The biggest videogame
release of the year was Grand
Theft Auto IV on April 30.
The most anticipated title
in 2008, GTA IV is one of the
most controversial games in
the history of console
games- with mafia bosses,
prostitutes, drug dealers, illegitimate
business men and
people with very low moral
centers. But in the game these
people are your friends and
whether you help them or not
determines how the game
will play out for you.
This formula is not new to
GTA IV but it is the first game
of its kind to be released on
this scale.
Even after a few hours of
play, the game will suck you
in and make you want more.
Unlike previous games,
whether Vice or San Andreas,
this version of the game has
you cast as Niko Bellic, a man
of Eastern-European descent
who comes to America with
ideas of women, cars and
expensive houses.
These ideas were planted
into his head by his cousin
Roman Bellic, who claimed to
have many women, four cars
and an expensive house.
Unfortunately, “your”
cousin actually has a low-rent
apartment not far from his
cab business. This is the start
of the main string of missions
that lead you to the five boroughs
of Liberty City.
It should be noted that the
original Liberty City of GTA I
is vastly different from GTA
IV. The city has been
revamped into a more-recognizable,
parody-city of NYC.
Four of the five boroughs are
represented in this game
from Bohan, the Bronx, to
Algonquin, or Manhattan.
A bunch of NYC landmarks
can also be found all over the
game, from the “Statue of
Happiness” to “Rotterdam
Tower.”
It almost feels like you are
in NYC, but with the ability
to get away with murder.
The game’s graphics and
interactive gameplay have
been stepped up from the
previous games. Niko can
interact with everything
around him, a vast improvement
to previous GTAs.
In previous games characters
would try to interact with
some of the environment and
it wouldn’t look realistic, in
fact it was almost cartoony.
Now, when Niko steps on to
a curb, he steps up from the
curb. He will actually have
one foot up on the curb and
his other foot in the street,
just like real life.
One of the best elements of
the new game is that there
will be episodic content available
for download for
Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.
The other fantastic part of
this game is that for the first
time, multiplayer play is
available online.
Now, players can team up
with up to 16 other players
and go on killing sprees, complete
missions and, of course,
steal some cars.
Overall, there is a lot of
game to take in and it will
take more than 30-hours of
straight gameplay just to get
through the main story.
The gameplay itself is
worth the play time and this
game will have huge replay
value.
According to Yahoo! News,
GTA IV will most likely generate
$400 million in revenue
in its first week, wiping out
Halo 3’s first-week record
and breaking the all-time
entertainment industry single
day sales record.
For anyone who has played
these games in the past, this is
a must buy, if you haven’t
purchased it already.
For newcomers to the
dynamic of GTA, go pick it
up now.