Grand Theft Auto IV is one of the most critically acclaimed video games of all time, receiving an overwhelmingly positive response from critics, with many giving the game a perfect score. Review aggregator GameRatio? ranks Grand Theft Auto IV as the best scoring game ever reviewed.It is also the all-time highest-rated game among 360 games on aggregated review website Metacritic and the highest-rated game on Moby Games and Top Ten Reviews. Despite this, the game has not been without controversy.
Features :
Gameplay:
Much like its predecessors, the core gameplay of Grand Theft Auto IV consists of giving the player a large, open world environment in which to move around freely. On foot, the player character can walk, run, jump, climb over obstacles and swim, as well as use weapons and perform basic hand-to-hand combat. Players can steal and drive a variety of vehicles, including automobiles, boats, helicopters, and motorcycles. Grand Theft Auto IV takes advantage of Natural Motion's Euphoria engine, which combines artificial intelligence, bio-mechanics and physics to make NPC behaviour and movement adaptive and more realistic.The open, non-linear environment allows players to explore and choose how they wish to play the game. Although storyline missions are necessary to progress through the game and unlock certain content and parts of the city, they are not required, as players can complete them at their own leisure. When not attempting a storyline mission, players can free-roam, giving them the ability to do activities. Side missions such as ambulance driving, or locating and destroying criminals in the police database can keep the player occupied for long hours.It is possible to have multiple active missions, as some missions run over the course of several days and require the player to wait for further instructions or events. The player can also attempt a variety of optional side missions. Grand Theft Auto IV also contains so-called "morality choices" at several points throughout the game, which alter the storyline appropriately depending on the player's choice. Which of the game's two different endings occurs is determined by one of these choices.
Combat and police response:
Combat in Grand Theft Auto IV has been reworked to include a cover system.Gunfights in GTA IV are conducted using a third-person system. The player can slide to cover, target a specific person, blindfire, and free aim. Individual body parts can also be targeted.Additionally, Niko can perform "cinematic executions", only possible with a pistol to certain characters/situations when the target circle blinks red. Niko's health is shown by a green semicircle on the left side of the mini-map, while a blue semicircle on the right represents armour. When locked on a target, their health and (if applicable) armour level appears in the target circle.There are more hand-to-hand combat moves than in past games in the series, namely punching, kicking, "alternative" punching, dodging and blocking, disarming an opponent, and counter-attacking.If Niko is injured, he can recover health by eating, drinking soda, sleeping, using medical kits, using his mobile phone to call for paramedics, calling one of his girlfriends for medical advice, or using the services of a prostitute. Health is generally reduced by physical injuries, such as being hit by vehicles when walking, being thrown through the windscreen of a vehicle when crashing, and gunfire or explosions and stab wounds. Body armour is gradually damaged by gunshots and explosions.If Niko's health level reaches zero, the action stops, and he re-appears at the nearest hospital having lost 10% of his total wealth (up to $10,000). Niko retains his weapons after re-spawning at a hospital, which previously only occurred in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.The Wanted Level system has changed from previous GTA games. Although their star levels are retained (which increase with the number or severity of criminal acts by the player, with corresponding increases in law enforcement interference), the law enforcement agencies which may pursue the player have changed, with the focus on making them more realistic. In previous GTA titles, as wanted level rose the player was pursued by increasingly well-armed and violent agencies, culminating with the Army at the highest wanted level. In GTA 4, the Police are assisted by NOOSE (National Office of Security Enforcement - a parody of DHS officers at a three-star wanted level, who in turn are again assisted randomly by either NOOSE's Tactical Response Unit (a parody of the NYPD ESU) or FIB (Federal Investigation Bureau - a parody of the FBI) at a five-star wanted level and beyond. Like previous GTA games, a police helicopter pursues the player at a three-star wanted level, but this is replaced by a helicopter gunship at the five-star wanted level, though it utilises sharp-shooters rather than its mounted gatling guns.When the police are in pursuit of Niko, a circular search area appears on the map in which the police will be looking for him. The area grows with increased wanted level, and re-centres itself on Niko's location if he is spotted by the police. If the player escapes from the search area without being seen by law enforcement units the search is aborted. Wanted levels can also be lost either by driving into a "Pay 'N' Spray" (unless seen entering by police), or entering a safehouse and going to sleep. The player has the option of attempting to escape arrest before being handcuffed, at the cost of increasing the wanted level by one star.
Vehicles:
Common to the rest of the series, vehicles are the predominant means of travel in GTA IV. Every vehicle in the game uses the in-game minimap as a GPS device. "Waypoints" can be placed on the map, plotting the fastest legal route between Niko and the destination on the minimap. The player can also hail a taxi cab, which allows travel between destinations without having to drive. The journey can also be skipped, so the player arrives at their destination instantly. However if the player decides to skip the journey It will cost him more money. During car chases, the player can focus the camera on the target vehicle by holding the cinematic camera button, and also free-aim and fire out of the vehicle using one-handed firearms. The player may also drop grenades or Molotov cocktails.The player cannot pilot fixed-wing aircraft, which was possible in previous games of the series, but can still pilot helicopters. The game also lacks parachutes, though they were later reintroduced in The Ballad of Gay Tony.The Bullet physics engine along with the Euphoria animation system causes Niko to react differently to every bike crash, instead of using a predefined animation.Unlike previous games, vehicles will not explode if they are flipped over, however they may catch fire and eventually explode if the engine is sufficiently damaged by collisions or firearms. Car engines can also break down, rendering them unable to start, and vehicles can be physically deformed at the location of impacts, sometimes rendering them undrivable.In certain areas of Liberty City, Niko can also hire the services of a prostitute by stopping his car alongside them and honking the horn.
Communication:
Whereas previous games in the series frequently used public telephones to relay missions to the player, in GTA IV a mobile phone is used. It has several uses, including viewing text messages and appointments, arranging to meet friends for activities, and also for choosing to retry failed missions. The player can also take photos for certain missions, and call 911 to summon the emergency services.The police will arrest felons, and paramedics are able to restore Niko's health. The phone also allows access to the game's multiplayer mode, online in a free mode. The player can also call other characters to talk to them, or ask for a service that they can provide, such as transportation or a reduction in wanted level. Also, like some other games, cheat codes are entered by dialing certain numbers on the mobile phone.The game also features several different in-game databases that Niko can make use of. An in-game version of the Internet can be used by accessing the Internet café chain, "TW@" (slang for vagina), located throughout the city or by accessing a computer in a safehouse. There are over 100 fictitious websites that can be accessed within the game, and Niko can also send and receive email (including junk mail) and set up prospective dates. Although the Internet café was seen in Grand Theft Auto III, internet browsing was not possible.In a police vehicle, Niko can use an in-car computer to access Liberty City's criminal database, discover information about various criminals in Liberty City and even track them down for a reward.The game also features in-game television programming, with several viewable channels featuring programmes and advertisements. The television shows cover a wide variety of genres, including a history channel, reality shows, card games, and cartoons.
Multiplayer:
Grand Theft Auto IV includes online multiplayer, with 15 modes of play available.It supports up to 16 players (32 players in the PC version) and allows players to explore the entire city.Hosts of the games can control many variables, such as police presence, traffic, and weapons. The console editions of the game do not feature any split screen or LAN multiplayer modes , but the PC version does have LAN support.The online games are split into ranked and unranked matches. The reward for the ranked gameplay is cash, which determines players' ranks.Players use a customisable character in the majority of play modes, and cash earned during play gradually makes more customisation options available.Several different game modes are available. Team based gameplay modes include Team Deathmatch, where 2–8 teams compete to accumulate the most kills in a traditional deathmatch; Team Mafiya Work, in which 2–8 teams compete to complete contract work for the "mafiya", such as escorting/killing targets or stealing cars; Team Car Jack City where 2–8 teams compete to steal cars and earn money for keeping them undamaged; Cops n' Crooks, featuring a team of cops who must compete against a team of crooks (which features the "All for One" variation – requiring the cops to kill the crooks' "Boss" before he is escorted to the extraction point – and the "One for All" variation – requiring the cops to kill all of the crooks before they reach the extraction point); and Turf War, involving two teams who compete to take control of designated areas of the map and control them for as long as possible.The game also includes a variety of racing and cooperative modes, which include Race, in which players race through checkpoints in a traditional automobile race; a GTA Race variation, where players race through checkpoints in an automobile race, with the ability to combat their opponents; Hangman's N.O.O.S.E., a co-op mode that requires players to collect a person from the airport and safely escort him to the extraction point before the cops kill him; Deal Breaker, a co-op mission that requires players to assault a construction site captured by enemies, then chase a group of enemies before they escape; and Bomb da Base II, a co-op mission that requires players to clear out a ship, then destroy it with explosives, referencing the mission title Bomb Da Base: act II from Grand Theft Auto 3 which featured a similar objective of destroying a ship with explosives. The game also features a Free Mode, in which players have the entire map open to explore, with no end goal or mission to complete.Certain features from the single player mode are disabled in the multiplayer modes, such as the bowling, darts, and pool mini-games. The cheats, clubs and Internet café and some forms of transport (ie Subway trains and Taxi ride) are also disabled. These limitations also apply for all other game-types.
Characters:
Main articles: List of characters in Grand Theft Auto IV and List of gangs in the Grand Theft Auto series
The protagonist Niko Bellic with the antagonist Dimitri Rascalov at a seaside amusement park.The characters that appear in Grand Theft Auto IV are diverse and relative to the respective boroughs of Liberty City they are based in; belonging to various gangs and ethnic groups. The player controls Niko Bellic, a veteran of an Eastern European war.According to Dan Houser, virtually none of the characters from the previous games would return, as "most of the characters we liked were dead,"further evidenced by in-game graffiti bidding farewell to these characters.Unlike previous games in the series, the voice actors of Grand Theft Auto IV do not include notable and high-profile celebrities, instead opting for lesser known actors such as Michael Hollick, Jason Zumwalt, Timothy Adams and Coolie Ranx. However, several high-profile DJs host the various radio stations within the game such as Iggy Pop, Juliette Lewis, Karl Lagerfeld, DJ Premier, Roy Ayers, Fez Whatley and Lazlow Jones. Saturday Night Live actors Bill Hader and Jason Sudeikis appear on the liberal and conservative radio talk shows respectively, with Fred Armisen playing several guests on Lazlow's "Integrity 2.0". Katt Williams and Ricky Gervais also have their likenesses and comedy depicted in an in-game comedy club.Numerous other comedians, including Jim Norton, Patrice Oneal, Rick Shapiro, and Robert Kelly, appeared on the radio and/or as characters in-game. Tony-nominee, Alison Fraser can also be heard.
Screen Shot :
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