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Grand Theft Auto IV
The best game of this generation? It just may be.
April 29, 2008 | 6:37 PM PSTKombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.
What's the Game About
Yeah, as if we really need to tell you what this game is about. Even if you've never picked up a control pad in your life, chances are you've heard of Grand Theft Auto anyway, thanks to the litany of politicians that have used the game to try and garner a cheap bump in support from the 'uninformed soccer mom' demographic and some free TV face-time. Cop killing, hookers, hot-coffee…ringing any bells?
What's Hot
Grand Theft Auto IV is proof positive that the traditional video game review format needs an overhaul. The process of breaking the game down and picking apart each component does a disservice to the game and the reader, because it fails to capture the real power of the experience. Yes, the updated graphics engine is impressive, the soundtrack is fantastic and the voice-work is brilliant, the controls have been refined, new features have been implemented, and the new multiplayer modes offer great longevity. GTA IV succeeds in all the requisite technical areas, but while each is a testament to Rockstar's talent, none of them are individually important. The cumulative experience transcends those easily-identifiable elements of game design; you never think about them while playing, you only think about the characters, the events that transpire, your actions and their implications. As a result, playing GTA IV never feels like playing a game. It feels like playing art. This is not the review that is going to start a revolution in gaming journalism, primarily because we have a deadline to meet. We can and will point out some of the tangible elements that particularly stand out, and reading this review will give you some idea of what makes GTA IV superb but in order to find out what makes it truly special, you'll have to play it for yourself.
Though with paying homage to their favorite gangster films, Rockstar decided to craft their own story for Grand Theft Auto IV, and not only is it leagues better than the narratives in the previous GTA titles, it also holds up remarkably well against the inspiration for those titles. Just so we're clear, the inspiration for those titles range anywhere from The Godfather and Goodfellas, to Scarface, to Boys in the Hood and Menace II Society – esteemed company indeed. The major theme of the story is the pursuit of the American dream and what it means to different people from a range of backgrounds, but there are also hints of classic themes like friendship, redemption, and coming to terms with one's dark-side. Of course, this being a Grand Theft Auto title, the boys in Scotland haven't shied away from critiquing American culture, and while the satire is biting, it never really feels malicious since Rockstar are equal-opportunity offenders. Everyone and everything is fair game, so you're just as likely to be offended by something as you are to laugh at loud at something else.
Grand Theft Auto IV
The characters this time around have a great deal more depth and complexity than the two-dimensional thugs that inhabited the previous games, each with impressively believable histories, motivations, situations, and character flaws. Moreover, characters don't simply fill the role of waypoints and mission dispensers anymore, as players can interact with them outside of 'work' in a wealth of social activities, and the more you hang out with them, the more you get to know them. Doing so opens up some in-game rewards, but those incentives quickly become secondary for a couple reasons. First of all, talking with these characters provides you with more information regarding Liberty City, supplementing the core narrative with even greater context, most of it fascinating. Secondly and more significantly, you will start to care one way or another for these characters and genuinely want to interact with them, and that's a hell of an accomplishment for a videogame. Finally, main character Niko Bellic may not have the look of a video game icon, but he's one of the most likeable, nuanced and real characters that the medium has ever offered.
The most impressive character in the game, however, is Liberty City itself, a meticulously detailed metropolis clearly inspired by New York City. While nowhere near as big as the state of San Andreas seen in the last game, Liberty City is far denser and has a lot more character. Objectives and general areas of interest are greater in number and in closer proximity than other titles, so bussing from one end of the map to the other is demanded less frequently, and even when it is, there's sure to be plenty of cool stuff to check out along the way should you start feeling antsy. Each of the districts players explore look and feel distinct, with noticeably different architecture, upkeep and citizenry. Even individual streets and buildings have their own distinct characteristics and landmarks, which not only makes the environment feel more authentic, it lends itself to faster route memorization. The game also features more interior spaces than the previous titles, multitude of different entertainment destinations including bars, strip clubs, bowling alleys, with no loading times upon entering or exiting. Obviously, not all of the thousands of buildings in Liberty City are open for business, but Rockstar has done an admirable job of making those spaces that are available useful or entertaining. Just driving around Liberty City and taking in the sights is an experience in of itself, to say nothing of actually exploring all the nooks and crannies for jumps, short-cuts and the bounty of side-missions.
As impressive a feat as the giant, expertly-rendered Liberty City is, it's the little details that really sell it and make wandering through it such an utterly immersive and mesmerizing experience. Liberty City really does feel lived in, as though the world operates regardless of whether the player had jumped into the game or not, and will continue to operate long after their journey with Niko has ended. The masses of citizenry behave in a much more believable fashion this time out, less like polygon puppets with AI routines for strings, and more like actual human beings. Walk down the street and you'll overhear conversations covering every imaginable topic. Some pedestrians carry cell-phones or shopping bags, casually making their way down the street, while others push and shove as they try to rush to their next engagement. Criminals commit crimes and the police respond with appropriate action. Drivers cut each other off, get into fender benders, argue over the damage, and sometimes demonstrate regret and concern over injuries. In addition to the more believable citizenry, GTA IV offers a believable communications infrastructure, from a fully functional faux Internet complete with different sites, blogs and dating-services, to police cruisers equipped with computers that players can use to research targets. The element that really sells the whole illusion is the abundance of advertising. Rockstar clearly understands that for better or for worse, we live in an advertisement-saturated world, and any world devoid of that element feels remarkably artificial and isolated. Posters, billboards, radio commercials, clickable internet banner ads, TV commercials, vehicle decals, Liberty City is filled with satirical advertisements, and it feels familiar as a result.
Grand Theft Auto IV
The core activities that players will be performing in Liberty City really aren't that different than those of previous games. Missions offer different combinations of driving shooting and running away from the law. The major changes to the gameplay outside of the aforementioned relationship-building element actually seem pretty innocuous at the outset of the game, and most of them have been implemented for the sake of convenience and pacing, but by the time the credits roll it will be hard to imagine living without them. At the center of Niko's existence is his cell-phone, which the player uses to receive missions and updates, keep in touch with friends, and generally keep track of all the information the game throws at them. It sounds like a small addition, but by taking all the functions typically found in a game menu and combining them with the ability to progress and develop the storyline on the go, the pacing never wavers and the game never loses its immersive hold. Niko has also been blessed with greater mobility than his predecessors, but most of his new abilities just serve to ensure that none-of the city is off-limits. Whereas there would be several instances in past GTAs where an unfortunately placed wall or fence would force us to take a four block trip to travel the equivalent of 20 feet, the new wall-hopping and shimmying abilities ensure Niko rarely has to take the scenic route from point A to point B. Cover is the exception to the rule, as it has a huge impact on the nature of combat in the game, letting players use the environment to their advantage and outsmart the aggressive enemy AI instead of simply out-shooting it. All of these relatively small additions have a huge cumulative impact on the feel of the game, since they cut down a great deal on those frustrating moments where game prevents you from approaching a situation the way you want to.
Just in case the hours of worth of story content and complete freedom to do whatever the hell you want on the side wasn't enough of a value for your $60, Rockstar has also thrown in a surprisingly well thought-out multiplayer component to sweeten the deal. Accessed from the cell-phone, the multiplayer in Grand Theft Auto IV works similarly to that in Burnout Paradise, with an immediate and seamless transition to an online Liberty City HUD that up to 16 players are free to independently screw around in. There are over a dozen different game-types for the host to choose from, and each of them can be customized with variables including traffic density, police levels, weapon sets, and areas of the city that are open to the action. Conventional deathmatch modes are a fun diversion and feel unique from other action titles due to the open-environment and vehicle dynamics, but it's the objective-based gametypes that really stand out. Creative and well-suited to the defining gameplay of the GTA franchise, these modes put players into situations not unlike the missions they face in the single-player campaign. Our favorites were Cops'n'Crooks, a glorified version of cops and robbers that sets a point for the robbers to run to, and tasks a team of police to stop them by any means necessary, and Turf War, which is basically an online version of GTA: San Andreas' most addictive optional activity: fighting for control of different neighborhoods. Of course, many players will forsake all these modes and spend all their time online screwing around with friends and testing the limits of the physics engine a la Crackdown or Burnout Paradise.
Grand Theft Auto IV
What's Not
There really isn't much to complain about in Grand Theft Auto IV, and the problems that do exist are generally subjective or too small to noticeably hurt the overall experience. Despite huge improvement over previous installments, we still aren't completely satisfied with the new aiming system. Players can opt for a lock-on system that allows them to target specific body-parts or for free-aim, but in order to make use of the latter they have to keep one of the triggers only partially depressed. Finding and holding the sweet-spot on the trigger when all hell breaks loose is annoying at the best of times. Free-aim is our preferred method of aiming, but by the end of the game we had decided to just focus on mastering the lock-on rather than fiddling with the triggers. We have no doubt that doing so will put us at a great disadvantage once the competition in multiplayer heats up. Another minor grievance is the save system, which still revolves around getting your ass back to a safe-house without dying. Considering all the other improvements made in the interest of keeping the action flowing and the pace on track, forcing players to drive somewhere under duress just to save their game seems like a huge oversight. We understand the rationale that it makes sense within the context of a realistic game world, but it still never failed to annoy us. Finally, the graphics engine is impressive but it isn't flawless, so players that really take the effort to look for instances of pop-in will find them. The rest of us will be having too much fun and be too invested in the action to notice.
Final Word
In my opinion, Grand Theft Auto IV is the best game of this generation, thus far, and one of the best games ever made. All the previous Grand Theft Auto titles, for all their gameplay design revolutions, bold stylistic choices and intelligent social commentary, have merely been hints of Rockstar's talent and the franchise's potential. Grand Theft Auto IV represents a huge step forward for video games as an artistic medium and a challenge to the rest of the development community to catch up. No, it's not a flawless game, but it's still worthy of our highest score. Like the ultimate standard-bearer, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time was at the time of its release, Grand Theft Auto IV is so far ahead of the pack in so many key areas, that its influence is sure to be felt for years to come.
What's the Game About
Yeah, as if we really need to tell you what this game is about. Even if you've never picked up a control pad in your life, chances are you've heard of Grand Theft Auto anyway, thanks to the litany of politicians that have used the game to try and garner a cheap bump in support from the 'uninformed soccer mom' demographic and some free TV face-time. Cop killing, hookers, hot-coffee…ringing any bells?
What's Hot
Grand Theft Auto IV is proof positive that the traditional video game review format needs an overhaul. The process of breaking the game down and picking apart each component does a disservice to the game and the reader, because it fails to capture the real power of the experience. Yes, the updated graphics engine is impressive, the soundtrack is fantastic and the voice-work is brilliant, the controls have been refined, new features have been implemented, and the new multiplayer modes offer great longevity. GTA IV succeeds in all the requisite technical areas, but while each is a testament to Rockstar's talent, none of them are individually important. The cumulative experience transcends those easily-identifiable elements of game design; you never think about them while playing, you only think about the characters, the events that transpire, your actions and their implications. As a result, playing GTA IV never feels like playing a game. It feels like playing art. This is not the review that is going to start a revolution in gaming journalism, primarily because we have a deadline to meet. We can and will point out some of the tangible elements that particularly stand out, and reading this review will give you some idea of what makes GTA IV superb but in order to find out what makes it truly special, you'll have to play it for yourself.
Though with paying homage to their favorite gangster films, Rockstar decided to craft their own story for Grand Theft Auto IV, and not only is it leagues better than the narratives in the previous GTA titles, it also holds up remarkably well against the inspiration for those titles. Just so we're clear, the inspiration for those titles range anywhere from The Godfather and Goodfellas, to Scarface, to Boys in the Hood and Menace II Society – esteemed company indeed. The major theme of the story is the pursuit of the American dream and what it means to different people from a range of backgrounds, but there are also hints of classic themes like friendship, redemption, and coming to terms with one's dark-side. Of course, this being a Grand Theft Auto title, the boys in Scotland haven't shied away from critiquing American culture, and while the satire is biting, it never really feels malicious since Rockstar are equal-opportunity offenders. Everyone and everything is fair game, so you're just as likely to be offended by something as you are to laugh at loud at something else.
Grand Theft Auto IV
The characters this time around have a great deal more depth and complexity than the two-dimensional thugs that inhabited the previous games, each with impressively believable histories, motivations, situations, and character flaws. Moreover, characters don't simply fill the role of waypoints and mission dispensers anymore, as players can interact with them outside of 'work' in a wealth of social activities, and the more you hang out with them, the more you get to know them. Doing so opens up some in-game rewards, but those incentives quickly become secondary for a couple reasons. First of all, talking with these characters provides you with more information regarding Liberty City, supplementing the core narrative with even greater context, most of it fascinating. Secondly and more significantly, you will start to care one way or another for these characters and genuinely want to interact with them, and that's a hell of an accomplishment for a videogame. Finally, main character Niko Bellic may not have the look of a video game icon, but he's one of the most likeable, nuanced and real characters that the medium has ever offered.
The most impressive character in the game, however, is Liberty City itself, a meticulously detailed metropolis clearly inspired by New York City. While nowhere near as big as the state of San Andreas seen in the last game, Liberty City is far denser and has a lot more character. Objectives and general areas of interest are greater in number and in closer proximity than other titles, so bussing from one end of the map to the other is demanded less frequently, and even when it is, there's sure to be plenty of cool stuff to check out along the way should you start feeling antsy. Each of the districts players explore look and feel distinct, with noticeably different architecture, upkeep and citizenry. Even individual streets and buildings have their own distinct characteristics and landmarks, which not only makes the environment feel more authentic, it lends itself to faster route memorization. The game also features more interior spaces than the previous titles, multitude of different entertainment destinations including bars, strip clubs, bowling alleys, with no loading times upon entering or exiting. Obviously, not all of the thousands of buildings in Liberty City are open for business, but Rockstar has done an admirable job of making those spaces that are available useful or entertaining. Just driving around Liberty City and taking in the sights is an experience in of itself, to say nothing of actually exploring all the nooks and crannies for jumps, short-cuts and the bounty of side-missions.
As impressive a feat as the giant, expertly-rendered Liberty City is, it's the little details that really sell it and make wandering through it such an utterly immersive and mesmerizing experience. Liberty City really does feel lived in, as though the world operates regardless of whether the player had jumped into the game or not, and will continue to operate long after their journey with Niko has ended. The masses of citizenry behave in a much more believable fashion this time out, less like polygon puppets with AI routines for strings, and more like actual human beings. Walk down the street and you'll overhear conversations covering every imaginable topic. Some pedestrians carry cell-phones or shopping bags, casually making their way down the street, while others push and shove as they try to rush to their next engagement. Criminals commit crimes and the police respond with appropriate action. Drivers cut each other off, get into fender benders, argue over the damage, and sometimes demonstrate regret and concern over injuries. In addition to the more believable citizenry, GTA IV offers a believable communications infrastructure, from a fully functional faux Internet complete with different sites, blogs and dating-services, to police cruisers equipped with computers that players can use to research targets. The element that really sells the whole illusion is the abundance of advertising. Rockstar clearly understands that for better or for worse, we live in an advertisement-saturated world, and any world devoid of that element feels remarkably artificial and isolated. Posters, billboards, radio commercials, clickable internet banner ads, TV commercials, vehicle decals, Liberty City is filled with satirical advertisements, and it feels familiar as a result.
Grand Theft Auto IV
The core activities that players will be performing in Liberty City really aren't that different than those of previous games. Missions offer different combinations of driving shooting and running away from the law. The major changes to the gameplay outside of the aforementioned relationship-building element actually seem pretty innocuous at the outset of the game, and most of them have been implemented for the sake of convenience and pacing, but by the time the credits roll it will be hard to imagine living without them. At the center of Niko's existence is his cell-phone, which the player uses to receive missions and updates, keep in touch with friends, and generally keep track of all the information the game throws at them. It sounds like a small addition, but by taking all the functions typically found in a game menu and combining them with the ability to progress and develop the storyline on the go, the pacing never wavers and the game never loses its immersive hold. Niko has also been blessed with greater mobility than his predecessors, but most of his new abilities just serve to ensure that none-of the city is off-limits. Whereas there would be several instances in past GTAs where an unfortunately placed wall or fence would force us to take a four block trip to travel the equivalent of 20 feet, the new wall-hopping and shimmying abilities ensure Niko rarely has to take the scenic route from point A to point B. Cover is the exception to the rule, as it has a huge impact on the nature of combat in the game, letting players use the environment to their advantage and outsmart the aggressive enemy AI instead of simply out-shooting it. All of these relatively small additions have a huge cumulative impact on the feel of the game, since they cut down a great deal on those frustrating moments where game prevents you from approaching a situation the way you want to.
Just in case the hours of worth of story content and complete freedom to do whatever the hell you want on the side wasn't enough of a value for your $60, Rockstar has also thrown in a surprisingly well thought-out multiplayer component to sweeten the deal. Accessed from the cell-phone, the multiplayer in Grand Theft Auto IV works similarly to that in Burnout Paradise, with an immediate and seamless transition to an online Liberty City HUD that up to 16 players are free to independently screw around in. There are over a dozen different game-types for the host to choose from, and each of them can be customized with variables including traffic density, police levels, weapon sets, and areas of the city that are open to the action. Conventional deathmatch modes are a fun diversion and feel unique from other action titles due to the open-environment and vehicle dynamics, but it's the objective-based gametypes that really stand out. Creative and well-suited to the defining gameplay of the GTA franchise, these modes put players into situations not unlike the missions they face in the single-player campaign. Our favorites were Cops'n'Crooks, a glorified version of cops and robbers that sets a point for the robbers to run to, and tasks a team of police to stop them by any means necessary, and Turf War, which is basically an online version of GTA: San Andreas' most addictive optional activity: fighting for control of different neighborhoods. Of course, many players will forsake all these modes and spend all their time online screwing around with friends and testing the limits of the physics engine a la Crackdown or Burnout Paradise.
Grand Theft Auto IV
What's Not
There really isn't much to complain about in Grand Theft Auto IV, and the problems that do exist are generally subjective or too small to noticeably hurt the overall experience. Despite huge improvement over previous installments, we still aren't completely satisfied with the new aiming system. Players can opt for a lock-on system that allows them to target specific body-parts or for free-aim, but in order to make use of the latter they have to keep one of the triggers only partially depressed. Finding and holding the sweet-spot on the trigger when all hell breaks loose is annoying at the best of times. Free-aim is our preferred method of aiming, but by the end of the game we had decided to just focus on mastering the lock-on rather than fiddling with the triggers. We have no doubt that doing so will put us at a great disadvantage once the competition in multiplayer heats up. Another minor grievance is the save system, which still revolves around getting your ass back to a safe-house without dying. Considering all the other improvements made in the interest of keeping the action flowing and the pace on track, forcing players to drive somewhere under duress just to save their game seems like a huge oversight. We understand the rationale that it makes sense within the context of a realistic game world, but it still never failed to annoy us. Finally, the graphics engine is impressive but it isn't flawless, so players that really take the effort to look for instances of pop-in will find them. The rest of us will be having too much fun and be too invested in the action to notice.
Final Word
In my opinion, Grand Theft Auto IV is the best game of this generation, thus far, and one of the best games ever made. All the previous Grand Theft Auto titles, for all their gameplay design revolutions, bold stylistic choices and intelligent social commentary, have merely been hints of Rockstar's talent and the franchise's potential. Grand Theft Auto IV represents a huge step forward for video games as an artistic medium and a challenge to the rest of the development community to catch up. No, it's not a flawless game, but it's still worthy of our highest score. Like the ultimate standard-bearer, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time was at the time of its release, Grand Theft Auto IV is so far ahead of the pack in so many key areas, that its influence is sure to be felt for years to come.
February 8, 2010
