Grand Theft Auto IV

GTA III on the 6th generation of consoles was a breakthrough in Gaming in 2001. back then 3-D free-roaming had not been accomplished like Rockstar and take-two interactive had done it. Pretty soon, Rockstar improved on their franchise greatly with Vice city in 2002, and then San Andreas in 2004, proving that they could push the capabilities of their game twice as far as they'd done before.

And then 2008 arrived on the calendar. Rockstar finished working on what is now a classic, Grand Theft Auto IV. Remember what I wrote before how Rockstar could push their franchise twice as hard as before? Well, GTA IV goes beyond twice. There is just So much to do. as Always, you don't even need to follow the story to have fun. You can just hotwire a 69 Charger (known in the game as a dukes) or steal a late-80's, Early 90's era Camaro (known as a Ruiner) and just go bombing through the city running people over, getting in trouble with the law, and hiring Sleazy women for their dirty services (you get to pick which one you want, and the game actually shows it happening this time! Yay!) Sure, you could do that before. but you can also play darts, pool, and go bowling with your girlfriend.

Another addition is online multiplayer, A first for the GTA series. You can gather up to 16 friends (or enemies) and go bombing around liberty city looking to kill each other. I just experienced it for the first time today, and man is it ever fun.

Now to the story. It's modern day, 2008. Niko Bellic is an immigrant from Europe (it's not clear where he's from, he could be from Bosnia, Serbia, or Russia, but the most reliable sources say he's from Serbia) and he's come to Liberty City, U.S.A. The initial Idea is that he's coming in search of the American Dream, but really, there are 2 reasons; 1, To escape the horrors of home, which include witnessing slaughtered children during a war 10 years before, and evading bad men to which he owes money. 2, During the war, He was on a mission with 14 other men. someone in his group betrayed the whole team for money. 12 men died. Niko is not guilty of betrayal, but he knows the other 2 are. and he knows one of them lives in Liberty City.

If you're over 17, and you have 20$ to spare, this game needs (that's right, Needs) to be in your game library. I'm serious. if you aren't playing GTA IV, You're not doing yourself any good.

Rated M for mature.

10/10

Oh, finally a real gaming experience that allows you to be a mafia member. The setting, music, situations, and even graphics really make you a part of the whole experience.

You get to explore the sandbox world of the game while getting into dangerous missions that include mobsters, criminal missions, and you even have time for your personal life.

This is a great experience that demonstrates that new millennium systems capacity to recreate a parallel universe that will transport you in a parallel life to say something...

Maybe I'm over praising this video game but believe me, until you play it, you will understand the whole experience...

Since some time now I have bought GTA 4 for my XBox 360 and its is far better then I expected, but before I begin my review lets look back on the previous GTA-games and what I personally think about them.

I really enjoyed GTA 1 and 2, and even though many people have mostly forgotten about those 2D-classics, in my opinion they were still the best incarnation of GTA. GTA 3 wasn't a bad game in my opinion, but it was really over-hyped at the time. Even though it was the first true 3D-installment it never really appealed to me. The graphics were too cartoonish, you couldn't even shoot through the front window of a car, and it was just getting boring too quickly I think. Vice City I have to admit I never really played thoroughly so I can't say too much about that. When San Andreas came out it really annoyed me since it was yet another stand-alone modification of GTA 3 in disguise. The graphics were still practically the same, the characters still looked like cartoon-characters and the overall story and gameplay wasn't good enough to keep me playing.

Since San Andreas I never really thought about GTA anymore, until GTA 4 came out. It was kinda funny as well since at the time of San Andreas I read in a interview with developer Rockstar that San Andreas was going to be their last GTA-game. I guess popular demand forced them to make another GTA-game, and I have to say I'm glad they did. This game has worked out a lot of mistakes from the previous GTA-games. For the first time if a car is locked, your character will automatically smash the window in to enter the car. Weapons feel a lot more realistic this time, and the overall atmosphere is more realistic as well which was a great plus for me. Speaking of realism; the game also features ragdoll-physics for the very first time which is very cool.

The story is in my opinion the best in GTA, along with the various places you can visit to hang out with NPC's to play some darts, pool, or bowling. Even though the voice-acting gets a bit corny here and there, it still manages to impress. Overall cruising around the city is more fun as well, and where the people on the streets in previous GTA-games had only a few animations and lines, the people in GTA all react different. Sometimes somebody walks on the street with a ice-cream, or a box and if you happen to bump into him/her he/she drops it on the floor. These small details add to the overall realistic feel. The details on the cars are insane. For example if you smash your car against a road-sign, you will see a significant hole in your car. You also again have a wide selection of radio-channels available.

It goes without saying that every GTA-fan will most probably love this game. To me, the game is even better since the last GTA-games just didn't impress me that much and overall weren't really my cup of tea. Its not just the graphics that are worked out better in part 4, but the overall atmosphere and gameplay are a lot better as well. Highly recommended!

I've spent several hours playing this now, all I can say is WOW this game is truly different and truly stunning the graphics are incredible, the level of detail and care taken over everything is astounding. The story is amusing and engaging and the game is very playable. Something you might find difficult especially if you have it on the PS3 is that the controls are completely different to GTA3/vice city/san andreas but after a few hours youl find your feet and get endless pleasure doing amazing handbrake turns into things. The screen has had a lot of the clutter moved away creating for a more movie like experience and the new mobile phone option adds something truly fun/helpful/original to an already groundbreaking series. I would recommend purchasing, in fact i'd near insist upon it, it's even worth paying out for a nu-gen console for it. The only downpoint is that the game isn't being released on the Wii... which would have been a lot of fun... it is shaping up like the best game ever though

Perfection, or the closest thing possible is achieved with GTA IV. This may sound weird but it's hard to not think that this is a real breathing city. If one word could sum up the game I think it would be 'detail'. Every aspect of the game is as detailed as possible and it is easily the best game ever made respective of the technological possibility. For instance, the AI of the people walking down the street is almost creepy, it seems like these are living people. The dialogue is truly impressive, I believe that this game could compete with some of the best films around. Some people say that the cut-scenes have errors and other minuscule details are slightly askew, but truthfully if they are looking that close for errors they are missing the grand picture. Fantastic acting, worthy of film awards, breathtaking graphics, beyond realistic physics, and just enthralling game-play make this the first truly next-gen game that goes beyond just better graphics, pushing the limits of what I thought was possible. It's one hell of a deal for only $60, it's easily worth hundreds. Rockstar is genius for a making a game so immersive, so realistic, but yet manages to keep that funny, satiric GTA feel. Congrats Rockstar, you deserve your success.

P.S. screw off anyone that believes that video games cause people to do crimes. That's just being lazy.