Published: May 08, 2008 06:54 pm            

Review: 'Grand Theft Auto IV' is remarkable

JOPLIN, Mo. — Liberty City ... a vast metropolis where anything can and does happen. Enter Niko Bellic, a Russian citizen, soldier and mercenary who is searching for the American dream. When the two meet for the first time, you know it’s a match. Now it’s up to you to give Niko his dream, doing whatever it takes.

In “Grand Theft Auto IV,” as in previous games, you’ll have pretty much anything and everything at your disposal. You’ll start by meeting up with your cousin, Roman, who is trying to establish himself in the U.S. However, he’s not doing that great and in fact he’s kind of a pushover. Luckily, you’re not. He’ll give you a start in his business and give you a cell phone after a couple of missions. The cell phone is your way to contact anyone to start missions, take a job, call girls for a date, etc. Additionally, the phone doubles as a hub for starting a multiplayer game and accessing cheats.

Another cool feature is your GPS system that figures out the best route to take to get to your destination and highlights it for you on the map. It’s not always the fastest way, but usually it works really well.

Once you get familiar with those, the game stays true to GTA format. There’s cars to steal, bad guys to take out and money to be made.

Controlling Niko is a breeze, and this time around he’s got some clever ways to elude the fuzz and/or shoot it out. If you’ve got a few stars on your wanted gauge, you can now hide in the shadows to lose the cops. Also, if you’re in a gunfight, you can take cover behind objects while keeping a lock on your enemy.

GTA IV has two tiers of weapons, poor and advanced. Included in them are pistols, shotguns, rifles, machine guns, RPGs, grenades, and Molotov cocktails. You also have your bat and after a handful of missions, you can pick objects up off the street (i.e. bricks) and use them as weapons as well.

Most of the cars make their return from previous games as well, including one of my favorites, the tricked-out SUV, Huntley Sport. There are no airplanes this time around although there are helicopters, including a military attack chopper. All other kids of cars can be found, from ‘80s models to brand new exotic sports cars as well as boats and motorcycles. Stealing a car is as simple as a button press; however, the time it takes for you to actually get in the car and drive away has increased. If Niko’s attempt to open the car door using the door handle fails he will break the glass, unlock the door, hotwire it and then drive away.

To compliment the level of animated detail in the characters, Liberty City is as close to a living, breathing city as anything can be. People going about their daily business driving, shopping, eating; storms that have thunder that shake the speakers and lighting that paints the sky with blinding white and blue; wind rustling leaves of trees and blowing trash are just the tip of the iceberg. GTA IV will constantly amaze you with such an over abundance of subtle detail. In addition, damage to cars and structures are equally amazing.

Once again the GTA soundtrack is outstanding with numerous radio stations to choose from which includes all genres of music. The sound effects are just as well done, and include upgrades on some of the weapon and car effects.

I can talk about all the impressive specs of the game for a long time. The point is the game is beyond fun. There is so much to do and figure out on your own that it will take months to navigate the city without the GPS. Using the cheats from the cell phone (you have to initially dial them in as phone numbers) makes it kind of like “The Matrix” in a way. If you dial the cheat for a racecar or helicopter, one appears out of thin air. I spent a ton of time spawning helicopters, flying to super tall buildings, spawning motorcycles or cars and driving off the top. I know it’s stupid, but it’s so much fun. The online multiplayer is just as fun especially when you have the max of 16 players in one game.

The bottom line is “Grand Theft Auto IV” is a remarkable achievement in almost every way. If you have a PS3 or Xbox 360 you have to play this game. If you’re waiting to buy a system for the right game to come along, then wait no longer. As for me, I’ve got some helicopters to jump.

        

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