Munkeh111

User Score
9.6

Presentation - 10
Gameplay - 9.5
Value - 10

Grand Theft Auto IV is the first next-gen installment of Rockstar's epic, and huge selling, crime franchise. It is game portrayed by the mass media as being a game about brainless violence, but there is far more beneath the surface.

Niko Bellic's story, like many other things, is different from those of past GTA games. It is not the traditional rags to riches type of tale that we experienced with CJ in San Andreas, or Tommy Vercetti in Vice City. It is a tale of sorrow, even by the end, Niko is not living the American dream that he left Europe for. The characters are fantastic in the main story, with the intricate world of crime in Liberty City full of vibrant and interesting characters. Though I did get a little frustrated after saving Roman for the 60th time, I did genuinely feel relieved that Roman was okay. Though still well over 20 hours, the story is much tigher than previous games, and far stronger than past games. It does take a while to get started, but once you get to Algonquin (Manhatten) the story screams along. You are also given the choice to kill or spare people at numberous points in the game, while the effects are not that large, your view of Niko might change through the game, with one monumental choice at the end of the game. It is definitely the strongest story that Rockstar have ever created and the cut scenes are well done with great voice acting.

Liberty City looks fantastic. As opposed to previous iterations of Liberty City, this is far closer to reality, including replicas of most of the major NY landmarks including the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. LC comprises Alderny, Algonquin, Bohan, Broker and Dukes each of which have distinct themes, with Manhatten having a very different feel to the more grim Broker. The skyline just looks fantastic at night, and sweeping through the city in a helicopter just feels incredible. Star Junction is filled with people, billboards and cars, and it is just amazing. It is hard to stress just how great the city is, it is really the star of the show. Though it is more gritty, the resulting city looks far more spectacular.

The GTA games of old used to suffer from major graphical problems with frequent pop up issues, and this game goes a long way to stop these issues, with the only proper problems occuring when flying helicopters in some areas. Character models are very good, though I think some of the animations could improve. The water shimmers, and everything looks good, whereas GTA games of old were not really know for great graphics, IV does excell in this regard, the lighting is certainly fantastic.

As with every GTA game, you get the fantastic radio. It is as good as ever, and like all the billboards as funny as you would expect. There is the addition of an in game TV, which is of course funny as well, but I did not really see the need to spend much time just sitting there watching it rather than playing.

Now to gameplay. The shooting is miles better than any GTA before it. In San Andreas, you would just walk into a room, hold R1 and just shoot and change between targets when one is dead. In IV, the introduction of the cover system changes all of this. You lock into cover and then pop out to take your target down, before hunkering back into cover. The aiming system itself is far better, now always focusing on your enemy rather than a random pedestrian. You can also use the analogue stick to select certain body parts, so a flick up on the analogue stick allows you get a headshot, maybe too easily though. The other fundamental part of the game is the driving. Though the controls are more floaty than before, it is just a matter of getting used to them, and the end result is more satisfying than previous games when you get it right at high speeds. The new GPS system makes getting anywhere incredibly simple so you don't have to worry about getting lost, and if you don't want to drive yourself, you can just hail cab and trip skip there. There are issues with bikes as the controls are too sensity, so it can be tricky to stay fully in control, but it is certainly manageable. The missions themselves are great and varied, and of course there is the traditional GTA freedom to do what you want, snipe a target instead of a treck through a building site, the possibilities are just fantastic.

The side missions are still there, with assassination, most wanted (aided by the new police computers) and more. It is missing things like firefighting and ambulance work, as are taxis. I didn't really miss these, as there is still plenty of fun to be had.

A large change is the way that police chases work. Instead of the slightly random system in the past, here there is a formal radar system on you mini map and you first have to lose line of sight, before escaping the circle. This makes for some great chases, but on the lower wanted levels you can just escape the ring by driving quickly in a straight line. It could also do with being adjusted for foot chases, as it is pretty much impossible to escape without getting a car.

The mobile phone is great, and awful. It does help the story with greater interatctions between characters, but of course, there is well known friend feature. It is a pain, your friends calling you all the time is just annoying, please say that this does not come back in the next game. I do care about these friends to some degree, but it is just a pain shipping them around to random locations, especially as the mini games aren't that great.

As with any GTA game, there is a huge amount of content on offer. There is an achievement for completing the game in under 30 hours, that itself is testament to the length of the story. There is of course plenty of extra content like pidgeons and as mentioned above, many side missions and other distractions. There is not as much to play with as in past GTA games, but that is made up for by the better story.

A new thing to the GTA console series is the addition of multiplayer. There are 15 multiplayer modes, with 16 players. The party mode is great addition, essentially allowing you and a group of friends allowing to go around Liberty City and do whatever you want. The actual multiplayer modes are varied and certainly good, with co-op modes, races and more. There is certainly no shortage of content.

Grand Theft Auto IV is certainly not perfect. There are issues with some bits getting repetitive and still dome pop-up issues, but this is as close as we are going to get in a game. The amount of detail is just incredible and the city is simply phenominal. It may be smaller that San Andreas, but there is far more content in it. The story is fantastic, with the characters really bringing the story to life and very well developed. The game is very different from San Andreas. It is not the wacky game that we saw last gen, it is more realistic, and while some may argue this stops you from just running around shooting people, Niko's story is far more gripping and the better campaign makes up for slightly less fun had just mucking about. This is a must buy for anyone who has a PS3.