I Missed the boat with Grand theft auto 4. I did however catch a later boat, but not before a nearby fishmonger doused me with the severed heads and glowing chum of hype the game had created. Even With the overpowering exitement growning inside of me, I Find Grand Theft auto 4 to be the best in the series, and one of the most technically impressive games ever made.Though my love for the game at first felt limitless, There is something missing Inside of the Content rich, and scary realistically simulated, Liberty city; something that the other games in the series partially had, but abandoned completely in this lates itteration. A sense of satire.
First Let me discuss the postives. No world has ever been more alive than Liberty city. This breakthrough in gaming can be largely credited to the animation/physics system used in the game. This sytem named the Euphoria engine Gives each of the citizens an arificial mind; nervouse sytem; skeleton; and muscle structure. A chilling example of this can be seen by aming a gun at a citizens head. The AI will cause the man to put his hands in front of his face, not because the animators told it to, rather, it is actually trying to protect it's brain to ensure survival. While this is most likely the most revelutionary addition to the game, there sheer amount of content raises the bar in its own way. One could simply watch one of the orignal tv, or stage shows for hours. The radio is back, and more robust than ever with plenty of music, and talk stations, as well as humarous fake commercials. but that is were the humar mostly ends. This brings me to my one major problem with the game. the story.
It is important to note that i like dramatic experiences as much as the next guy. I watched narc, and training day, and ejoyed them. The problem with putting a story like those in a game where all one does is kill people and talk to drug dealers, is that there is no relief. The story becomes so heavy that one simply gets tired of all of the wieght the game puts on oneself.. The Entirety of the game, I found myself wishing Aliens would come down, just to give me a break from people dying, and feeling guilty for s#!t. All is not bad however, in fact what is there is done incredibly well, with a very real, though overwhelming, sense of danger and dread. I just wish that amongst that great crime drama story, there was a singlebreak, because as is the game feels allittle to real for escapist entertainment.
I Think it is clear that I found GTA4 to be a great game, everthing was brought into the new generation with either a step or a leap forward, and i can't wait for the addon content, and the true GTA5. The faults i found in the game are certainly not going to be considerd detractions by everyone, but as someone who knows people like niko and crew, I hope the next Game keeps the rich heart of GTA4 but changes the color of it from black to grey.
