Review: Grand Theft Auto IV By Nick Sisneros on June 4th, 2008
Every once in a while, gamers feel the overwhelming need to paint the town red. Cruising around in a fictional town in a superfast fictional vehicle, assassinating dozens of fictional characters to progress through a series of fictional events; if you're not looking to be put away for fifty years, Grand Theft Auto IV is the best alternative route available today. Grand Theft Auto, since its rise to glory on the Playstation 2, has always been a series that is played by nearly all hardcore gamers, and thankfully, not much changes between each iteration on a regular basis. However the latest title from Rockstar has thrown a monkey wrench into the mix.
The game's greatest strength lies in its superb character development and whip-smart writing. Initially you are introduced to a number of the game's more important characters, including Niko's cousin, who is prone to awful situations, a close friend of his named Brucie, and a girl from down the street who seems a bit suspicious from the get go. As you progress further in the story, you will ultimately make important decisions that can sometime affect a character's fate along with your ascent to power. Though many of GTAIV's secondary characters are forgettable, Niko's briliant backstory and winding odyssey through Liberty City more than make up for the title's weak points. In addition, with an increased emphasis on romance in GTAIV, finding that special someone can be a tedious task when you have hundreds of square miles to explore.
Liberty City, though about as close a duplicate of New York City yet seen in a game, is a rather unusual place with an inordinate amount of crooked criminals, hookers and kingpins buzzing about it. Rockstar has meticulously taken Liberty City's real life counterpart and achieved something never before seen in an interactive title, and should be applauded for it. Once given control of Niko, hop into one of the city's dozens of cars, bikes, trucks, even helicopters, and visit your favorite New York landmark; it will assuredly be there. A slight complaint though, once inside a car it handles like a jet ski on ice. As for the gunplay, it has become something more reminicient of Gears of War simply because Niko can now duck and cover behind walls and target numerous enemies. With the right weapon, clearing your path of baddies is a synch. However, do not take on more than two or three in a hand to hand confrontation, as they will gang up on you and unleash the pain until you're laying black and bruised.
While perusing the streets of Liberty City you will find that although it is quite active, at the same time it is a somewhat inaccessable. Yet again, the greater majority of the city's building cannot be entered, and being placed on an island does not help the feeling that we're being somewhat confined. Another small quip is that as big as Liberty City is, it could have been even bigger. I wanted to gamble, modify my car, drive around a Mr. Tasty selling spank, go on a rampage, challenge the military, start a war with other mobsters that may be in town and take to the skies in a Cessna. Sadly, none of this can be done. Make no mistake, everything in Liberty City looks wonderful, but the sheer lack of things to do will offput some gamers looking to do more than just kill.
For all its faults, though, Grand Theft Auto IV will not be easily forgotten and will forever be a milestone in the sandbox genre. From its memorable story line to the sweeping concrete jungles of Liberty City, this game can keep any avid gamer busy for hours on end.
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