Grand Theft Auto IV
Review
Compelling and entertaining despite the muck
by Christopher Park
reviewed on PC
Tweaked gameplay
However, your perception of Liberty City will depend on how capable your system is. It is still a system hog and that you need to push the graphical settings while maintaining a solid framerate just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. It is a great-looking game, but not anything on the level of something like Crysis Warhead and even Warhead runs a whole lot better on a high-end rig. The lack of anti-aliasing support is also a glaring issue, because the game suffers from it during bright daylight. I hope Rockstar is still working on another patch, because there is still work to be done.
Just like how Liberty City saw huge improvements, the gameplay received an equal amount of tweaks and fixes on its initial release and the keyboard and mouse controls naturally refine them further. The gunplay in particular is actually fun this time around, because of the ability to free aim and a brand new cover system. The combat really feels complete from a functional standpoint. It is satisfying, punctual; every shot has impact and the Euphoria engine allows NPCs to react to each bullet with procedurally generated animations. The cover system can get wonky, but never puts your life in peril. As expected, it is much easier to aim with the mouse and shooting while driving is a breeze. Much, much easier than with a gamepad. The intuitiveness of a keyboard and mouse setup provides a better flow to the gameplay and feels much more precise.
Driving isn’t a true refinement as it is different. The cars are prone to overturning and going completely out of control happens much more often. Yes, it gets unwieldy, but it works to the strength of the game’s wanton violence. There were times when I completely slid out onto traffic lights, fire hydrants and the occasional person. It’s dramatic. While the lack of analog steering hinders the driving on the PC a bit, it performs admirably and as well as I could expect.
Multi-player
So, control-wise the PC version does provide a more intuitive controls scheme. There is just one specific quirk that is yet to be rectified. Pool is completely unplayable. Pulling back with the mouse results in Niko’s arms completely spazzing out, making it impossible to consistently score shots. Again, it is a small, tiny spec in what is a massive game, but it’s a real problem nonetheless and it needs to be fixed.
Multi-player options are plenty, but the problem is that no one is ever online. I have yet to run into a server with more than a handful of people roaming around. This might have been do to the sour reception the game received upon launched, when people demanded refunds on Steam and shelved the game altogether. That is a real shame, because the random chaos that Grand Theft Auto IV does so well gives the multi-player a base, intrinsic level of fun, but there needs to be a more populated community to support this.
Compelling and entertaining
The PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV should have been the best version of the game. The keyboard and mouse combo is simply a better control scheme for this game and the PC version can offer a better-looking game than its console counterparts. Instead, it is still plagued by a myriad of technical issues and a lack of an active multi-player community. I suppose it is impressive that the game is still a lot of fun even with everything that pulls it down. Just the quality of the gameplay brute forces its way through all the muck and provides a compelling and entertaining time. If you have the system that can handle the game, by all means, get this game on the PC. For everyone else, the console versions are a safe and sure thing.
8.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
