Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #813 in Video Games
• Brand: Rockstar Games
• Model: 31510
• Released on: 2008-12-02
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platform: Windows XP
• Format: CD-ROM
• Original language: German
• Subtitled in: German
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .60 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 Product Description
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

SIngleplayer/registration disappointment
I was taken aback when I found that I could not save ANY progress in single player mode without signing up for Windows Live. It says that these "services", such as Live and the Social Club, are only required for multiplayer mode. They lie on the box and again during the install.

It is only after you wade through their registration requests, the insistence upon registration requests, refusal to even load the game until you update windows live, you finally get to playing.

Then it tells you you cannot save any progress unless you sign-in to windows live. What a shaft job.

I called Take2games and they confirm that you cannot save unless you sign-in.

What a let down. I have uninstalled the game and am now working on a refund. lol.

I have played every GTA so far, mostly on PC. I have GTAIV on the PS3 and was looking forward to playing on the PC with great graphics.

I do not like a company who seems like a spyware vendor out to capture my machine.

Buyers beware...
Buyers beware - The PC version is not a better choice than the console version, this time around. As a faithful GTA fan for years, I was eagerly awaiting this game - only to find out that it's a poorly coded console port that fails to deliver satisfactory performance even on a modern system. In addition, the product is crippled by bugs, requires two separate online accounts to play (even to play offline), and installs invasive, difficult to remove SecuROM monitoring software into your computer.

Rockstar, shame on you.

To anyone considering this game, I highly suggest you pick it up for the 360 or PS3 instead - and that is the very first time I've ever made that recommendation about any game before.

How A Great Game Gets A 1-Star Rating on Amazon
The problem with Grand Theft Auto IV PC is it's not what the fans of the GTA series wanted.

The fans didn't want SecuROM, Windows Live, Rockstar's Social Club, and ridiculously high system requirements.

What the fans WANTED was a great video game, and while there's no denying GTA IV PC is a great video game, its greatness will be overshadowed by the virtual shackles Rockstar have imposed on it.

The DRM has been beaten like a dead horse, and we all know it's there and what it does, and it's too bad Rockstar has adopted such a broken, anti-consumer friendly system like SecuROM. However, they're not trying to hide the installation of SecuROM, and listed it as a requirement on both the outside of the box and immediately after inserting the install disc.

As for system stability, the SecuROM software is only active when the game is running. Upon exit, the DRM closes, too. SecuROM has not negatively impaired my ability to use my computer, and the hidden stuff can be removed with a special SecuROM uninstaller (but only after you're done playing your SecuROM protected games). No, I'm not happy it's there, and I do not see reason for it being there, but either you accept it, or you don't play the game.

GTA IV PC is further encumbered by the Rockstar Games Social Club and Games for Windows Live, two unnecessary and annoying pieces of software that make the simple act of playing a video game overly time consuming and downright painful. The social club (minus the social part -- seriously, there are no chat rooms, message boards, or other ways to socialize) provides a place for players to compare their in-game stats with complete strangers. Ditto for Windows Live, a similar and equally pointless "Let's Compare Sizes!" website that contributes nothing to game play but is required. You'll also be required to sign-in to Windows Live (offline mode is available) in order to save your game, something that is becoming increasingly more common these days. Live will also track achievements, and if connected to the net they'll be posted for all the world to see and shared with Rockstar's Social Club site. Prepare to be mocked by the world for your gaming failures.

Finally, GTA IV PC's stupidly high system requirements will force many to put the game back on the shelf, or purchase the XBox version. While the game can be played on the minimum system requirements, it looks awful and can cause a bit of nausea due to dropped frame rates.

The game also requires access to a computer with an internet connection to register the game and download additional software updates. The offline registration requires a 10 MB zip file from the SecuROM website. The offline activation software is flaky and the directions are fuzzy.

When you start the game you can run a benchmark test under the game options. A short demo will run and reveal your frame rates, and the game offers suggestions for improving texture and detail quality.

The game itself, despite everything you'll have to go through to get it playable, is fun. Really, really fun. And if you're willing to put up with the BS and jump through the hoops Rockstar has established for us, you'll be playing a very fun, very awesome game. Remember, not all of Rockstar is evil, and the folks who actually made the game are an incredibly talented group, and they made an equally incredible game.

The overall artwork is more realistic and less cartoonish than previous GTA games. The characters are well detailed, their mouths move and form the proper shapes for different words, and they even have working fingers now. People on the street obey the laws of physics and no longer fly into the air when hit by your car: they now bounce off the hood, hit the windshield and roll across the road like a ragdoll. Cars take more unique damage -- everything from bullet holes to differing extremes of impact damage, and after taking X amount of damage, they won't necessarily explode anymore; they may simply stop working and you'll be forced to abandon them on the road. Police chases are more fun and evading and escaping your wanted level is now possible with the changes made to the police system. The missions (so far) have been entertaining and enjoyable, with just the right mix of challenging objectives. I have yet to feel frustrated by having to repeat a mission -- it's clear to me what I did wrong, and how I can do better. And the city is gorgeous, and huge, and if you tried walking from one end to the other it would probably take the better part of a day.

Multiplayer, especially with friends, and especially with some sort of voice chat, is also very fun. There is a free roaming option, which is just player created chaos (watch out when your friend picks up a rocket launcher) and there are also multiplayer missions and races to accomplish, too.

From a purely game play perspective, there is almost nothing wrong with this game, which is why it's sad GTA has been tainted by this nasty DRM fiasco.

GTA IV PC will probably take home Game of the Year from nearly all video game reviewers, despite SecuROM, poor system performance, and Rockstar's other bad choices. And I think it may actually deserve that title. Even with a 1-star review (mostly from fans feeling personally attacked by Rockstar, and rightly so), many fans of the series will overlook the laughable system requirements and DRM shackles for the incredible game buried (deep) beneath. It's worth your money, if not today (either you lack the system requirements or are waiting for them to drop the DRM, which won't happen) then down the road. It's just sad and disappointing that we, the gamers, are wrongly and unfairly treated by Rockstar like the criminals in Grand Theft Auto IV PC.