Grand Theft Auto IV reviews

«GTA IV» presents an impressive rendition of «Liberty City» – a metropolis inspired by New York City. The city comes to life thanks to incredible detail and an authentic atmosphere. Every district, every alleyway, every building has its own unique shape and design, making the game world remarkably vibrant and diverse.

Engine: The game utilizes the then-new «RAGE» game engine, which provided stunning graphics, a physics engine, and incredible visual effects. This engine allows for realistic details of the surrounding world and a dynamic environment.

Physics: The physics and character behavior collision were handled by the procedural animation tool - «Euphoria». It brought an unparalleled level of realism to the game. Characters in the game react to the surrounding environment and situations in real-time, creating unpredictable moments in gameplay.

Atmosphere: The game is steeped in a dark and moody tone that envelops the player from the first moments. The narrative demands it and meshes perfectly. Even with numerous humorous elements, the game consistently maintains a tense and intense mood.

Realism: «GTA IV» decided to move away from the arcade-like and comedic elements of the first three games. There's no abundant blood, severed body parts, miniguns, or tanks. Everything is maximally realistic. Even to the extent that when the protagonist runs out of ammo, he drops the weapon on the ground.

Freedom of Choice: One of the key features of «GTA IV» is the ability to choose your path in the game. Players can decide the fate of characters in several missions. Kill or spare. Kill one character or another. This will inevitably impact the storyline.

The Protagonist Is the City: The city becomes not just a backdrop for action but an active participant in the story. «Liberty City» lives its own life, influencing the protagonist and shaping his character and destiny.

Multiplayer: 15 game modes. Races, Turf War, Cops 'n' Crooks , or just free mode, where you and other players can do whatever you want. Later, this idea was maximized in «GTA Online». In 2010, my friend and I spent countless hours exploring multiplayer. It was an unforgettable experience.

«Grand Theft Auto IV» - is a game that impresses with its scale, realism, and depth. It offers an unparalleled mature experience and becomes a gold standard in the open-world genre. The impressive «Liberty City», captivating storyline, and freedom of choice make this game unforgettable for all fans of the «GTA» series and enthusiasts of quality gaming overall.

Grand Theft Auto IV is kind of a reboot for Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series. Technically this game is the first in the “HD” universe of Grand Theft Auto games. I am unaware if these recent games (including GTA V) exist in the same universe as the old Grand Theft Auto games, but I highly doubt it as these games seem to be more connected to each other as opposed to older games that are merely referenced in easter eggs and not outright referenced by a line of dialogue or something more concrete. But I digress. GTA IV centers on Niko Bellic a war hero and immigrant from Eastern Europe as he tries to find a new life in America and contend with the criminal element that can either help or kill him. The game is in itself an immigrant story of sorts. There is a lot of diversity that is reflected in the game, both in aesthetic and the open world design as well as the stories and missions. This is seemingly reflective of the reality of New York City, which is the basis for the setting of this game. The game follows the struggles and hardships that immigrants face when placed in the overbearing culture and boundless opportunity that America is known for. The city, Liberty City, is based on New York City. There are four boroughs that are modeled on the four boroughs of New York City. Something that always comes to mind for me is how decadent and disgusting the city appears. I don’t expect New York to be this clean shiny city, but this game really goes out of its way to show how nasty this city is (both physically and perhaps culturally and socially due to the characters and actions that are depicted in the game). The gameplay is really good. Few games really capture driving mechanics as well as GTA does. Most games kind of pull a Saints Row where the driving mechanics feel so weightless and nonexistent. The gunplay and physics are good, especially for 2008. However, some of the movement mechanics are rather clunky. The graphics are severely dated, it’s not distracting but it’s definitely a product of its time. But textures and the rendering in this game is really bad, oddly enough I think Red Dead Redemption shares that element as well, sadly, I will pay attention when I play through it to see if this is the case. The game is vast with plenty of things to do and immerse yourself in. Not as much as say, Red Dead Redemption II or GTA V, but it’s enough to be annoying and not overwhelming. For instance, the supporting characters can have closer relationships with Niko if he spends time with them, so that leads to the annoying bombardment of your ingame cellphone with suggestions and invitations by other characters to go grab a drink or go bowling or engage in the numerous activities featured in the game. That gets annoying. Also, it’s really annoying to complete a mission, call the mission provider to inform him or her that you completed the mission only for you to tap X or A to speed up walking a bit, or to get shot at by a police officer or a criminal which cancels that action. The police in this game are so annoying. The voice acting in the game is very good. Rockstar has the tendency to cast quality voice actors that no one has ever heard of, or at least I haven’t heard of and I like to think that I keep up with films and other mediums. While flawed, this game is definitely a must play for anyone. It hasn’t aged well for me, but it doesn’t diminish the overall quality of the game.

Rating: 4.5/5