Grand Theft Auto 4 is finally out, and I've been playing it since!
Yes, I had to go into the city at eleven at night and stand in line until one in the morning to pick up my pre- order, but it was definately worth it! Before I begin to talk about the game I actually want to talk about picking up the pre-order itself first. You see, it excited me because every game store in the city had a giant queue of literally hundreds of gamers outside. Now, I've not seen the gaming community get this excited about a release, this is the UK, we tend to sleep or go get drunk, then try and find a copy of the game in the morning. We never queue up in our hundreds and open stores at midnight, so this was a real first for me. The energy and buzz surrounding the game, and the air of anticipation in the breath of every gamer there really got me excited, not just about the game, but about the games industry. The demographic was enormous, everyone from your average sweaty nerd to your football hooligan were lined up, chatting away, and waiting for the same game. The one night every social group in the country came together in celebration, rather than to kill one another.
And with good reason too, the game doesn't disappoint and deserves the hype surrounding it. The first thing I wanted to try was the gameplay, the one thing Rockstar had been clever enough not to show us before the game's release. I was relieved to see the same camera angles, the same map, and various other familiarities, but did, immediately notice a few changes. For example, the health and body armour meters are now wrapped around your classic, circular mini map rather than being two bars in the top corner. Your money is now only displayed when you buy something or get paid, meaning you have to pause the game to check your balance. These were minor things and simply took a few moments to adjust to.
The major changes here are to the controls, when I first started walking I noticed that it had been slowed down and felt slightly stiffer and more rigid, and when I tried running I found out you now swerve more and have less control whilst running. Where before you could weave in and out of pedestrians and turn 180 on the spot, you now run in a slightly more clumsy and realistic fashion. This takes more adjusting to than the changes to the HUD, having said that, I do like the feel it gives the on foot sections. It adds a certain desperation when fleeing on foot that makes things that little bit more dramatic and engaging.
What has changed, in a big way, are the cars - the handling has undergone a complete overhaul. I've played and completed Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto: London, Grand Theft Auto 2, Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, yet the first thing I did when I got behind the wheel in Grand Theft Auto 4 was crash. Initially, I was horrified by the fact that the car was now controlled with the left and right triggers and immediately changed the control set up to "Classic" mode, which emulates the PS2 controls of old. Even so, I found the handbrake had been made a lot sharper, the normal brake weaker, and the steering wheel tighter. This made for a whole new driving experience. Risky, considering how much time you spend in a car in this game. And yes, it does get annoying at first as you crash hopelessly into bollards, walls and police cars, but it does feel like the right decision, as insane and nonsensical as that sounds. Yes it's a pain I have to learn to drive in Grand Theft Auto all over again but it feels as though it was needed. I guess you have to play it to understand, and even then I know some will disagree with me, but I stand by my statement.
You've probably heard that the cop AI has been changed around too - you heard correctly. Now, when you get a wanted level a circle of blue and red will appear on your mini-map, this is the area in which the cops are looking for you, and it expands and grows larger as your wanted level increases. This time around you actually have to hide from the cops. If you escape the circle on your map and another patrol car sees you, then the cricle will center around your new pursuer and the chase begins anew. These guys aren't like Metal Gear Solid's genome soldiers either. They will see you, and they will hunt you down. Even with a one star wanted level you'll note that they co-ordinate and drive objectively, pulling off every trick they can to make you stop. Before, a group of police cars would just trail behind you, now they'll try tactics such as locking you between two cars, or having one swerve out sideways in front of you. Also, all main roads and bridges will be barricaded in seconds, and it's a lot harder to drive straight through this time around. It adds a sense of peril that I have never felt in a Grand Theft Auto game before. Suddenly, you're no longer invincible, and you actually have to try if you want to shake them. It's quite refreshing and really adds to the formula.
The combat system has also been revamped. Hand to hand allows you to throw a normal punch, a heavy punch, or a kick. You can also block and dodge opponent's attacks. If you time it right, you can even counter them! It does feel stiff and alien the first time you try it out, but it grows on you - as do most of the changes, and you realise you have a basic version of Tekken on your hands.
Naturally, you can't revamp the hand to hand combat without changing the shooting system. After all, it wouldn't be a Grand Theft Auto without guns. The changes are, thankfully, the ones fans have been crying out for! You now have to strategically take cover in shoot outs, selecting your targets and popping out to take them down. It's all done so fluidly that it feels natural. You can't take as much damage in this game as you could in the old ones, so you can't go in and pretend you're Rambo. Also, damage now flucates depending on how far the bullet has travelled, for example, take a hit from a shotgun half way across the room and you might get knocked to your feet. Take a shotgun at point blank and it's instant death. Guns are ranged weapons and this really promotes that and forces veteran Grand Theft Auto players to change their tactics, and pick their guns wisely, before entering the fray.
Dating returns, and is joined by the new ability to go out on the town with various friends you've made during the missions. It's rather simple, you can either call them on your mobile phone to invite them out, or on the odd occasion, they'll call you and tell you to pick them up. There are a variety of activities too, you can play darts, shoot some pool, go bowling, visit a strip club, watch a stand up comedy act, or go to a bar - most of which include mini-games which, for once, don't feel like a last minute addition and are actually rather fun. Though I should warn you, if you do go to a bar, then you will come out drunk. The drunken controls are actually quite an accurate recreation of how it feels to be drunk. Walking in a straight line is impossible, the camera wobbles and slightly blurs now and then, constantly going in and out of focus. You're also subjected to involuntary actions like lurching to the side. When driving, it can be an ordeal trying to keep the car even remotely steady and cops will chase you if they see you get behind the wheel after downing a few pints. This addition was causing a fair amount of controversy before the game's release, with people saying it will only encourage drink driving. If anything, it's put me off it. I think the Rockstar crew need to be applauded for actually it off when you consider how volatile the subject matter is.
The mobile phone is given to you at the start of the game, and you can use it to call anyone you meet - and they can also call you. It's how you'll recieve a lot of your missions and all your invites to go on a night out. The team didn't sell us short either, we can change the ringtone, decide if it vibrates or not, you can even buy new ringtones for it!
You buy new ringtones online - that's right, you can go online in the new Grand Theft Auto! Go to any Tw@ cafe and you can grab a computer to see Rockstar's hilarious take on the internet. There are parodies of YouTube, dating sights and, of course, e-mail. It's all fantastically well done and emulates the net in great detail, it's internet videos even have comments on them!
The new radio stations are to the standard you'd expect and the new chat shows are side splitting. The adverts make a return, not just on the radio, but on TV. That's right, you can watch TV in the game! Also seeing a welcome return is the ability to change clothes - which your dates will take note of. Again, you can regain your health by eating.
As for the plot and the missions, they're back on form. I found San Andreas' plot to be boring, and filled with 2D characters that I didn't care about. Grand Theft Auto 4 puts that where it belongs, the past. We're focused on believable, fleshed out characters with various motives and sides to them and a plot that slowly thickens and unfolds whilst not hogging the spotlight. The humour's back in both the sequences and missions too. The missions are mostly things you've done before, following people, extracting information, killing off any inconveniences, the usual. What has changed, is the way you have to approach them. As I said earlier, the gameplay mechanics have drastically changed, so old tactics for doing missions just won't work anymore. It breathes new life into the routine and makes the challenges feel new again. There are some suprises too, for example, there is one mission where a man owes money to your boss, so you go online to a dating site, find his profile and set up a date with him. When he turns up you take the money by force. There are some new innovations too, for example, in one mission the man I was chasing down ended up dangling from the edge of a building, and I got to choose whether I threw him off the edge to his death, or helped him up. These little choices have reprucussions later on in the game. If you decide not to kill someone, they may come back and try to finish the job off later, or they might turn up to help you later on. It's a gamble and you have to judge their character for yourself. An amazing addition that I've only encountered once so far.
Alongside the main missions are the side quests. These are jobs you can get from your friends. Your cousin will let you drive cabs for him, another friend will ask you to deliver packages for him, and a third will ask you bring him certain cars. Completing these tasks earn you money and hidden rewards. My personal favourite is that if you steal a police car, you can use it's on board computer to search the criminal database and view crimes happening at that very moment before turning vigilante.
The thing is, there are far too many things in this game to be covered in one review. It really is huge and offers a ton of distractions that will keep you playing long after the story is complete. Little details thrown in that you just have to applaud Rockstar for. A good example would be one mission where I had to steal a polie car. I called 911 on the mobile phone and a cop actually turned up! Of course, the second he did, I stole the car and ran him down.
Grand Theft Auto 4 is an amazing game, and I really can not do it any justice. I highly recommend you buy it, if you're over 18 anyway. The only reason I'm not playing it right this second is because my friend is!
