Grand Theft Auto IV
Review
Do believe the hype
by Chris Davis
reviewed on X360
Escaping
The traditional six star wanted system is still there, though instead of having players search for star icons on the map to decrease the wanted level a simpler system has been devised. Rather than having to deal with cops all over the city, a circle will appear on your radar displaying your known whereabouts to the police. By simply driving outside the circle and hiding from any cops that pass by, you can end their search for you and remove your wanted status. This can make even escaping a six star wanted level a not so daunting task. Paint N’ Sprays are present throughout the city but the number of them has been dramatically reduced and will rarely be used by the common player.
Let All that Breathe Partake
Perhaps the biggest achievement of the game is its full-on multiplayer mode. While there was a co-op mode in San Andreas, it was severely limited in scope. This new robust mode handles up to sixteen players in a room and comes with a whopping fifteen different modes to play in. Three modes stand out: Team Mafiya Work, a mode in which different teams attempt to complete random tasks for cash; Turf War, a variation of your standard King of the Hill mode; and Cops N’ Crooks, a game in which one team hunts another down before they can get to their safe house. The Free Mode allows everyone to go where they want and do anything in the city. This can ultimately lead to some very creative antics on the part of your fellow players (helicopter jousting anyone?) but will no doubt lead to marathon sessions of survival against wave after wave of cops. Of all the modes Cops N’ Crooks is arguably the most fun to play but you will find a good server with tons of players for every mode you load up.
The Stars of Progress Still
Grand Theft Auto IV is one of the best looking games to come out since the now-gen console wars began back in 2005. The environments really stand out but what ultimately makes the game awe-inspiring are the character models of the main cast and their supporting characters. The ‘emotional modeling’ is so fantastically done that it is sometimes easier to read the characters than to listen and understand what they are saying. The audio in the game is fantastic. The voice acting is top notch and well worthy of the hype and anticipation gamers have had for this title. Niko in particular is very well acted, as you can easily feel the sadness and anger despite his no-nonsense bravado. In addition, the cars and weapons almost all sound unique and are identifiable by sound alone. Listening to this game in surround sound is truly a treat.
Despite the impressiveness of the graphics and audio, there are still some issues. The frame rate in particular does tend to sputter, especially when a lot of things are on screen at the same time. Some bugs are still popping up at the time of this posting but there’s no doubt Rockstar will step up to fix these issues.
Of Thee I Sing
Grand Theft Auto IV is by far one of the most impressive titles to have arrived since the first sandbox games appeared. While this iteration of the series may not exactly be a revolution as much as a refinement and a good sign of things to come, it is certainly worthy of the hype. I have only scratched the surface of what GTA IV can bring to the player and it would certainly take many more pages to even set foot beneath the surface of this very deep game. Perhaps not the Mecca of gaming, but certainly something very close.
9.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
