Grand Theft Auto IV Review
July 5th, 2008
Grand Theft Auto IV, one of the most anticipated titles of the year was finally released on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on the 29th April. The true successor to Grand Theft Auto III has been a few years in the making and fans have been salivating at the prospect of finally getting to grips with the latest sandbox game world. Combining the current generation of console hardware with Rockstars latest RAGE game engine it’s hard not to be impressed with the results achieved by Rockstar North.
As is prevalent throughout GTA games this is a “Rags to Riches” storyline with Eastern European immigrant Niko Bellic arriving in the docks of Liberty City at the invitation of his cousin Roman whom has promised that America is the “land of dreams”, bursting at the seams with money and promiscuous women. Roman has of course been embellishing the truth a little and instead of owning the mansion, four hot-tubs and fifteen sports cars as boasted, is in stark contrast struggling to make ends meet, in debt to gangsters, and owns a small time Taxi Company down in Hove Beach. And thus begins the game as Niko, with only a few dollars to his name, tries to carve out a living in the city of dreams.
Characters have always been an important part of GTA and I can safely say that the characterisation in GTA IV is exemplary. The vast majority of whom you meet are in most respects from the darker seedier side of society but nonetheless they’re still interesting characters and brought vividly to life with some decent dialog, expressive animation, and excellent voice acting. It’s not just in the cut scenes where the characterisation really shines through but it’s even prevalent when taking friends out on social engagements; Just driving around they soon spark up a conversation with Niko and you really do feel like they’re individuals with their own unique personality and not just the final product of a series of binary ones and zeros.
The main protagonist, Niko, is also an interesting individual in his own right; a war veteran of the Bosnian war haunted by the demons of his past. He’s someone you can truly empathise with as his background is slowly revealed and his personality develops throughout the game. You get the impression that Niko isn’t completely comfortable with being a cold hearted killer; it’s a life-style decision that fate has cruelly dealt him. He knows no other way to make a living apart from the “way of the gun” and now this is his lot in life. There are some moral decisions to make throughout the game, allowing you some hand in Niko’s character development, but I don’t believe they drastically alter his personality. They are however an intriguing addition to the game and a trend I hope Rockstar North continue to pursue for future GTA projects.
As hinted at previously a few key characters eventually become Niko’s friends and offer the opportunity to engage with them in a more social setting. Whether this is just a trip out to a bar, a game of pool, or even visiting a comedy club it reinforces your belief in them as individuals. If they actually grow to like and respect you enough they will offer Niko additional help in a variety of ways such as a free taxi pickup service or cheaper weapons. And although this “help” isn’t essential it can prove to be very useful throughout the game.
Liberty City is glorious. A highly detailed, living breathing city built upon a number of islands each with there own look, feel and distinct ambiance. It would have been so much easier just to reuse building blocks to give the impression of a large city, take the short cut as it were, but Rockstar North have invested a lot of time and effort in the attention to detail and have created a beautiful environment in which to play around in. There’s always going to be something that catches your attention, something that you missed and you think to yourself “God, I didn’t know that was there. Wow”. As a case in point I didn’t realise until recently, even after all the hours of play, that there was a cable car spanning partly across Algonquin bridge. It was only by accident that I found it, accidentally stumbling across the entrance whilst trying to escape pursuit from the police. It makes you wonder how many other little gems are still waiting to be discovered.
There has been great deal reported previously about how the game world is smaller than that of GTA III: San Andreas, but in actuality this is of little consequence. The actual acreage may be reduced but every inch of the map is full of detail, there’s no wastage, no open deserts with nothing but rocks, and the entire area has been well thought out and immaculately planned.
In a game it’s sometimes the little things that matter; The small touches which in real life are barely perceptible and are just taken for granted, but if they don’t exist in a game you’re suddenly ripped from the game immersion and pulled back into reality. I do believe however that GTA IV has taken another step forward in this regard; To name but a few examples: how the rain glistens on the road and bounces off cars and pavements, improved vehicle damage modeling, a far more complete physics engine, dynamic weather effects, the buzz of the radio when your phone rings, dirt building up on cars, being able to hail a taxi cab and enjoy the ride from the backseat, or even how when in a high impact crash with another car the driver is slumped forward in their seat head on the steering wheel with the horn blaring. They could easily just be taken for granted but in there own right each one positively adds to the game and makes Liberty City a more believable and enthralling game world.
The core structure of the game hasn’t changed a great deal. Niko still performs missions for characters as he’s introduced to them, from local gangsters to crime lords, and progressively works for more renowned characters as his reputation increases. I would even go so far as to say the majority of missions are very similar in nature to previous instalments and based upon the same sort of criteria such as vehicle chases, providing firepower, the odd assassination, and generally just helping out characters with their troubles. There are however quite a few standout missions which leave a lasting and memorable impression.
Combat has been completely refined in GTA IV and is no longer the inaccurate inflexible hodgepodge it used to be. Targets can easily be locked onto by fully pulling the left trigger or alternatively free aim can be used by partially pulling the trigger. It’s an easy control schematic but one that works and pays dividends allowing you to quickly fire off a blast, on target, or take aim for head shot when required. A cover system has now been introduced and is fully integrated into the game lending itself to a more tactical approach to gun combat rather than the run-and-gun strategies of old. Niko can now easily huddle up back to a wall or car, pop out from behind cover and let off a couple of rounds before returning to relative safety. It’s not quite perfect yet but this is a gigantic leap forward in playability.
Audio has been an integral part of the GTA for many years now and a good radio selection is now expected in every game. GTA IV doesn’t disappoint and provides a decent variety of radio stations to choose from whether you fancy the ambient electronica of “The Journey” or the more rock based “LCHC” you’ll no doubt find something to suit your tastes while you’re cruising the streets. Each station is hosted by DJ’s and interspersed with “mock adverts” which in themselves provide darkly amusing moments.
I’m going to take just a moment to express my feelings about the graphics. Although when analysing the individual object models you could quite easily say they’re good but not quite as detailed or as cutting edge as one would have hoped, I believe they have to be looked upon in context to the game world. When considering just how many objects populate the environment, cars, people, buildings, which are all combined with the visual effects and textures, then without a doubt this is a staggering achievement and taken as a whole it looks absolutely stunning. There were many a time where I just stopped for a few minutes to stare at the vista stretching out in front of me.
GTA IV is not without some flaws and although none of them are game breakers they can sometimes shatter the illusion that has been woven. For example: on occasion vehicles you’ve driven to a location suddenly disappear after a cut-scene, there’s some intermittent clipping and pop-in, and some missions could do with better pacing and decent checkpoints. But on the whole these don’t detract from your enjoyment of the game and considering just how many actual excellent and brilliant things there are in the game then they become almost trivial.
The best way to look at GTA IV is as the best refinement of the series to date. The game is a focused affair, and although there are still a few distractions from the main story-arc to investigate a lot of the flotsam evident in previous games has been trimmed out. It’s an exhilarating roller-coaster ride and one of the most entertaining gaming experiences to be had to date.
Review based upon Xbox 360 version, playing the main story arc through to completion, thoroughly finishing all character missions and friends’ side quests. Overall a total of 50+ hours was clocked up on the single player experience.
