Customer Rating: 
Summary: IV - Good but not Perfect
Comment: Half a year after its release, Grand Theft Auto IV has received praise and criticism alike. Being
the latest edition to the series and since it's been out for so long, I thought it might be time to
sit down and take the time to give my take on it.
If you're new to the series, then let
me start you off like this (if you're not, then skip this section): you play a Nikolai "Niko"
Bellic, a sailor and European immigrant who has come to America to start a new life in the company
of his cousin, Roman Bellic, who promises mansions, fast cars, and women. But when you first drive
through the slums, you find this not to be the case. As a matter of a fact, it's quite the opposite.
Welcome, "friend", to Liberty City, a hell-hole with shootings, gangs, and organized crime galore.
The ideal place to carry out the American dream? Hardly.
Upon jumping into the game,
you'll notice a definite change in graphics (if you've seen anything of the previous installments),
tone, and realism. It's gritty, apparent, and really makes you feel like you're in a city. Cars
screech by, people fight and argue with each other, bums sleep in dark alleyways and beg for money.
Hey, there's even the occasional nut who babbles on about alien invasion.
Cool right?
It gets better. People on the street can be seen using phones, MP3 players, and iPods. They smoke
cigars and cigarettes, drink coffee, read newspapers, and converse with other pedestrians.
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Some of the more dynamic things have also changed. A minute in the game lasts about four
seconds now, shadows can be seen changing with the time, rain affects the performance of cars and
causes the city to take on a different look, and HDR lighting makes the game all the more
beautiful.
Phones, although previously used in some of the other GTAs, play a bigger
and more important role than ever in IV. They are your link to the world and the people involved in
it. You can text message, call contacts, take pictures, and more. You can even customize things like
your ring tone, background, and phone type.
The Internet is one of the newest additions
to the series. Niko can enter Internet cafes and use a computer to access the world wide web. He has
an email address and he can register and use things like dating websites and forums. There are
pop-ups, spam emails, and more. Better still, Niko can respond to certain emails.
Most
of us who have played San Andreas will probably recall some of the games that could be played. IV
brings them all back, plus a few new ones. Niko can bowl, play darts, shoot pool, and gamble. These
activities are pretty much only used on dates, though. Diners and fast food places have also been
brought back to the game. It's awesome, to say the least.
One of the newest features is
the buddy system. To elaborate a little more on this, Niko can call up a person who is his friend
and propose they do something together. He can ask them to play a game, go out for a drink, go get
something to eat, and more. Hey, he can simply sit there and do nothing but talk with them if he
wants to.
The drunk driving mini-games are a challenge, for two reasons:
/>1) The screen and car physics behave differently.
2) The Endorphin Physics Simulator causes
Niko and his bud to frequently lose their balance.
You don't have to drive, however.
The safest thing (unless you want to be arrested) is to just find a cab and call it over to you.
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Comedy clubs, bars, amateur theatre plays, and nightclubs are some of the improved
features. Rick Gervais actually supplied voiceovers for the comedy club skits, and they are actually
pretty entertaining to watch. The theatres also offer plenty of entertainment. Different acts come
up (jugglers, knife throwers, magicians, you name it) and they're hilarious.
Niko can
also watch TV, go swimming, and of course listen to the radio (and I will spoil NOTHING about the
radio).
You also have more freedom in IV. You can decide who lives or dies on occasion
and who's side you will take. These choices can affect the outcome of the game... you've been
warned.
With all these new features, you're probably thinking there's a hitch to the
game, and there is. I'm going to be honest with you and say that yes, IV is not perfect, far from
it. Let me clarify.
The Endorphin engine provides some of the smoothest and most
realistic movements for Niko and other characters. However, it also causes some basic problems.
Niko, when bumped, can stumble around and fall like a fool (he apparently has no way of controlling
his balance). This gets repetitive and annoying after a while. It also causes the motorcycle physics
to behave in a strange fashion. If Niko hits a bump even at a relatively slow speed, he will fly
(yes, FLY) off and smash into the concrete. It takes him quite a while to recover, and the Endorphin
AI isn't the brightest when you tell Niko to go back over and mount the bike. It might cause him to
walk around in circles for a bit; it might do nothing. Depends. This gets frustrating, especially
when you're playing a chase mission (if you fall off a bike on one of these missions, your chances
of beating it on the first try are not good).
AI is also a bit of a harassment. The
drivers seem to have no common sense when it comes the rules of the road, they will frequently get
in your way when you're running or chasing someone, and they will run over Niko... a lot.
/>The missions in general get old pretty quick, too. They're all the same: go kill this guy or go
find this vehicle and bring it back. Gun-play will be involved in every single one, rest assured of
that. The cutscene briefings will tell you otherwise, but don't listen. EVERY SINGLE MISSION WILL
INVOLVE NIKO SHOOTING SOMEONE... or he'll be the one getting shot at. You get the point. It makes
for fun at first, but gets tiresome.
I have no other complaints or rants other than the
mission dynamics could have been improved... slightly. Like I said, play one, and you've played them
all.
While IV is a solid game, it does have a few dents and splotches here and there,
like a bullet-riddled Mercedes under the Brooklyn Bridge with a grease-monkey's body in the trunk.
However, it's fun and die-hard fans of the series will not be disappointed (I was quite satisfied).
I would recommend it to most people, but not to beginners. I would advise them to try GTA III and
then work their way up through Vice City and San Andreas (skipping some of the smaller games for the
PSP and PS2). I wasn't disappointed, and I don't think you will be either... so buy it... What?
That's my opinion, take it or leave it.
