Grand Theft Auto 4 Review

"With more sights, shows, restaurants, bars, museums, shopping and borderline psychopaths than you can shake a shotgun at, there is no place quite like Liberty City. Where else can you get sworn at by a senior citizen, accosted by a crack head, propositioned by a prostitute, and strip-searched by a police officer, all before breakfast? Discover the history, culture and diversity that make a booming metropolis the capital of the world, at least according to the over-caffeinated locals. We encourage you to explore Liberty City's four boroughs and it's islands, each with it's own distinct atmosphere and personality. There is always something for everyone.” (Rockstar Games) Our review after the jump.

The storytelling in the GTA franchise hasn’t always been the greatest in the industry, although it has improved this time around. In Grand Theft Auto 4 you play the role of Niko Bellic, an immigrant from Eastern Europe and a veteran of the Bosnian wars. He has been lured to Liberty City by his cousin’s tales of wealth and prosperity along with the chance of a fresh start. Things once again get off to the usual GTA start as you start working for gangs and criminals to earn a little extra cash. You go through the paces eventually making your way up the ladder as is tradition in the series. The story itself is about thirty hours long, but the bulk of your time will be spent going postal. Along with the main story there are also side missions, and hidden secrets throughout the city. This is a game that you could play for hours and hours once the story is completed. Some plot twists you can see coming, while other you may not. In the end though it’s a great story and you can really get involved in the characters and their trials.

The gameplay is why many gamers love this series and it hasn’t changed much at all. This can also be said for the missions. Taking down rival gangs, performing hits, or taking part in car chases have all stayed the same since GTA 3 and still remain fresh. That said Liberty City is barely recognizable from the GTA 3 rendition. This is also true with some of the gangs you will be working for. Besides a few missions here and there with the mafia many of the families from GTA 3 aren’t even mentioned. Sindakos, Columbian Cartel and the Triads don’t even play a role in this game. Instead the game centers around the Russian mafia, the Irish and to a smaller extent the Italian mafia. One of the disappointing things is there are no country environments. The playable area itself is actually smaller than that of San Andreas but there is no wasted space. Still the game could have been better off with a healthy balance of rural and urban environments. Niko can do things that some of the previous protagonists could not. He can scale walls and other obstacles, along with a much improved gunplay system. The cover system has greatly improved the combat in the game and it will actually feel like your in a real shootout. Throughout the game you will also be presented with morality decisions. You can either kill or let a criminal go effecting your respect and sometimes the plot itself. There are once again a great variety of vehicles. Driving down Star Junction at break neck speeds or trying to outrun the cops are still very fun. Another new feature added to the game is the internet. Although not that important it play a big role in a lot of the side missions and internet dating. The police system is also slightly changed as they may seem a bit easier to avoid. Your GPS system will show you locations of the LCPD and you can easily avoid them and loose your wanted level. That said loosing them can still be tough, especially when you hit the three star range. The online in the game can host up to sixteen players in a variety of match types. This is a first for the series and its surprising that online can work so well with a series like this. You can chose from death matches, to team battles to even races. Overall the gameplay in GTA 4 is essentially the same as in previous installments. Not to say this is a bad thing because we all know why we play Grand Theft Auto.

Liberty City is very recognizable to the modern day New York City. You’ll be taken through four main areas. Broker representing Brooklyn, Queens is Dukes, Algonquin representing Manhattan and Alderney representing New Jersey. Many New York landmarks are also present in the game with different names. Central Park, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and the Brooklyn bridge to name a few. The city itself is more real than ever. This can be attributed to the great graphics and detail that went into the city along with the people themselves. There are many more character models and you won’t see two of the same people walking together like in previous installments. The visuals in Grand Theft Auto 4 are not the best to grave the PS3 or the 360 but they are still great. To render such a huge area without any load times between areas is a daunting task and the city looks great. The city has many little details scattered throughout it that make the overall city feel more real. Again the visuals in the GTA series haven’t been at the top of the pack but no other game has come so close to rendering a living breathing city like they have.

The radio is as good as ever once again produced by Lazlow and Dan Houser. There are a total of 18 radio stations spanning from talk shows, to rock and pop stations and to reggae. The music in this game is not as mainstream as in previous games. Although there are over 200 licensed songs, the most ever in a video game, most of them are obscure. That’s not per say a bad thing because they fit well within the game and the culture of New York City. The same can be said with the voice acting. In the past actors such as James Woods and Samuel L. Jackson played roles but in this installment there are no big names. This helps you better understand the characters as you won’t be associating them with the voice actor themselves.

Grand Theft Auto, in my opinion, has become the most important franchise in the video game industry. Although the series has been mired with controversy the games have always stood out as some of the best of their time. This is no exception with Grand Theft Auto 4 and if you’ve ever loved the series before you best return to Liberty City.