In every facet of industry, there are certain times when we are blessed with something that is transcendent. Furthermore, these precious pieces of perfection will be what you remember most when you reflect on just how happy the simple things made you. The first time you heard The Beatles. The first episode of The Sopranos. Instances like these are what makes it good be alive and thankful that some brilliant mind somewhere dreamed them up and had the ability to share with all of us their unmistakable genius. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Grand Theft Auto IV.
Prior iterations of this storied franchise have been exceptional. How does one improve on near perfection? Rockstar has managed to do so. We all knew what this game was going to be. We had no idea it was going to be this good. There were some issues in the prior releases and they were given a huge overhaul. On the other hand, the games strong points were only finely tuned further. Rockstar has their finger squarely on the pulse of their audience and here is why this may be the single greatest game I have ever played.
The GTA series has always been one of the best sounding and this is its crowning jewel. The soundtrack is amazing, the street talk has never been better and the voice acting is top notch. If you have a surround sound system, you know what I am talking about. If you don’t, use that government stimulus check and get one. Standing under a train or next to airport never seemed so real. Storylines are so dependent on voice acting because, well, there really is no acting. Its tough to call the story here Oscar-worthy, but if there were any real awards for gaming, this would be a clean sweep. The graphics are light years ahead of San Andreas and the detail put into creating this city will be the standard for all sandbox or any game from here on.
The only negative aspect about GTA games was the controls were less than stellar. The targeting system was flawed and shooting was more spray and pray then actual targeting. Far too often you would be in a firefight and you would target an old women instead of an enemy. Rockstar has made the controls tighter than ever and killing your fellow man was never so easy. The driving difficulty has been increased, but not to a point where its a disaster. Another issue were the painfully annoying side missions that you avoided at all costs or spent way too many hours trying to beat them. That doesn’t happen here. Nothing is tacked on or left out.
The most surprising aspect of the game is the multiplayer. What could have been a gimmick mode tacked on in an entity all too itself. This is an experience, not just something to do when you get bored of the campaign. The variety of game modes makes this one of the greatest online activities you will have this year. Aside from sports or FPS, online matches are standard. Here, everything changes. The playground is huge and you will lose yourself.
By now you will have noticed two things. One, I absolutely love this game. Two, I told you nothing of the story. That was intended. All you need to know is that the game will immerse you. You will want to play it. A lot. You might lose friends over this game. People might report you missing and that Biology test, well, you might need a cheat sheet. GTA IV is what a game should be. A complete escape from reality into a world where you call the shots. You will connect with characters. You will care what happens to them. We have been blessed with a game the likes of the world has ever seen. Welcome to the next generation.
Overall: 10 of 10
10 Comments
Write a Comment»9/10 cause of Rockstar’s Quality Control
I honestly don’t get how people keep giving this game a 10/10. I got mine in the mail today, and while the game is incredibly entertaining, the cars are about as loose as a two dollar whore. They all seem to handle the same, except some accelerate faster than others. The fighting controls are wonky also.
I would give the game a 9 or 9.5/10, but you gotta dock points for the lack of improved controls.
10/10!!! I played it today for a while and its not perfect, but really polished. It truly lives up to the hype nonetheless.
Good game all around, a lot of things that can be done. Can be slow in the beginning and if you dont start into the missions you can just roam around and take your cousin and Michelle drinking and out for hours, this can be a bit boring after a few times. GTA IV can almost become like a SIMS game at times, just wth guns LOL
I just went drinking with Lil ______ I forget his name. I decided to try and drive drunk rather than calling a cab. Well what I didn’t know is that the cops come after you and evading the cops while drunk sucks. I think I’m just going to take cabs from now on when I’m drunk.
Lil Jacob is his name and yes driving drunk sux! And cops are on u in seconds of getting in your vehicle, the effects also do not wear off quickly, I got wasted with Roman and ran form the cops but he died in the processs, had to pick him up at the hospital.
Life lesson: Don’t drive drunk! Not even in a video game.
I haven’t tried DUI yet, I want to just to see the blur effects.
The blur effects arent the problem, the ability to keep your car straight and on the road is what sucks, even walking is hard as you fall over and hurt yourself and lose energy. Getting drunk sux as the screen kinda spins when you wlak and it was making me a bit nauscious and I dont get sick form games but watching the screen bob up and down was getting to me, so beware.
Nevermind then, games like Condemned give me vertigo, this will probably make me toss my cookies.
The game is definitely one of the best I’ve played in a while. There are issues, but no game is without issues. Rockstar has said a patch is coming within days, so we can expect the freezing to end.
For me, the story and characters are so involving I don’t want to put the controller down