Now, I'll put this up front for everyone. I'm not a big fan of the GTA series, considering that the last one I played was GTA 2: London 1969. However, I have been a rather devoted follower of the controversy that has surrounded the series and believe that, for the most part, that it's all a bunch of rubbish. However, since Uncle Sam paid for this one (in the form of that Economic stimulus check) I figured I might as well bury my misgivings with the series and give it a full, objective and honest review. There will be a change to my normal format for this one. Instead of just the Good, Bad and the Ugly, I'll also tackle many of the controversial issues about GTA IV; particular since those will almost certainly be the make or break points for those who wish to purchase this. And without further delay...
SYNOPSIS
You are Niko Bellick, a Serbian merchant marine who just set foot on the shores of Liberty City (see New York City) to join his cousin, a 10-year resident of the city. As you get accustom to your new surroundings, you learn very quickly that your cousin 'fabricated' the stories that he had been writing you about, and that he himself lives in something akin to a slum. The game starts off with you helping your cousin deal with problems in his cab business and loan sharks who are after a piece of his hide, but soon involves Russian Mafia, and Niko's own sorted past during in the War in Kosovo.
THE GOOD
Well, I must admit it but they got New York down pretty well. All of the Burroughs are there, each with their own feel and style, along with all the landmarks and bridges that are familiar sights of the city. Mind you, things like the Statue of Liberty were replaced with the Statue of Happiness who holds a steaming Starbucks style cup of hot coffee, and has the face of Hillary Clinton (subtle in joke). However, the elevated subway lines, urban sprawl, road construction, scaffolding on buildings, and grime are there to behold. Game play itself is third person over the shoulder, and ranges from doing basic driving/delivery jobs for certain parties, to low level enforcer jobs for the Mafioso, even to going out with friends in game to shoot pool, go bowling, play darts, ect.
The voice acting is also top notch, with Niko talking in both Serbians and English, other characters speaking in convincing Russian, Spanish, even in an almost unintelligible Jamaican Rasta speak (not even the sub-titles helped, no joke.) This also extends to the persons on the street that you encounter, as they will talk to one another, have cell phone conversations, shout at traffic, or make comments about your own driving.
One of the new features to the series is that you can actually choose to call a cab should you become inebriated (see ugly and controversy sections), or just don’t want to drive around town. You can also take the subway if it suits you, though the stops are limited and you’ll have to ‘acquire’ transportation once you get there. True to it’s namesake, you can steal vehicles by either car jacking or breaking into/hotwiring them, however you don’t ‘have’ to do this. As I’ll cover later, there are very few criminal acts that you actually ‘have’ to do, since the whole point of the game is a free and open world with choices and consequences.
Probably one of the more interesting things I noticed is during the occasional spring rains you will actually get steam and vapor rising from the sewers. That just evoked a “Cool” reaction from me.
THE BAD
Well, to be honest, the vehicle controls feel a bit sluggish to me. Turning when driving at anything faster than 25 MPH normally involves fishtailing or spinning your tires. I guess Liberty City has a lot of bald tires on the road or something. It might just be me but them seem fine tuned for either running at dead slow, or throttles all the way open. Driving around the city is either down at normal traffic pace as people wait for lights, or putting the pedal to the floor and trying desperately not to hit something. Mind you, for the most part you can plow through light poles, garbage cans and fire hydrants, but hitting a tree at speed WILL launch you through the windshield of the car. Perhaps Mr. Bellick should look into the “Click it or ticket” laws.
When you are driving, the police seem to ignore you speeding at 90 MPH down a residential street, running red lights, cutting people off, and generally ignoring the traffic laws. In fact the only way for them to take notice of me was to accidentally hit a pedestrian, to shoot someone, or to so much as tap their police car with my vehicle. It got to the point that I’d be on a constant lookout for police cars so I don’t accidentally bump them and cause an APB to go out for me.
Missions tend to also be either a fetch quest or a “Go kill this guy” job. They are very well disguised, but still pretty much fall under one or another. This is not to say that they are bad, but you drive all the way across town to see Mobster A, then drive back to shoot Mobster B, only to drive back to see Mobster A again. Or they are the kind where you must chase down Lowlife A before they get too far away and you lose them, and when you do catch them it can be as simple as running them off the road so you can collect the money they owe, or you might have to eliminate them.
In order to open up certain options with NPC’s (such as being able to call for a cab) you have to go out and socialize with them. I could be as simple as a round of darts, shooting some pool, a frame or two of bowling, but it can get repetitive after a while.
THE UGLY
Oh man, where to begin? Let’s see, besides car jacking, car theft, homicide, foul language, alcohol, smoking, drugs, prostitutes, strip joints, shooting cops, and some of the most inappropriate innuendos imaginable there is a lot that can be said about this game. It earns the M rating for certain, however it’s say that it is no worse that an R rated film such as Training Day or even the Godfather. Mind you, much of the humor and subtle jokes in it are targeted towards the lowest common denominator, that is to say the Howard Stern crowd, but much of it is a satirical farce of modern society. There are racy billboard ads for TV shows that poke fun in either subtle or perverse ways at the real world that we all know. The talk radio stations are an over-the-top satire of politicians, media celebrities, news anchors and current events. Absolutely nothing is sacred, and some of the jabs that are made seem to be in very poor taste, in my opinion. Thankfully it’s not as bad as a recent Uwe Boll film named Postal (avoid like the plague, seriously DO NOT SEE IT).
THE CONTROVERSY
This series has had its fair share of speculation and fears about what it may or may not cause people to do. At the moment I’ll stick the game at hand and run through the truths, the exaggerations and the lies.
First off, yes you can get inebriated in the game, yes you can drive in this state; however, it is nearly impossible to control your vehicle and you lose respect with the people that are with you AND you are far more likely to be pulled over and arrested for it. In fact the NPC’s with you actually suggest that you call a cab rather than try to drive.
Secondly, yes you can engage the services of a ‘lady of the night’, and yes you can shoot them to get your money back. You don’t have to do this; no one in game even suggests that you should do it. If it wasn’t for people making a hoopla about this, I’d never even thing about doing it. In fact most people know about it because of the people complaining about it. Odd irony there.
Thirdly, there is no graphic human ‘anatomy’ in the game in any place at all. There is a strip club, but the girls in it remain scantily clothed but still clothed. You can have ‘relations’ with women in the game, but you see nothing and get treated to the sound of the woman complimenting you with some cheesy dialog on your performance.
Fourthly, there is no requirement that you go out and kill police officers in the game, even when they are shooting at you it is possible to go evasive and escape them all together without having to shoot at them.
And finally, if you can learn to fire a weapon with this game, you must be doing something I’m not because last time I checked there was no left bumper to aim with in real life, and definitely no auto aim feature.
The game is all about choice, and you can be as good as you want to be, or as depraved as your heart desires. No one forces you to go out on a homicidal killing spree, or rewards you for shooting innocents. If anything, how people play the game reflects what kind of a person they are inside as their actions are dictated by any number of facets of their personality. Just as in real life, there are consequences for committing crimes in the game, and while the punishment isn’t as permanent as it is in the real world, nor do you have to worry about a guilty conscience, it is still there.
CONCLUSION
In all, it is a very good game; the free world environment and the storyline are very well conceived. The acting is excellent, the visuals look good, and it has that kind of gritty reality to it that makes it look like a living world. However, I cannot overstate how important it is that you understand the rating of this game before you buy it. It is not for 12 and 13 year olds, and it is not for everyone. Rent it first if you are uncertain. Take a spin through it; if the language or story is too intense, just return it and be on your merry way. While I’ll not say that this should be rated Adults Only, I highly suggest a policy of “Try before you buy.”
