- 03
- May
Tag : auto iv, grand theft
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 Company : Rockstar Games List Price : $59.99 Amazon Price : $54.99 Used Price : $54.99 Average customer review :  |
Features
- Carry on the Grand Theft Auto tradition playing through the single player campaign as Niko Bellic
- Get cars and other modes of transportation anyway you can
- Interact with various colorful characters who give you various missions to engage in
- Explore Liberty City with its high level of detail
- Engage in multiplayer challenges ranging from cover matches to shoot-outs
Amazon.com
What does the American Dream mean today?
For Niko Bellic, fresh off the boat from Europe, it is the hope he can escape his past. For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, gateway to the land of opportunity. As they slip into debt and are dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them and a living nightmare for those who don’t.
Beginning with the 1997 release of the original Grand Theft Auto, the GTA series has been one of the most prolific, controversial and down right entertaining franchises in video games history. This pedigree of success guarantees that the highly anticipated eleventh game in the series, Grand Theft Auto IV, will garner at least as much attention if not more.
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The Plot
Grand Theft Auto IV is a brand new adventure in the GTA universe following the experiences of Nikolai “Niko” Bellic, a new immigrant from an undisclosed eastern European country whose troubled past and the persuasion of his cousin Roman have brought him to the fictional Liberty City. Unfortunately, Niko’s search for the American Dream and a much needed fresh start, hits an immediate snag when the rags to riches story Roman spun to pique Niko’s interest is exposed as not only a complete fabrication, but a ploy to enlist Niko’s well-known skills as a tough guy against the ample list of enemies clamoring for Roman’s debt-ridden blood.
Because Roman is the only person Niko knows in Liberty City he begrudgingly accepts his role as Roman’s protector despite the deception. But as time goes on Niko comes into his own, and his experience on the wrong side of the tracks proves more valuable than he could have ever imagined as he fights for survival and later supremacy on the crime ridden streets of Liberty City.
Game Environments
Based on several of the boroughs of New York City and parts of New Jersey, Liberty City, familiar to players of previous games in the series, has been entirely redesigned for GTA IV. Players can expect visible detail down to the weeds growing in the cracks in the sidewalk, cars and buildings of visibly different ages and a much greater level if verticality in the buildings and bridges that they are able to explore as Niko moves through the city streets. In addition, pedestrians in GTA IV are much more realistic. No longer simply moving cardboard cutouts, these NPCs are intelligent, modern, human representations that laugh, cry, eat, drink, use cell phones and ATMs, and talking amongst themselves regardless of Niko’s interaction with them.
Gameplay
Historically GTA games have focused heavily on mission-based play, requiring successful completion of fixed tasks in order for players to progress through the game, but this has changed to a great extent in GTA IV. Players will experience an entirely new and exciting emphasis centered on the blending of on-mission and off-mission play, resulting not only in an increased sense of realism, but more interesting and unrestricted gameplay.
Features
Official features for GTA IV have yet to be released. Stay tuned for more information as the game’s release in early ’08 draws nearer.
Customer reviews
Looked good for half an hour 
With all the glowing reviews I felt I had to grab this game and give it a shot. Looks nice and it seems like the story may actually be interesting but unfortunately about half an hour in the game froze.
I can now get it to play for maybe 5 minutes before crashing again.
As it stands I’d recommend renting it to see if it’ll even run for you before buying or at least waiting until (if?) Rockstar comes out with a fix for it.
Finally a GTA that I might finish. 
It’s been 4 years since the last GTA game was out, which was GTA San Andreas. I have never been a huge fan of the GTA series. I did like San Andreas but I never did finish it or ever get super deep into it. I barely played Vice City or GTA 3 even though I owned both and was very excited to play them. Now the series has made into the current, formerly known as next, gen and boy is this what the GTA series needed.
I could always tell that GTA series was a great series, but it was very limited by the hardware of that generation (PS2 and XBOX), but with this iteration of GTA, it seems like all those great ideas are finally coming together in a package that is truly an experience.
I won’t bore you with the details or story and it’s character, Niko, since those have been gone over again and again. What I will tell you are my impressions of this stellar game.
As exaggerated statement as this may seem, Liberty City does have a living, breathing feel to it. People live there lives in this city. It doesn’t feel like Niko’s world. In one of my first interesting experiences in the game I was walking to meet my cousin Roman at his job, and while I was walking a car accident happened which started a fight between 2 woman. One of the women ran right by me scared out of her mind, while the other just chased her screaming obscenities. In another instance I was sitting in a car just listening to the radio( I was in a slow jams mood, aka Jodeci) and all of a sudden a cop car stops right next to me. I didn’t know what to think. As I was a about to speed off I heard “Freeze!” I was confused at first and then as I looked around I saw a man with his hands in the air being escorted into the police car next to me. That’s just some sweet attention to detail that can leave you in awe at times.
The attention to detail in this game is spectacular with tv stations that can be watched (set aside some time to watch tv in this game. You just might lose an hour or more on that), radio stations with actual DJ’s and licensed music (A GTA staple and realistic touch. Song choice is great but the songs can get repetitive), and the good ol internet.
The internet is a nice touch since you can set up dates via an online dating service (I was rejected by the first woman I asked out online.) or just read up on news stories around Libery City and check out blogs.
The graphics are a sight to see. The animation system in this game is really something that needs to be seen. In one instance I stole someones car and as I got in the car the person who I stole the car from grabbed the door handle trying to re-enter his car. Needless to say I decided to drive off before he had a chance, but the guy held on the door handle banging against the side of the car as I sped off. After a few swivels he let go, ragdolling into a ball or broken man. Wow. The game runs smooth and the scenery is great.
The fighting system is a much improved version of the old GTA system. You can still lock on to enemies(which by default locks on to the body), but now you can move the cursor up, down and to the side while locked on. This helps when trying to take down a single enemy with a head shot. You can also free aim which is convential shooter style. This is done by gently pressing the Left trigger rather than pressing it completely which goes into lock on mode. The melee system is fun and very satisfying. There is not much variety to the kicks and punches, that I have see as of yet, but when it’s a street fight I’m not expecting MMA style grapples or anything, so it serves its purpose. The Blind fire system is also a nice new addition to the GTA series. RB is the button to enter cover. You can pop out and shoot enemies that are locked on to with the Right Trigger. Or you can blind fire by Pressing Right Trigger when behind cover. I haven’t used the cover feature too much, but I do appreciate that it’s there.
The voice work done for this game, as you would expect, is top notch. Rockstar always comes through with solid voice acting and writing for the GTA series and this game is no exception. The accents are fantastic, especially the barely distinguishable Little Jacob. The humor is what you would expect from the GTA series, raunchy and full of 4 letter words. This is definitely a M-Rated game.
The writing also seems to be some of the best Rockstar has done to date. This game is trying to show the demons that the main character Niko is dealing with and this can be seen and heard in the dialogue amongst the characters which happens via cell phone conversations, cutscenes or “hang out time” with certain characters.
The cell phone is also a big addition to the GTA series. It now only helps Niko manage his relationships amongst all of his associates, lady friends(hehe) and cousin Roman, but it also helps him get jobs from his his associates/cousin or set up times to hang out with these people. It’s funny to get calls from Roman in the middle of an explosives delivery. Good times.
All in all I could go on and on about how great this game is and about all the things that can be done and seen in this game, but it’s really something you have to try out and experience for yourself. This is definitely the best game in the GTA series. Give it a shot. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
Best GTA ever
This Game is Incredible…I’ve played about 10 hours over the last couple days…The story/missions/characters are all top notch, The city is huge and just fun to drive around, kill anything in site, bang hookers, ya know its GTA! With a whole Redefined engine…Great graphics/Physics…If you live or know anything about NYC, you know it looks EXACTLY like it with it’s own twists and turns. Better then 3, 100 times better then San Andreas and Up there with Vice City.
Worth the $60.00 - Pros and Cons. 
Picked up my reserved copy yesterday after work. I spent a few hours playing it last night when my wife was out doing the shopping. So far so good. The graphics are dramatically improved, and the attention to detail in every single pedestrian is excellent. Taking into consideration that I’m only 10% into the game, this might be premature, but here are a few pros and cons:
Pros:
- Massive playing territory.
- Excellent visuals.
- Interesting approaches to new interfaces (using the cell phone, using the internet, etc).
- Variety in vehicles.
- More realism in the AI modeling and behaviors.
- Nice multiplayer.
Cons:
- Graphics aren’t up to COD 4 caliber (understandably for the geographic size of GTA IV).
- Difficult to understand the over emphasized accents.
- Sub-par vehicle handling model.
- Very difficult achievement points (XBox 360 only).
All said and done, the game leaves me wanting to play more. It’s worth a purchase and I’m sure to enjoy playing through it.
GTA4 is the new Gold Standard for video games
From the moment the title screens starts rolling, you are automatically drawn into the world of Liberty City. The plight of Niko unfolds much like most other GTA games, but you’ll soon find that the subtle differences make this game great beyond comparison. From being able to pick up small items you find, to knocking over trash cans, to noticing that no two peds wear the same outfit, you’ll understand just how much work went into making this game as close to a real city as gaming has thus provided.
Having tons and tons of vehicles around town to “borrow” doesn’t hurt either. Each with very accurate physics and details, you can lose yourself in just driving around for hours at a time. The radio stations are just too cool, and still provide long play lists before looping. A game with little else other than driving with great tunes would be worth the price.
The missions are as plentiful as the characters you meet, and constructed just as well. I can’t say enough good things about this game.
The playtime value is more than enough to earn this game high rankings, but the Rockstar team only settled for, dare I say, perfection.
