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Help Niko Achieve The American Dream in GTA IV

Published July 28, 2008
5 out of 5 starsScore: 100/100

Grand Theft Auto IV takes place in the modern times with Niko Bellic Arriving to Liberty City with the hopes of a better life. Lured by his cousin's tale of wealth, freedom, and plenty of sex to be had by the many women of America, Niko boards the Platypus and embarks for America. Upon his arrival he finds things are not as they seem and his cousin is in some serious trouble mostly in part to his addiction to gambling and borrowing money he cannot pay back. RockStar out did themselves with the story in GTA 4, and the gameplay remains a proven free-roaming formula that is familiar to those millions of GTA fans. 
 

Thanks to the move to the Xbox 360,PlayStation 3, and PC  and the R.A.G.E engine by RockStar, Grand Theft Auto has never looked better. The city comes alive in both the day and night of Liberty City, and there are so many small elements that come together in the fictional New York, its almost hard to view them all.  Rag-doll physics are great in games, but The Euphoria system implemented in GTA IV takes the physics cake. People react differently to where and how they've been hurt, and these elements help ramp up the intense action you'll face as Niko. This game is about 2 years old now, but it still can keep up with the games of 2010.
Gameplay is very familiar: You drive to a location, meet a crazy character, listen to them rant about how life isn't great for them or how business is slacking, and then they suggest you go somewhere a kill someone to fix the problem.  It sounds weird when you write it out, but it works and is just as fun as it was in 2001 with GTA III. You were probably like me when you first started driving in this game as well: swerving left and right and hitting the poor peds (by accident, of course!), and learning to drive with the new car physics. It almost felt like Gran Turismo at first, but after a while I was able to get the hang of it and really tear up the road, much to the dismay of the L.C.P.D.
I think Ive played this game about 4 times through over the past years, and have really enjoyed my time in Liberty City. I doubt no other game I play anytime soon will have a save file of 90 hours, but GTA IV did for me. You can get this game for about 29.99 and less, so If you've never put on the shoes of Niko Bellic, get ready to walk the world of Liberty City. 5/5

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