Grand Theft Auto 4 – Believe the Hype!
After some deliberation (did I really need another game?), I decided to pick up Grand Theft Auto 4. This edition is touted as the second coming of video games and predicted to be the best selling game of all time. Of course all the hype cannot be without controversy. It seems that some players are experiencing freezing and disruptions on both systems. Some fans were outraged and demanded a quick fix which Rockstar did provide, although it did not seem to correct some of the original freezing issues which caused players to delete their saved games, disable the auto save and even disable online play just in order to avoid the disruption.
With all that said, many players have reported no issues whatsoever and I am one of them I am happy to say. (note – I did upgrade my hard drive in my PS3 so I am no longer using the stock 40GB).
The game itself is extremely well done for the following reasons (my comments relate to only a 5% completion):
- It’s easy to play: practically anyone can pick up a controller and go through the motions of advancing the game. When you are given a mission you will see yellow line on the map which you follow to your destination (this is quite doable unlike Burnout Paradise at times when you are going mach 10).
- Keep enough of the old and bring in the new: Rockstar didn’t forget why the GTA series was so popular so they made sure to keep it familiar to its predecessors but also incorporate new features. In this installment, you can get in just about any vehicle you want, drive motorcycles (including doing stunts), control speedboats and helicopters (training is provided). The game has a linear yet unrestricting feel. You can explore the entire city if you like just by driving around, but whenever you want, you can select a mission and receive detailed instructions on how to accomplish it.
- Although not all of the music is my taste, Rockstar did a nice job of including a great deal of tracks for various palates. You can feel free to change the radio station as you are driving with a quick toggle of the directional pad. (Vagabond by Greenskeepers is definitely a standout for me)
- It all adds up: The plot starts out with Roman welcoming his cousin Niko to America under the pretense that Roman was a big shot and rich. Niko soon finds out that this is horse puckey but decides to find a way to make things work for himself. The storyline stays true to itself.
- Accessories: The game feels very feature rich and the attention to detail is incredible. You can turn the TV on in your apartment and watch seemingly endless shows and commercials which provide a nice satire to various real life experiences ranging from shaving implements to republican crusades. You can go buy new clothes, buy hot dogs and hamburgers from local stands or perhaps enjoy some activities like bowling, darts or visit a strip bar or night club.
- Integration of Six Axis: This is used for steering your boat, flying the helicopter, riding the motorcycle, bowling and a variety of other activities. It is clear that Rockstar thought about giving PS3 owners a ful experience.
- What’s in the box? Although I didn’t feel it was necessary to spend the extra $30 to get the included jewelry box package, the standard GTA4 packaging is quite enough. It is the only game I have bought so far that needed to place some of the contents on the outside of the plastic disc holder. You receive a full map of Liberty City and fully detailed booklets on the game and controls.
- Playability: Although I am only concentrating on the single player campaign right now, GTA4 does offer online play. The single player experience is quite good in the sense that the graphics are very good (but not jaw dropping) and the frame rate seems to keep steady. For the PS3 version, you are forced to copy about 3GB worth of data to your hard drive and for some this may seem like a lot, however; with a 250GB drive in my system, I don’t have any concerns about this as I know it will speed up the gameplay and make things smooth. For those who complain about this – please remember that you have the more premium system compared to an Xbox 360 and a Blu-Ray disc can hold up to 50GB of data while even a dual layer DVD maxes as just over 8. Something has to give.
Overall I was a bit surprised at how easy it was to start the game and get into it. I somewhat expected to start playing it and put it down after several minutes and move onto something else. After 3 hours uninterrupted, I finally decided to get some other things done. I fully expect this game to fulfill any expectations its consumers may have. We need to keep in mind that with the ability to DLC (downloadable content), the possibilities are endless when it comes to enhancements. This will be game of the year (at least of any game with a Mature rating).
Stop doubting! Believe the hype – go and buy this game!