In the historic videogaming conflict between Fun and Realism, the Grand Theft Auto series represents the culmination of what both opponents have to offer. A franchise that gradually shifted itself towards the outrageous end of the spectrum with each passing instalment, it’s always served its ultra-violence with a healthy dollop of satire and levity to keep things sweet. The fourth instalment undergoes a fundamental change in purpose; the satire and bite remains but it’s had a radical shift of philosophy that now puts the emphasis squarely on Realism. Out go the afros, tanks and jetpacks. In come the brown tracksuits, car washes and ATM machines. Welcome to Grand Theft Ordinary.
Busted. A rarity.
You play Niko Bellic, an Eastern European immigrant who seeks to leave the violence of the old country by becoming a hitman in Liberty City. There’s a lot of genuine promise to the story early on, as it knowingly brings together immigrants from various backgrounds who have all found themselves in search of the same American Dream. However, it quickly deteriorates into the traditional GTA formula of being asked to perform chores for a series of bosses, and Niko’s initially noble crusade to search for a man who killed a dozen people during a past war becomes somewhat absurd as his own death tally begins to reach quadruple figures.
Like GTAIII before it, the game brings the action back to the home of the series, Liberty City (an impeccably detailed recreation of New York City). Many gamers will be initially dismayed to discover that the vast majority of buildings cannot be entered, however this isn’t too much of an issue as the game is one that’s clearly focused on outdoor exploration. The choice of only including an urban location is the real setback, as a highly detailed city is no match for the sheer variety of locales featured in San Andreas. The inhabitants of the city have had a complete overhaul, with an astonishing array of dialogue written for pedestrians, and it does the finest job so far, in any game, of creating the illusion of a living, breathing city.
Would you trust this man with your children?
Chases and shootouts form the crux of the missions in the story mode, and there is the occasional mission which brings something new to the table. Unfortunately, the abundance of chase missions mean they eventually lose their spark and become somewhat monotonous as the game progresses. The missions contain far too many scripted events which don’t bother capitalising on the emergent gameplay that a sandbox environment can provide, and don’t allow you to complete objectives in your own way. One of the biggest frustrations in the chase missions is that you often have to wait until a certain point through the mission before your opponents lose their invincibility, in order for the meat of the chase to be completed. This leads to odd moments where you’re repeatedly shooting your target in the head, only for them to continue running away without batting an eyelid. The number of all-new frustrations in the story mode here are a real shame, because the free-roaming aspect of GTAIV is still as glorious as it has ever been. The freedom to steal any car that takes your fancy, explore a vast city, and instigate mayhem is still one of the biggest thrills that gaming has to offer. The 35 hours it takes to complete the story mode is a fraction of the time that will be spent just messing around in Liberty City, which is where the true appeal of this game lies.
The controls and handling have been redrawn from the ground up, too. Where once the game had power-sliding cars which effortlessly performed smooth handbrake turns and speedy zigzagging through traffic, the cars now have a more rigid handling model which makes them behave more realistically, but considerably less fun to drive. A particularly noticeable change is that you can’t effectively brake and turn at the same time, which is especially apparent in the handling of the motorbikes. They’re now so difficult to weave through traffic, and crashing loses you so much time due to being launched off the bike, that the ideal method to perform in a bike chase is to ride slowly, and brake early. Niko even wears a helmet, to protect his little virtual head.
172 days ago
Great review. I think your opinions on this game seem to match mine exactly. Its difficult to score a game such as this, as Rockstar North should be commended for the fantastic living, breathing, detailed city they have built but... at the same time it has come at the expense of any variety in activities. Maybe this was to be expected in the first GTA installment on new generation hardware, but its still disappointing when you steal an ambulance and cant act like a paramedic..