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Three and a half years in the making, Grand Theft Auto IV is a masterpiece unlike anything else we’ve ever seen. It’s true that the game doesn’t represent as big of a leap as Grand Theft Auto III did but that doesn’t make GTA IV any less worthy of being the first numerical sequel in seven years. The game refines the Grand Theft Auto, open-ended gameplay to a level we simply haven’t seen before. Its Liberty City is a city that we can finally say really is a breathing, living city.
GTA IV’s protagonist is the Eastern European immigrant Niko Bellic. His cousin had apparently been living the American Dream so Niko decides to go to America and take his shot at achieving the same thing. As it turns out, his cousin exaggerated just a bit, so Niko has to work hard to make ends meet. But while previous Grand Theft Auto games simply threw you into a role of a killer, GTA IV lets you build a relationship with this character. You’ll see that Niko is human after all, as are the rest of the characters despite the actions they’re engaging in. It’s a wonderfully told story, a rarity in videogames.
It’s not just the story that has seen been refined in GTA IV. There are several gameplay additions that address nearly everything that people complained about before. The first major introduction if Niko’s cell phone. Using the cell phone, you’ll receive calls and text messages from people giving you a new mission or telling you to go somewhere. Or you can just learn more about the people you’re interacting with. Building these relationships is important since becoming friends with certain people will give sometimes reward you with something. For example, befriend arms dealer Little Jacob and you’ll be able to buy cheaper weapons at any time. The missions themselves aren’t much different from what you’ve seen in the past, but the additional interactivity makes them more engaging this time around.
The cell phone also helps you easily restart a mission should you fail it. Other time-saving additions include the ability to hop in a cab and be teleported to your destination and the automatically re-routing GPS system that gives you the easiest and fastest way to get somewhere. The GPS feature is clearly borrowed from Saints Row but we aren’t complaining.
The other major gameplay change is the new targeting and cover system. You can now hold down the right trigger to lock onto an enemy. Once you do so, you can move the analog stick to get a headshot. You can also press the trigger half way to enter free aim mode, which gives you more control over your shots. Either way, you have a suitable targeting system whether you have many opponents or not. This is especially useful when coupled with the new cover system. By hitting the right shoulder button, you can take cover behind whatever is closest to you from walls to cars, etc. If you’re a bit far, Niko will roll to get to a suitable cover location. Under cover, you can peel out to shoot or just engage in blind fire. In combination, the new targeting and cover system makes the gunplay even more fun than it used to be.
There have been other subtle gameplay improvements, too. The game’s wanted system has been made even more dynamic. The cops now have a patrol region that you can see on your radar. The more stars you get, the larger that region becomes. Instead of the local cop looking for you, you might find yourself trying to outrun helicopters. Your goal is to escape the region in order to be a free man. The game’s driving system has also been improved to make cars handle more accurately and make cars handle differently from one another.
Of course, this wouldn’t be a Grand Theft Auto game without plenty of distractions. GTA IV includes a working Internet where you can read mail, read the news (inspired by your actions), read random links or meet new girls on Love-meet.com. You can also go bowling, or play some pool or darts. You can even watch some comedy routines on the game’s TVs. If you’re feeling rowdy, you can even go drinking. You can attempt to drive while drunk although like in real life, it’s quite challenging. Getting your friends drunk is also a great opportunity to find out how they really feel about you.
If the game only included the 25-35 hour singleplayer campaign (more with the distractions), but the game also includes a full-fledged multiplayer mode with support for up to 16 players. You can set which portion of the city (or all) you want to use, turn on or off cops, weather, traffic, time of day, etc. The multiplayer mode includes the entire Liberty City is the host desires. There are unranked and ranked matches. In ranked matches, you’ll move up from 1-10 earning new clothes and accessories for your characters.
The game includes many, many modes. The main mode is Free Mode, which lets you explore Liberty City with 15 others and do whatever you want. It’s very fun to get together with others and cause mayhem in the city. Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch are slightly more structure versions of Free Mode. GTA Race is a race mode, but since this is GTA you just have to get to the end before your competitors do, meaning that you can finish the race in a new car or on foot and shoot your enemies away.
The game has a few objective-based modes too. In Turf War, you have to defend a certain area, in Car Jack City, you have to find certain cars and drop them off somewhere, with more points given if your car is less damaged, and in Mafia Work you’ll complete random objectives from a mobster. Cops n’ Crooks separates people into two teams. One side has cops and one has mobsters. The mobsters need to get their boss to a certain location while the cops have to kill them. It’s a good team-based mode that forces teamwork and encourages strategy. Finally, there are some co-op modes, too, which are really just three four-player missions similar to what you’d find in the singleplayer game.
As expected, the visual star of the game is Liberty City, Rockstar North’s version of New York City. The city is very clearly inspired by The Big Apple but it’s full of the in-jokes and satirical humor you expect from a Rockstar North production. The architecture is amazing, with every building looking distinct from one another and different neighborhoods having that unique quality that helps bring the real NYC to life. This is a city that feels lived in so you’ll notice that the poorer areas of Liberty City don’t have the fancy new pavement that the posh areas do. More importantly, the city is populated with plenty of citizens who are doing their own thing until you get involved. The interactivity between the citizens and the city is amazing to look at. You can spend hours just running around not doing anything. Technically, the game runs at a fairly smooth frame rate (much better than previous GTA games) and has great textures, water effects, and lighting.
Similarly, the game’s soundtrack is extremely impressive. The radio has also been an integral part of the GTA experience and the same is true here. You’ll find over 200 songs including everything from pop, hip-hop, R&B, rock and jazz. Some songs even mention Liberty City, again bringing the city to life. As great as the soundtrack is, perhaps even better is the game’s dialogue. As I mentioned above, the story in the game is fantastic but it would have fallen flat without stellar dialogue, too. Rockstar recorded what seems to be thousands of lines of dialogue. You’ll hear the city’s citizens go about their way, hear commentary from the people around you, etc.
Grand Theft Auto IV is undoubtedly one of the strongest games of this generation. The amount of content is simply mind-blowing. It refines the genre to the point of perfection by making sure all of the pieces fit together very well. The amazing looking and interactive Liberty City, tight gameplay, and Oscar-worthy story truly do make Grand Theft Auto IV worthy of being called a masterpiece. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Apr 30, 2008
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