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Review: Grand Theft Auto IV

(May 7th, 2008 - 11:27AM)

(5 / 5 stars)

Summary

Grand Theft Auto IV is probably one of the best games ever made. But you already knew that. I don't have much to add over the many reviews already out there - heck, IGN published a seven-page review of this game - but I'll provide my thoughts briefly.

As usual, I only played this game in single-player mode, so I'm not factoring the multi-player aspect into my review.

Things I liked about Grand Theft Auto IV:

It's about as close to perfect as you can get.

There are very, very few things I can fault in Grand Theft Auto IV. Almost every aspect of the game is perfect. The story is fantastic, the graphics are fantastic, the gunfights are fun. I could ramble on about every great thing in this game, but instead I'll just condense them into this one point.
It's the most comprehensive, detailed game ever made.

Grand Theft Auto IV is all about attention to detail. Rockstar has obsessed over EVERYTHING in this game. There are so many little details taken into consideration.

For example, when you're driving around and you get a call on your cell phone, the radio cuts out just like it would in real life. This may not sound like a big deal, but bear in mind that there are thousands of these little details all over Liberty City. When added up, all of these little details create a very lifelike world.

Whenever I'm in a sandbox game like this one, I always eventually run up against the edges of the artificial world. I find things I want to do, but can't. It's a frustrating experience. In Grand Theft Auto IV, I rarely have that feeling.
The characters are believable and well developed.

Rockstar finally gave us a GTA protagonist we can actually like. You play as Nikko Bellic, a character who actually expresses regret over his life of violence. This is a huge contrast from the serial killer mentality expressed by previous GTA protagonists. I guess this is a sign of the GTA franchise maturing.

As you progress through the game, you make friends and develop relationships. Even these secondary characters are well developed and are an important part of the game.
The physics are great.

GTA IV is one of the first A-list games to use the Euphoria physics engine, which is a lot more believable than traditional ragdoll physics. It really adds a bit of impact when you plow over an old lady in your pickup.

Things I disliked about Grand Theft Auto IV:

The controls aren't very good.

Although there are some great improvements over previous GTA titles (such as the ability to take cover from incoming fire), the controls are still very finicky. For the most part this doesn't impede your enjoyment of the game, but there are a few close-quarter levels where you'll really get frustrated with the imprecision of the controls.

There are also way too many button controls to remember in this game. For example, when you're driving you can press the X button to turn on/off your headlights, or hold the X button to turn on/off your highbeams. That's wonderful, except that as far as I know there isn't a single place in the game where you really need your headlights. Also keep in mind that since you'll probably be driving like a maniac, you're likely to bump into someone and bust your headlights anyway.

After a bit of experimenting I was able to master the controls and they didn't bother me as much anymore, but all the same, Rockstar should have reduced the number of buttons required and controls used.
The cars don't handle as well as they did in previous games.

Maybe it's the result of more realistic physics, but I had a lot of trouble driving in Grand Theft Auto IV. It's frustrating when you keep slamming into buildings instead of executing a simple turn.
Been there, done that.

As great as this game is, it suffers from the greatness of the games before it. GTA IV would easily be the best game ever made, if not for expectations already set by GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas.

As much fun as I had playing this game, I kept feeling like I'd played this game before. Although Rockstar certainly refined the GTA formula, they really didn't shake it up that much. But then again, that formula's basically a license to print money, so I don't blame them.