Grand Theft Auto IV
Of course, it wouldn’t be “Grand Theft Auto” without the automobiles. There are a ton of vehicles in the game, and all have windows to be smashed in and engines to be hotwired. The cars are beautifully modeled. They’re not Gran Turismo quality, but who expected that? The more true-to-life rendition that GTA IV has gone with has made an effect on the handling of cars as well, which means, no, you won’t be whipping your car around corners on a dime like in previous games. This is something that will take some getting used to for fans expecting a more arcade-like experience.

The storyline and side missions are much more fleshed out than in previous episodes. It used to be the main storyline was well polished but the side stories seemed hugely arbitrary. That isn’t the case here. The stories and missions seem especially well thought out, and lack the stale taste that was somewhat expected from a game on its sixth go-round. Most of the missions feel fresh, and are further facilitated by a completely revamped combat system that employs the use of cover.

To get it out of the way: The combat system isn’t perfect. But despite its flaws, it’s leagues ahead of everything that has been offered in the past games. The targeting system is much more responsive this time, and allows you to enter free-aim mode with any weapon in order to place more precise shots. The cover system, though, isn’t as good as it could be. As we said, it’s a phenomenally huge step in the right direction for the series, but in comparison to other games that use cover, it could have been better, avoiding small plagues that make the system clunky and unwieldy in major firefights.

Bringing the action online, a first for the series, is as easy as bringing up your cell phone and selecting multiplayer. Once online, you choose from a whopping 15 different game modes; many of them simply team based versions of their free-for-all counterparts. The standard deathmatch is there, but is supplemented by more GTA-esque game modes Mafiya Work, Car Jack City, Cops ‘n’ Crooks, Turf War, and others, including Free Mode, which opens the entire map to up to 16 players with no objective.

The online play is good, nothing out of this world, but very inventive nonetheless. It’s better than most games, which copy off of others, instead of attempting to develop original game modes. So, credit has to be given for innovation in this area. Most importantly, it’s a hell of a lot of fun to be pulling off drive-bys with real-life thugs.

When you’re not bumping people off, busting up drug deals, or exacting revenge, you’ll be cruising the streets of Liberty City, listening to your radio. It should come as no surprise that all the stations are exceptionally produced. The stellar radio station content, from the song selection to the radio hosts, has always been a staple of the series, and GTA IV outshines the previous games. There’s a little bit of something for everyone (reggae, rock, jazz, alternative, hip-hop, old school rap) including reggaeton, which has exploded with popularity since the last GTA. Rockstar has its ear so close to the beat of pop-culture’s heart it’s eerie.

The voice acting has also been a mainstay of the series and is no letdown here. Believable dialogue, lip-syncing, and body language bring the cutscenes to life and make you feel as though you’re playing the unannounced sequel to GoodFellas. Even the streets are filled with pedestrians having their own conversations, talking on their cell phones, and outside of one of your safe houses, hollering at passersby warning them that the end is near (and yes, this happens constantly in Manhattan).

The subtle visual touches are what really bring this city to life, though—something that GTA couldn’t really pride itself on in the past. Aside from amazing scope, the series has never been known for mind-blowing graphics. It took a dramatic change for the better in GTA IV and the level of attention to detail greatly dazzled us.

Your vehicle damages realistically. Buildings feature small details of imperfection. Pedestrians have additional dimensions to them outside of merely walking up and down the street. And every borough and neighborhood feels like it should. The uptown projects look like the real-world uptown projects, and the elevated subway rails in Dukes reminds us of the 7 Train running along Roosevelt Ave. It’s difficult to make it much clearer how well Liberty City encapsulates the spirit of New York City. More than anything, what makes GTA IV a visual dazzler is its unity—it simply looks like a seamless, coherent world. One neighborhood flows believably into the next. It tastes like New York.

Grand Theft Auto IV is better in every way possible. The more lifelike direction that the team went in takes a little getting used to, especially when it comes to getting behind the wheel, but once you get over the learning curve, you’re handed an amazing experience and hands down the best work Rockstar North has ever put out. In previous games it felt like you were playing with action figures in this open world—it was fun, but it didn’t feel real. In Grand Theft Auto IV, the relationships you build, the activities you partake in, the dates you go on, and the city in which you live all feel genuine. You truly feel like you’re living in the seedy underbelly of society.

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