Grand Theft Auto IV

San Andreas: the size, the modifications, the customizations, the hoods. What a delight that was.

They said this one was a step back. They said it was smaller. They said it wasn't as much fun. They said the driving was rubbish, that it was too realistic now. They said the missions were repetitive and boring. And I believed it for so long, I wouldn't give it a chance...

A year on I decided to give it a go- it can't be that bad can it? Well, I've finished the missions now, and I can say it is on par, if not better than San Andreas.

This isn't a big county, its a city. But the amount of detail that as gone into every corner, every park, every port, every inch of it is mind-boggling. There is as much to do in this congested city as there is in miles upon miles of highways in San Andreas.

Not as much fun? Speeding down 5th Avenue from Harlem to Downtown isn't fun? How about a AK-47 shoot-up in a subway station? Or on Brooklyn Bridge with a rocket launcher? Or on the Airport runway? Waging war single handedly against the police and military in the middle of Times Square isn't fun?

The driving is more realistic- perhaps too realistic (One of the very few frustrating things this game is the way your car can spin out of control when your in a hurry). But you quickly get over it when you realise you can't just bomb it down a highway and cut corners and not expect to lose some degree of steering control.

Repetitive missions? Absolute load of tosh. The main missions which push the story on are varied and each one is unique and memorable. Museum, apartment block and hospital shoot-outs. Drug deals gone wrong. Sniping. Working with the trash men. Car and helicopter chases. The game is worth playing alone for THAT bank robbery mission....

Too many people focus on the differences this game has with San Andreas. The fact is that this is a totally different environment and characters. Niko is a poor immigrant who is fulfilling the Scarface fantasy. He is not CJ. He is not out to bulk up, wear baby blue hat and matching sneakers, and gain respect from his crew. Its about accumulating wealth. Doing connected people's dirty work. Making a living. Moving up from cheap tracksuit bottoms, rubbish cars and grimy Hove Beach/Bronx to £1000 Perseus suits, Super GT cars and Manhattan apartments.

San Andreas is still one of my all time favourite games. But GTA IV is a very worthy successor, and rewarding for those who see it for what it is, not for what it isn't i.e. San Andreas 2.

I was at first a bit sceptical about getting this game. A lot of reviewers claimed that it was less addictive than the previous games, that the driving was terrible and the story slow. I can now quite cheerfully throw those misconceptions out of the window.
I have been playing it for about three days averaging a few hours each day and I am still not even 25% of the way through it. It is just huge there is no other way of putting it. The sheer detail that Rockstar have put into this game is staggering. From being able to look at your cash balance on ATM's to using binoculars on the beachfront you will constantly find reasons to just say 'wow'.
A fair few people claimed that this installment just wasn't as fun as the others and having owned or played nearly all the GTA games I am in a position to judge and the key word that all the critics are failing to take into account is Realism. Yes realism, that little thing that means you can't walk onto an army base and steal a tank or stand in a huge crossfire with your health very slowly decreasing or just take a jet from an airbase and fly off in it.
I love realism. The way I can see the bullet holes in the side of my car and the beautiful, living city you are immersed in. If you want ridiculous scenarios and over the top gameplay then buy San Andreas. If you want one of the most gripping and enthralling games you will ever play then buy this.
The driving is actually quite easy to handle. There is a noticeable difference in handling between vehicles and when you get used to it then it becomes really enjoyable. The gunplay is a bit stiff and the auto-targeting has an annoying habit of locking onto civilians in the middle of a shootout, there is a decent selection of guns to choose from and they all have their strengths an weaknesses.
I've played a few online matches and they were surprisingly fun. The character editor was pretty basic but the sheer joy of driving a sports car down a main street with bullets pinging off the sides and an SMG poking out of the window is unparalled.
The story is admittedly a bit slow starting but that is deceptive. Even as I write this I just took part in a huge shootout in a construction yard so make no mistake. The action does heat up.
Overall, you really should buy this game because nothing else can quite match up to it and it is a decision you will not regret.

I got GTA4 this morning (Amazon dropped it off at 7am!) and put bluntly, its the best game i've played in years. The special edition comes with some pretty cool stuff aswell, the art book is pretty interesting, the CDs great, the bag might come in handy one day, the lockbox thingy also might be handy and the keyrings really nice!!

Getting onto the game:
The graphics are really good, not the best, but definatly more than good enough. Its the level of detail that shocked me, everything from pedestrians being individual, to when you get into a car at night, an interior light comes on when the door is open.
The campaign will keep me busy for weeks, the storys really deep, and even once its all over, theres always online multiplayer!! Theres also up to a 4 player co-op mode, so you can get all your mates over too!
The new cars look great, all the characters have really deep storys and you feel like you can asociate with them. Niko's background reveals itself more and more as the game progresses, so I find myself constantly learning new bits about him!
And the best part... It's hilarious. Mostly little things like an internet cafe called TW@, to the ragdoll physics of when you "accidently" hit a pedestrian!

This gets a solid 10/10 from me, and I would definatly recommend it to any over 18 (its pretty gorey!!) Definatly the best title in the series (in my opinion).