'Grand Theft Auto IV' an epic adventure
It's a sign of a good game when hours of fun can be derived just from wandering the in-game world, not even paying attention to what you're supposed to be doing.
The ''Grand Theft Auto'' series has always been more than a series of missions. It's about the world and its inhabitants and lots of little touches that flesh out the environment. ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' succeeds at this so well that I don't even hesitate to say it's the best in the series so far.
''GTA4'' returns to Liberty City, the pseudo-New York City that was the setting for 2001's ''Grand Theft Auto III.'' This time, the main character is Niko Bellic, a Serbian who comes to the United States on his cousin's promises of the American dream. Once he arrives, Niko discovers his cousin, Roman, may have exaggerated. Instead of a mansion and sports cars, Roman lives in a crummy apartment and runs a taxi service.
Out of all the ''GTA'' protaganists, Niko is my favorite. He's a gray character, not a goody two shoes but not evil either. He's willing to do some terrible things - even kill - but he feels guilt, and he often questions why he does things. Niko wants to walk the straight and narrow, but circumstances and people keep tossing the bad at him.
In his attempt at survival, Niko runs errands for a number of people. Some are as simple as giving a ride. Others involve killing someone. The storyline is far better than any in the previous games and will take a solid 30 hours to work through.
As I said before, though, ''GTA'' games have always been much more than the storyline and missions. Niko can do a number of things that don't directly relate to the story but serve to deepen the characters. He can make deliveries, give taxi rides, play pool or darts at a bar, go bowling, shop for new clothes, peruse the Internet, watch TV … The list goes on.
New to ''GTA4'' are friendships. In addition to running errands, Niko also can hang out with with the errand-givers, at restaurants, bars, strip clubs, whatever the person wants to do. This increases how much they like Niko, and eventually they will provide favors. For example, Roman will provide free taxi rides. These friendships must be maintained or the favor disappears.
All these are managed through Niko's cell phone. He just has to dial a contact and select a reason for calling, whether it be just to talk, to request a service or to ask the person to hang out. People also will call him with requests of their own.
Past ''GTAs'' have been known for their radio stations, which can be heard while driving around town. Interspersed between music (some real, some made for the game) are hilarious advertisements.
''GTA4'' has this and then some. In addition to the radio, there's an entire Internet to surf, complete with e-mail and a dating service. Niko also can flip through television stations in his apartment. I spent a good 20 minutes one night just watching the TV shows (and laughing a lot). Now that's depth.
For even less structure, players can simply explore the city, climbing up on buildings and looking for pigeons (which are this game's version of hidden packages).
And of course, there's the crime. Niko can steal cars whenever he wants, and if there's a police officer nearby, his wanted level goes up. Killing a police officer automatically sets the wanted level at three stars. Four stars brings out police helicopters and SWAT teams. Losing the police at that point can be difficult, though the wanted level can hit six stars.
Changes have been made to the driving system. Cars are more difficult to handle, more like real cars. Liberal use of the brakes is required to survive high-speed chases. It takes practice.
In combat, there's now a cover system. By clicking a button, Niko will duck behind low walls or hide at the edge of doorways. He'll peek up and aim with a pull of the left trigger and shoot with the right.
The new targeting system is much better. Holding the left trigger aims at the enemy, and sliding the right thumbstick around lets you specify where on the body you want to hit. Easing off the left trigger a little enters free-aim mode so you aren't locked on to a specific enemy. While the targeting isn't perfect, it's much improved over the past.
The biggest addition to this already massive game, though, is online multiplayer. The multiplayer in ''GTA4'' is full-fledged, impressive and extremely fun.
Most of it is team-based, with modes such as car jack city (stealing cars), mafiya work (contract work for money), turf war (capture the base) and cops n' crooks (one team is the cops and one is the crooks). There is also the standard deathmatch.
The best part, though, is online free play. You and friends can have access to the entire city to do whatever you like, whether it's exploring or wreaking havoc. Options even let you turn off the police.
There's very little to complain about in ''GTA4.'' I had a few annoyances (why can't I snipe police in helicopters?), but they're so minor that they don't change my opinion in the slightest.
''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is epic in just about every way. It's got a fantastic story, an
interesting main character, great visuals, improved controls, tons of side missions and solid multiplayer. I couldn't ask for more.
However, it is my duty to emphasize that ''GTA4'' is not for children, no matter how much they might plead. That Mature rating is serious, and only adults should be enjoying this fantastic game.
Reach Aimee Green at (402) 473-7326 or Aimee.Green@lee.net.
GRAND THEFT AUTO IV
Rockstar Games, for Xbox 360 (also on PlayStation 3)
Rated: Mature
Cost: $59.99
Score: 10/10
Score based on an evaluation of gameplay (4 points), visuals (2), sound (2) and replayability/value (2).