Grand Theft Auto IV Review
Played on Xbox One (base)
Developed by Rockstar North
Released 28th April 2008
Grand Theft Auto is one of, if not the biggest gaming franchise to have ever existed, with its 7th main title instalment, Grand Theft Auto V, being the second best-selling video game, only behind Minecraft's incredible surge. However, before that incredible success, in 2008, Rockstar North were struggling to make a follow-up to San Andreas, a game that is often put upon "best video games ever" lists, saying that it was "a nightmare". Yet, with an unhealthy amount of overtime in the studio and a $100M+ budget, the studio returned to a number-naming format to show that the leap in quality, size and everything is as big of a leap as Grand Theft Auto 2 to Grand Theft Auto 3.
Story
The ridiculous yet entertaining narrative of Grand Theft Auto IV is brilliant in being captivating and is a large amount of fun. The story follows Niko Bellic, a Serbian ex-soldier who arrived in Liberty City to chase the "American Dream" and escape his dark past, only to get caught up in it again. This overall experience lasts around 25 hours and is one of many joys I had with the game as the story was able to tell a tale that contained the classic GTA comedy while blossoming in quality via the cynical events. While great, it's not flawless. The pacing is what I find most troubling as it has a hard time striking a balance. The game alters from the rapid pacing of each mission, going through the plot of the individual sections in a flash while the overarching story is given to the player quite slowly. An example of this is at the beginning of the game: I was able to complete numerous missions quite quickly, to the point they are more of a blur to me, but it took some time for any actual plot point to be delivered and expanded upon. This odd pacing issue made me feel disjointed to the entire game and not as immersed as I wished to be.
Gameplay
The gameplay is average mechanically. What I mean by this, is that the game doesn't have high levels of depth in gameplay but isn't too basic to be ashamed of. The driving, cover system and shooting are all enjoyable in their own right, but they miss a level of depth for them to be supreme. The driving is sometimes clunky when drifting, making it difficult without a slippery floor or popped rear tire. Hitting an object when driving was also painful to deal with when on a chase mission as you'd either rampage through all the vehicles in your proximity or bump into a car's headlight and perform a 180-degree turn, steering off your intended path. Essentially, the physics engine for this game is great to see bodies and cars go flying after an explosion, but an immense pain when trying to drive one.
The cover system was also a welcome addition, making shootouts a lot more tactical and manageable, but it lacked depth. While I'm not saying it should've become the new Gears of War or anything, it could've featured a more comprehensive and developed form of cover mechanics, like easily switching between covers, dealing with an enemy in front of the cover and more. However, the mere fact that anything in Liberty City can become your cover is just amazing. The shooting of this game is completely great and fine, although not perfect. This is mostly due to the lock-on feature that caused the shootouts to sometimes be headaches. While helpful and practical, the lock-on would occasionally not listen to your input commands and stay focused on an enemy even if they were either dead or if another enemy was close by. While this is frustrating enough, the game lacks a destructible environment. The reason this is a problem is that the AI has gotten smarter. They take cover, flank and more, which is great, but simultaneously, not really. This is because they're going to stay behind cover for most of the fight forcing you to expose yourself to your death.
The mission structure is also a little disappointing. Out of all the 25 hours I spent on this game, there was an immediate repetition of mission objectives. Either you chase this guy down and kill them, get to a location and kill enemies or follow someone - very little originality. This isn't a fully negative aspect of the game as these are quite fun to do, but it's the very obvious cycle you're stuck in until you complete the campaign that is the flaw.
Characters
The characters of GTA IV are a fantastic compliment to the story - comical but containing a consequential depth. The depth itself isn't as far developed as I would've liked to see beyond the humorous exterior of the majority of the characters, but it still prevents many from being stereotypical mafia mobsters, gangsters and Slavs. This often occurs when they're in a moment of near-death or have suffered a detrimental strike to their mentality, but it's still nice to see characters like Roman, Packy or Dwayne not adhere to one or two personality traits. The character of Niko Bellic is overall impressive. This isn't due to how he's miraculously able to slaughter multiple gangs by himself but because he's very human-like. Out of everyone in the game, he manages to be realistic in terms of rationality and personality. As strange as that is in a GTA game, it's very helpful in trying to immerse the player.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is positively mixed. While the graphics are subpar in cutscenes when compared to other 2008 games, the attention to detail in the slowly rendered city is fascinating. The visual representation of characters and weapons is poor. Other than the protagonist, every character is near-forgettable and extremely bland in design, which in consequence manages to complement certain aspects of Liberty City. In contrast, the audio is phenomenal. Any game that allows me to switch between Kanye West, Nas, Russian hip-hop and Reggae music, is a game worth playing. Seriously, Grand Theft Auto IV has probably one of my favourite soundtracks from any videogame, simply because of how memorable its catalogue of tracks is. Even soundtracks made explicitly for the game are great. Sound design is another audible pleasure of the game, as the gunshots, explosions and other chaotic noises that emerge, are one of the reasons I played this game from start to finish.
Story- 8/10
Gameplay- 7.5/10
Characters- 8.5/10
Atmosphere- 8/10
Great
GTA IV is an incredibly impressive game, even 13 years later when many open-world games have improved and built upon such a formula.
