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Return to Liberty City

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 08, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I've played every GTA game since 3 was released on PS2 but I have never felt compelled to play through the storyline to completion. I would usually just play a few missions then decide to wreak havoc in the city and try to get wanted levels maxed out for some good old fashioned police evading.

The problem with this was that I would eventually burn out on the game and not even care about going back to the missions. GTA4 is a completely different experience. I care more about what is going to happen to Niko and crew more than I have in any past GTA. The dialogue is well written and the voice acting is very good. The amount of interaction with the supporting cast is very high. I get to the point where I have trouble finding time to spend with all the friend characters and then I feel bad when they start to like me less.

The other aspects that have become staples of GTA, car theft, missions, destruction, are all present and with the new shooting system it is much more fun to enter firefights than ever before. The driving physics have been changed for a much more realistic feel which leads to many more crashes and a steep learning curve in the beginning before you can cruise around the city with ease. And of course the graphics are spectacular. I would highly recommend this to any fan of GTA, shooter fans, or even RPG fans.

Grand Theft Auto IV

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is not a critical review, this is simply a review from a fan of the series.

I have to admit, when i first played this game i loved it. But, like any other game in existence, it has its flaws. The best thing that this game has going for it is the unsurpassed freedom. Although the game is plot derived, you can play the game at your own pace, which is a nice touch considering how huge Liberty City is. This time around your arsenal is limited, meaning you wont have items like the chainsaw, katana, or even that purple dildo CJ had when he killed that gimp suit guy. Its cut and dry weaponry, its not bad though, gunning people down with a carbine is just as good as sawing through a crowd of people, i guess. The second best feature is the online play, if you have this game play it online and you'll see what im talking about. For those who are just interested in single player, ounce you beat the main story (which should clock in at about 40/45 hours give or take) the city is yours! you cant technically buy any property so the city is.. hmm.. somewhat yours? kind of yours? a tad bit yours? you get the idea. For me the game feels stripped. Sure you can do new things, but its limited. I guess you have to use your imagination. In the end this game delivers on the fun factor scale, After all, since when was outrunning the entire LCPD boring?

San Andreas is still better

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

It goes like this:
1. San Andreas
2. GTA4
3. you choose

A. Realism is great but I think the thing that what makes GTA awesome is the fun factor, like the Wii has in this generation. They lost some fun factor here with vehicle handling, wonky controls and frustrating cameras during combat and chases. San Andreas is not realistic graphically but is much more fun to play and I feel the controls were better, that being said the cover mechanic is a nice addition to the realism of the combat in this game. I don't like having to babysit the camera more, like when I step into a car it does not snap into the forward looking mode until the car is going already. Also stealing a car is a much more involved and slow process here, taking some fun out of it. Car handling is more realistic but much less fun, if I wanted that I'll play my car sim games.

B. Replayability and Variety of Missions. I see playing this through 2-3 times missions only, San Andreas I played through 6-8 times. With 85 missions it's a lot but SA had over 100 and had a greater variety not to mention a much bigger world. The side missions in SA were more fun and varied. I find myself not interested in the side missions much like killing pigeons that will sometimes get you police coverage, so it's just the missions and out. There's just not enough wonder there to explore like in the previous games because there's nothing to do most of the time. The constant calls for eating/shows etc are annoying, this is not why I am playing and seems to have minimal to none as far as the story is concerned. Most missions are drive somewhere and kill someone granted but SA just had more situations and settings than this one. There is not the wonder factor, anybody remember the bigfoot rumor in SA? The value as far as gameplay is just not up to SA in my opinion.

C. Setting and Story. NY is cool but come on let's go to a new place. I think Chicago would be good as the midwest has been forgotten here. New Orleans would be cool, London even. Or a regional thing like SA had. The story is not as satisfying and epic as San Andreas' was. SA's story all fit together well. This story is mostly just a guy looking for money with annoying relatives mixed in. I'm about 50% done so this could change though.

Conclusion. This is a great game, the best sandbox in this generation of consoles so you should get it, but comparing it to the last one just leaves me wanting. Everybody knows that Gran Turismo 3 on PS2 was groundbreaking and the best sim on consoles but since then Forza and other similar games have taken it's place. I think GTA has not advanced much overall with this installment, just sharper graphics and that's too bad as that's not what made GTA great. So I think that, like Gran Turismo 3, GTA hit it's peak with San Andreas.

Its cool

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I cant see how every game reviewer is giving this game a perfect score. It is fun, but it still has many of the same annoying control issues/glitches you find in prior GTA's. Also, the multiplayer is nothing to brag about. The pregame/matchmaking system is horrible. It often freezes, and its hard rare that you ever get a full match where everyone knows what they're doing. It definatley does not compare to the fun and competion of Halo 3 or COD 4.
The single player mode however is extremly fun and entertaining. The depth is amazing, from browsing the internet and checking email, to browsing the police car laptop database to find people you need to kill.
This is definatley a must have title. Altough its close, it just dosent live up to the hype of a "perfect" game for me.

Greatest game ever made

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I don't use the phrase lightly but GTA 4 is the greatest game ever made. I've been a pretty heavy gamer since Atari. I've owned every system (except NeoGeo, that Nokia one and a few other crappies) and played hundreds if not thousands of games (including the original GTA on PC). I can say with absolute certainty of my opinion that this game is the greatest ever made.

If you are a fan of the previous GTAs, then you will love this one. It uses a physics engine technology called Euphoria so there are no longer any canned animations. Everything is computed on the fly, and it makes for some great gameplay. Everything from the previous GTAs is revamped. The combat system is much better and the game makes great use of it. Graphics are incredible and the world is live and completely interactive.

But the new improved gameplay is not what makes this game the greatest ever. It's the attention to detail. Without going into too much detail, you can tell they spent a lot of time on this game, and it pays off.

But it's not just the attention to detail either. This game is also the funniest game I've ever played. From the hundreds of unique comments you can hear from pedestrians on the street, to the ads on the radio, to the characters in the story. Everyone has a lot to say and most of it will crack you up. Even the cabbies you call for car service are hilarious.

This game is just such a masterpiece, if you own a 360 or PS3, you must own it. Definitely not for minors though.

Simply amazing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

It would be impossible to describe everything in GTA IV, because the game is too big to describe in detail. Suffice it to say, if you can think it, you can do it in GTA IV. Previous installments in the GTA series allowed you to interact in a world that was largely oblivious of your presence, only reacting when you made an impression. This time around, Liberty City feels alive, and things happen around you with or without your interaction. The city interacts with you, giving you visual, audio, and sensational feedback on a level that borders realism (or at least as real as an HDTV, 5.1 Dolby surround sound system, and a rumble controller can give you).

The story in GTA is very well done, although if you do the missions in a random order, it does break up the flow of the story, however if you don't choose to do many of the side missions, you feel as though you are missing out. Overall, though, the missions are very fun, ranging from simple pick up and delivery missions to kill 50 rival mobsters by yourself missions.

The gameplay has been improved, and although not perfect, they work well and make the game very playable and fun. You can now take cover behind objects a la Gears of War, and I haven't been able to find a surface I wasn't able to hide behind. The driving has also been improved, making the cars feel more realistic and the damage to cars is incredibly detailed. If someone shoots your tire, the tire will explode and you'll be driving on a rim. If you hit a wall or oncoming traffic at high speed, you'll be hurled through the windshield. If you damage any part of your car, the car will be affected realistically. I even had a tire lock up on the front passenger's side because the damaged metal was wrapped around the rubber. GTA is filled with astounding attention to detail.

The graphics are some of the best on the 360. There are real-time shadows being cast by every object in Liberty City, giving you a sense of time. Weather ranging from fog to rain to intense thunderstorms that send shockwaves through your controller all make the city feel even more real. All of the people, vehicles, buildings, bridges and environments are rendered beautifully.
The sound is equally amazing, with no detail overlooked. Crappy cars will have squeaky breaks, fast cars will have monstrous engines, pedestrians will talk to eachother, pigeons coo, grenades explode, cars crash, sirens wail, and on and on. I've been playing for about 25 hours now and I haven't once seen an action on screen that wasn't accompanied by a perfectly placed sound effect. The music, depending on your own personal taste, is also great. Voice acting is the best I've yet heard in a videogame.

The GTA brand of humor is in full effect, from the advertisements to the radio to the television and even to the internet, its all there. In addition to stealing cars and causing general mayhem, you can also go on dates, surf the internet, watch TV, buy new duds, go bowling with friends, shoot pool, play darts, eat hot dogs from a vendor cart, wash the blood off your new Inferno, pimp out your cell phone, and even get drunk. The amount of things to experience in Liberty City are endless.

A warning to parents: The "M" rating given by the ESRB is no joke. This game is not appropriate for anyone under 17, and should never be played by or around children.

Great, but NOT the Greatest

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 22, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I've never played a GTA game in my life. The whole thought of playing as a criminal and killing/robbing random people never really appealed to me that much. But when IGN gave the game a perfect score, I decided to give it a shot. And the result is a game that'll keep you busy for months to come.

Graphics
GTA IV does some very impressive things in the graphics department. The character models are nothing to write home about. It's the environments that make this game a joy to behold. Rockstar has managed to recreate an entire city in realtime. If you can see a building, you can visit it (with little to no loading time I might add). And there are a LOT of buildings. Not to mention some very nice complementary environmental effects, and and an excellent day/night system. When the sun goes down, you really do feel like your in a big city at night time. Everytime I drove by a black guy on the street I had to resist the impulse to lock the car door (I kid, I kid).

There truly is some eye candy in this game, but the average character models prevent it from achieving elite status.

9/10

Sound

Hands down, GTA IV has the best sound of any game this generation. There's voice acting for every character in here. No annoying text that you have to squint your eyes to read every 20 seconds (looking at you Nintendo). Environmental noises all sound great too. From car horns to the sirens of the police cruisers desperately trying to catch you, everything is top notch. But what really sets GTA apart from the competition are the radio stations. Every time you enter a vehicle, you're given the option of listening to one of about a dozen radio stations, each with totally unique content. Everything from conservative talk radio to 80's punk rock is here, each bringing it's own brand of awesomeness to the show. What more can you ask for?

10/10

Gameplay

To be honest, when I started typing this review about a week ago, I had every intention of saying how much the gameplay blows. But in my infinite wisdom, I decided to give it a little more time. And I'm glad I did, because this game is fun. Their are two different types of engines in this game; driving ,and stuff you do on foot. The driving and camera take some getting used to at first. I dropped more than a few F-bombs in frustration because I kept crashing into things during the middle of missions. But once you get a feel for the physics of the game, it's actually a very smooth ride. Heck, even driving drunk is fun. That's right, if you have one too many at the local tavern, you're ability to drive a car becomes impaired. The camera bobs up and down, and you cannot drive in a straight line. Which makes trying to get away from the cops for DUI even more fun.

The controls for Niko on foot are more of the same; good, but not great. What makes this game fun is the sheer variety and amount of things to do in Liberty City. Virtually anything you can imagine, you can experience. Everything from fake internet, television, bowling, pool, and tons more; it's all there. You couldn't even touch the main story for weeks and still have plenty of things to keep you busy. But you won't want to, because the main story is good (at least for GTA). For a cold blooded killer, you really start to feel for Niko after a few hours into the storyline. It really gave me an incentive to complete the game that I didn't think would be there at first.

9/10

Overall

Rockstar games has been working on GTA IV for what seems like forever, and it shows. After several delays to refine the gameplay, I can honestly say this game is something special. But contrary to IGN's opinion, it's not perfect.

9.6/10

Fun game but not a 10

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The game is pretty good...but not a 10 that some mags are calling it...has quirky controls at times and the camera angles get out of hand..I would rate it a 8 at most ..just my opinion..

Another Great GTA Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Another great GTA game. A little too linear; you basically follow a prescripted path to complete missions and follow the story, but still very fun.

just another gta?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

In a sense, yes. It's a sandbox game. Like previous gta's, you have a huge open world environment to basically do whatever you want.

Does this get boring, especially for gta veterans? yes.

But does this game add something new? YES. This is one of the best games I've ever played, period. The story is great and this is the best in the gta series so far.

I recommend picking this title up.

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