 A Worthy Member of the GTA Series |
| Review Date: April 30, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Lisa Shea, |
I adore the GTA series and have been looking forward to the relief of GTA IV for a *long* time. The developers know that a very high bar would be set for this one, and you can see the time and effort they poured into every last detail from the very first moment of the opening credits. It is more like a movie than a game. This "immersive movie" quality stays with you through every moment of gameplay.
You walk down the street and the darkness dapple through the overhead bridge grid. Dusk starts to fall and the sky gets that orange golden glow, the darkness lessen.
Voices show the same attention to detail. You've got a variety of languages thrown in, plus accents galore. There's the Long Island drawl, the Rastafarian's lilt, and of course the hard edge of eastern Europe.
Your main reputation is Nico, fresh off the boat and coming in to Liberty City (i.e. New York City) to see his cousin Roman. They are eastern European and rather poor. This of course is going to change soon, as Nico moves his way up in the world.
My boyfriend's from New York City so we were amused at how they kept the landscapes identical but renamed Brooklyn to Broker, Manhattan to Algonquin and so on. There was one time we were walking down the streets and had lost track of where we were. "Looks like the Bronx" he commented off-handedly. We zoomed out. Sure enough!
I do have to say that the people on the streets of this game swear far more than the mean people we pass in the real NYC though!
Which brings up an vital point. GTA IV went straight for the "Mature" rating with this one. This is clearly meant for mature gamers ages 17 and over. There are strip clubs. There are violent battles. There is more swearing than pretty much any other game out there. Adults like this as they like the Sopranos and Scarface - but any parent getting this for a minor should know what they're getting into.
But that being said, as a game for adults, this is *awe-inspiring*. There are just so many small touches that shine. You can play bowling games with your date. You can make choices between every second choices which affect how people feel about you. When you get near a railing, you can side jump over it, smoothly. You carry a cell phone and gather contacts for use. You can visit internet cafes. You have a variety of radio stations to listen to, plus TV stations to watch.
This is easily a game you can play for hundreds of hours - then go back and start over again and get a further new experience by making different choices.
I can't get over how gorgeous the game is, and how smoothly it plays. You grab a knife from an enemy and use it to take him down. You drive along the Hudson and watch the lights of the cavalcade shine. You listen to your favorite songs on the radio while the neon lights of the city drift by. You really start to relate to the characters, to know their personalities, to connect with them. It makes the choices you make have importance and emotion.
As much as I adore many other games - Halo, Mass Effect, etc. - I really reckon this is the first game that makes you feel that you are in a movie. The graphics draw you in. The voices are amazingly well done and varied. The plot draws you in, having you wonder who to trust, having you wonder what is going on with the characters.
Highly recommended. I'm doing a full walkthrough for the game so feel free to question any questions you wish!
I want to add a note - some players are having distress with understanding the dialogue. I watch a ton of global films so I didn't have any issues. But, if some of the foreign Foreign language is too accented for you, there is a subtitles option. Just turn that on and you'll always know what they are saying. |
open-world fans.. our time has come!
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| Review Date: April 30, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Raul Duke, Pittsburgh |
9.25/10
When Grand Theft Auto III came out(the reason i got a PS2 way back in 2001), i knew a touch fantastic was in the mix. it was a sign of change in the gaming industry. it showed us there could be more to games than levels, more than high scores, and more than even a excellent tale. it showed us a virtual world you could become perfectly engulfed in(outside of RPG's). a world where you could go anywhere and do anything(although that was just mostly stealing cars and shooting pedestrians in those days). over the years they've made some honest improvements, from the bikes and helicopters of vice city, to the jets and skill to duck and roll/ manually aim in san andreas(finally!) and now their first venture onto this age group has finally at home, and its a fantastic day in the gaming world
the series continues to awe with this installment, even in this day and age in video games. Graphically language, it is simply gorgeous. its incredible how much attention went into every aspect of this world. theres cracks and pot holes ranging in depth in the road, and varying curb heights. vehicle hurt is very impressive, from dents and scratches to a hole for each bullet that hits. the lighting system is incredible, with day/night cycles and a rotating sun throughout the day. genuinely the game doesnt have the detail of say Call of Duty 4, but you could fit like 50 Call of Duty 4 maps in this city! its that huge. you have to take the size of a game into consideration when rating the graphics, thats been a given for how long now?? just to clear things up for the clowns argumentative the graphics.
when you walk out the door theres so much to be done you might want to keep a checklist for the days. although what you in fact choose to do is up to you. causing chaos is always an option. you can go bowling, play pool, play darts, get drunk, go to a srip club, get some food, check out the in game internet, and tons more. you could always just surf the channels on your TV.
your cell phone is a pivotal part of the game. you can call friends and girlfriends for various actions(some are listed above), and if you neglect them for long enough, they'll call you. you can also call potential employers for jobs.
theres the standard "go kill this guy" and "go get this" but they have been very entertaining anyway so far. theres much more depth to many missions, counting secrecy. one example is having to steal a cop car, then proceed to pull over different shipping trucks until you find the one full of TV's.
gameplay is vastly improved. the cover system is fantastic, allowing you to promptly roll and care for yourself behind random cars, trash cans, and basically anything else thats huge enough.
the game has a much more realistic feel than before entries. you'll find yourself making sure theres no cops around before committing crimes. the star system is still here, but this time your wanted level is radius based, and if you can get far enough away from all cops, or at leased out of sight, your wanted level will go down. its honestly genius. i attentively escaped one by jumping the guard rail and running down a steep hill, only to see a further driving my way in the space. promptly ducking into the alley behind a dumpster, i watched him roll by and waited for my stars to start to fade. some cars are locked and you'll need to break a window to get in and proceed to hotwire it.
-for all you parents out there, the content is more mature than before entries. you get a pretty excellent look at the in-car action with the street workers.. hehe.. and "coarse" foreign Foreign language is used every couple synopsis(at leased). the violence and blood looks more realistic now too. thats usually not what you guys worry about so much though.
my only real complaints are the hand to hand combat(its the most solid of the series but San Andreas seemed to have more go depth), and the fact that you cant go into more buildings. dont get me incorrect, theres TONS of places to go and things to do, but i was hoping for even more. there have been waaay too many things that made San Andreas fantastic and were simply gone here. no car customization, less clothes, less weapons, no property to buy, and more.. in some ways its one step forward and two steps back.
i wont elaborate on the tale much, as its already been done like a log. basically your an illegal immigrant from eastern europe. your cousin convinced you to come to America with his tales of mansions and sports cars. when you arrive things arent quite as described. you start in the darkest, grittiest part of Liberty City. a pocket full of change and a head full or dreams. what happens next is in your hands.. |
It is Grand Theft Auto, afterall
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| Review Date: May 1, 2008 |
| Reviewer: JV, |
Here's what I don't reckon many people touch on in their reviews, or maybe I just don't read enough of them. This game is Grand Theft Auto, it's not anything else so don't expect it to be, much like I did.
That said, yes I was a small disappointed when I first started before a live audience GTA IV after several very long, nervous days at work before its relief. The reason being that I was spoiled by games like Saints Row etc.. and forgot how the GTA series played. Yeah Saints Row is a rip-off in many excellent wishes but it is not the same game at all.
With this new installment I probable the GTA series to evolve, but it didn't, it upgraded. Yes the graphics are better, the characters are more real, the physics engine is pretty darn awe-inspiring, the combat is more fun, the list goes on but eventually the game is what it is. If no one told you this game was GTA before you played it, you would be able to tell by the way NPCs go and act, the way you learn things with on-screen dialog, the way the reputation controls, and just the all-purpose feel of the game. Particular aspects have been the exact same for years, ever since GTA III.
If you found some of these aspects annoying, (like not being able to simply go a foot in one direction to get closer to a rack of clothing lacking quick it up completely because there is no fine movement at all) it is grating and quite frankly makes the game in fact feel very dated.
As a replacement for of repetitive on... If you expect this to be an improved version of Grand Theft Auto, you're going to like it. (with some possible exceptions like the driving technicalities). All you yearned for from before GTA's is back and better than ever. But, if you wanted the next-gen evolution of a sandbox, do no matter what the hell you feel like it game with mind-blowing innovations and new things to learn about and do, you will most likely be disappointed.
After coming to this realization I found the game much more enjoyable and that's why I gave it five stars. As a GTA game, that's what it deserves. |
If you can make it here you can make it anywhere.
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| Review Date: May 17, 2008 |
| Reviewer: trashcanman, Hanford, CA United States |
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R351SHCAC8PICX GTA 4's tale centers around a sarcastic Eastern European immigrant come to America to get a fresh start away from the corruption and violence of his home country. Whoops. Critics have often harangued the violence and the criminal aspect of GTA, but what flies over their heads is that satire is the premise of the series and always has been. And frankly, the violence here pales in evaluation to Gears Of War or Condemned 2: Bloodshot just to name two. GTA's immense popularity is not because of the degeneration of our the upper classes (we've got reality box for that), it's because the series is constantly innovating and donation fun spot-on gameplay, brilliant humor, and is a game made by and for an adult audience. So if your child is before a live audience this game, blame yourself for giving your child the means to get it or for not paying attention to what they are doing with their time, not Rockstar for making top-of-the-line entertainment meant for adults (see the markings on the box?).
GTA 4 seperates itself from the past iterations in several ways. First, the arcade feel is fundamentally gone. While the controls are vintage GTA, the overall feel has changed. In before games, I never got into the tale because I would get sidetracked rampaging with katanas and molotov cocktails or hunting for a tank. Now a lot of the distractions like crazy weapons and vehicles and construction up your reputation stats are gone and the tale behind the madness is a truly engaging one for the first time. The city is more alive than ever and there is more to do. The characters you meet are all brilliant and interacting with them is seriously fun. Take your girl out to a bar and watch her honest issues surface as she stumbles around slurring curses about "that fu#*ing whore" she thought you were read-through out. Or challenge your followers to bowling, pool, or a friendly game of darts. You ca even head to the comedy club to check out actual routines from Ricky Gervais or Katt Williams. The dialogue during these bonding actions is varied and reveals much about your Liberty City aquaintances, many of whom have special air force to offer you should you become close. The entire game is so well-written that one often gets the impression that they are before a live audience a Tarantino flick. Oh yeah, it's that excellent. The multiplayer aspect is also fun and varied allowing you to battle stangers for Liberty City dominance or just drive around with your friends wreaking havoc. Taking into tab the incredible single-player game this really wasn't de rigueur, but the fact that it is even built-in just makes this game that much more awe-inspiring.
Now all of that is well and excellent, but what makes GTA 4 the second work I'm upgrading from mere video game status to an official work of interactive fiction (the first was Mass Effect) is the sheer depth of the world in which you exist. So far I have spent manifold hours just surfing the game's internet. That's right, there is a virtual worldwide web in-game complete with dating sites, a Craig's List parody, advertisements, private blogs complete with flame wars, email, and much more. Hell, you can even download custom ringtones and themes for your cell phone! That is nuts. Do you know how ludicrous it feels to spend that amount of time in a video game surfing a fake internet? There are also several satirical box shows you can watch in your Apartment construction construction (go Republican Space Rangers!), and genuinely there's the radio; the sweet, sweet, sounds of GTA radio stations. There's a rock rank featuring Iggy freakin' Pop as the foul-mouthed DJ, classic hip-hop and R&B, smooth jazz, techno, LCHC (Liberty City HardCore), and even an all Bob Marley rank just to name a few. Then there's the thinly-veiled talk radio parody rank Weazel News featuring the most amusing Rush Limbaugh impressionist you're ever likely to hear. You even hear news intelligence about incidents you were personally caught up in as you drive. This game is DEEP.
Honestly, if you like video games or digital entertainment of any kind then this as excellent as it gets. And if you don't like those things, do your best to hide your ignorance and don't go spouting off about things you don't know anything about. GTA 4 is a brilliant satire full of jabs (and a few haymakers) at American politics and any violence is incidental in evaluation to the brilliantly crafted tale and interactivity of the in-game world that Rockstar has made. I'll say it again: this is not just a video game, this is interactive fiction on par with some of the fantastic works of modern storytelling. If you own a video game system and you reckon you can handle some naughty foreign Foreign language lacking getting all hysterical, buy it. It's that simple.
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Better than San Andreas?
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| Review Date: October 27, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Evan, |
I read a lot of reviews for this game. It was, to me, the game that would sell me into the current age group. I've completed the missions, but haven't reached 100% yet.
There are some things that I haven't seen mentioned much that I want to start with. I can't say that I was before a live audience GTA when it was an overhead isometric game, but have been around long enough to remember when the first 2 parts came out. I jumped in when GTA III came out.
The first enhancement for me is the way the police attention is dealt with. On the past games, you had copious ways to escape a "wanted" status. One, Pay and Spray. Two, pick up the stars laying around the maps which were rarely in places you could get to easily while police cars rammed you.
On GTA IV, your mini-map flashes when a wanted level is present and you have an outline around it. This is the police's view of you. If you can escape the circle, which does boost in size depending on the number of stars, you will lose your wanted level. A further enhancement, no more sliding into Pay and Spray with the cops right behind you. If you do it, the game will answer, "The cops saw you". How many times did we all laugh at the ancient GTA games as cops were still outside the Pay and Spray, abruptly dumb and forgetting that you just pulled in with a 4 star wanted level?
The AI overall is much better though not lacking flaws. All is more realistic now. Which can be a excellent or terrible thing depending on your spot. The dating returns, which was one of my complaints in my San Andreas review here on Amazon, it has improved a fantastic deal though it seems pretty pointless.
Pointless why? Well, I have tried mission Carmen 4 times for health. It goes through the whole dialog of "Stay cool, hold pressure on your cuts" but no health. A glitch? It works when outside of a mission. But not in a mission. Why would I need health while walking around or driving around not in a mission? See. Pointless. I haven't tried mission Kiki to get the wanted level removed or reduced. A fantastic deal of the fun of this game for me is trying to outrun the police.
The return of the boneheaded missions. Thank goodness they rid the game of the RC missions. The terrible news is, you will still find yourself doing missions that are what I call boneheaded. You will see things experience that are boneheaded too. Like in one mission, you go into a strip club, assault the managers, one runs. If you get outside and get a clear shot at him, you will end up with wanted stars. So, while you're trying to drive, shoot, keep power of your car at a high speed, you also have cops coming from every angle sliding into your car. The mission, like many past missions in the GTA series ends up being a matter of luck. In this mission, I finished up before a live audience it 5 times before beating it, takes from 20-30 synopsis to play counting drive over to the scene of the mission. No, I don't use taxis unless it is a touch that has to be done in a particular amount of time. On one of the tries, I had shot the escape truck enough to make it blow up. It blows up, the driver runs across the street on fire. I run over him while he is on fire. The hurt addition, had to take at least few bullets during all the shooting. His vehicle exploded with him in it. He was on fire. He was ran over. As I'm driving away from the scene, I realize the red dot representing the target was still on the map. I drive back to run over him again. The guy must be Superman as it is. As I am driving at full-speed right at him he fires ONE shot through my windshield and kills me. That nearly cost the controller its life!
Most of the missions though have a logical way to end them. I finally realized on the aforementioned mission to block the door the guy ran out of to escape. Pull a car in front of the door before entering the club and he isn't going anywhere.
Unlike others, I was glad to see the paramedic, pizza manner of language, truck driving, vigilante and taxi driver missions...gone. I found all of those to be major drags when before a live audience San Andreas, Vice City and III.
The excellent news for me at least. The characters in this game are fantastic. Niko is not only a lot of fun to use, but has some fantastic lines. Small Jacob is doubtless the best supporting reputation of the series. His Jamaican slang adds some humor to the game, mainly surveillance Niko try to know him. Roman is the type of guy you have to like which makes later missions genuinely sad. The girlfriends are better than San Andreas. And no, I don't mean in looks or in those ways. Just the way they fit into the game. For some reason, I have preferred the spoiled brat Alex to the others though Kiki and her obsession with Niko, constant texts and "dirty" texts is fantastic too. Carmen's like of herself is also excellent for a laugh, "Niko, is this not the face that belongs on a magazine cover?"
Some complaints I've read that I don't agree with. People expecting more than drive, shoot target, take car or money. It's named Grand Theft Auto for a reason! All video games will fall into the category of possibly dull after awhile. I know of no games that truly allow 100% frankness. If they did, how would you ever know you had refined it? There has to be some basis and structure. It is hard for me to criticize a game about stealing cars for asking me to steal cars. Sure, there are disused parts. How many times will Roman call you during the game and question you to go to a strip club? It gets even more frustrating later in the game. You're way over in the 3rd island and he is mission you from the 1st island. You have no choice but to take a taxi and skip the ride over. It does go into drive from point A to point B and back or to point C in Roman's case. I've always thought these parts were in the game to boost your driving skill, not a stat, but your actual in-game driving skill and to see the cities lacking having a cop chasing you at high speed.
The graphics are some of the best and most meticulous I've seen. Right down to the cars having markings on the bumper or grille to tell you the maker. Language of the cars, much more recognizable than in past games. You also get a more realistic experience from the different cars. My stats show that my favorite car has been the Oracle. A run on the higher end BMWs. This doesn't surprise me since I prefer excellent speed with brilliant handling over brilliant speed with mean handling.
Though you can't modify the cars, you can find modified versions of the cars around the game. The modified Sultan is twice as excellent as the regular Sultan. Giving you a touch new to look for or hunt down. Most of the higher-end cars have a modified or rare version for you to search for though it is not part of the game. You can find many lists on the internet to let you know what to be looking for. GTA IV rare cars search will show you them.
The weapons in this one are very excellent as well. I went with the Desert Eagle/Combat Pistol over the traditional 9 MM. The AK-47 is a marked enhancement over past renditions of this powerful weapon. The shells are still not as excellent as I thought they could be and I don't like the "drop" a grenade skill. I'm sure all that has played this game has at least dropped one on accident and saw Niko play like Rocketman.
The physics of the game are much more realistic. No more of those falling flat down kills. Now you see enemies or you even, grab their leg, scrunch up into a heap, glide through the air when hit by moving cars AND their legs and arms flailing. Ancient GTA games, the ran over enemies would just glide into the air and somehow die in mid-air and lay down in the air. One this one, they bounce, jump out of a helicopter to get the full effect as you bounce off a construction only to then wrap around a telephone poll.
The drunk part is amusing the first few times you do it. After that, you'll find yourself dodging the bars as much as possible.
The game has a lot of depth to it and if played to 100% is long. As of right now, I have completed all of the tale missions and some of the side missions, my completion percentage is 61%.
Language of the side missions. Though Vigilante and its 12 levels of capturing "terrible" guys is gone. You can do side missions that demand a police car and police computer to hunt down wanted criminals. There are also random characters that show up on the map that have separate missions for you from the regular tale. There are 3 sports actions, bowling, darts and pool. Though I thought they blew it by having a putt-putt course on the game, but not allowing it to be used in the game. There also are side races for the hilarious Brucie to do. Stealing particular cars for Stevie.
I'm guessing you are getting the point by now. I really wasn't for sure that I was going to be that pleased with this game because of the reviews that talk about "Dark, less humor, more honest". I don't see that absolutely. There is a lot of humor in the game's dialog, though some of it is dark humor or potty humor. The game does seem to take a honest turn later in it as you start to realize that Niko has been in places and situations most people haven't had to face. He all but meltdowns late in the game with screaming fits during shootouts. Reckon Al Pacino in Scarface. You most likely will come away from the game really liking the reputation. I refused to read a walkthrough on the missions and recommend the same for anyone buying the game. This allowed me to experience the plot twists and turns lacking a walkthrough spoiling it for me.
Certainly not a game for the small ones. Besides the foreign Foreign language, some of the killings are just brutal. Wait until you fortuitously hit someone in your shiny white car and see their blood splattered on your hood and bumper.
One last gripe, did not care for the soundtrack. There are maybe 4 stations before a live audience first songs by the first artists. Tuff Gong is doubtless the best as it is a reggae rank that has not anything but Marley songs on it. I have broad taste in music and reckon they missed the boat by not putting a country rank on it. Who wouldn't like listening to maybe Johnny Cash? Place his song, "13" in it or the first Danzig version of the same song and you have Niko's theme right there. The rap stations are okay. The Classic Rap rank is much better than the newer one though I thought they picked the worst possible Gangstarr song to use in it. That annoying scrape/squeal sample has no place in a video game. Doubtless the largest fault here, one of the more enjoyable songs in it by Rick Ross, is only used in a comedy sketch. Liberty Rock is okay too, I had forgotten all about the song, "Evil Woman" by ELO as it was one of the better songs on the soundtrack.
That may clarify the 4 star on fun. A huge part of the fun for me is driving around listening to the different music. You can place your own music in it, but it doesn't synch with the game like on Vice City on the first Xbox. You have to turn the sound things down all the way.
Still, I couldn't at this point, recommend a game for the 360 any higher than this one. I'm getting ready to grab the two DLC episodes Ballad of Gay Tony and Lost and the Damned. Making it an even deeper game. I was never a huge fan of Liberty City in the GTA III days, but this version of Liberty City is much improved with more open streets. I did miss the areas from San Andreas, like Back O' Beyond and Mount Chiliad, but it wasn't that huge of a deal.
I do recommend saving it to your hard drive and before a live audience from the hard drive. The game's sounds and music are nearly blocked out by the 360 loading the disc if you play it straight from the disc unless you blast the volume. This is my first game on the 360 so some of the opinions in it like about the graphics and depth should be thought about in that sense. I have very small else to compare it to at this point. |
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