I’m about 2 ½ years late, but I did finally play through Grand Theft Auto IV. I had seen (and played) a little bit of the game when it had first come out, but I really had minimal experience with the game. From what I had heard and seen though, I went into the game knowing it was a much more dark and serious game in comparison to the light, ridiculous tone that made up most of the previous games in the series.
The game actually had more of the humor that I love than I was expecting. The radio is still chock-full of satirical ads and DJ’s (including Lazlow), the city is overflowing with ridiculous billboards and businesses, and citizens of Liberty city still have plenty of things to say while you’re racing past them, pushing them over, or discharging firearms in the park. It’s still GTA.
After GTA III, Vice City added motorcycles to the mix, but was mainly just a change of environment and time period. That certainly wasn’t a bad thing, but drastic changes came along with San Andreas. A massive, and I do mean MASSIVE world to play in, with the addition of fat, muscle, and sex appeal bars that felt like something out of The Sims. Many of the changes in San Andreas were welcome additions, but it did feel a little overwhelming at times. It was time for GTA IV to come along, drop these "Sims bars," and change things again.
Instead of focusing on sheer size like San Andreas did, GTA IV puts more effort into detail. GTA IV isn’t as large as San Andreas, but the attention to detail is incredible. Stealing a parked car now requires you to smash out the window and wait while Niko hotwires the car. Exiting a car without shutting it off means you’ll hear the muffled music of the radio playing. Drive-by’s require you to smash out the window with your elbow before you can shoot. Not paying tolls will get you a 1-star wanted level. There are a lot of subtle things. All of this detail makes things look more realistic. More realistic environments create a more realistic experience.
It’s not just the environments however. Now cars don’t handle nearly as well as they used to. It actually takes a while to slow your car down when you’re traveling at over 100 mph. Head-on collisions throw you through the windshield and kill other drivers. I realize I’ve already made my point, but the amount of detail is incredible when you first see it. I suppose these comments would have been slightly more relevant when the game was new… but whatever.
What does it all add up to? Liberty City is now a thriving metropolis that can pretty much run itself. The big question for me though, was, “Is it still fun?” The answer came to me when I was learning the new physics and found myself sliding off the road smashing into pedestrians. “Yes,” I thought, “It is still fun.” However, I still argue that the fun factor of the game has taken a hit. This mainly comes out of two elements, those being the story, and the addition of a cell phone. The story has taken a much darker, more serious tone compared to earlier games such as GTA III and Vice City. San Andreas started to go in a more serious direction, but it’s still a lot more ridiculous than GTA IV (and I mean “ridiculous” in a good way). While I can understand some people enjoying the new style more, I personally miss the silliness that used to comprise most of GTA.
The other annoyance I mentioned is that of the cell phone. I should clarify, the cell phone actually has some pretty neat uses throughout the game, but the one you’ll see most often is a lot less interesting. “COUSIN, IT IS YOUR COUSIN.” Ugh… dammit Roman... And it’s not just Roman. All of your friends are bugging you to hang out with them, or getting uppity because you don’t call them. Someone was talking to me about their take on the cell phone mechanic in GTA IV and said, “I don’t even like dealing with that in real-life.” That’s exactly it. Having that element may be more realistic, but it isn’t as much fun. I realize it’s true that you could ignore all of these requests to hang out, but you’re encouraged to and eventually rewarded for doing so, with different friends having different ways they can help you if they like you enough. (I.E. The ability to provide you with weapons at a discounted price)
Grand Theft Auto IV is one of the most technically impressive games I’ve seen. Aside from the already rather long story, the game also offers a lot of various side missions. That reminds me, however, of another annoyance. It’s not really part of the game… so it’s difficult to call it a problem with the game, but it’s one of the worst achievements I’ve seen in a game. One of the achievements requires you to finish the story in under 30 hours. I’ve been told by trophy-hunting experts (you know who you are) that this isn’t hard to do. It was for me however, because I actually ENJOYED what the game has to offer. I ENJOYED driving around the city. I ENJOYED doing the car export side missions. I ENJOYED watching citizens of Liberty City interact with each other and react to me being a jackass. As such, I was punished by not receiving one of the most valuable achievements in the game. Probably everyone reading this already knows how I feel about achievements, but this is even worse than your typical achievements. Why in the hell would you include a time-sensitive trophy in a sandbox game you’re encouraged to mess around with? In the words of Hank Hill, “That’s just asinine.”
Annoyances aside, GTA IV is a fantastic game that I’m glad I’ve played. I probably won’t be downloading the new mission packs, as I would much rather just be a jackass in Liberty City. That’s how I’ve always played GTA games. The first part of the game is playing the story, unlocking the city and getting armed with weapons. Then, let loose and mess with the city. Just make sure not too have too much fun before completing the story or you won’t get a high-level achievement! Ugh... achievements.
