to drive. A lot.
The AI could stand to be tougher, especially the police. The police cars don't chase you half the time (especially if you're on foot), and it's extremely easy to get away. The game makes up for it by making the police way too ubiquitous - they're roughly 1 in every 10 cars on the road, and there are guys on foot everywhere. It's still not a problem, though, if you know how to drive.
Car possession is a little too "loose". You end up stealing cars all the time (which is too easy to get away with), while the game doesn't want to remember the car that you are driving. Sure, it will remember it if you park it outside of your apartment, but what good is it there? If you ever die or drive a mission-critical vehicle, you can kiss your sweet ride goodbye.
As open-ended as the game pretends to be, it's really rather linear.
A minor thing: the cars aren't randomized at all. It's not uncommon to see four or five of the exact same vehicle (different colors) in a row. It's visually annoying, and makes stealing cars weird; you can only seem to find fast, expensive cars if you are already driving one.


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - Why So Serious?
When I play a GTA game I expect action, over the top violence, and glorious satire. What I don't look for is a morality play. GTA IV, though it carries over many of the elements from prior iterations, has finally acquired one thing it never needed: a conscience. Now I'm not sure if this "evolution" came about via the maturation of the game designers or because of pressure from conservative groups, but if there is one thing I absolutely loathe is any form of media trying to instill some moral compass in my soul. Whether it's Niko rambling about the "horrors of his prior life", receiving touching e-mails from his mum, or complaining aloud at how pathetic it is that he is paying a prostitute for sex, this sequel feels strangely separate from the rest of the GTA franchise. Don't even get me started on the need to show the evils of alcohol or helping a junkie go home. It is ironic that a series based on excessive sex and violence suddenly decides it needs to deride what made it popular in the first place.

The missions are still fun as ever with some creative twists along the way. Adding a cover system was well past due as well as creating a bit of depth in hand to hand fighting with the ability to block.

The firendship and dating segments I could have done without. The entire point to preserving relationships are the advantages these relationships give you whether it is reducing a three star wanted level, a free taxi ride, healing, etc. The only problem is that you cannot use these advantages during missions so why bother cultivating them in the first place? The dates are boring and the pay offs nil.

One feature I miss from San Andreas was the ability to either fatten up or improve your physique. That and other customizable possibilities, ranging from hair cuts to tattoos, are sorely lacking here. The best you can do is buy a limited number of outfits and even then the range doesn't really mean much.

The worst point for me was the in-game radio stations. One thing I loved about GTA III to San Andreas were the hilarious talk shows and the awesome soundtracks. With the budget behind this game, the soundtrack is noticeably light on anything of value and the talk shows are nowhere near as creative. I largely turned the radio off during play because of how boring I felt though I did acquire a taste for Radio Vladivostok.

I hate to say it, but I had to force myself to finish this game. I never thought I'd ever say that about a GTA game. Though the missions are varied and exciting at times, the story is dull and plodding. The ability to "make choices" really doesn't amount to much and makes me wonder why they included it. Sure, you can refuse to kill certain characters at times but they only pop up later to offer a mission or two and don't effect the overall plot.

Saints Row, what many have called a GTA knockoff, kept my attention better than this game. Saints Row is wild, rebellious, and over the top; something GTA used to be. If Rockstar wants to go all melodramatic, that is their choice. Me, I'd rather have a game with more customizable features, outrageous moments, and less of a moral message. It's a game, not a sermon. For that I'd go to church.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Good but over-rated
It's a fun game to play if you liked the GTA series before, but it was over-hyped with all those perfect reviews when it is clearly not perfect. The most apparent flaw is the cover system, it works sometimes but other times it won't work the way you want it to and you might end up getting killed. Sometimes the game wouldn't even let me fire my gun while in cover which is very frustrating. If you played Gears of War you'll be disappointed with the cover system. There is about 30-40 hrs of game play. I wouldn't recommend this game to buy, but it's worth a rental.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - If it ain't broke don't fix it, but if it is. . .
The hype machine for GTA4 was working on overdrive, and it worked to a T. Reviewers raved about this game, and it seemed like no one in the media, gaming OR mainstream, could find anything they didn't like about it. However, there are a number of glaring flaws that have been loitering in the series since GTA3. Far and away the most obnoxious part of the game is the jerky, awkward animations. It seems like Rockstar hasn't had the slightest inclination to make it any more natural-looking, and the game absolutely suffers for it.

The one other extremely clunky design choice was the control scheme. From combat to movement, there's at least one thing that really screws you up. The lock-on feature, while nice to FINALLY have in a semi-functional form, doesn't distinguish between civilians and bad guys, and this is a huge problem in more than one mission. And although this game isn't really "parkour-style" a la Assassin's Creed, there are still times when jumping and grabbing onto ledges is essential, but extremely difficult. Nowhere is this better emphasized than in the mission where you're trained to do just these feats. You're supposed to jump up onto a sign then shimmy across it, but the detection element just didn't kick in for me (nor for the three or four others I've seen attempting the same action) the first nine or ten times I tried to grab it. There are some other times when Nico will walk off an edge instead of hanging from it, etc. It's very frustrating, but usually not game-breaking. The driving takes a lot of getting used to, but it's generally okay once you get used to it.

However, the non-mechanical bits of the game are outstanding. The story and the way it's told are phenomenal, as is the voice acting and peripheral parts like the radio stations and the conversations of passers-by. The art direction is also just incredible, especially in the opening sequence. This game may not look nearly as good as some of its contemporaries, but they did the absolute most they could with it. The design of the city itself is also superb. It is far and away the best-designed environment I have ever seen in a game.

It's hard to sum up with a game like this, because you can't in good conscience recommend renting a game this huge, but it is certainly not for everyone. Overall though, it's a flawed but good game that you should at least see in action, if not purchase.



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