Uberfuhrer
05-05-2008, 08:12 AM
Okay, I know that we're nearly a week into the much-anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto IV, and that my review for it is overdue, but wait no longer. Here it is.
* * * * *
In 2001, a Scottish company by the name of Rockstar Games released one of the most controversial video games of all time. Grand Theft Auto III spawned two sequels, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and each of which were composed of a free-roaming interactive digital world in which the protagonist was able to cause mischief. But behind all the gratuitousness was a highly clever satire on American lifestyle.
GTA III took place in Liberty City, a loose New York City lookalike. Being set in the present day (then 2001), it was a mockery of various events of that era. The game also payed homage to such films as The Godfather. A year later, Vice City was released, which took place in a 1986 Miami knockoff, also spoofing classic movies, namely Scarface. Come 2004, we have San Andreas, the most ambitious Grand Theft Auto game yet, titled after a fictitious state composed of three cities dubbed Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas, a mockery of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, respectively.
And now, for the new generation of consoles, the much anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto IV is here, returning to a much revamped Liberty City of the present day, which is an even more literal interpretation of a New York City that was sold to a generic product manufacturer. In place of the Statue of Liberty, for example, we have the Statue of Happiness. In place of the MetLife building, we have the Get-A-Life building. The list goes on. And the game even targets certain American television shows and websites as part of its grand scheme to make a mockery of the world. In place of America's Next Top Model, we have America's Next Top Hooker. GTA IV also targets the Internet, parodying MySpace, dating sites, blog sites, ringtone download sites (download ringtones for $100). The list goes on and on, and Rockstar's inventiveness is seemingly endless.
This time around, you play as Niko Bellic, an Eastern European immigrant invited by his cousin Roman to stay in America in search of the American Dream. Niko realizes that the so-called "American Dream" isn't what he expected, considering America to be just a louder version of the rest of the world (surprise, surprise). Hence, Niko achieves this American Dream through unorthodox means, doing business with a variety of colorfully shady people -- from Russian mob lords to crooked cops, from Jamaican stoners to undercover government agents.
In true Rockstar fashion, Grand Theft Auto IV is littered with ethnic stereotypes. While the stereotypes against Italian Americans, Latino Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and White Americans remain ever present as they have in previous Grand Theft Auto installments, Grand Theft Auto IV has a set of new targets, including Eastern Europeans, Jamaicans, Irish Americans, among many others. The game is truly an equal-opportunity offender in terms of culture, religion, and profession.
Rockstar's new Liberty City actually feels like a real city. It's as if a piece of a major American city was taken and placed into a video game, through which the player is able to interact with it from behind a window. Where previous free-roaming crime games eventually spawned the same pedestrian designs, GTA IV's Liberty City has all different designs for pedestrians. I have yet to see a single pedestrian that is the same design. It makes the city feel alive.
The physics of the game are also very much improved, although the car handling is a tad bit more difficult from previous games. Still it's always fun to watch some ultra-realistic explosions and cause epic accidents, complete with realistic reactions from an ultra-smart civilian AI.
Also featured in the game's complex physics are subtle details such as flying through the windshield when crashing (which was featured in 2006's Saints Row, but never in a GTA game), along with blood splattered onto a car that runs you or a pedestrian over.
The graphics are equally amazing as far as consoles go (although a top-of-the-line PC game could easily smoke this game's graphics). There is much attention to detail to marvel over, including the watery glistening of the streets during and after a rainstorm, the glossy reflection of the environment against the chrome paint of a vehicle, the sunlight beaming against the streets of Liberty City, vividly creating both glow and shadow. There is so much to drool over.
Take that as a blessing or a curse, however, because I find that the more cartoony free-roaming crime shooters have more replay value, as is true with Volition's Saints Row, which was a great-looking next-gen game whose resemblance felt like an actual GTA game but with improved graphics that are not necessarily realistic, but fun and creative. GTA IV, by contrast, is much more gritty in terms of its visual style, and there are things missing in the game that were featured in previous GTA installments, such as the ability to pilot a jet plane (although Rockstar had political reasons not to feature such abilities in this game to avoid controversy). So while Liberty City is an astonishing achievement, you don't quite feel as if it's a city that would be fun to roam around in, as were Vice City, the trio of cities in San Andreas, and Saints Row's Stilwater.
GTA IV also lacks major Hollywood stars to contribute to character voices, which makes it seem less like a movie. Instead, there are a bunch of no-name actors. With that said, however, the voice work remains top-notch. For example, the one-liners uttered by Niko when interacting with the people in Liberty City are in top form and often hilarious.
With all the shortcomings of the game, GTA IV has so much to be proud of. There are plenty of amusing minigames featured within, including, but not limited to, bowling, pool, and darts, along with amusing side missions. And the radio stations continue to have great music. This time, along with your typical rap, rock, and radio talk stations, with a few foreign stations scattered here and there, the game also includes trance, electronica, and big band stations. Songs by ELO, David Bowie, Smashing Pumpkins, and many more can be found as you hop into the car and play with the radio.
But while the Grand Theft Auto series was a milestone in free-roaming gaming, I have a feeling that the unique concept has turned more into a game genre to be expanded by other companies. The Saints Row games, for example, have expansive potential that the GTA games don't seem to be catching onto. And I must say that GTA IV lacks the real replay value that the other games had. I am actually looking even more forward to Saints Row 2, due out in August.
* * * * *
In 2001, a Scottish company by the name of Rockstar Games released one of the most controversial video games of all time. Grand Theft Auto III spawned two sequels, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and each of which were composed of a free-roaming interactive digital world in which the protagonist was able to cause mischief. But behind all the gratuitousness was a highly clever satire on American lifestyle.
GTA III took place in Liberty City, a loose New York City lookalike. Being set in the present day (then 2001), it was a mockery of various events of that era. The game also payed homage to such films as The Godfather. A year later, Vice City was released, which took place in a 1986 Miami knockoff, also spoofing classic movies, namely Scarface. Come 2004, we have San Andreas, the most ambitious Grand Theft Auto game yet, titled after a fictitious state composed of three cities dubbed Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas, a mockery of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, respectively.
And now, for the new generation of consoles, the much anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto IV is here, returning to a much revamped Liberty City of the present day, which is an even more literal interpretation of a New York City that was sold to a generic product manufacturer. In place of the Statue of Liberty, for example, we have the Statue of Happiness. In place of the MetLife building, we have the Get-A-Life building. The list goes on. And the game even targets certain American television shows and websites as part of its grand scheme to make a mockery of the world. In place of America's Next Top Model, we have America's Next Top Hooker. GTA IV also targets the Internet, parodying MySpace, dating sites, blog sites, ringtone download sites (download ringtones for $100). The list goes on and on, and Rockstar's inventiveness is seemingly endless.
This time around, you play as Niko Bellic, an Eastern European immigrant invited by his cousin Roman to stay in America in search of the American Dream. Niko realizes that the so-called "American Dream" isn't what he expected, considering America to be just a louder version of the rest of the world (surprise, surprise). Hence, Niko achieves this American Dream through unorthodox means, doing business with a variety of colorfully shady people -- from Russian mob lords to crooked cops, from Jamaican stoners to undercover government agents.
In true Rockstar fashion, Grand Theft Auto IV is littered with ethnic stereotypes. While the stereotypes against Italian Americans, Latino Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and White Americans remain ever present as they have in previous Grand Theft Auto installments, Grand Theft Auto IV has a set of new targets, including Eastern Europeans, Jamaicans, Irish Americans, among many others. The game is truly an equal-opportunity offender in terms of culture, religion, and profession.
Rockstar's new Liberty City actually feels like a real city. It's as if a piece of a major American city was taken and placed into a video game, through which the player is able to interact with it from behind a window. Where previous free-roaming crime games eventually spawned the same pedestrian designs, GTA IV's Liberty City has all different designs for pedestrians. I have yet to see a single pedestrian that is the same design. It makes the city feel alive.
The physics of the game are also very much improved, although the car handling is a tad bit more difficult from previous games. Still it's always fun to watch some ultra-realistic explosions and cause epic accidents, complete with realistic reactions from an ultra-smart civilian AI.
Also featured in the game's complex physics are subtle details such as flying through the windshield when crashing (which was featured in 2006's Saints Row, but never in a GTA game), along with blood splattered onto a car that runs you or a pedestrian over.
The graphics are equally amazing as far as consoles go (although a top-of-the-line PC game could easily smoke this game's graphics). There is much attention to detail to marvel over, including the watery glistening of the streets during and after a rainstorm, the glossy reflection of the environment against the chrome paint of a vehicle, the sunlight beaming against the streets of Liberty City, vividly creating both glow and shadow. There is so much to drool over.
Take that as a blessing or a curse, however, because I find that the more cartoony free-roaming crime shooters have more replay value, as is true with Volition's Saints Row, which was a great-looking next-gen game whose resemblance felt like an actual GTA game but with improved graphics that are not necessarily realistic, but fun and creative. GTA IV, by contrast, is much more gritty in terms of its visual style, and there are things missing in the game that were featured in previous GTA installments, such as the ability to pilot a jet plane (although Rockstar had political reasons not to feature such abilities in this game to avoid controversy). So while Liberty City is an astonishing achievement, you don't quite feel as if it's a city that would be fun to roam around in, as were Vice City, the trio of cities in San Andreas, and Saints Row's Stilwater.
GTA IV also lacks major Hollywood stars to contribute to character voices, which makes it seem less like a movie. Instead, there are a bunch of no-name actors. With that said, however, the voice work remains top-notch. For example, the one-liners uttered by Niko when interacting with the people in Liberty City are in top form and often hilarious.
With all the shortcomings of the game, GTA IV has so much to be proud of. There are plenty of amusing minigames featured within, including, but not limited to, bowling, pool, and darts, along with amusing side missions. And the radio stations continue to have great music. This time, along with your typical rap, rock, and radio talk stations, with a few foreign stations scattered here and there, the game also includes trance, electronica, and big band stations. Songs by ELO, David Bowie, Smashing Pumpkins, and many more can be found as you hop into the car and play with the radio.
But while the Grand Theft Auto series was a milestone in free-roaming gaming, I have a feeling that the unique concept has turned more into a game genre to be expanded by other companies. The Saints Row games, for example, have expansive potential that the GTA games don't seem to be catching onto. And I must say that GTA IV lacks the real replay value that the other games had. I am actually looking even more forward to Saints Row 2, due out in August.