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GTA 4 Review (360) Posted by Alex V (SpectralShock) on Jan 3, 2009 - 5:17pm EST (Jan 3, 2009 17:17) |
Grand Theft Auto IV, commonly shortened to GTA4 or GTA IV, is a sandbox-style action-adventure video game. It is the sixth 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto series. The game is set in a redesigned rendition of Liberty City, a fictional city based heavily on modern day New York City. It follows Niko Bellic who comes to the United States in search of the American Dream, but quickly becomes entangled in a seedy underworld of gangs, crime, and corruption. Like other games in the series, GTA IV is composed of elements from driving games and third-person shooters, and features "open-world" gameplay that gives players more control over their playing experience. GTA IV is the first console game in the series to feature an online multiplayer mode, which contains fifteen game types.
But enough of that, on with the game. And so we begin our life as Niko Belic, an immigrant from Serbia who jumped on the boat across the ocean in hopes of a better life that was promised to him by Roman, his cousin. Roman claimed to live the life of luxury since moving to Liberty City – a replica of New York city – and charmed his cousin to make the move. However upon arriving, it becomes rather clear that Roman may have exaggerated his worth in “the New World” a little. The “Ferrari” turned out to be a used-up taxi cab, and the debt is piling up. But lack of funds does not scare Niko, a war veteran back home, so he gets his hands dirty and starts looking for work. Work starts off slow, doing some delivery missions and learning your way around the city. But it won’t be long until you are hijacking, killing, robbing, and lying your way through the city – now you know you’re playing a Grand Theft Auto game.
The metropolis, based on New York city, is a busy and rather dark city, with missions spread out across its various neighbourhoods and back alleys. The classical formula in this regard has not changed. The extras from previous games are gone though, so no more DoDo flights, RC Cars races, trips to the gym or military tanks trying to run you over. Expressive palette of colors is gone, washed away by the common “next-gen” bug of greyness and urbanization. On the other hand the pedestrians now actually feel alive, everything feels 3D and has proper shadows, and mornings bring a fog that would make the Silent Hill series jealous. The game took a huge leap towards realism and actually pulled it off without coming across as dull or static.
The reason for is? The love Rockstar has for details and humour. Ballots promoting an election candidate, social and political satire and commentary are found left and right. Not to mention full-fledged talk shows with real celebrity voices, and a huge internet system with tons of content ranging from classic spam emails to hilarious scam websites. New in this game is the inclusion of yet another media, the TV – it is filled with various hilarious and “educational” programming which airs at certain times of the day, so this is probably the first game you have played where you try to catch a simulated TV show on time… The radio is back of course, with even more stations, music, Dj’s, ads and infomercials. One thing is for sure, you’ll never be bored with LC’s entertainment. |
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