Grand Theft Auto IV
Preview
The fourth instalment takes us back to Liberty City
by Spoondan
previewed on PS3
Give me liberty...
The most anticipated game of the year will be hitting the store shelves at the end of the month. It is part of a series that has been hailed as one of the most important in the industry but also been targeted by activist groups that believe video games go too far. If you don't have April 29th circled on your calendar, there is good chance that you are part of the latter and you might as well hang up your controllers right now. Soon the good people at Rockstar will bring us Grand Theft Auto IV. Get ready to return to Liberty City...
... or give me death
Ah, so you haven't been living under a Rock? I am sure you will know that the Grand Theft Auto franchise is one of the most talked about game franchises ever. With the release of Grand Theft Auto III for the PS2, the idea of a 'sandbox' game world arrived to the action genre. The concept of being able to do what you want in a living, breathing city, from stealing and racing cars, or simply picking up a cab and try to help people get to their destinations on time, Grand Theft Auto III blew people away.
Of course, the Grand Theft Auto games have always been geared towards a more mature audience. Death, destruction and all around bad behavior have been the staples of the main storyline and Grand Theft Auto IV will be no different. The game takes players back to Liberty City, the very same location as Grand Theft Auto III but completely updated and much larger. This time around though, you will be playing as a European thug called Nikolai.
GTA is just one of the many crimes you will commit
Like in the previous games, your character will start out as a low-level goon trying to make a name for himself by doing the dirty work for notorious bad guys. Missions will be structured similarly to what we are used to from Rockstar. This includes stealing cars, robbing stores, blowing stuff up, making drug deals and committing murder.
Apart from the overall story, there will be only minor gameplay differences. Yet these small changes result in an overall more enjoyable experience. The general control scheme remains unchanged so moving your character and vehicles around in the world will be no different. Gun fights on the other hand, will now be much more fun. In the past games, shootouts meant you would aim your weapons in the general direction of an enemy and pull the trigger. You couldn't take advantage of cover and for proper aiming, gamers were better off playing Quake or Unreal. The new mechanics of the game will now allow you to switch your targeting to various sections on a persons body and aiming at someone’s head will bring him down faster than a shot to their midsection. Should you get into a situation where you appear to be outnumbered you can take cover, a la Gears of War, to assess your situation. This gives a great new dynamic to the game and will make the gun fights that much more fun as well as a tad more realistic.
