Everytime a GTA game is released we see this mass hysteria that almost
goes as far as looting in the streets because people are just that
excited about the game.
And GTA 4 share the same name as its predeccesor's that however does not mean its the same.
GTA 4 is a more dark and a bit more disturbed and serius version of GTA, to put it like this
you wont be seeing any jetpacks in the game. This game is realistic, the city is realistic and everything
makes you become emerged in the game.
The main character in this game is Niko Belic, he is a east european
illigal immigrant, he arrives by boat hoping for a better life with his
cousin.
But of course things does not work out that way and Niko is sucked in
to the Liberty City underworld and it gives you quite a glimpse of how
horrible humanity can really be.
If you think alot about it GTA is actually a pretty deep game
emotionally it deals with Niko Belic as a human, he has his problem his
past haunts him, and you end up really feeling bad for this guy which
is rare in a videogame.
However not only Niko puts a really strong act, every other character
in the game is memorable and some are funny, some are weird and some
just seem very real.
The gameplay initself at its core havent changed that much since san
andreas, you still do missions for crimelords and such, the biggest
difference being that the cell phone plays a much bigger role this time
around. You call people and tell them the job is done instead of
running all the way back which is refreshing.
But however the one bad thing about the missions is that some can feel
a little repetetive, there are basically 3 core designs for a mission.
which is Delivery, go to a place and kill everyone, drive after another
guy or escape.
Some of these mission does have that feel that you have done them before but fortunately not often so thats great.
The biggest improvement gameplaywise though is the gunplay you can
cover against anything by a press off a button, the cover system is
indeed not perfect and you will find yourself covering behind the wrong
thing, but that happens very rarely.
There are also quite alot of sidejobs which will keep you busy after
completing the main story, the sidejobs include being a cop killing
criminals, delivering packages for little jacob, killing flying rats,
go on dates, get to know your friends better. However, compared to San
Andreas this game does not have nearly as much to do after the final
mission, GTA 4 has basically concentrated more on realism and immersion
this time around. Which is fine its bascially just different
priorities, but its not all bad because the perhaps biggest news in GTA
is the...
...Multiplayer yes it is indeed true GTA has multiplayer, but it does
not set the world on fire quite as you would think it would, first of
the number one complaint I have is that the coop mission are to easy
and way too few giving almost nothing but a tease, they are fun but its
just to little. Deathmatch is deathmatch plain and simple however if
the server has enabled on auto targeting the whole thing just seem to
easy and is basically a game of who finds the other first. you also
have free mode where in my opinion the whole GTA style comes forward,
you basically just go with your friends and fool around, however
playing with strangers this mode is pointless and it becomes a
deathmatch basically. You also have streetracing which is fine, but
GTA isnt the best car racer and there are better alternatives.
The sound of GTA is no longer Micheal Jackson on the radio and these
huge stars one after another, Rockstar have now gone for more unknown
bands some sound great others dont you will quickly find your favorite
radio station and stick with it, there is basically something for
everyone here. The voice acting is great, however gone is James Woods,
Samuel Jackson and all those guys and in comes uknown voice actors
which is fine because the fact that you hear celebrities talk you will
think "oh thats Samuel L. Jackson talking how neat" instead of actually
listening to what they say. And it doesnt matter anyways since the
voice actors have done a stellar job, Nico, Roman, Brucie and Little
Jacob all sound believeable and the voice actors make the characters
come to life.
Now to the technical part this is where GTA really shines, it has
extreme detail in the city and no loading which is awesome, the ragdoll
physics are fun, and you will at some point of the game just throw
yourself out of a moving car just to watch you roll down the road. The
pedestrians are amazing there is almost never that you will meet two
pedestrians that look alike there are that many models. The gunplay is
satisfying the models react to where they get shot which is good, want
to just unarm them? fine just shoot their arm. Want to keep them from
running away? Pop a shot in the foot and he will fall over. The one
complaint I do have about the tech is that the framerate will drop in a
busy quarter of the city while driving fast with a car which is kind
off annoying but not a big deal.
In conclusion GTA 4 is a amazing game no doubt about it, however some
small things like slowdowns, and some radiostations you could do
without, and the limited multiplayer which limits the replayability of
the game drag the game down a bit not by much. And if you go in
expecting San Andreas 2 only crazier you will be dissappointed, this is
a more serious and realistic version of Rockstar's amazing world, and
its a must buy no matter what console you own.
