Look how far we've come.

I'd heard a lot of things about GTA IV that took the edge off of my expectations for the game. I was told that it was much scaled down, size-wise, compared to San Andreas. I was also told that some of the little things that made SA so perfect were also removed, such as base jumping platforms and the ability to nose-dive 747s into the middle of Las Vegas, seconds after parachuting out unscathed. My perception, therefore, was that GTA IV would be a game built solely to test the power of the next gen consoles, before they rolled out a bigger and better GTA V.

After completing the game, I can say without hesitation that neither of these features really obstructed my enjoyment of GTA IV. However, it was nowhere near on par with San Andreas in terms of replayability or initial impressions. There are just some things lacking with GTA IV that make it feel like an incomplete gaming experience. It has the potential to be wholly satisfying, but for some reason it isn't.

You play as Niko Bellic, an Eastern European immigrant fresh off the boat and ready to capitalise on the American Dream. Before long he realises he's been brought to the US under false pretences and he is rapidly absorbed into the criminal underbelly of Liberty City. I immediately disliked the main protagonist and he failed to completely win me over throughout the course of the game. Niko is a direct, soulless killer driven by the simple desire to acquire money. I got bored of him really quickly, and this is partly due to the fact that each of his meetings with new acquaintances play out in exactly the same way - 'I'll do anything as long as I get paid'.

Liberty City has some really visually appealing areas, such as the Times Square inspired 'Star Junction' and Coney Island's representative, Firefly Island. There are obviously countless Manhattan landmarks that also appear, many of which are truly inspiring places to visit in a computer game. What I felt the map did lack was a large open space to cruise around in, as that was a particular favourite past time of mine in San Andreas.

The plot is a standard GTA affair. Much maligned male becomes involved in petty crime and builds a reputation to the extent that he meets super crime families. Nothing new is explored here, though on very few occasions you have the choice to end certain missions in one of two ways, though it is so obvious which is the 'good' and which is the 'bad' outcome on each that it's not really a choice at all.

Several aspects are improved on the last GTA game, including the ability to summon the emergency services with a phone call. This is handy if you need a paramedic or need to steal a squad car. It is also now possible to outrun the police, given that they have a sphere of detection when they're after you. If you escape their patrol route then you can consider yourself a free man. It's amazing how much of a great addition this is to the game as you no longer wait for chance or cheats to lower your wanted level. Many of the over-complicated RPG elements from San Andreas are also removed, such as the need to work out, swim and increase your ability to drive certain vehicles. In my eyes, that's a good thing.

The PC version has an absolute nightmare with the insulting Digital Rights Management security system. When I first installed the game it was fine, but a re-install some months later caused all manner of cataclysmic problems and required several patches and ultimately a different disc drive to make the game work again. How publishers can get away with this, I'll never know. The graphics are also ready and waiting to be slid up to maximum, but I'm not sure any graphics card is quite prepared to show you liberty city in all of its stunning detail just yet. I still had a thoroughly enjoyable gaming experience and night time helicopter flybys of the statue of liberty were still sufficiently impressive enough to drop my jaw.

In short, the characters and the diminished map meant I didn't enjoy this GTA as much as San Andreas. A one-dimensional protagonist and a cast of uninteresting support characters also sapped my intention to ever play the game through again. Whereas I could lose days just wondering around San Andreas post-completion, the lack of places to explore in Liberty City and the infuriating 'friends' feature go far to drain the enjoyment of roaming in GTA IV once the main campaign is finished. Other than that, it's just another GTA game, a welcome addition and one that's well worth playing anyway.

8/10

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Added by Grand Assault 4 months ago on 19 July 2009 12:55