User Reviews (1 - 11 of 213)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

A Thinking Man's GTA?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 67 / 91
Date: May 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Just when you think you have Rockstar Games and their legendary Grand Theft Auto series figured out, they pitch you one heck of a curve. Speaking as a guy who spent so much time running amok in Vice City and San Andreas that I practically had to file tax returns there, I have been consistently surprised by the depth of play in GTA IV. Yes, it's true that the character modeling and some of the action moves are a little choppy, but most of the game looks great. Far more interesting, however, is the fact that this is not a video game per se - it borders on an interactive movie. The crime and violence in fuzzy-lit, pastel colored Vice City is practically cartoonish compared to the gritty reality of life in Liberty City in GTA IV. You're not just a thug with a bat trying to decide which car to lift, you're an immigrant with plenty of emotional baggage, forced into a series of moral quandries the outcomes of which carry implications throughout the entire game. Things you do even turn up later on the in-game radio stations!

Every generation of game console, some game is proclaimed the next coming, be it of graphics, or gameplay, or some other measurable category. GTA IV is different. You can wallow in the muck of street violence and prostitution as always, but there's a deeper moral play going on that feels unlike anything else I've encountered not only in GTA, but in video games in general. Rockstar Games may have finally located that most ephemeral of experiences - one equal parts game and cinema, without belonging entirely to either. It's going to be interesting to see how many critics and politicians seize on only the overt, adult content, without grasping how far more creative and artistic this "game" is than your average deadening FPS or racing game. Rockstar Games is to be commended for what truly deserves to be called "genius."

A Masterpiece. Video Games as Art.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 51 / 68
Date: May 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Let it be said that I've never liked GTA. But I decided to get GTA4 after reading several articles about the change in direction they were taking and my god, has it paid off. This game is PHENOMENAL.

The Good:
Graphics-
Even though this game is running at 640p and is upscaled on PS3, this is a BEAUTIFUL game. It has some of the best and most natural looking water and light effects I've ever seen that appear photorealistic at times. I often stop and just stare at the waves or park and watch the sun hitting the road as it sets.

Story-
The voice acting is top notch and the cast has some truly memorable characters. This is one of the few games where I actually have an emotional response when things happen to the main characters...which is no small feat. Sometimes you have to make choices whether someone lives or dies and I found myself really struggling with the decision I thought was appropriate to my character. The pacing is great too. Just as you are getting satisfied with a particular location, you get access to a new islands and contacts so things always feel fresh.

Gameplay-
Thankfully, they eliminated all the things that made past GTAs tedious. No more going to the gym to lift weights, no more being forced to drive twenty minutes across town to do a mission. Finally, you can take a cab and opt to skip the driving when you are in a rush. They've also added a much needed cover system where tapping R1 will let you take cover behind virtually any object. This leads to some truly epic shootouts that will literally have you diving for cover.

They also made your cell phone the menu for the game and you rarely have to leave the game world immersion. Just call up your friends for missions or hanging out and watch Niko talk to them while he walks around the city. You can even buy ringtones, themes, and even get a camera phone and organizer.

There are also 200 music tracks on a dozen radio stations with great music and talk shows on all of them. You can waste hours watching TV at your house, going on dates to see shows or play pool and darts, or you can fool around on dozens of webpages at the internet cafe. Basically, there is a ton of depth here that will give the game dozens of hours of extra traction.

Multiplayer-
Just whip out your cell phone in the single player and hop right in to over 14 online game modes. Imagine running around New York with 15 friends and playing paintball in the streets. To just be able to hop into the whole of Liberty City and do ANYTHING is so fun and chaotic words can't describe it. Just last night, I joined Free Mode, where there are no rules. I proceeded to blow up 3 cop cars and run over a flock of pedestrians before getting plowed over by another player who had stolen a commuter bus and was on a rampage in Times Square. That was just the first 10 minutes. And I was having a blast that even my wife couldn't turn away from.

The Bad:
Other than minor framerate and A.I. glitches, my biggest complaint is that the game does some unnecessary forced loading. When you die on a mission instead of just asking you if you want to retry it, you die, it loads a respawn at the hospital and THEN you are asked to retry the mission, which leads to another load screen.

Every time you launch the game, you are forced to sit through a 2 minute intro movie. I suspect this is to distract you while the game loads in the background more than it is to set a mood, but it would still have been nice to be able to skip it sometimes.

Other than that, the clothing selection feature remains terrible. You have no way to quickly cycle through your wardrobe without having to spend 2-5 seconds loading each new outfit. If you're like me, you bought every outfit as soon as you could only to learn that you had to cycle through every single one anytime you wanted to change clothes. And other than buying clothes, money has absolutely no value in this game. For some reason, they didn't include a casino or the option to buy property, so you amass all this wealth and have virtually nothing to spend it on at the end of the game's main story.

The Verdict:
That said, the sheer freedom and realism of this game signal a landmark in gaming and anyone who likes video games should buy this game. It is the most fun I've ever had with a video game and provides 100+ hours of entertainment for sixty bucks. Despite a few flaws, the amount of content, fun, and depth of this game make it virtually flawless and worth your money.

Welcome to Liberty City

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 25 / 33
Date: April 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I have few words about this game, I think I don't need to explain how good it is and if you want so just check IGN review, however it's worth the wait, every cent and time spent on producing it and the fun is just begin, you shouldn't miss this game whatever your gameplay style. there is so much of reality in gta about streets life, bad cops, gangsters and using phone in game etc. no more that could be asked for from gta.

What's new in gta IV ? obviously new great story with new characters, improvements in graphic detail, load screen times are a little shorter, quicker and better, new targeting system much easier than old one, cover system, new multiplayer challenges support for up to 16 players with more than 10 modes such as races, deathmatch, team death matches and one co-op single player mission, there is also an autosave feature work after completing a mission, you have cell phone which you can use it even in-car anywhere and anytime and last but not least you will be able to track your statistics and feature competitions and awards based on player activity within the game through Social Club, it will be available on 17 April.

it should labeled with "MUST HAVE" and I'm pretty sure it won't be ejected from your console for long time.

Thank "you Rocks"tar!

review of the PS3 version by someone who has actually played

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 30 / 50
Date: April 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Well I just played my first 6 hours of GTA IV (mostly exploring and hurting people.) I was able to get a copy during the midnight sale at my local Meijer. I don't even know where to begin...The game so far has been everything I expected and then some. The graphics are far superior to past GTA titles but not quite up to par with other games I've played on my PS3. Most people know that the graphics aren't what this franchise is about so It's OK. That being said, holy crap this is a FUN GAME. The first surprise I got was when I crashed my car into a wall at high speed. Niko went flying through the windsheild and smashed into the wall!!! Almost killed him. The car damage is awesome, way more detailed and more realistic. The car will actually stall out if it gets beat up too much. The hookers are back and sluttier than ever...You can go into a bar and get ****faced and stumble around or drive drunk(it gave me a headache, i recommend taking a cab) I have only completed 8 missions so far but they are the same type of stuff as before (drugs,protection money,driving hos around..)at least so far...I can't write anymore now because all I'm thinking about is getting back into Liberty City besides I don't want to ruin any more surprises. I haven't tried the online yet. If you haven't already ordered a copy I highly recommend it. you won't regret it....

a small warning

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 12 / 15
Date: May 06, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is just a small warning before buying this game. My husband recently got this game for the PS3, we installed it and had been playing it for several hours but when we turned the system off and back on the message 'data corrupt must restore hard drive' greeted us. This game ruined our hard drive. We don't play a lot of games or 'hack' into our system and when we phoned the game store they said they had 5 other people call in recently. I wish they told us before we bought this game.
So there's a warning to you guys, the game is good - if you can get it to play. After reading forums some people say the game only freezes or stops their console from reading discs any more. By the way, Xbox 360 also has similar problems.

GTA IV amazing game, slightly crippled due to XBOX 360

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 29 / 52
Date: April 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is EXCELLENT, I'd like to get that out of the way first.

The game play is great, the graphics are decent, and all else is top notch.

BUT, this game could have looked MUCH better if it didn't have to run on XBOX 360 also. The DVD-9 limitation of the 360 crippled what this game could have been.

This game has maxed out at the 8.5GB mark, now picture what could have been possible with the entire 50GB of blu-ray and you'll see what I"m saying here.

I'm not a PS3 fanboy, I actually own both systems, and have an equal amount of games for both systems. But a game like GTA should be free from limitations, and unfortunately the 360 put a major damper on this.

Still an amazing buy and I highly recommend buying it for either system.

Not as wonderful as I had hoped

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: May 09, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Usually, when they make a highly anticipated sequel to a much-loved video game franchise, the list of available activities goes up. It seems to me that with GTA IV, that list actually went down. Anyone agree?
I waited anxiously for GTA IV just like many other gamers. I have only been playing it for a few days, and I am already 50% of the way through. After playing GTA: San Andreas for a few days, I was thrilled to discover that I was only about 20% of the way through and still had not revealed the entire map! More detail at the sake of less space to explore = "Looks great. Sure wish it was bigger."
One of the most exciting moments in my video gaming history was discovering that you could finally steal the airplanes in GTA: San Andreas! One of the most disappointing moments in my video gaming history was discovering that they had eliminated this from GTA IV! What a perfect opportunity to make the flight ceiling higher and the destinations more interesting! Sorry, turns out it's back down to one smallish city. Plus, realizing that you could jump of of planes and sky-dive was freakin' sweet! Not happening this time around.
The controls for the various vehicles seem to have become more difficult. (More realistic?) I preferred being able to grab the handbrake and execute crisp turns and 180's to the new "touch the handbrake and spin out" scheme that exists now. And the motorcycles? It seems they've switched the reasonably grippy tires they normally used with tractionless rings of plastic.
And where have the fire-truck and ambulance missions gone? What about the ability to swim under water? Why haven't I been able to carry around a samurai sword or a chainsaw? Where is the flame-thrower? And what a great location the new Liberty City would have been for a jet-pack!
GTA IV seems to be a lot of "been there, done that" with very little new to keep the legions of fans happy. It will sell a billion copies because of the name it carries, but overall, this game is a disappointment.

Much of the same.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 25 / 46
Date: April 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Anyone familiar with the previous Grand Theft Auto games will find much to like about this new title. Although the gameplay is very similar to that of the last edition, there are many small improvements that add up and contribute greatly to the overall experience of the game. Whereas the last game was clearly that--a game--this one has a more cinematic feel. From the opening scene that plays like the opening of a major film, to the amount of detail involved in traveling the city as a pedestrian and motor commuter, you are immersed in the the world of Grand Theft Auto like never before.

Rather than simply running around and killing people (although you can do that, too) you walk around, take a cab, take the subway, your character gets drunk, you have to cultivate relationships with other characters, and you are given decisions about which course of action to take as the game progresses. Although I would not go as far as those reviewers who anticipated a game that would completely transform the industry, this increased amount of user involvement makes GTA IV an instant classic. And I haven't even tried online play yet!

As far as faults go, the only one that I can find so far is that the graphics are not as good as other PS3 games. There is room for improvement in that respect, but considering all of the other factors involved in creating a dynamic environment that is a probably a compromise many are willing to make.

Overall I'd say this is a great title that takes this style of gameplay to a whole new level, but it is not the transformative, world/industry changing title it has been hyped up to be.

Rockstar took the fun out of it.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 25 / 46
Date: May 04, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I guess I was expecting a whole lot more from this game. Yes, the graphics are quite a lot better than the other GTAs, but the game play has seriously suffered.

Driving: Flat out horrible controls, this is the worst part of the game, but should be the best. Hitting the handbrake just sends you into spins. No camera reset in this version like the previous games. So, when you're driving and you are turning around, you can't ever see what is in front of you.

Walking/Running: Controls are a bit clunky. You kind of veer and lean when going around corners.

GPS: Great addition to the game, makes finding your mission a lot easier.

Dark, dark, dark: Even at the highest brightness and contrast it's a little difficult to see. I can barely read the text messages on the phone as well.

Shooting: Much more difficult and less effective than previous versions. You used to be able to change targets and fire more efficiently. Doing that now is a bit awkward. Taking someone down with a pistol takes about six shots now as well.

Fighting/Melee: Quite difficult and slow.

Great game, yes. Perfect, no.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: May 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I don't know how some review sites can give this game a perfect 10 rating. It is a great game, but far from perfect. The PS3 version suffers from several technical problems that have been pointed out here ad nauseam. One patch has already been released, and hopefully future patches will fix the rest of the problems. As for the game itself, it's one of the best ever. It's definitely a solid "9", but far from a 10. If you can wait awhile and avoid the hype, you may be better off waiting until most of the major problems are fixed. Online play has been partially fixed, but it still isn't perfect.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 

Actions