GTA IV is the first installment of the GTA franchise on the current gen platforms. It was released simultaneously on both the Xbox 360 and PS3. The game couldn’t have been more hyped, living in LA I’ve seen everything from banners on buildings, to billboards, to posters in the crappiest sections of town. GTA articles were taking over blogs and websites for the whole week leading up to, and most likely following, the release.

Horny Melon was honestly going to skip this game. We’ve found that most games jump the shark on the third sequel. Prince of Persia, Tony Hawk, Tomb Raider all went downhill after the third installment. It’s one of those things where it’s best to remember how cool Thunder Cats was than to watch the cartoon again and see the truth.  We relented, the hype was just too big to ignore, the talked about previews, screenshots and trailers had our interest piqued.

We picked up the game on released date at around 11 am. Ran home and played the crap out of it for 5 days. In many ways expectations were met and in other ways we found the game so frustrating and disappointing the console would be shut off in mid mission. Only to turn it back on and keep going. There are things in this game that are down right amazing and other things that have you saying, “C’mon it’s been 8 damn years haven’t they fixed this yet?!”

So without further delay I shall begin.

Physics: 9/10

The first thing we noticed before we played the third mission was how much the physics were improved over not only previous GTA titles, but other current gen titles as well. The new rag doll physics are outstanding. Much more realistic than those seen in recent titles such as Unreal 3. Apparently the new rag doll physics that was used in GTA IV will also see the light of day in the upcoming (please don’t suck) Indiana Jones game. Flying through the windshield (Nikko must despise seat belts) and getting hit by cars was also vastly improved upon.

The one thing we picked up on that not many other reviewers have is the fall speed. First thing we did when we got the helicopter was fly as high as possible and jump out. You will notice that you pick up speed as you fall. This is quite significant. If you go to Dive Rock in Oblivion and jump off you fall almost lazily. In Oblivion you can tell that the damage you received is based off the distance you fall. In GTA IV you get the sense that you just died because you hit the ground at 200mph. Kudos to Rockstar for picking up on this much needed, but often over looked fix.

There were a few draw backs to the physics however. You still seem nigh invulnerable when driving cars off of cliffs. You could drive off the side of bridge and as long as you didn’t land on a tanker or gas station you would walk away. Another thing I noticed was sticky fists. If you were holding onto a door handle or were lightly hit by a car your hands would stick to it, like a Wacky Wall Crawler. I imagine this is part of the new ragdoll physics , but it stood out.

Graphics: 9/10

The GTA series has always been known for having low poly count/ sub par graphics. This is largely due to the number of things going on at once in the game. While still a little bit below par for this generation they were incredible. The main characters you interact with were top notch but if you go look at the people on the street it’s plain to see that they are of lesser quality.

The environment is much more populated this time around. News paper boxes that throw paper everywhere when you hit them, light poles that now break apart. All beautiful to behold. However when you are walking past a store front that you cannot enter it still looks extremely generic. Pop up plagued GTA titles of the past, it’s here too, in all it’s frustrating glory.

Out of all the things in a GTA title the vehicle damage has always looked the worse. Not so in this sequel. I even counted the number of cylinders on the engine blocks of various cars just to make sure they check out. They do. All the little things Rockstar added are really cool. Catching a tire on fire will cause the rubber to burn off. Hitting a wall too hard and the right angle will cause a tire to lock up. You will see the camber of the vehicle alter from wrecks, and you will find the vehicle pulling as well. Again two thumbs up to Rockstar on picking up on these minute details

Some errors though are quite noticeable. I’ve seen the rain slick effect used on pavement appear on everything from grass to water. I’m not sure what is causing it but I also see a dotted grid appear instead of shadows fairly regularly as well. These things more than any other is what brought the graphics score down.

AI: 7//10

The AI in this game isn’t bad. The enemy has enough sense to take cover and stay there when there is a hail of bullets coming there way. They don’t help out their buddies. I can’t blame them, neither would I. They don’t really do anything dynamic though. They don’t fall back or advance. Unless of course you stop firing for a very long time. They don’t grab stronger weapons off the ground etc. The enemy is mostly there to die and not much else.

Sound: 9/10

The sound is good. Out of all the music playing on the radio I find myself listening to the talk radio the most. The satire is outstanding. The voice acting is great, nobody seems wooden. It’s fun trying to pick out all the actors doing voice work. Does Ashton Kusher play Brucie? I can’t tell but that dude is the spitting image of one of our interns, all except the ball shrinkage problem….not that anyone has asked.

Content: 6/10

There is just an outrageous amount of stuff to do in this game. We have put maybe 8+ hours into this game for 5 days and have still not beat it.  There are some things that bother me though.

The entire time  playing the game we were waiting for the point where I can form a gang and do turf wars like San Andreas. Or maybe start being able to buy up or start criminal enterprises like vice city. It never came. The two most compelling elements of the last two games in the series were totally absent from GTA IV. In their place I get pool, darts, and bowling??? This made the game feel more like Sims: Criminal Life rather than a game based off of criminal enterprise.

The second thing that really, really irked us was that despite claims that Rockstar improved the fetch missions. There is still plenty of that. Yes, there is a very slight improvement on these types of missions. As the second half of the game kicks in though a lot of missions are still just as monotonous.

Story: 9/10

The story is much improved. It FINALLY gets away from cliche Italian mobsters and hood rats. Those are two prominent stereotypes in American crime, but they have been lamented upon ad nauseam in movies. Even though the character is most likely based off of the movie “The Professional” it is still refreshing to see a crime story not based off a gangster or a gangsta. The satire level is perfect. Previous titles took it over the top. Frankly we found it cheesy, but GTA IV nails it. It’s funny like Colbert Report as opposed to not funny like Monty Python.

Online: 8/10

A GTA title finally gets a much needed online element. GTA IV online is cumbersome to get into. First you have to load up your single player game then use your phone to access it. There is nothing really spectacular about the online game choices. But that doesn’t matter. All that matters is that your FINALLY playing in the GTA world online with other people.

If there is any complaint, it has to be the frailty of your character and of vehicles. I’ve had one shot pistol kills. The vehicles are also too weak for you to have prolonged vehicle combat…ala Mad Max. A person on the side walk with an M-16 can shred a vehicle in no time flat. While this may be realistic it prevents you from having more than one guy in a car with you at any time.

Extra Content: 5/10

There are rumors about that there MAY be PS3 extra content on the way. These are not as concrete as the Xbox 360 content. I give Rockstar this low score more than the game. They sold out to the wrong crowd. I’m not talking about Microsoft vs Sony. I’m saying they should have thought of the fans. Get your money from where it counts, your fans. Quit aiming for maximum monetization on a title that’s already guaranteed you make bank.

Environment: 9/10

Liberty City is huge. It is freakin’ enormous. Don’t depend on GTA 3 and GTA Liberty City Stories to help guide you. They are worse than useless. The rain effect on driving, the level of detail spent on populating the city all very very good. From the hallways in the buildings to the blood stains on the front of your car from hitting people all improved vastly over many current console titles let alone previous iterations of GTA. For the third time kudos to Rockstar.

Game play: 4/10

We saved the worst for last. I didn’t want someone getting 1/4 of the way through the article and then start flaming. we wanted to point out all the good this game brings to the table before even touching it’s weakest point.

The game play is terrible. The controls are largely as overwhelming and clunky as GTA III. In closed combat there have been improvements in the targeting system. But once you start a gun battle on the streets outside of a controlled environment like the warehouse or museum all the old complaints are still there. You target the panicking civilian instead of the swat team members. The cars and motorcycles are stiff as hell to drive. Often requiring the E brake even at normal speeds. Some controls are explained in pop ups then never explained again. Still have the same fetch missions.

No criminal empire building but lots of pool, darts,and bowling to do. I think this is where Rockstar caved to lawsuit pressures. This game feels less and less like a game based in the criminal realm compared to the last two titles. All the friends and girl friends make me feel like I have 30 nintendogs to take care of. Girlfriends/ friends are not on the map but darts, clothing stores, and everything else is. I have to surf the internet in a game? C’mon it’s funny the first ten minutes but uninteresting the next 40+ hours.

All the old problems are still there. If your walking down the sidewalk and a cop runs into you and falls over you get stars. A cop hits you from behind in a car, stars. The list is just too long . Suffice it to say if it annoyed you in the last three games there is a 90% chance it’s still there. Had this been GTA III or Vice City It would have been a 7 or an 8. It’s been 8 years since GTA III was released there’s no excuse.

The one thing I am glad they got rid of however is the vast open and useless spaces in San Andreas. That was my biggest pet peeve against that game and I’m glad they got rid of it.

Conclusion:

GTA IV is a good game. If your looking for GTA style fun x10 this will meet all your needs plus some. If your looking for something new to be added to the genre hold out for Saints Row 2. You can purchase GTA IV from amazon.com by clicking on the box art picture at the top of the review.