I know GTA.
You know GTA.
Heck, even you're Grandma knows GTA.
It's one of (if not 'the') biggest game franchises of recent years, matched only be Halo and... erm...
That's probably it.
It has gathered itself high scores in the reviews department, but with that, a lot of controversy.
You're Grandma may know GTA.
But you don't want to show her it.
Anyway, since this is my first review, that was probably a tedious introduction, but, what you gonna do?
Gameplay:
Every game needs good gameplay (insert sarcastic comment here). It doesn't matter how content-rich the game is, or how luscious the graphics are, without decent gameplay it is all pointless.
Thankfully, this is not.
Odds are, I'm going to forget to write about something in this section, because there is just so much to do, but I'm going to attempt anyway. Movement in GTA IV has been done precisely as it should be done. Since walking isn't the reason you are looking to buy GTA IV for, I'm going to move on.
Shooting in GTA IV. Obviously an integral part to this game. It has two modes; auto-aim and manual. Auto-aim is a bit fidgety, I understand, however I have not used this much as manual aiming is much more fun. There is a cover system (similar to that used in Uncharted) which is, for the most-part, easy to use, but when aiming can sometimes not want to look where you want to (if you are aiming far-left or far-right), but that is just a minor niggle, doesn't happen too often.
The car handling in Rockstar's latest outing has been under-fire (to a certain degree) lately... I can understand why this is, but, in my opinion, it has been changed for the better. The cars handle more realistically (of course, not matching Gran Turismo physics) as you cannot now cruise through a corner at 100mph. It will probably take slightly longer to master the driving, but, isn't that part of gaming?
Content:
I'm sure, if you have played a GTA game before (if not, where have you been?) you will understand how much there is to do in this game. Obviously there is the main story-arc (more on that later), but if you need a break, or can't be bothered to try that mission you've been failing at for the last 2 hours, you can relax with friends (I'm talking about offline here) at the local bowling alley, darts board, bar, pool table or, if you're into polygons, take a visit to a nearby gentlemen's club. But, like the rest of the series, getting chased by the police is the highlight.
Graphics:
GTA IV is 640p (at least on the PS3 version, I haven't looked into it on the 360). GTA is also the game that has impressed me the most graphically this (console) generation bar Prologue.
I dont care if the game is 640p or 1080p.
It looks fantastic. 'Nuff said.
Online:
For most games this generation, online has decided a game (probably because there aren't games with a single player mode that lasts more than 6 hours anymore, but thats a rant for a different day) but not this one. GTA IV is a perfectly solid game without the online mode. In fact, this review would've gotten the exact same score without the online mode in, mainly because it doesn't impress me very much. I mean, it does the job, but doesn't have any depth. I mean, some matches can be downright chaos, a right laugh, but others simply don;t hold a candle to some of the fun that can be had in the single player.
Final Comment:
The game is violent. The game is rude. The game is immoral.
The game is GTA.
Buy it now...
...if you're old enough.
Huzaifa from eXputer: "2008 was home to the likes of Call of Duty: World at War, Dead Space, GTA 4, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, and many other hits, which is outright remarkable."
Just about every year in the 7th generation was great and something we most likely won't experience again.
2009 for example had Assassin's Creed 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dragon Age: Origins, Uncharted 2, Halo 3: ODST, Killzone 2, Borderlands, Bayonetta, and Demon's Souls to name a few.
Grand Theft Auto 4 is an important game for Rockstar, not least because it was the first title in the franchise to use the newly created RAGE engine.
There’s never a bad time to relive its magic, and with rumours of a potential Grand Theft Auto IV remaster making the rounds, why wouldn’t you?
Not really
Overrated
Boring
Liberty City despite being a reimagined version for the HD era lacked any variety
Lacked the GTA fun charm overall
Niko was bland compared to past protagonists like Tommy, CJ or Victor
Like hell it is. San Andreas was far better, much more fun and a better game overall.
Nah, it's a masterpiece in attention to detail and the amount of immersive systems at play. But it really isn't very fun, ESPECIALLY when compared to the previous games in the series. Like tons of things are just wonky and actively kneecap lots of experimentation, or is just lame. Like why do I take huge damage when falling into water, why can I only stand in very specific large trucks when they are moving but not smaller trucks and vehicles, why is the melee combat such a massive down grade from GTA SA and GTA IV, why is the euphoria nowhere near as reactive, why is being drunk using a rasterized animation of staggering rather than the far more entertaining euphoria GTAIV and RDR used when you were drunk, why do npc vehicles barely react to you popping there tires even at high speed, etc etc.
I've always loved playing around in GTA games world. Like the campaigns are great but the majority of my time was always spent just playing in the open world. Yet GTAV is the only game in the series I never really returned to after beating it, it just lacks that fun factor the others have, I spent more time in GTA SA remastered than GTAV
It's one of my least favourite GTA games. It's clunky, the ai is exploitable, it's far too long and the writing is absolutely awful.
The game is violent. The game is rude. The game is immoral.
The game is GTA.
Buy it now...
...if you're old enough.
^ Love that Great review!