Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #64 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Rockstar Games
• Model: 15782621
• Released on: 2008-04-29
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platform: PLAYSTATION 3
• Format: Playstation
• Dimensions: 2.00 pounds

Features

• Carry on the Grand Theft Auto tradition playing through the single player campaign as Niko Bellic
• Get cars and other modes of transportation anyway you can
• Interact with various colorful characters who give you various missions to engage in
• Engage in multiplayer challenges ranging from cover matches to shoot-outs
• Game Rated 'M' due to Intense Violence, Blood, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Partial Nudity, Use of Drugs and Alcohol

Amazon.com
What does the American Dream mean today?

For Niko Bellic, fresh off the boat from Europe, it is the hope he can escape his past. For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, gateway to the land of opportunity. As they slip into debt and are dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them and a living nightmare for those who don’t.

Beginning with the 1997 release of the original Grand Theft Auto, the GTA series has been one of the most prolific, controversial and down right entertaining franchises in video games history. This pedigree of success guarantees that the highly anticipated eleventh game in the series, Grand Theft Auto IV, will garner at least as much attention if not more.

Return to Liberty City.

The dream as Niko expected it. View larger.

There's always a catch. View larger.

But some skills are international. View larger.

The Plot
Grand Theft Auto IV is a brand new adventure in the GTA universe following the experiences of Nikolai "Niko" Bellic, a new immigrant from an undisclosed eastern European country whose troubled pa st and the persuasion of his cousin Roman have brought him to the fictional Liberty City. Unfortunately, Niko’s search for the American Dream and a much needed fresh start, hits an immediate snag when the rags to riches story Roman spun to pique Niko's interest is exposed as not only a complete fabrication, but a ploy to enlist Niko’s well-known skills as a tough guy against the ample list of enemies clamoring for Roman’s debt-ridden blood.

Because Roman is the only person Niko knows in Liberty City he begrudgingly accepts his role as Roman’s protector despite the deception. But as time goes on Niko comes into his own, and his experience on the wrong side of the tracks proves more valuable than he could have ever imagined as he fights for survival and later supremacy on the crime ridden streets of Liberty City.

Game Environments
Based on several of the boroughs of New York City and parts of New Jersey, Liberty City, familiar to players of previous games in the series, has been entirely redesigned for GTA IV. Players can expect visible detail down to the weeds growing in the cracks in the sidewalk, cars and buildings of visibly different ages and a much greater level if verticality in the buildings and bridges that they are able to explore as Niko moves through the city streets. In addition, pedestrians in GTA IV are much more realistic. No longer simply moving cardboard cutouts, these NPCs are intelligent, modern, human representations that laugh, cry, eat, drink, use cell phones and ATMs, and talking amongst themselves regardless of Niko’s interaction with them.

Gameplay
Historically GTA games have focused heavily on mission-based play, requiring successful completion of fixed tasks in order for players to progress through the game, but this has changed to a great extent in GTA IV. Players will experience an entirely new and exciting emphasis centered on the blending of on-mission and off-mission play, resulting not only in an increased sense of realism, but more interesting and unrestricted gameplay.

Features
Aside from the car jacking and a detailed city environment here are the new features for GTA IV:

• Improved combat system - Now you can use cover and also a target lock system, which allows you to take out targets with greater ease and accuracy. Plus, you can engage in some hand-to-hand combat if you can't get your hands on a piece quick enough.
• Cell phone - Not just for basic phone calls anymore. Use your in-game cell phone to receive missions via SMS, snap photos, and ZiT (tag) songs that can be downloaded exclusively on Amazon.com/mp3.
• Free time - In between missions you can take advantage of "me" time. There are gentleman's clubs, comedy clubs, bowling alleys, and bars, which all house unique activities.
• Take a break from the storyline - A variety of side missions allow you to help run a car service, "borrow" cop cars, assassinate targets, help solve problems for those on the street, or take to the air with stunt jumps that are scattered all over the city.
• Control your own fate - Throughout the game choice moments will arrive causing you to make a decision that will affect relationships and money.

Multiplayer
Give Niko a rest and create your own multiplayer "hero." GTA has added multiplayer modes allowing you to take your creation out to play online in competitive, co-op, and free form modes. Competitive mode has you fighting against the cops, jacking cars, or racing to finish odd jobs. Co-op challenges you and your friends with various tasks including Hangman's NOOSE where you are responsible for escorting a wanted kingpin to a safe extraction point. Freeform lets you and 15 others lose on Liberty City. Use this mode to hit up the bar and play virtual darts versus each other or head out to the streets and set up your own drag races. If you can dream it, you can do it in Freeform mode.

ZiT: We'll Spot The Song For You
When playing Grand Theft Auto IV, if you hear a song that you are interested in buying as an MP3, all you have to do is dial ZiT-555-0100 on your in-game mobile phone and a text message will be sent to you with the name of the artist and the title of the track. The next time you log in at the Rockstar Games Social Club, you will find 30-second previews of all the songs you have ZiT'ed while playing the game. You can add them to your basket there and click to purchase at Amazon MP3, or you can find them all at www.amazon.com/gtamusic.

Customer Reviews

Lame
Impressive images, kinda neat how they game-ified the entire city of New York. But the game is BOOOOOOOOORRRRRRING!!!

Shallow, sub-par game...
This game is bad. I can't believe I spent 60 bucks on it. Thankfully, I was able to sell it for about half of that.

Story: The story of the game isn't half bad. It follows an immigrant named Nico through Liberty City on his quest for the "American Dream". Along with his cousin and several friends he meets along the way, he obtains his goal. Its a great idea in theory, but when put in this game, it goes downhill. Which brings me to the next part.

Gameplay: The missions are boring. They are repetitive. Drive here, kill this guy, take his stuff, drive back. That is about 85% of what you do in the missions. The other 15% is drive here, kill a lot of guys, drive back. The gun-play is spot on, however the lack of weapons is a disappointment. Like some have stated, the driving is pretty bad. Its easier once you play for a while, but starting out, it is unforgiving. The side quests are VERY horrible. "Hanging out" with friends is not my idea of a good video game. I don't want a girlfriend. I just want to wreak havoc.

Graphics: The graphics are great. Nice gritty feel to the city. Textures are decent for such a huge game. Very minimal pop-in as well.

Music: Grand Theft Auto is well known for its diverse sound track and this game is no different. Several radio stations will keep you happy. However, I would always turn the radio off because you could never hear any dialogue when you were in the car.

Fun: So is the game fun? If you can take pleasure in doing the same thing over and over again, both in story mode and just in messing around, then you might find it fun. I wanted to like this game, but it was just to shallow. I actually did finish the story and could not bring myself to kill those 200 flying rats. What was the point? A shiny helicopter? Big deal.

Multiplayer: Decent. Never played it a whole lot as there are much better multiplayer games out there.

Bottom Line: I can't even recommend a rent for this game. The nine bucks it cost nowadays could be put to better use. Unless you have something like gamefly. Then by all means, be my guest. I tried to talk two of my friends out of buying it (one has a PS3 and the other a 360) and they both bought it...And they both are now regretting it. They said the exact same things I did. Boring and repetitive.

Some bugs online, but overall still a VERY good game
This game will keep you busy for a LONG time, as getting 100% completion will take you like at least 100hrs. Then there's online too, which has ranks and a ton of different game types. There are some bugs, especially online, but the extensive features and content of this game far outweigh the bugs. The vehicle physics alone are probably better than any game I've ever played with the exception of TOCA.