Generations of gaming evolve like family trees. Certain things change down the line. Good or bad, no warning at all. In this case, The Grand Theft Auto family tree has gone down the line to IV (4). It is time that we start to talk about the king of kings in this death defying genre , Grand Theft Auto 4. Things will be different. How many times have we heard this since the first trailer? A few too many, but, if you really look into that sentence, it has more meaning than just saying things are different. Take for instance, the visuals are different, the sound is different, multiplayer is added, locations are different, characters are different, game play is different. Do you understand it better now? If you don’t, it’s not terrible, the words just have a strong impact on the game, that’s all
. Remember before the 29th, where there was heaps of threads added about incoming gta news, and screens? Now we do not have to worry about too much anymore, the game is out, gamers eager to get hands on before they are all sold out, example, Call Of Duty 4 Modern Warfare (N.S.W) was fully sold out in just a few days, there was a 2 week delay until the next shipment. But that was the past, now were finally here, and we can safely enjoy the grand theft auto traditional experience. But wait, I didn’t tell you anything about it yet!!! I think its time that the review now can officially start
It’s not just a game when it comes too Grand Theft Auto games, its more like a way of life. A powerful statement, or an important speech made from a prime minister. The game features too much for a casual gamer too handle, soon every purchaser of Grand Theft Auto 4 will become hardcore gamers, because of its rich content and detail.
The graphics are amazing, possibly the hardest work rockstar have ever put into a game like this. I believe that every user should go on the journey to find out what Grand Theft Auto IV is like, but I figured that I should go on further.
Welcome To Liberty City.
Grand theft auto IV picks up where gamers left off. After a long wait for the next title, It finally arrives, In 2 editions. The Standard Edition. Basically it’s just the game, which comes with a manual and a map of Liberty City. The Special Edition. This is the version I ended up Pre Ordering 4 odd months ago. I was Surprised actually, it’s better than what I was expecting! And because that is the version I purchased, I will review the contents for everyone
Here are some photographs of what arrived in my special edition Grand Theft Auto IV.
Neatly packaged in a decent size box which has the “lollipop Girl” on the cover box.
I’d think that rockstar did a lot of thinking before putting the package together. Everything is how they wanted it to be. That’s what it is.The appearance of both versions of the game is appealing, attracting gamers to have a look at the box, or if its a regular gamer, you won’t get bored by looking at the cover. From the contents of the Special Edition, lets move on to the game side.The game is neatly sealed, with the “Grand Theft Auto” embossed, with a silver layer around the outlines of the words and IV. The inside of the game case is the “Guide To Liberty City” and the map for the game, and on the reverse side is the map of the subway. The disk is an image of Nicko wearing his gloves and the bridge in the background.
What does the American dream mean today?
For gamers all across the world it’s a brand new Liberty City which has been completely re developed with new game engines, hopes for a better future for grand theft auto games can be achieved, Grand Theft Auto 4 Proves It. It opens up a new gateway for newcomers, a fresh story line, a fresh feel and look. It’s a way to move on in life. What do you think, Does The American Dream Sound Good?
Its not going to be an experience like any other grand theft auto. This game has been completely rebuilt, from the ground up. I can’t say how exited I was to play the game, even when I went to pick it up I was over the moon.
Sorry for talking so much, but I have too much too say! Back to the point, Grand theft auto IV requires all PS3 users to do a mandatory Hard Disk install, which will copy content over to your Hard Disk, making Grand Theft Auto IV run a lot smoother. The install did not take me too long, 5 minutes approx. Then you are blasted with the artwork where some of the images zoom in or out, and there is no loading bar, the last image you will see before the game finishes loading is the red car.
I’m not going to go further about the storyline or what happens next, I’m going to leave that to the gamer, as you can see, other reviews don’t give you everything you want, you will need to get the game to do so. Here we can go on about different aspects of what I have to say, and what I reviewed it.
The Graphics-
Grand theft auto games have always struggled with the graphics, poor character images, lag because of the graphical issues, game not rendering buildings and other things. But rockstar have taken care of this, say good bye to the previous grand theft auto graphics. Everything has been fixed up and redone, the way gamers want to see a classic like GTA to be. The visual effects are far more realistic, you think you are watching a movie
. from the views to blowing things up everything looks really neat and tidy, more graphical features have been added to increase the game quality. Lighting people on fire was never so much fun ( do not try this in real life, it can hurt someone
) now you can actually see the person you lit run and then fall on the ground. Another new entry was that if you drive fast enough into a wall nicko will smash out of the front windshield. So much for seat belts.
The ingame objects are really stunning like the cars for instance; they have never looked so real. Rockstar wasn’t lying when they said that this is the next step , like grand theft auto 2 to grand theft auto 3. The way people react in the game is really good now, if you run into someone who is carrying something, they will drop it and start to swear or become angry/upset, depending on who it was. Random events now actually look nice, isn’t it good too feel like you aren’t the only one the police are after. From people having shoot outs to others just stealing cars, it now feels like liberty city. Stunning effects, like the blood splatter is back in grand theft auto. Get your target close enough to your car and shoot them, the blood will spray on the car. It doesn’t just drop on the floor like a puddle like in previous grand theft auto games.
The cut scenes are really revved up now, it’s like a TV show, it’s so intense and makes you want to watch more. The character emotions in the game are really good as well, what isn’t? Most of the trailers are cut scenes, or in game footage.
Car damage now feels like real car damage, you don’t smash into a wall 3 times and then blow up. Now the car needs a really good beating to catch on fire. The car now damages in the objects you hit, for instance a pole, if you smash into a pole the car’s front will have a bent hood from that pole. The explosions on cars are really good, and fun to watch. Again, you think its real. Cars have all been re designed making everything more modern now. You can see imitation cars like hummers, Chrysler 300 C and some others like Mercedes Benz. All cars have different handling, some bad and some good. Carjacking was never so fun. Now you must smash the window on a car if its parked (all parked cars are now locked) and hotwire it. Doesn’t take long, but its enough time to get busted by the cops. Hold L2 and R2 and do a burnout, if you get a good enough car you will see the smoke run all the way until the car takes off. Buildings look good and so does the terrain. All modern time American locations, which have been renamed. The places to see are interesting, all with spectacular graphics.
The Sound-
Every grand theft auto is unique with the sound. This time round, its even better. The sound effects are top notch, the car sounds, the bullet fire, all precise. From people talking to smashing windows everything feels like its really happening. The character voices are well selected, some people like little Jacob are a little hard to understand because of how good the accent is. Hearing noises like never before is amazing, it doesn’t sound like any other grand theft auto game this time around. Now if you are on foot and you are passing by cars you can hear their radio on and what they are listening to. The game now has digital audio so you can hear things more clearly.
The new soundtrack is great, a new blend of music for everyone to listen to. They have included new genres like heavy metal and Russian music, to make the game suite everybody’s needs. The best radio station, or the one I listen to the most is San Juan radio, the Spanish radio station which daddy yankee is on. Great stuff rockstar.
The Radio stations are
- San Juan Sounds, this radio station features Latin and reggaeton music, which is mixed between new and old beats. The songs on this station are really good for an all round listening experience. This is my personal favourite.
- Tuff Gong Radio, This station features Reggae music, for the older gamers who are interested 7 out of 8 songs are from Bob Marley. It is all classics that are unforgettable.
- The Vibe 98.8, This station is for the easy listeners, it has some of the chart hitters such as Ne-Yo and R.Kelly .
- Vladivostock FM, is of course the Russian radio station, which can sound really good when you are in the mood. Featuring Russian rapper Seryoga you don’t want to miss out on this station.
- Radio Broker, is a radio station for all of the alternative rock followers. I don’t know of any bands in this station but it does sound good.
- Massive B Soundsystem 96.9 (since when did nova 96.9 change their name?) has dance music, which has Shaggy featuring on it aswell.
- Liberty Rock Radio 97.8, is a classic rock station which features many legends of rock like Black Sabath, Elton John, The Who, Queen, Iggy Pop and Stevey Nicks.
- L.C.H.C (Liberty City Hard Core) is a hardcore rock station which features bands like Murphy’s Law, Leeway, Killing Time and Agnostic Front
- K109 the Studio, Is a disco station which is very interesting to listen to, it has some good vibes.
- The Journey is a station which you can chill out to.
- JNR (Jazz Nation Radio) which obviously features Jazz music. Nothing much here but jazz followers might like it.
- IF99, is a funk station which has some good songs like Zombie, which is featured on the Special Edition Soundtrack
There is more than that, but the review must go on.
The Gameplay-
Grand Theft Auto game playing experiences have always been different every time, because of various reasons, being good or bad. This time, it’s all positive, Grand theft auto IV has launched itself into new world, new opportunities. If only other game developers could make games as good as this... You find that the gameplay runs really smooth on the ps3, it won’t start to muck you around in missions like in san andreas or other grand theft auto games, the in game rendering works fast so you don’t see block buildings like in vice city stories, you can just worry about whatever it is you have to do.
Grand theft auto just became more realistic. From the pager to the old mobile, you now have a new on-screen companion. By the press of the up button, out comes the mobile on the bottom right of your screen. Press it up again to access the numeral keypad to dial numbers, or just press x to get into the phone’s menu. There you have a list of options such as multiplayer, phonebook and organizer. You rarely need to press start, only if you want to set waypoints, have a look at the map or check your stats. Now everything, well most of everything can be done in game. You can have a much better experience now
, wonderful, isn’t it.
Doors. Ever wondered if they were going to make a grand theft auto game where you didn’t have to wait for the game to load to get into a building? Well grand theft auto 4 is the answer. You do not need to wait, Nicko just pushes the door, and its open. Amazing is the word. Gameplay? The story line is so intense you won’t want to turn your playstation system off. You feel like you are on the edge of your seat whilst playing. It’s not your ordinary game folks, and the gameplay is the money-maker here. You now have a bigger map to roam, and more new faces to meet and kill. Pleasant times when you aren’t really wanting to do missions, you can relax. But when you are on a hit man mission, don’t become sidetracked to something else that you may see. You may fail your mission. But wait. Every time you failed a mission in previous gta games, you would have to go back to that person right? For gta 4 , wrong. You receive a text message asking if you would like to replay your failed mission. It’s getting easier every time they bring a new grand theft auto out isn’t it.
The game play in grand theft auto 4 has been reloaded, revitalised. Its fresh and appealing to all gamers, and new comers to the grand theft auto series. The HUD has been fixed, now you will only see the map which appears on the bottom left, the health and armour bar , which is around the map, and the weapon and money, which will disappear if you do not use weapons at the time, so its all new and clean. I think that the game play is great this time, you can pick up the controller and you will be sitting there for hours nonstop, well that’s what happened to me anyway.
New combat system is great, you just hold L2 to lock on to your opponent, and you have a various number of attacks. The enemies’ health bar is in the lock on circle in capsules so you don’t have big bars on your screen.
The Multiplayer-
Grand theft auto hasn’t really had the chance to show its other sides. We haven’t seen a grand theft auto that has the online capabilities (San Andreas Multiplayer Is Not One Of Them, Its Just A PC Mod) so its really good to see that this release actually shows us. Multiplayer is accessed via the mobile phone. You have the option to create a game which gives you a choice of what type of game you want to play, what you want the environment to have and so on. You can also customise your character, but it is pretty basic.
There are numerous modes for gamers to get used to, such as gta race. For a long time its just been you vs. the bots but now you are competing against others. Try not to blow up! Its not going to be easy though. I don’t want to go on about the multiplayer too much, i don’t want to ruin anybodies thoughts on gta 4 online.
As you may already know the game play types there isn’t much else to say here because rockstar have done a great job on the multiplayer side, and because its their first its pretty amazing. They have achieved with the PSP wifi for the liberty city stories and vice city stories, which could have up to 6 players with various game types to a fully playable 16 player grand theft auto 4 online. You don’t even have to change the menu to get online!
Cruise with your PSN friends, or fight each other to death, its your choice. Liberty city is yours.
The Value-
Grand theft auto games always give you a run for your money. A really intense storyline, with a fully playable sandbox environment, you cannot argue that it isn’t enough. With newly added features this game is a must for your collection, you can’t say no. With everything that rockstar have done, why wouldn’t you buy it? It has collected the number one spot, knocking one of the most famous games of all times off number one, Zelda, The Ocarina Of Time (i absolutely love this game). One of the most advanced games for our next gen.
Graphics- 10/10
Sound- 10/10
Gameplay- 10/10
Sound - 10/10
Multiplayer- 9/10
Value- 10/10
Overall- 10/10
I personally love grand theft auto IV, its changed the way i think about certain games, its not your everyday game either. One of a kind, loaded with tones of features. I hope you enjoyed my review as much as I liked to produce it.