Although I have never been a giant fan of the Grand Theft Auto games, I have played a few and I say that this latest GTA is a gem. Usually when I have played GTA in the past I was left dissatisfied about what I had actually accomplished in the game and never really understood the point. Like, was the point to just kill people and destroy [excrement]? Either way I never really liked the traditional GTA, but Grand Theft Auto 4 is not traditional.

The storyline is based off of a Russian illegal immigrant, Niko Bellic, who comes to Liberty City to start a new life. However, he soon gets involved with the mafia and various gangs of the city, and finds himself as the playmaker within an escalating war. There are also side missions that Niko can do, usually to get extra cash, such as steal high priced cars for a collector. On his journey throughout Liberty City, a huge city that contains hundreds of people and cars, he interacts with various people, ranging from his cousin to his girlfriend to mob bosses, each with their own personal story.

As usual with any GTA, Niko steals cars, beats up innocent people, takes their money, kills cops, and steals their vehicles. Upon stealing a police car, he can search for current crimes taking place and aide the police in cleaning the streets (plus you get money for this). However beware of the police in this game for they are armed with all the resources to catch you and you definitely don’t want that. The majority of the time, Niko uses his PDA to connect with his friends and enemies, each sending him on some new mission. On top of this he can take his cousin, Roman, and his girlfriend to play pool or go bowling.

My favorite part of the game is without a doubt stealing some of the nicest cars on the streets. Niko not only drives sports cars, hummers, and motorcycles in the game at death defying speeds, but he also flies a helicopter and pilots a speedboat. Driving is difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s natural. While cruising, Niko has the ability change the radio station to listen to whatever you, the gamer, want to hear. In the game, if Niko goes to the bar, he is difficult to control afterwards due to his drunken state. Therefore, when he gets in his car following such a visit, the game simulates drunk driving where the car will be swerving all over the road no matter how good you think you are really driving (impressive simulation). Once again, beware of the police! All in all, I would definitely say this is a great game and a must have! Between it’s exceptional graphics, selection of music, online multiplayer capability, and indepth story line, this game rocks!

Image Used in this Post

GTA4 image courtesy of Flickr user LittleO2 published under the CC license.

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