Preview: Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto is hated by politicians and loved by everyone else. What more needs to be said about one of the biggest video game sequels in the history of interactive entertainment? Well, there’s a lot more to say about this game: bigger environments, more vehicles, more animations, more interactivity and more controversy than a night out on the town with Britney Spears. But content-conscious gamers need not worry, the game is strictly ‘M’ rated and there hasn’t been any reports of ‘AO’ (Adults Only) content slippage. Jack Thompson must be proud.



The premise of this GTA focuses on the Russian immigrant, Niko Bellic, as he journeys to America on his cousin’s false pretense of wealth, fame and women. But like any empty-pocketed immigrant in America Niko realizes that nothing is what he thought it would be: he has no money, no women waiting for him and he’s about as famous as a gutter in an alley. So players must hop into this tongue-in-cheek fray and take control of Niko as he sets out to make something of himself and resolve some unfinished business from his past. Story-wise, GTA IV has about the best setup for the character and plot when compared to any other Grand Theft Auto game. How cohesive the entire story will be in its entirety is a different subject. Nevertheless, the greyish-brown colors and heavy shadowing help to convey a much more serious tone this time around and it definitely gives the characters and environment an intriguing look.

Speaking of looks...the visuals aren’t the only thing that have been overhauled for GTA while stepping into the next-generation of gaming. Running on Rockstar’s own Rage engine and the lauded Euphoria engine – amongst other third-party middleware – GTA IV will feature some of the most advanced AI and animation systems presented in a game, period. No longer will players bumble around in the environment with jerky animations or venture among a lifeless environment filled with daft NPCs. Players will now be thrust into a world where pedestrians will dynamically react to everything that players do; if you rob someone or pull out a gun, you can bet that someone’s going to pull out a cell phone and call the cops (viz., just like in The Warriors.)

Law enforcement has also seen major improvements for this latest installment of GTA. Instead of chasing the player around the entire map while players ditch one vehicle for another, Grand Theft Auto IV will utilize a very savvy radius-based, look-out system. Basically this means that cops will only look for Niko within a certain radius of the crime that has been committed. As of course, the more despicable crimes will cause SWAT teams or the FBI to join the manhunt, and the search radius will increase drastically. But not to worry, if you can’t outrun cops in an old-fashioned chase scene, there’s always the option of ducking into an alley and stealing a new ride.

I guess this is a good time to mention, though, that stealing vehicles will no longer consist of pressing a button and taking off down the street in a new set of wheels. In true Rockstar fashion they have implemented a new twist on jacking a ride; players now have to break the window and hot-wire the vehicle. In a way, I guess this feature will shut up the critics who always complained about the lack of realism in GTA games.

Now all this stuff is great, right? Of course. But what’s Grand Theft Auto without a little door-to-door sight-seeing? Nothing. That’s why there’s more buildings to venture into and more things to do once you get inside than any other GTA game before it. That’s right; you can now get drunk, just like in most PC D&D games, complete with a mini-game where players have to stumble home. There’s more depth to dating (for the socially inclined gamer, of course) complete with taking your date to a bowling alley, a comedy club or even to a late-night cabaret. Nice, eh?

The shooting has even been improved to mimic the likes of Resident Evil 4, with the added option of targeting body parts, blind-firing and being able to take cover behind objects within the environment. And to round things off Rockstar has even included a fully featured multiplayer function for up to 16 players. Gamers can battle it out online in a variety of modes including deathmatch, racing and Cops’n’Crooks to name a few. Each mode can be modified by the host to suit a variety of playing options, and there’s even a complimentary co-op feature to round out the new multiplayer functions.

All-in-all, Grand Theft Auto IV isn’t just shaping up to be one of the biggest titles Rockstar Games has ever developed, it’s shaping up to be one of the very best games of all time. Let’s just hope all this hype isn’t ruined by something as ridiculous as San Andreas’ Hot Coffee scandal. You can look for GTA IV to hit store shelves for the Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 on April 29th.