Background
Roman Bellic is the cousin of
Grand Theft Auto IV's protagonist and
anti-hero,
Niko Bellic. Roman moved to
Liberty City ten years ago, looking for a better life away from the Bosnian War. Like Niko's father, Roman's father was an abusive drunk. His mother however, was an important figure in his life. As a boy, he was told that his mother died in a fire when she was actually raped and murdered by soldiers. After moving to the
United States, Roman tells everyone back home that he is living the American Dream, with sports cars, beautiful women and luxurious mansions.
Plot
Based on Roman's stories of Liberty City, Niko moves to Liberty City with an ideal life in mind. However, when he gets there, he finds out that Roman had been lying all this time. Roman
actually worked at a gritty taxi service, had a small broken down apartment and no women to speak of aside from his co-worker
Mallorie. Despite being broke and owing money to countless mobs and gangsters, Roman helps Niko get on his feet, hiring Niko for odd jobs. Roman soon finds out that Mallorie had been having relations with their boss,
Vlad. Roman forgives Mallorie but Niko didn't; he kills Vlad and gets his cousin into more trouble. The two are kidnapped by mobster
Mikhail Faustin, who forces Niko to work for him after he killed Vlad, who was a good worker for Faustin. But this partnership soon ends also after Niko conspires to kill Faustin with
Dimitri Rascalov. Dimitri betrays Niko and burns down Roman's car depot and his apartment, which held a wedding ring he was going to give to Mallorie.
Mallorie is able to get the cousins a new apartment in Bohan, though the two cousins must start from scratch again. Roman eventually gets the car depot up and running again but is later kidnapped by Dimitri. Niko goes to save Roman, which is revealed to be a trap to kill Niko. However, the trap fails and Niko is able to rescue Roman and return him home safely. Roman is eventually able to buy a penthouse in Algonquin, claiming to now finally be living the American Dream. Soon after buying the penthouse, Roman asks Mallorie to marry him to which she says yes. Just a few days before the wedding is set to take place, Niko is told by mobster
Jimmy Pegorino that he needs to make a very large drug deal with Dimitri Rascalov. The player is then faced with a choice to either make the deal with Dimitri and put your revenge aside or kill Dimitri once and for all. This decision directly effects the fate of Roman at his wedding.
Revenge
Should Niko choose to take his revenge on
Dimitri Rascalov,
Jimmy Pegorino will assault Roman's weeding, firing an
AK-47 into the assembled crowd. A stray bullet manages to find its way to Kate McReary, killing her. It is implied that she is the girlfriend Niko is closest to. Enraged, he leaves the wedding, and is collected early in the next day by
Little Jacob, who aids him in attacking Pegorino. The finale of the mission sees Pegorino involved in a shootout with Niko, before falling dead in front of the Statue of Happiness.
Deal
Should Niko leave the past behind and complete the deal with
Dimitri, a hitman employed by Rascalov will arrive at the wedding. The assassin attempts to shoot Niko, who struggles for the gun, managing to overpower the assassin. The gun fires accidentally, and the shot hits Roman, killing him. Niko then shoots the assassin dead with his own gun, before checking on his cousin. Enraged, he returns to an apartment. The next day, Little Jacob collects him and aids in assaulting Rascalov's stronghold.
Upon arrival, Rascalov is seen betraying
another person - this time,
Jimmy Pegorino. He flees by helicopter, crashing on Happiness Island. The game closes with Niko finally killing the traitor outside the Statue of Happiness, much like the 'Revenge' ending.
Aftermath
Regardless of the ending you select, it will transpire that
Mallorie is pregnant with Roman's child. If 'Revenge' is selected, Roman tells him that if the child is a girl, she will be named Kate, in memory of
Kate McReary.
Quotes
Cousin, let's go bowling!
This quote is infamous among Grand Theft Auto players, who frequently parody it in different forms of media.
Trivia
- Early on in the game, the player unlocks the ability to call Roman for taxis. This unlocks the 'Driving Mr. Bellic' Achievement for Xbox 360.
- Roman's initial taxis are unique. They are based upon the Esperanto, yet are referred to as "Roman's Taxi". These taxis cannot be attained after the mission "Roman's Sorrow", and will be replaced with Cavalcades in the future.
Log in to comment