8.5 out of 10
It is difficult to believe that Grand Theft Auto IV has already been in the hands of eager gamers for nearly a month now.
However, since I haven’t had a chance to play all the way through the game and I promised a review, I am writing my first-ever – and VGF exclusive – Preview-Review.
A Preview-Review is an initial review of a title prior to completion. What this means for you is that I haven’t completed the game, so some elements may change throughout the progression of the title.
However, rest assured that this could be taken as seriously as a full-fledged review, but I don’t want to deceive loyal VGF fans by thinking that I am aware of the complete title when that is strictly false.
With no other ado, my Preview-Review of Grand Theft Auto IV for the Playstation 3:
By now, I am sure that everyone has read and watched the plethora of professional reviews hailing GTA4 as a “perfect” game by giving it nearly perfect scores across the board.
I am here to tell you that GTA4 is not a perfect game.
Perfection in electronic media means flawless cinematics, unparallel controls, an engaging story, and a plethora of ingenuity – GTA4 falls short of this honor.
In-game cinematics are abundant and well directed, but still feel a little thrown together and are overshadowed by the enormous scope of the overall package.
It means that this is big!!!
GTA4’s return to Liberty City is a scaling labyrinth of ambiance that provides a realistic sensation of being thrown into a full-functioning city landscape.
However, the in-game cinematics don’t seem to fit that mold.
As parent groups and politicians alike will quickly note, the game is offensive. These cinematics highlight that all too well.
There is a difference between realism and shear immature content and I am afraid that GTA4 leans closer to the latter due to its love affair with sexual “bathroom humor” and the shock and awe of grotesque profanity.
Humor is a key element of the cinematic sequences between missions, but the immature and profane nature of the humor feels quickly recycled and childish after long. It all feels too repetitious.
This leads to GTA4’s great failing, it all feels the same.
After my experience thus far, I feel like I am playing a graphically polished version of the previous GTA installments with a few additional innovations such as online multiplayer, “internet” browsing, a handy cell phone, and new dynamics to mission choices.
These additional mission choices include calling your cousin or others to initiate a quick mission to get you some cash. Nevertheless, these feel overly tedious and monotonous just as the various options to play pool, bowl, play darts, etc. with friends and dates do as well.
There are simply too many options all resulting in a mediocre waste of time.
You feel compelled to “hang out” with friends and dates, but it seems to drive the overlaying story next to nowhere.
What is the plot you ask?
Well much of the same again.
You are Niko Bellic, a Russian immigrant in search of “someone” in Liberty City, but along the way, he finds himself enthralled in the city’s criminal underground filled with theft, murder, sex, and drugs.
Typical GTA, which means that the story is something to be desired.
Finally, the newly imagined control proves to be a little difficult to manage at first. A fairly lengthy learning curve is present to manage driving and shooting controls – which are the two most important and difficult to manage.
Thankfully, the game is kind enough to ease you into the controls with relatively simple missions to begin with.
Nevertheless, I still find myself adjusting the camera manually while driving to get the best view of traffic ahead, behind, and to the side of me – which is difficult to navigate, so be prepared to crash and crash a lot.
But don’t get me wrong folks, GTA4 is an excellent title with wonderfully polished graphics, incredible ambiance - complete with humorous television channels and radio station commercials, and the best sense of emersion within a large city.
However, previous GTA titles have already set this bar and GTA4 falls short of reestablishing the new standard.
It is too much of the same and is certainly one overhyped title.
Newcomers to the series will defiantly have to pick this one up and will have a blast doing so, but series faithful – don’t believe all the hype of the mainstream.
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