While the focus may have shifted to GTA V, it would be nice to see what all of you think about its predecessor, before we all forget about it. Personally, I don’t see why everyone liked Grand Theft Auto IV so much. You might think that I’m saying that because of GTA V clouding my judgement, but even just weeks after releases – after the hype died down – I realised that there were a lot of flaws to be found with the game.
The city felt empty, the tone was too serious and it lost a lot of the fun that made previous GTA games great. Rockstar have certainly learned from their mistakes with V, but at the time the critical reception was extremely positive, so maybe I’m completely wrong.
It wasn’t all bad though – it was certainly nice seeing GTA on newer hardware, and there was plenty to enjoy, with a great story, some brilliant mechanics and the great game world of Liberty City.
We reviewed the game about five years ago – before I had even signed up to TSA – scoring it 10/10 and giving it the highest acclaim. It’s true that while now it might not seem that great, at the time it was certainly important.
It’s a landmark game, unmatched and unrivalled and absolutely unmissable. We’ve not talked about the belly achingly funny radio shows, great licensed music, fantastic voice acting, the cabaret shows, the strip clubs, the restaurants, the zeitgeist-tapping plot or even the guest appearances and cameos.
We also recently revisited the world of GTA IV in our Playback feature, which might be more in-line with your comments. Dan praised the amount to do and the online portion of the game, while criticising Roman’s phone calls and the more serious tone that the game adopted.
The online portion of the game was really great, however – the free play in particular was extremely fun with friends and never got boring, which makes me really excited for GTA IV.
Anyway, most of this is just my opinion mixed in with some previously posted things from TSA – we really want to here what you thought of the game, more than anything. So, just drop a paragraph or two in the comments section below with your thoughts on the game.
We’ll likely include you in the Verdict round-up next week if you get your comment in before Sunday afternoon. Just don’t forget to put a Buy It, Bargain Bin It, Rent It or Avoid It rating on the end so we can get a final judgement of the verdict.
Ed the Penguin
Buy it!! Although, I should say avoid it as it’s the reason why:
– I start clockwatching at the end of the day at work
– I’m constantly tired
– Every time my wife goes upstairs I have to check she’s not packing her bags
Seriously addictive, socially deadly.
3shirts
Are you sure you are talking about GTA FOUR here, not 5? Your use of present tense is why I ask.
Ed the Penguin
You’re right.. Sane goes for both games (and any other in the GTA series) to be honest! The only negative I personally had with IV was the driving physics.
tactical20
I’ve played through it all 6 or 7 times, on 360 and then PS3, and still absolutely love it. I honestly can’t understand people’s complaints?! It’s full of black comedy moments (Brucie too serious?!) and the representation of NY is spot on, with each boro having it’s own identity. There are so many little details that all get taken for granted now. Driving through the city is MUCH more enjoyable than driving along a winding coast road. I can’t see how people can like GTA5, but not GTA4. It just doesn’t make sense to me. It’s easily in the top 5 PS3 games and I don’t think any other open world games come anywhere near GTAs genius. Perfection. Day one purchase.
BLAGGER
Agree with all your points, I love IV as much as I do with V. I think I played it on and off (regularly) up until GTA V’s launch :)
tactical20
And the more I get into 5, the more ‘boring’ jobs are appearing, like taking down for sale signs, or finding bits of submarine underwater, not to mention the UFO parts and scraps of letters. Personally, I like these menial tasks. For me, a big part of GTA has always been about the ‘hidden packages’ and getting that 100% stat. I can understand if people don’t like GTA at all, but what I don’t get is people hating 4 but loving 5. I don’t think they are that different at all. If the Liberty City “felt empty” as Blair says, Blaine County must feel post-apocalyptic!
JR.
A few years ago I would have said ‘bargain bin it’ but there are much better, more enjoyable sand box games out there now and sadly GTA IV doesn’t hold up. ‘Avoid’ this one and buy Sleeping Dogs, Saints Row 3rd or GTA V instead.
Forrest_01
So my review will be short but sweet – All in all, its a good game. A really good game in fact.
Yes, it has a darker mood to it & a lot of the silliness was removed, but it still remains a good romp & there is fun to be had there if you don’t over-analyse everything.
I have V, but will still be returning to IV at some stage… Mainly because i took advantage of the store ‘hiccup’ recently (still not sure it was intended) & got the complete package for £6.50. So i can now play the add ons, which i didn’t have the chance to do before.
Overall, Buy It. Especially if you can get it for £6.50.
bigchrissyc
Id bargain bin it. I hated it. Felt like a step back from the sheer amount of things that could be done in San Andreas. The driving mechanic was horrific. The story was boring, i hated Niko as a character, i just found him irritating and unimaginative. The constant phone calls were ridiculously annoying aswel.
Nismo400R84
For me it’. A Buy it well I did buy for pc xbox360 and ps3 and love playing it.
flatspikes
Buy it, and the DLC. I still dip in now even though I have five. Immerse, consuming world with most flaws addressed in BoGT!!!
Taylor Made
Worst GTA ever in the series, boring, no effort made what so ever, the character not likeable.
Avoid
freezebug2
I played through IV to complete the story campaign but left it there, I was done. It was obviously not intended as a racer first and foremost but that aspect does play a big part in the general game mechanic whereas I did find the car handling pretty piss poor and a bit of a chore to be blunt.
I quite enjoyed playing through the story but there wasn’t any draw to come back as there was in the PS2 three and the latest PS3 installment.
Overall it’s worth a ‘RENT IT’ to play the story campaign through and then give it back!
Craig Dodson
I went back to it to complete the DLC’s and found that it had aged badly. This was, in part, down to a filter effect on the lost and damned (which can be turned off) that makes everything really grainy. Even when turned off, the game is rough around the edges, with low res textures all over the place. Despite some graphical issues, I still think IV plus the DLC’s are great and would recommend it. It’s going to be bargain bin priced now anyway :)