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The King of all Kings has come back

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 81
Date: April 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Yes, GTA is coming and it will blow away all the competition. This game will redifine the open-world genre. Finally the greatest franchise of all time will take its throne once again.

A Thinking Man's GTA?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 67 / 91
Date: May 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Just when you think you have Rockstar Games and their legendary Grand Theft Auto series figured out, they pitch you one heck of a curve. Speaking as a guy who spent so much time running amok in Vice City and San Andreas that I practically had to file tax returns there, I have been consistently surprised by the depth of play in GTA IV. Yes, it's true that the character modeling and some of the action moves are a little choppy, but most of the game looks great. Far more interesting, however, is the fact that this is not a video game per se - it borders on an interactive movie. The crime and violence in fuzzy-lit, pastel colored Vice City is practically cartoonish compared to the gritty reality of life in Liberty City in GTA IV. You're not just a thug with a bat trying to decide which car to lift, you're an immigrant with plenty of emotional baggage, forced into a series of moral quandries the outcomes of which carry implications throughout the entire game. Things you do even turn up later on the in-game radio stations!

Every generation of game console, some game is proclaimed the next coming, be it of graphics, or gameplay, or some other measurable category. GTA IV is different. You can wallow in the muck of street violence and prostitution as always, but there's a deeper moral play going on that feels unlike anything else I've encountered not only in GTA, but in video games in general. Rockstar Games may have finally located that most ephemeral of experiences - one equal parts game and cinema, without belonging entirely to either. It's going to be interesting to see how many critics and politicians seize on only the overt, adult content, without grasping how far more creative and artistic this "game" is than your average deadening FPS or racing game. Rockstar Games is to be commended for what truly deserves to be called "genius."

A Masterpiece. Video Games as Art.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 51 / 68
Date: May 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Let it be said that I've never liked GTA. But I decided to get GTA4 after reading several articles about the change in direction they were taking and my god, has it paid off. This game is PHENOMENAL.

The Good:
Graphics-
Even though this game is running at 640p and is upscaled on PS3, this is a BEAUTIFUL game. It has some of the best and most natural looking water and light effects I've ever seen that appear photorealistic at times. I often stop and just stare at the waves or park and watch the sun hitting the road as it sets.

Story-
The voice acting is top notch and the cast has some truly memorable characters. This is one of the few games where I actually have an emotional response when things happen to the main characters...which is no small feat. Sometimes you have to make choices whether someone lives or dies and I found myself really struggling with the decision I thought was appropriate to my character. The pacing is great too. Just as you are getting satisfied with a particular location, you get access to a new islands and contacts so things always feel fresh.

Gameplay-
Thankfully, they eliminated all the things that made past GTAs tedious. No more going to the gym to lift weights, no more being forced to drive twenty minutes across town to do a mission. Finally, you can take a cab and opt to skip the driving when you are in a rush. They've also added a much needed cover system where tapping R1 will let you take cover behind virtually any object. This leads to some truly epic shootouts that will literally have you diving for cover.

They also made your cell phone the menu for the game and you rarely have to leave the game world immersion. Just call up your friends for missions or hanging out and watch Niko talk to them while he walks around the city. You can even buy ringtones, themes, and even get a camera phone and organizer.

There are also 200 music tracks on a dozen radio stations with great music and talk shows on all of them. You can waste hours watching TV at your house, going on dates to see shows or play pool and darts, or you can fool around on dozens of webpages at the internet cafe. Basically, there is a ton of depth here that will give the game dozens of hours of extra traction.

Multiplayer-
Just whip out your cell phone in the single player and hop right in to over 14 online game modes. Imagine running around New York with 15 friends and playing paintball in the streets. To just be able to hop into the whole of Liberty City and do ANYTHING is so fun and chaotic words can't describe it. Just last night, I joined Free Mode, where there are no rules. I proceeded to blow up 3 cop cars and run over a flock of pedestrians before getting plowed over by another player who had stolen a commuter bus and was on a rampage in Times Square. That was just the first 10 minutes. And I was having a blast that even my wife couldn't turn away from.

The Bad:
Other than minor framerate and A.I. glitches, my biggest complaint is that the game does some unnecessary forced loading. When you die on a mission instead of just asking you if you want to retry it, you die, it loads a respawn at the hospital and THEN you are asked to retry the mission, which leads to another load screen.

Every time you launch the game, you are forced to sit through a 2 minute intro movie. I suspect this is to distract you while the game loads in the background more than it is to set a mood, but it would still have been nice to be able to skip it sometimes.

Other than that, the clothing selection feature remains terrible. You have no way to quickly cycle through your wardrobe without having to spend 2-5 seconds loading each new outfit. If you're like me, you bought every outfit as soon as you could only to learn that you had to cycle through every single one anytime you wanted to change clothes. And other than buying clothes, money has absolutely no value in this game. For some reason, they didn't include a casino or the option to buy property, so you amass all this wealth and have virtually nothing to spend it on at the end of the game's main story.

The Verdict:
That said, the sheer freedom and realism of this game signal a landmark in gaming and anyone who likes video games should buy this game. It is the most fun I've ever had with a video game and provides 100+ hours of entertainment for sixty bucks. Despite a few flaws, the amount of content, fun, and depth of this game make it virtually flawless and worth your money.

review of the PS3 version by someone who has actually played

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 30 / 50
Date: April 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Well I just played my first 6 hours of GTA IV (mostly exploring and hurting people.) I was able to get a copy during the midnight sale at my local Meijer. I don't even know where to begin...The game so far has been everything I expected and then some. The graphics are far superior to past GTA titles but not quite up to par with other games I've played on my PS3. Most people know that the graphics aren't what this franchise is about so It's OK. That being said, holy crap this is a FUN GAME. The first surprise I got was when I crashed my car into a wall at high speed. Niko went flying through the windsheild and smashed into the wall!!! Almost killed him. The car damage is awesome, way more detailed and more realistic. The car will actually stall out if it gets beat up too much. The hookers are back and sluttier than ever...You can go into a bar and get ****faced and stumble around or drive drunk(it gave me a headache, i recommend taking a cab) I have only completed 8 missions so far but they are the same type of stuff as before (drugs,protection money,driving hos around..)at least so far...I can't write anymore now because all I'm thinking about is getting back into Liberty City besides I don't want to ruin any more surprises. I haven't tried the online yet. If you haven't already ordered a copy I highly recommend it. you won't regret it....

Welcome to Liberty City

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 25 / 33
Date: April 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I have few words about this game, I think I don't need to explain how good it is and if you want so just check IGN review, however it's worth the wait, every cent and time spent on producing it and the fun is just begin, you shouldn't miss this game whatever your gameplay style. there is so much of reality in gta about streets life, bad cops, gangsters and using phone in game etc. no more that could be asked for from gta.

What's new in gta IV ? obviously new great story with new characters, improvements in graphic detail, load screen times are a little shorter, quicker and better, new targeting system much easier than old one, cover system, new multiplayer challenges support for up to 16 players with more than 10 modes such as races, deathmatch, team death matches and one co-op single player mission, there is also an autosave feature work after completing a mission, you have cell phone which you can use it even in-car anywhere and anytime and last but not least you will be able to track your statistics and feature competitions and awards based on player activity within the game through Social Club, it will be available on 17 April.

it should labeled with "MUST HAVE" and I'm pretty sure it won't be ejected from your console for long time.

Thank "you Rocks"tar!

Greatest Game Ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 37
Date: April 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is without a doubt one of the greatest games ever. GTA in New Yawk City, detailed map, subway system, Woo-Hoo!

GTA has been a successful genre catering to the thug-wanna-bes. This is without a doubt the best GTA so far. The game engine is ingenius. From the opening scene -- which I'm watching now -- to the game interface, this is the best in gaming of present technology people.

I play it in 720p on a 24" PC monitor with the DVI hook up. Movies and cut scenes are flawless. No heating problems like lame box 360. Will have to try it on my 1080p HDTV later.

GTA IV on PS3 = Best gaming design on best hardware. Can't get better than this people! I went out and bought this game even though I have internet game rental service. LoL

and remember, I'm playing it right now!

Niko's first day in Liberty City - the first of MANY.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 15
Date: May 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Even though I have only played one day in Liberty City as Niko Bellic, the only way to review GTA IV is to take you on a journey of those first 24 hours.

After a short 7 minute download to my hard disc drive, the game was ready. At the end of the intro movie I directed Niko into the car with Roman at the shipyard. There's an on-screen tutorial on how to accelerate, brake, handbrake, and turn the radio stations on and off. I'd seen this before in other Grand Theft Auto games, so I wondered: what was new?

Quite a bit, as I would soon discover.

I saw a map option that showed the quickest legal route in a vehicle to my destination (which isn't always the fastest). I found out that the headlights on the car can go high-beam. When I hit the pause menu, I saw a HUGE list of statistics that I would need another 4,000 characters to describe, such as time spent on the internet, time watching TV, emails & text messages sent & received, times I've played darts, shot pool, or gone bowling? And this is just skimming the surface!

After Roman left me in his crappy apartment, I tried out a few controls. I punched the fridge, and it made a sound like hitting porcelain. I watched a little TV, changing channels and adjusting the volume. I left the apartment and saw tagger graffiti in the halls. I tried to swipe a car to speed over to Roman's cab company, but I found out that the Liberty City folks don't take lightly to Grand Theft Auto. They smacked me around a bit, and I had to run through some alleyways to avoid the cops!

The first mission was pretty simple, and during that mission I picked up a crummy cell phone. What a feature: we can read and send text messages, make calls, adjust the volume, and even change the ring tone! I even got to use my charismatic skills to get a date with a fine young lady. I had to go shopping first, though. The shopping option is different, we can walk around to different clothing racks and pick out what we want...a welcome change.

"My idiot cousin was in trouble with some Albanians, but how could I say no to my lady friend? I started to take her to the funfair; we had to take a little detour because I accidentally hit a police car. Being busted would have been a sour end to our date! Once we got to the funfair, we decided to go bowling instead." [This was incredibly fun! We get a bowling tutorial and five free frames to start out, by the end of the tutorial; you'll want to play again.]

"After I dropped Michelle back at her place, I felt the vibrations of my cell phone. [Yet another reason to pick up a Dualshock Controller - I thought my actual cell phone was going off!] Roman reamed me out for choosing the girl over family, but he admitted that he probably would have done the same thing. I dropped him off at his cab company, and I sat in the car and reflected on the day's events."

I can't even put into words how IMMERSIVE this game is. Hot dogs to replenish my stamina? An in-game tutorial on how to use the controller for popping wheelies on motorcycles? Attention to details like bees at a wastebasket? Chinese lettering on cardboard boxes outside a restaurant? Skid marks on the asphalt from using the car handbrake? It's all here.

I ordered the Grand Theft Auto IV Special Edition but I just couldn't wait to review this game. After two hours of playing it, I know I'll be hooked for MONTHS unlocking all the secret goodies.

Obviously this game has the right rating. Blood, violence, sexual themes, alcohol consumption, and many other items dictate that this game shouldn't be played by the under 17 crowd. It's not for everyone, though. Some gamers may not like the freedom Liberty City offers, in which case I would highly suggest a more linear game like Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

This is the type of game that makes me believe there is no difference between motion pictures and video games anymore.

Have fun! I know I will.

Most Expansive Console Game Ever Made

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: April 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

WHAT AN EXPERIENCE

Out of all the many games I've played GTA4 beats them all for me. Attention to detail is what wins me over in most cases. I bought this the day it came out and couldn't put it down until 18 hours later. SERIOUSLY, I was that enthralled in what this game had to offer.

The constant parodies of our modern culture & society are displayed ALL OVER this game. I find it hilarious but a bit disturbing as well(mainly 'cause everything is sound irony compared with today's culture).

A ridiculous amount of hard work and detail was put into making this the pinnacle of all virtual cities ever created in a video game. My escape in this game was so real that I literally dreamed about all of the high-octane situations I'd just encountered in GTA4 as if I were really Niko Bellic or something(haha, you're thinking 'therapy'). Kinda like when you come home from a hard days work and think about the many pressured conversations you've just had with your superiors. I think my brain needed to sort out all of the madness I'd just encountered.

I have a 60GB PS3 and I had no issues with this game. Worked seamlessly after the initial install and ran smooth for a straight 18 hours!
UPDATE: ONLY IN SINGLE-PLAYER MODE(Online Untested)

This game has SO MUCH TO OFFER. I'm not even a gamer per say(few hours a week), just got caught up in the hype in which the gameplay itself far exceeded. Play it while it's still fresh, the newness always wears off. go go go

Nice to Be Back

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 18
Date: April 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

It's Nice to be back in the world of GTA, Pickin up Ho's and Killin Cops has never been so much fun! If you havent bought the game, then do so.

Great Game!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 12
Date: April 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is awesome...
Amazing how real it seems...
If your a GTA fan get the game
if your not a GTA fan, you will be once you play this; get the game

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