User Reviews (51 - 61 of 234)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Don't Believe the Hype

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: August 03, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I read many positive reviews of this game and was convinced to purchase it. I played it for several hours and lost interest. It has got to be about the worst story ever written for a video game. The characters are all shallow and not at all interesting. The gameplay is slow and repetitive, to the point where you feel like you are doing the same boring tasks again and again... oh wait, you are. The driving portion of the game becomes annoying very quickly... there is no realism.

Best game ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I suck at most all FPS games and yet can still play this one. The only other two that lived up to that were CoD4 and BioShock - this is far more fun than those, just due to the sheer volume of content and random details in the game.

I never got that into the previous versions, but this game is the best.

I would prefer if they relied less on timed missions, where you need to chase someone through the streets and they are much faster than you - but that seems to be this genre.

Not The Greatest in the Franchise

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I want to start off by saying that I am a huge GTA fan, but could not give GTA IV a 5. If Amazon would let me rate it a 4.5 I would. However, as it stands, the title is closer to a 4 than a 5 star rating. It is far from the perfect game all the developer-lap-dog review sites gave it. San Andreas to me still reigns as the most fun sandbox game of all time.
Everyone has already heard how great this game is and how it is the first true real next-gen game. This is only the case for a few attributes. There are some "old-gen" functionalities that could have been dramatically tranformed to next-gen, but were not.

Graphics - For the scale of what was accomplished, the graphics are high quality. However, pop-is just as bad, if not worse than San Andreas - at least on the XBOX 360. This can be forgiven as the game does exhibit groundbreaking detail.

Sound - Voice acting and environment sounds are truly second to none. However, the sound tracks are not up to GTA standards. In fact, San Andreas and even the PSP's Vice City Stories track lists are superior to the one in IV.

Game-play - The shooting and driving mechanics are superb. I like the fact that vehicle controls are less "arcadey". Shooting functionality is visceral and satisfying. However, I cannot believe Rockstar made virtually no improvement to the game-saving mechanic. Yes, you can redo a mission if you fail it, but it still brings the player to the beginning of the mission sans the cut scene. Also, it will strip you of your armor if you lost it and any ammo utilized, as well as money spent on a hospital visit if you died. Therefore, most people will just redo the mission from the very beginning just like we did 7 years ago in GTA III. That is quite lame, very "old-gen", and definitely takes away from overall game quality. It is like having a Ferrari Enzo, but have a govenor keeping under 55mph. That's I felt at times playing this game.

Fun -As far pure fun, San Andreas is just so much better. Parachuting, stunting in the mountains with various off-road vehicles, the absurd and funny missions, various airplanes to fly, and that netherworld feel that is omnipresent in every GTA game sans IV makes it the best. CJ was also a tougher and more enjoyable protagonist (or antagonist depending on your opinion) to play than Niko Belic. I will say that Niko is more likeable than Tommy Vercetti or No Name.

Conclusion - There is no denying the GTA IV is an epic production. It should be purchased and played to completion. You will enjoy a mostly positive game-playing experience. However, San Andreas remains Rockstar's finest opus and one of the greatest games ever produced. In the future GTA V could be a true perfect 10 if they refine the GTA IV engine, significantly improve the save mechanic, and bring back the awesome sound tracks.

Welcome to Liberty City

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 13, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Lets skip all the video game politics and ethical diatribe, Grand Theft Auto IV is some serious fun. That is, if you can handle heavy satire, hours of enjoyment, and a massive city as your personal playground.

For its very first foray into the next generation of gaming, the Grand Theft Auto series goes back to a wholly different Liberty City. Modeled after New York City (catch the funny play on names like the GETALIFE building), Liberty City is a living, breathing world that is detailed like never before. In fact, one of the most impressive aspects of GTAIV is its realistic portrayal of human beings. Of course, there is a huge layer of stereotyping and satire involved, but as far as their actions and movements go, everything feels so real that it is quite hard not to get sucked into the game.

For the 4th installment in the Grand Theft Auto 3D universe, Rockstar trimmed the fat and injected more realism and emotion into the game. Gone are the heavy handed quasi-RPG elements of 'San Andreas' (I kind of liked them, but oh well). Planes are also gone, as are bicycles; GTA IV feels more like GTAIII, eschewing most of what 'Vice City' and 'San Andreas' brought to the table, much to the chagrin of many fans. I think this is a good thing. Instead of a mish-mash of half baked concepts and ideas thrown together, we get a very focused and in depth game with a variety of options. The Story lines in GTA games have always been lacking, but GTAIV aimed to change that. It did.

You are Niko Bellic, a foreigner seeking resolution and the American Dream. You come to Liberty City and immediately find yourself in the midst of crime and betrayal. I'm not going to say anything else about the story other than it is actually really good! The dialogue is really good, the voice acting is really really good. Ever since I got this game I have been completely engulfed by it, absorbed into the world of Niko Bellic and Liberty City.

Like in 'San Andreas' your character has his own voice, his own emotions, motivations and mannerisms. Niko Bellic feels, acts and sounds like a real person. He gets angry, he gets happy. And the really cool and nicely done cut scenes show off all of this. In fact, this game would have been a snore fest had the main character been a cardboard cut out or a voiceless murderer. Giving the main character a true sense of purpose and identity is what makes this game a very enjoyable experience. You get a grip of what Niko wants, and you can really connect to him. That is something that is unfortunately missing in most of the games flooding the market today.

Your in game cell phone plays out like your menu. From your phone you can contact friends, get work, get to the options menu, take pictures, and access the multiplayer feature. Its a neat way to hide a menu, and it can actually work as a phone as well. You can call the police, the fire dept and the paramedics. These can work to you advantage if you find yourself in a jam with the more seedier folk. Being chased by some gun totting gangsters? No problem, just call the police, and they will take care of it. But make sure you are not shooting when they arrive, or they will probably chase after you.

Friends play a crucial role this time around, and to be honest you will spent most of your time pleasing your friends. They will call you wanting to hang out. Chill with them enough and they may even grant you special favors (i.e helicopter rides and gun trafficking). Ignore them too much and they will lose respect for you and may even start to dislike you. They also have various side quests for you to tackle. Your friends have their own personalities, their own attitudes, beliefs and interests. Rockstar did an awesome job fleshing out each character. However, there is a downside to the whole friends business, they never leave you alone! They always seem to call you right when you are in the middle of a mission. It can get really tedious at times trying to satisfy both friends and a girlfriend, but hey thats life. And GTAIV certainly does feel like a second life.

One thing that GTAIV does borrow from 'San Andreas' is the dating sim, which has been drastically improved. Not only do you meet various woman through the main story line, you can even go online (yes, this game has an in-game internet!) and meet people online. There are a host of things to do with your date as well, such as bowling, comedy clubs, strip clubs, dining, pool, darts, and drinking. You can even get intimate with your dates, which results in a semi-funny cut scene (no they don't show you anything).

Hookers are still in the game as well, and I still have a heck of a time using and abusing them. Which leads me to another fun aspect of GTAIV; playing the game how YOU want to play it. Sure during missions you have to complete the objective, but outside of missions the city is your playground. You can pretty much do anything you want, within the limits of the game. As always, you can go on killing sprees, see how many stars you can obtain, see how many police you can kill etc. These can sometimes be fun, however you have to take the violence with a grain of salt. Its a video game. Remember that.

Graphic wise, GTAIV is definitely a step up from its predecessors. Is it true next generation graphics? Not really, but for the sheer size and scope of the game they more than serve their purpose. Details is where this game shines. From murals painted on buildings to the glitz and glamor of Liberty City's equivalent to Times Square, everything is heavily detailed. Every time I play this game I am amazed at how realistically detailed the city and its inhabitants are. Kudos to Rockstar for such a fine job.

Not only are the graphics a definite upgrade from its predecessors, but the A.I is much improved. Pedestrians act more realistic, answering their cell phones, on their daily routines, drinking coffee, causing trouble. You can even spot civilians getting into shootouts with the police, or resisting arrest. The pedestrians and enemies in GTAIV are some of the smartest and most realistic in the series, and part of that has to do with the new physics engine used for the game.

Dubbed the 'Euphoria' engine, this powerful program causes every single object in the game world to react to real physics laws. This means that every single character in the game moves with a realistic sense of weight. Get hit by a car and your body will go ragdoll, smash into something head on in a car and watch your body fly through the windshield and onto the pavement. When you shoot someone their body reacts to the specific spot where the bullet hit them. Overall the new physics engine is something to rave about, and I am willing to bet we will be seeing that engine in use in the future (Star Wars: Force Unleashed will be using the Euphoria engine as well).

The combat has been greatly improved as well, though the auto aim is still rather annoying. Thankfully you can now toggle the auto aim on/off. The new cover system, similar to Gears of War and even more so Metal Gear Solid 4 really adds new life to the combat. Being able to duck behind virtually any object and wall in a heated battle is a godsend. You can even peek around corners and fire. There are still times when the whole ordeal gets a little clunky, but its a much needed improvement over the previous GTA titles.

At last, we come to the most interesting aspect of GTAIV, the multiplayer. For the first time gamers can roam the immensely detailed streets of Liberty City via Xbox Live. You and some friends can start a Free Roam game and do whatever you want. You can reign terror on the city, have death matches, races. Quite literally, you can do what you want. If the Free Roaming gets boring, you can always join in on a Ranked or Unranked deathmatch and the even more exciting Team Deathmatch. I have to say that team deathmatch in the sprawling Liberty City is epic! You can even have up to four or five teams battle each other at once!

If online shootouts aren't your fancy, you can take to the streets, racing style. Since the courses all take place in the streets of the city, there are no designated paths that you are forced to take. You can get through the check points any way you want (except backwards of course). And if you decide to give up you can always work towards making the other drivers lives very miserable by setting up roadblocks and causing all kinds of trouble.

Speaking of online, one of the coolest things about GTAIV is the level of developer support it will get. Rockstar have already promised gamers some downloadable content this fall. As to what it will be is anyones guess, but suffice it to say the the options are literally limitless. They could do anything from add new missions to new sections of the city. They could even add new weapons, stores, songs on the radio, and a whole host of stuff. This is most beneficial to the gamer, especially if this content is cheap or free. I am very excited to see what Rockstar have cooking.

Oh yeah, one more thing. The radio, as always, rocks! On it you will hear the classic talk show radio stuff that hilarious, and a multitude of music that spans across all genres and styles. Some songs you will recognize, and others you may not.

Grand Theft Auto IV is THE controversial game of this generation,. and in many ways it is also one of the best GTA titles in the series. With endless fun, endless options, an amazing A.I and physics system, and a whole host of missions, side quests, friends and relationships Grand Theft Auto IV brings the GTA series to the next generation. As always, this game is rated M, as this is a very violent game. But there is always a tinge of humor to every action taken.

Solid title...if nothing else but to kill time

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

What's a good 360 game library without Grand Theft auto IV, right? Despite all the hype and long wait I bought this game thinking it would be pretty much like Vice City, only set in a new environment with new characters, with maybe some improvements to the gameplay. At least I wasn't disappointed.

I have to admit the team at Rockstar put some serious thought and effort into creating a realistic, beautiful and interactive city when they created this game. Maybe too much. I bought the limited edition version which illustrated the concept art and the design of Liberty City and I was truly impressed. I showed this to a friend who made a good point. Who cares if a little soda can on the sidewalk actually has a dent in it when you're running from the cops at 90 MPH because you just killed a prostitute.

The only real additions to the actual gameplay from the previous GTA titles are things I don't want to do anyway. I don't want to go on dates. I don't want to go bowling. If I wanted to see stupid stuff on the internet, I would just watch YouTube.

The missions are fun and seem to have relevent tie-ins to building the storyline. But please don't fail! You may have to spend another 15 minutes of your life trying to get to a point to retry it. That's always been my peeve with the GTA franchise, and is so with GTA IV. Some things never change.

For people like me that have a short attention span this is a good game. Getting sidetracked is always an issue in any GTA game. So many times, I was simply trying to get from point A to point B and ended up as Public Enemy #1, as if in some Murphy's Law continuum. This must have been what happened to OJ. However, if you get stuck or frustrated on a mission, just forget about it and do some side missions for a while. I own so many games that have such linear gameplay that I refuse to play them anymore because you get stuck and irritated and there's nothing else to do.

The characters in the game are great. I actually seem to care what happens to some of them. The biggest problem with them is some of them get in your car, and they just will not shut up. I think everyone has a friend like this. I have two. Even the random people on the street are original. I rarely remember seeing the same person twice. There's always that person that swears at you or gives you a dirty look. Needless to say, that person must die.

I read a few of the other reviews that this game is overly buggy or that it repeatedly crashes or even bricks their console, but I have not had any problems while playing. Also, despite the mature rating and negative press (or good, free advertising as I like to call it), I feel like the content is not unsuitable for any reasonably minded teen. It's pretty much things they're going to see and hear everyday, anyway.

Oh, and as a side note to Rockstar Games. I just killed 38 gang members with a submachine gun. Do you think I'm going to stop and pay a $5 bridge toll?

All in all, if you like the GTA series or just enjoy a game that doesn't end in disappointment after a few hours, GTA IV is a good choice. If you buy it new, I do recommend spending an extra thirty bucks for the limited edition version. It comes with some really cool stuff!

Should have been called "Grand Theft Taxi"

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I have completed all 4 GTA titles (GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas, GTA IV) and this one is my least favorite. Don't get me wrong, this is still one of the best games available fot the 360 console but it is riddled with shortcomings & petty annoyances. I can honestly say that the ONLY thing better about part IV is the detail in the graphics. Everything else comes up short.

The controls are clunky and almost broken in many places. New things like being able to stick to walls during a gunfight, just end up getting in the way. If you want to get into a boat you have to use the "Y" button (the game dosen't quite know that yet though) and the driving is really, really, cumbersome.

The very few safehouses that you get all seem to be towards the North end which means that you will probably just end up hailing a taxi to go most places. This seems to defeat the purpose of "Grand Theft Auto" since I seemed to steal rides in taxies alot more than cars, bikes or boats. The driving controls are pretty bad anyways, and the city is so boxed in that driving isn't really as much fun as it used to be anyways.

This game just really seemed to lack the style like the others did. The few outfits you can get all look like they came straight from the clearance rack at K-Mart. The cars look good but really don't move as fast or are as fun to drive. The soundtrack is aweful, 3 of 5 ... make that 2 or 4 safehouses, are shabby little dumps.

Let's move on to the giant list of great things from the other titles in the series that were ommited like: Miniguns, flame throwers, garages, tanks, airplanes, the jet pack, Casino, The CD Player in your car, etc., etc., etc. So many things were taken out of this game that it really just felt like a striped down version of the older titles with clunky controls & better graphics. You really can't just go crazy like you could before. For example, The RPG only has 8 shots (you do the math). Most of the fun activities & open areas were replaced with nice looking buildings & useless stunts that could only be performed once or twice.

My advice to anybody thinking about buying this game would be to rent it twice and get it out of your system, then take the money that you saved and go buy a copy of GTA San Andreas with the Strategy Guide and play it for several months. After playing for a few days you will soon ask yourself "Why ON EARTH would they take most of this stuff out of the new version?!"

IGN says 10/10? Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure.

dang, iraq just got interesting

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: May 04, 2008
Author: Amazon User

well im currently serving with the army in iraq, and i found this game to be one of the funnest games out here, i ordered it and it got here pretty quick, every night after shift me and a few of the guys play just to see who can stay alive the longest or get in the most trouble, i think im going to start the story now

A little overrated

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: May 13, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I bought this expecting a lot of innovation over previous grand theft auto games. Here's what I found:

Graphics 4/5
Very, very good in most cases, but there's quite a lot of framerate slowdown, and even a little bit of pop in on my 360 when things are moving quickly. I really like the rain effects, and the game is just really awesome in 720p.

Sound 5/5
I like the radio stations, though I don't spend a whole lot of time listening to them. All other effects, from gunfire to random pedestrians, are good. I think the television stations and the internet sites aren't quite as funny as they think they are, but it's a good effort.

Gameplay 3/5
Here's where I was disappointed. You can create one of the best looking, best sounding cities, but the actual gameplay is absolutely nothing new. In fact, it is a step back from San Andreas, which let you own property and fight gang wars, etc. Here, those aspects have been removed.

Problem #1: Story/mission types: In the first six or seven hours, your missions -- no exaggeration -- consist of the most inane, boring, linear jobs you can imagine. Literally five missions to start off involve shaking people down for protection money. New characters give you jobs that involve killing drug dealers and running cars off the road. There's nothing here that we haven't seen a million times in GTA 3 or its sequels.

Problem #2: The cell phone helps the game feel more realistic, but there's all sorts of problems here. First of all, calling people is useless b/c you usually just get voicemail. The phone is basically a way for people to call and say "Come to my location on the map and I will give you another inane mission." You can, however, use the phone to call up women for dates and hang out with friends, which will allow you to get little benefits from your friends in the game (e.g. one character will let you use his cab service free).

I've never felt more like a loser than when I dated a girl in a videogame. It gets comical when you crash the car and she doesn't even notice. So the dating mechanic seems more like an afterthought, and the darts/bowling minigames you can play to hang out with friends are, again, not half as fun as real life darts or bowling. In fact, there's a trick I found that nets you strikes 99% of the time in bowling -- try that in real life! The idea that these games are 'so developed they can be their own game' that the reviewers keep repeating is, frankly, a little over the top.

Rockstar had an opportunity here to really take this series to the next generation. Instead, the missions are really linear and it feels like a hi-res GTA3.

Multiplayer - N/A
Have not played online. If you're mainly interested in gaming on Xbox live then I guess this review does not apply. But I think most people are mostly interested in single player.

Overall, it's a 3.5/5. A solid game for a little bit, but longtime fans of the series will be disappointed. 10/10 is really silly. I'm starting not to trust game reviewers...

HIGHLY OVER-RATED!!!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 33
Date: May 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The terrible steering on the cars is back! Not to mention your character "runs" in snail mode. The fighting is the absolute worst, takes you about 2 minutes to knock your opponent out cold. This game is literally like playing unreleased missions of old Grand Theft Auto games. Instead of taking a step forward like they did with San Andreas, they took a step to the side and made another cliche Grand Theft Auto. Looks like the GTA series will finally meet its match when Saintsrow 2 comes out, not to mention the fact they stole the cellphone concept from Saintsrow.

GTA4 is the new Gold Standard for video games

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 9
Date: April 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

From the moment the title screens starts rolling, you are automatically drawn into the world of Liberty City. The plight of Niko unfolds much like most other GTA games, but you'll soon find that the subtle differences make this game great beyond comparison. From being able to pick up small items you find, to knocking over trash cans, to noticing that no two peds wear the same outfit, you'll understand just how much work went into making this game as close to a real city as gaming has thus provided.

Having tons and tons of vehicles around town to "borrow" doesn't hurt either. Each with very accurate physics and details, you can lose yourself in just driving around for hours at a time. The radio stations are just too cool, and still provide long play lists before looping. A game with little else other than driving with great tunes would be worth the price.

The missions are as plentiful as the characters you meet, and constructed just as well. I can't say enough good things about this game.

The playtime value is more than enough to earn this game high rankings, but the Rockstar team only settled for, dare I say, perfection.

Review Page: Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next 

Actions