No one can deny the impact that Grand Theft Auto has made on gaming as a whole. The
original Grand Theft Auto shattered the boundaries of interactive media and completely
rewrote the book on what a video game is capable of. Grand Theft Auto III was the 3D
debut of the franchise and gamers were granted the illusion of complete freedom in a city
with no limit in sight. The environment was crafted in such a way that gamers didn’t
take notice to the invisible walls surrounding the city. We could only see as far as our
imaginations would allow and for most, there were no boundaries. The sandbox was
created. Grand Theft Auto IV is the latest leap forward for Rockstar’s crime caper and
it not only succeeds in revolutionizing the franchise, it has once again changed the face of gaming as we know it.

I’m just going to get the obvious out of the way first. Grand Theft Auto IV is the best
game I have played in the last 10 years and it easily stands a chance of being considered
one of the greatest games ever made. Rockstar has crafted an interactive concoction out
of the most exotic ingredients available to developers. The RAGE engine first introduced
in Rockstar Presents: Table Tennis makes a smooth transition to the sandbox. The
graphics set a milestone for an open-world game and the amount of detail in the
environment is astounding. You can walk around liberty city for hours just taking in the
sights and gaining an appreciation for all the work Rockstar put into it.

Liberty City is so well developed that it feels more like a character than a setting.
The sidewalks are always filled with pedestrians going about their lives and the streets
are filled with horn honking madmen. The city comes alive due to Rockstar’s attention to
detail. Peering inside somebody’s car and watching them bobbing their heads to the music
or taking a right turn and watching Niko’s body sway to the left. Sometimes you’ll get a
call and actually hear cellular interference through your tv’s speakers. The city’s
layout is an eclectic mix of backalleys, hills and wide open streets to put the pedal to
the metal. Although the street life is evident during the day, Liberty City’s beauty
shines when the lights go out. Taking a helicopter up above the clouds and looking down
at the lit up city is breathtaking.

The script was penned by Dan Houser and Rupert Humphries. The pacing is just right
with some nice twists, turns and jaw-dropping moments. To put it in perspective, make
sure that water cooler in the office is filled to the brim and you have extra gallons on
hand. The voice acting is spot on and succeeds in carrying the script right up to the
last mission. Although my first impressions of Niko were filled with skepticism, all my
worries were tossed out the window by the second mission of the game. Whether it’s
Niko’s swagger, his quips, or the ruthlessness in his threats, you are bound to find
something about him that you like. Michael Hollick provides Niko Bellic’s heavy accent
and whether it involves sweet talking a lady or telling someone to F— off, Hollick delivers
every time. It also helps that the supporting characters were expertly cast. One thing
that stood out for me during the story was that you are never taken out of Niko’s shoes.
Whether its the way people address you or the fact that you can’t understand one word
Little Jacob says(subtitles don’t help much), you always feel like an outsider in this new city.
Fresh off the boat, Niko is instantly likable and as a character in a video game, he
succeeds where most protagonists don’t. Unlike most single player games, in GTA IV, you
actually care about Niko.

The gameplay fits like a glove and is the final brush stroke that makes GTA IV a
masterpiece. The shooting this time around is, dare I say, fun. The sticky targeting
system that plagued the previous GTA’s is a thing of the past. You can now lock on to
targets by squeezing down the left trigger or free-aim by holding it down halfway. The
most welcome addition is the cover system which allows you to blind fire around corners
and duck behind anything in the world. Sometimes getting from cover to cover can be a
bit of a chore but it never gets frustrating. Shootouts are action-packed and the
destructible environments keep you on your toes. The driving in the game has also gone
through a major re haul. The physics are just right and every car handles differently(for
real this time). Although it takes some time getting used to slowing down before taking
a turn, the payoff is very satisfying once you get it down to a science. Every bump in
the road gets an equal reaction from the vehicle’s suspension and allows for some awesome
car chases. You cellphone and the friendships you develop add a new level to the story
and keep you immersed in the world. The soundtrack is filled with variety and the track
count is staggering. The world is busting at the seams with things to do. Play pool,
get drunk, catch a show, get a private dance, pick up a lady of the night, steal a cop
car, become a vigilante, race around the city, etc. In Liberty City, its harder getting bored
than it is to stay entertained.

If the gameplay is the cake, then the Euphoria engine is the icing. Created by a company
called Natural Motion, Grand Theft Auto IV is the first game released that uses it. In a
nutshell, instead of preset animations, the CPU is utilized to create animations and
reactions on the fly. It basically means no two deaths are the same and bodies react to
every bullet. Shooting someone with a shotgun will cause them to stumble back while
trying to grab anything in the world to combat gravity. If someone grabs the handle to
your car and you drive away, they will hold on while you happily drag them down the
street. Walking drunk will cause you to trip over sidewalks and Niko will grab on to
anything in the world to keep him on his feet. It is awesome in action and makes for
countless “holy crap, did you see that” moments.

Rockstar should have made an infomercial for Grand Theft Auto IV. Over 90 missions in a
huge detailed city. Tons of different vehicles to jack and characters to interact with.
Activities and distractions that range from strip clubs to surfing the net. All for the
low, low price of $59.99. But wait there’s more. Buy GTA IV now and you get multiplayer
for 16 players in 15 different modes taking place in the same Liberty City you
experienced during the single player story. Seamlessly integrated into the single player
and fully customizable. From weapons and vehicles down to the size of the play area.
Modes ranging from racing and cops ‘N crooks to the standard Free for All and Team
Deathmatch. You also get co-op missions that flesh out some of the minor characters
introduced in the story. But wait that’s not all. You get this incredible multiplayer
component with zero lag. That’s right zero lag. 16 players in a city filled with
pedestrians and moving traffic blasting each other with little to no lag. Double the
value for the low price of $59.99.

Amidst the criticism and the controversy. Through the pressure and the politics. Rising
above the skeptiscm and living up to the hype. Rockstar Games has delivered on every
front. A huge single player campaign, taking place in a huge city, with a huge
multiplayer thrown in. Playing through Grand Theft Auto IV was one of the only times in
recent history where I felt that I was undercharged for a piece of entertainment. I
personally felt that $60 was the deal of the century. The replay value is impossible to
define by numbers or words and this is without taking downloadable content into
consideration. Rockstar has done it again. They have evolved the gaming landscape and
once again revolutionized the medium. Grand Theft Auto IV not only raises the bar for
open-world action games but it also raises the bar for games period. Never has a game
been able to combine such stellar production values, staggering amount of content and
ship with a groundbreaking multiplayer to top it off. We as a gamer nation might argue
about the issue of games as art, but I don’t think anyone can deny that Grand Theft Auto
IV is an absolute masterpiece.