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Another day in Liberty City!
“Grand Theft Auto IV,” the ninth installment in this popular franchise, is set again in Liberty City. (Think New York City, but instead of Central Park, they have a “Middle Park.”)
In “GTA IV,” you play as Niko Bellic, an immigrant from Eastern Europe, who lands in Liberty City to hook up with his rich cousin, Roman Bellic, and to pursue the American Dream. Niko thinks Roman has a house, women and cars, and he hopes to find his piece of the action. Roman actually runs a failing taxi service and is a straight-up liar involved in shady business dealings.
After the opening scene to lay the groundwork of the backstory, story mode play begins the same as other previous “GTA” games: You have certain tasks and missions to complete in order to make money and earn your keep. From here, it’s all about life in the seedy underbelly of crime in the big city. The storyline is interlaced with mayhem, cool cars, destruction, weapons galore, cop killing ... you get the drift. Without giving too much away, the storyline is merely an excuse to do some cool things with Niko and the virtual world of Liberty City.
Which brings me to my next favorite aspect of the game: The map is huge and to the scale of a large city, and most everything is interactive. The graphics are visually appealing; the city is vibrant and highly detailed. As the sun sets over the harbor, the reflection off of the water is amazing. Light transfer and transition from night to day is spectacular. As you drive, sunshine bouncing off the mirrored buildings makes you feel like you’re actually there. Even the roads are so detailed that you can see the gravel on an HD (high definition) television.
The interactivity of this game sets it apart from its predecessors. When getting struck by a car, the vehicle will actually dent in the location that was hit and the effectiveness of the vehicle is altered. And if you hit an obstacle, such as a another car or wall, you will fly through the windshield of the vehicle you are in. Of course, you end up surviving or respawning, and this is where reality differs. Another newer element is being able to break the window of a car to get in.
Vehicles you can acquire range from scooters to boats, motorcycles to helicopters, and a gripload of various makes and models of cars, trucks and vans. (If you look real hard by the foot of Miss Liberty herself, you may find a hidden surprise.)
Personally, I found that online gaming is where it’s all at. The whole map is open to you and up to 15 of your online friends. From car chases to just getting in a game and creating total havoc, this is probably one of the best features of “GTA.”
Never before have you been able to just brawl at will with your friends in this type of environment. The online play draws the attraction as a first-person shooter (FPS) would. The whole map is open to you in party mode. This is just one of the online modes that you can play. Other online modes are: Death Match, Ranked Mode, Cops and Crooks, and Race, to name a few. All of these modes are played in the same maps as the single player story mode.
Overall, the game is very good and stays true to the nature of the “GTA” series. I can see why it sold 6 million units worldwide for more than $500 million in its first week of release.
I am giving the game 9.5 out of 10. Were it not for the mature rating and kid-unfriendly violence, language, drugs/alcohol usage, nudity and sexual content, I would’ve given it a perfect score. But heck, on the other hand, that just might be a good reason to give it a 10.
<i>Jeremy Marshall owns Rapid Fire Gaming — buy, sell, trade, console repairs. He wants to thank Game Exchange, corner of North Avenue and Seventh, for providing a copy of “GTA” that he could demo. For more information or column suggestions, reach him at rapidfiregaming@bresnan.net.</i>
“Grand Theft Auto IV,” the ninth installment in this popular franchise, is set again in Liberty City. (Think New York City, but instead of Central Park, they have a “Middle Park.”)
In “GTA IV,” you play as Niko Bellic, an immigrant from Eastern Europe, who lands in Liberty City to hook up with his rich cousin, Roman Bellic, and to pursue the American Dream. Niko thinks Roman has a house, women and cars, and he hopes to find his piece of the action. Roman actually runs a failing taxi service and is a straight-up liar involved in shady business dealings.
After the opening scene to lay the groundwork of the backstory, story mode play begins the same as other previous “GTA” games: You have certain tasks and missions to complete in order to make money and earn your keep. From here, it’s all about life in the seedy underbelly of crime in the big city. The storyline is interlaced with mayhem, cool cars, destruction, weapons galore, cop killing ... you get the drift. Without giving too much away, the storyline is merely an excuse to do some cool things with Niko and the virtual world of Liberty City.
Which brings me to my next favorite aspect of the game: The map is huge and to the scale of a large city, and most everything is interactive. The graphics are visually appealing; the city is vibrant and highly detailed. As the sun sets over the harbor, the reflection off of the water is amazing. Light transfer and transition from night to day is spectacular. As you drive, sunshine bouncing off the mirrored buildings makes you feel like you’re actually there. Even the roads are so detailed that you can see the gravel on an HD (high definition) television.
The interactivity of this game sets it apart from its predecessors. When getting struck by a car, the vehicle will actually dent in the location that was hit and the effectiveness of the vehicle is altered. And if you hit an obstacle, such as a another car or wall, you will fly through the windshield of the vehicle you are in. Of course, you end up surviving or respawning, and this is where reality differs. Another newer element is being able to break the window of a car to get in.
Vehicles you can acquire range from scooters to boats, motorcycles to helicopters, and a gripload of various makes and models of cars, trucks and vans. (If you look real hard by the foot of Miss Liberty herself, you may find a hidden surprise.)
Personally, I found that online gaming is where it’s all at. The whole map is open to you and up to 15 of your online friends. From car chases to just getting in a game and creating total havoc, this is probably one of the best features of “GTA.”
Never before have you been able to just brawl at will with your friends in this type of environment. The online play draws the attraction as a first-person shooter (FPS) would. The whole map is open to you in party mode. This is just one of the online modes that you can play. Other online modes are: Death Match, Ranked Mode, Cops and Crooks, and Race, to name a few. All of these modes are played in the same maps as the single player story mode.
Overall, the game is very good and stays true to the nature of the “GTA” series. I can see why it sold 6 million units worldwide for more than $500 million in its first week of release.
I am giving the game 9.5 out of 10. Were it not for the mature rating and kid-unfriendly violence, language, drugs/alcohol usage, nudity and sexual content, I would’ve given it a perfect score. But heck, on the other hand, that just might be a good reason to give it a 10.
<i>Jeremy Marshall owns Rapid Fire Gaming — buy, sell, trade, console repairs. He wants to thank Game Exchange, corner of North Avenue and Seventh, for providing a copy of “GTA” that he could demo. For more information or column suggestions, reach him at rapidfiregaming@bresnan.net.</i>
