Review: Grand Theft Auto IV

So it seems that everywhere has a review of GTA, I should be no different.

Grand Theft Auto IV Publisher: Rockstar North, 2008

Notably the biggest multimedia release of memory, GTAIV broke pre-order records, first weekend sale records and more, with it's incredible 3.6 million copies in one day, and $500 million dollars in sales in one week. It was nuts.

I break my reviews down into sections, as well, so let's start at the top.

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GTA as a series has always had a stigma for me. I really enjoy when the game sets a world before me. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was the first to do this for me, and I played the living daylights out of that game. I loved it. I still love it. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas left a bad taste in my mouth, with it's RPG heavy elements and silly "gang warfare" storyline. I felt disconnected and left out (I actually ended up playing "The Godfather Game" in order to quench my thirst for an interesting world). GTAIV didn't leave me wanting. Here's why:

Game play: The controls for the game are solid. Niko handles well, with easy to remember buttons for running, jumps, weapons and combat. The unarmed combat is quickly forgettable, but the weapon combat is very tight. Locking on is sticky, and using the right stick to fine tune is easy and rewarding for those nice head shots. Sometimes Niko has a tendency to stick to surfaces a little TOO well during a battle, leaving me a sitting duck for a flanking enemy. Car controls feel floaty at first, but as you learn to play by GTA's rules you slide into car control pretty well. After about two days of solid play I was executing handbrake turns with relative ease. The mission-to-mission sandbox feel is almost linear at times, as you find yourself getting drawn into one particular employer's storyline pretty easily once you get started. You get that good old fashioned GTA feel from it nice and fast. It took a while before I came across a mission I couldn't do, and even then it just took a little practice with it and boom, I had it down pat. The mission have incredible variety, and take advantage of Liberty City to its utmost.

One drawback is barely even a drawback. The game nags on you to become friends with the people you meet, and will frequently remind you to call people and take them out for darts or beer or a show. If you don't, it's not too great a loss, but doing so will net you some nice rewards the more you become friends with people. Maintaining this is a simple matter of picking someone to call after a mission, callin'em and doing the mini-game. Even still, I get in-game calls often from perturbed NPCs wondering why I don't call them no more. It's annoying at worst, and not a terribly horrible feature, considering the little benefits you net are pretty damn nice. 5/5

Graphics: GTA was never, ever known for it's graphics. Needless to say, this ramps it up quite a lot from the days of San Andreas. Niko and all the NPCs have very expressive and unique faces and their animations feel fresh. The water effects in-game are well done, and the draw distance is perfect. You don't lose too much to Level-Of-Detail programming as you take to the skies, and Niko can use his sniper rifle to hit pretty much anyone from anywhere, depending on the distance his scope can see. The world is complete. Only ONCE did I suffer slowdown, as a result of on screen action. The graphics were well done, and the city never seems to repeat itself at all. 5/5

Sound: The radio is a GTA staple that's always been hilarious one minute, and toe tapping the next. This is no different! The variety of sounds is deep and well done, with fully licensed songs from a perfect and eclectic spattering of artists across the ages. On the streets of Liberty City, the population will stop and have conversations, car accidents will happen, cops will hold suspects at gunpoint and it all sounds glorious. The graphics may be nice, but the sound makes this game come alive. 5/5

Lasting Appeal: GTAIV has hidden mission, it has drug runs to do, it has small odd jobs here and there, it's got cheats that are stored in your phone once you do them, it has a sizable and fun as hell multiplayer mode that let's people on XBL/PSN run around and kill each other. It's got way more depth than it seems one DVD should have. I'd say if Rockstar were to include downloadable story missions, this game could go on for hours and hours. It's gonna be a staple in my collection, and probably yours if you own the game. 5/5

Final Word: I went in skeptical...came out a believer. GTAIV settled any and all problems I had with the series to date, and turned it into a classy, well made and occasionally even a moving experience. Niko Bellic is a great protagonist, and I play nearly every day. GTAIV deserves its praise and its success. I'd instantly recommend it to anyone who doesn't already own a copy, but as time goes on it'll be hard to find someone who doesn't.

Score: 20/20