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.
tatoemonkey
I have to say avoid it big time! I bought it release day as I really enjoyed the earlier games on the ps2 but I sold GTA IV on ebay the very next week, it was the most boring and tedious game I ever played. This is the reason I have not yet purchased GTA V I just can’t justify it along with the fact that there is about to be a huge amount of cash to be spent on the ps4 and all its peripherals I still have Sleeping Dogs to finish amongst some other PS plus gems that once the ps4 arrives I might not touch for a while so I need to spend this time with my ps3 games.
I wish I didn’t write and read this stuff while I am at work! I have now created an overwhelming desire to get home to my PlayStation and quitin’ time ain’t till 16:30! :(
XisTG
Bargain Bin It. I found the game to be boring as hell, with its missions being anything but exciting, and the vehicle control is one of the worst I ever tried, specially for a game that has you driving quite a lot.
I never went far on the game (bought the complete pack with the DLC), and maybe it’s just me, but it was one of my biggest disappointments.
cam_manutd
I think GTA4 can stand to be one of the most overrated games ever made. Its a dull and lifeless story in which it does nothing major to engage the player into its world. Its ploy on reality and real fails by using flawed mechanics (melee, shooting, driving, ROMAN), bad voice acting from the lead characters and its lifeless cityscape.
The multiplayer to its credit is good and replicates the sense of cinematic chases and battles very well. But that would be all I would hold up and say is good about the game.
Its a shame that after the delight of Vice City and San Andreas, the fourth game took the life out of GTA and replaced it with a lifeless protagonist, story, city and gameplay. Sleeping Dogs, Far Cry, Just Cause 2 and most open-world games are worth more than this. Unless you have the PC version in which you go mod-happy, avoid this game.