Grand Theft Auto IV

"Much better than it's given credit for..."

In Grand Theft Auto IV, you play as Eastern European, Niko Bellic. He comes to America encouraged by his cousin's stories of wealth and women, and to escape his past. Arriving in Liberty City, based off New York, he soon finds that his cousin, Roman, was not entirely truthful. Roman is living in a run-down apartment, working as a taxi driver. Niko and his cousin have to start from virtually nothing and build their way up. And, thus, begins Grand Theft Auto IV.

The gameplay was quite entertaining. Like it's predecessors, GTA IV is a great game to just screw around, but what sets it apart is that I actually enjoyed the story and there wasn't constant, unbearable gangster dialogue.

In my opinion, GTA IV has an excellent story, possibly better than Vice City's. There are many twists and turns as betrayal and revenge take their course and Niko struggles with life in America. You will meet many people along the way, some you will befriend, some you will kill. There is never a sure moment in the life of Niko Bellic and that makes for a great, fulfilling story.

The graphics in Grand Theft Auto IV are very nice, but also demanding of your system. A lot of reviewers unfairly gave the game a poor score because they tried to run the game on too high settings with inadequate hardware. I was able to play the game on medium settings with about 25-30 FPS. Overall the graphics were great and well deserving of a 10.

The sound in Grand Theft Auto IV is very nice. There is good music and many radio stations to listen to while driving around. Sound is hard to rate because it is unique to every game and it's usually not so bad that it deserves less than a 9 or 10. Just to clarify, though, the sound in this game is good.

One of the Grand Theft Auto series strengths is the replayability. Even after beating it, it's fun to pick it back up and just blow off some steam by getting chased by as many cops as possible or just driving around the city. There are many things to do when just screwing around. Also Grand Theft Auto IV includes an online mode which is sure to increase the replayability.

This game is often underrated and definitely deserves a try. If playing it on PC, I recommend making sure your hardware is sufficient though because it is demanding. Great story, graphics, sound, and replayability make Grand Theft Auto IV very deserving of a 10.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/29/09

Game Release: Grand Theft Auto IV (US, 12/02/08)