GamersReports

Forums

News

-Hottest News
-Xbox 360
-Xbox
-Playstation 2
-Playstation 3
-PC
-PSP
-Gamecube
-Gameboy / DS
-Software
-Nintendo Wii
-Dreamcast
-Neo-Geo
-N-Gage
-Mobile
-Misc
-Film & Media
-Web
-Industry
-Game Media
-Event
-Arcade

GR Store

Reviews

Articles

Media

Search

Contact Us

Links

Register!

Submit News >

Respected Sites

-Xbox Scene
-PSP Spot
-MMO News
-Vitalspeeds Hosting
-Zelda Universe
-Kingdom Hearts 3
-Final Fantasy
-PS3
-ComNetSlash
-Planet Xbox 360
-E-Guides E-Books
-Quake 4
-Free Online Games

Grand Theft Auto IV

Written by DM on Monday, April 28 2008

The story in GTAIV is really one of the most impressive parts of the game. You play Niko, a quasi-Russian immigrant who comes to America to visit his cousin Roman who is trying to grab his slice of the American dream. Roman owns a makeshift cab company and provides the cowardly comic relief. About the only thing that Niko has in common with the past GTA protagonists is that he is one of those “killers with a conscience and moral code.” Beyond that, and I cannot get into the story too much more because big-time spoilers will be inevitable, but I will say that the story Rockstar has created for the game is one of the most realistic and believable video game plots that I have ever seen. All the regular characters have their own nuances and mannerisms, and the cut scenes could take place in any real world location and no one would think twice. The dialogue is fantastic, funny, and draws you in for sure, and when it comes time to take action, the transitions are seamless. Ok, here is one mini-spoiler so skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to read it. When you find out the reason that Niko is really there in Liberty City, you almost want to break down and hug the little psychopath.

Navigating and keeping track of the various characters and places in the game might have been difficult had Rockstar not come up with a simple yet ingenious method. Niko’s in-game cell phone PDA is basically the place to turn to when you need any info at all. Not only does Niko routinely get phone and text messages, but if you find yourself with nothing to do, you can always call up one of your contacts, such as cousin Roman, and ask them to grab a bite to eat or go bowling. Most times they will agree and when you are done your standing with that character goes up a few points. Your phone is also the way you receive new missions from the various shady folks you meet as the game progresses. Also, there are times you will have to choose between activities, there is just not enough time to meet up with everyone who wants a piece of you. You are going to have to forgo some activities, but as long as you pick the right ones to skip, you will do fine. The phone is also programmed to do just about everything a real phone would. For instance, you can call in an emergency by dialing 911, and when the cops show up, steal a cop car. You can also call a number that will tell you what song is playing on the radio, which Rockstar has tied in to the Social Club website which you can register for, and ultimately purchase the song on Amazon.com. This is only the tip of the iceberg.

The graphics in GTAIV are misleading. At first glance, they seem to be more minimalistic and a bit under-textured. This turns out not to be the case once you start playing in a serious fashion. The graphics are actually perfect for the game, and the sheer size of Liberty City, combined with the astounding amount of interactive parts of the environment, make me wonder how Rockstar squeezed enough power out of the consoles to make the game look as good as it does. This, unfortunately, also brings me to another one of the minor issues GTAIV has – the frame rate. The FPS count in GTAIV is nothing spectacular, let me say that right now. When the game is going strong, you will likely not see much more than 30 or 40 FPS. This does not hold up for long, though. As you play, you will notice that the frame rate, at times, can drop to 15 or 20 FPS and stay that low (but stay steady, mind you) until the on-screen commotion has passed. Also, there will be times where the FPS can spike as low as 4 or 5 FPS. This happened to me when I decided to take the truck I hijacked over a footbridge. There were tons of pedestrians and a bunch of benches and light posts that I was knocking over. It just must have been too much for the CPU to handle. Most times, though, the FPS is enough that you will not notice any problems. The little details like having one broken streetlamp, or steam from a manhole, or even the neighborhood-specific graffiti, are what make Liberty City so realistic and believable. The best part about it is that Rockstar has put this effort into every inch of the city. Liberty City is a realistic visual masterpiece. Of course, you cannot have the visuals without the sound, and Rockstar knows this as well. There is never much attention paid to sound in video games, but the ambient noises and random NPC shouted phrases all sound real and even the words themselves are things you might hear in any city today. Even if you do not like GTA, do yourself a favor and rent the game just to wander around Liberty City for a day. You won’t be able to put the game back for the love of the city alone.

Arguably the most anticipated addition to the GTA series in GTAIV is the new online mode. In fact, this mode is anticipated to be so popular that Microsoft came out with a statement saying they have prepared Xbox Live for the huge influx of GTAIV server play that will no doubt happen come Monday night (April 28). Does the online mode measure up? It certainly does.

There are several modes online and they are all pretty entertaining. GTA Race, Cops n’ Crooks, free mode, and, of course, the co-op modes, are the more popular ones, at least that’s the sense I got. Free mode is where players can create any game online for their buds to join in. The scenarios that you can setup are almost endless. There are also the objective-based modes like Mafia Work, Car Jack City, and Turf War, which provide players the opportunity to work in tandem with other players to achieve certain goals.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Next Page >>

Related Articles: