Grand Theft Auto IV

General information

Grand Theft Auto IV (abbreviated as GTA IV) is a sandbox-style action adventure video game developed by Rockstar North. It is the ninth title in the Grand Theft Auto series and the first in its fourth generation. The game was preceded by Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Grand Theft Auto IV was released in Australia, Europe and North America on 29 April 2008 for both Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Two episodic packs are being developed exclusively for the Xbox 360, the first of which will be released in Q1 2009. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game will be released in Japan on Q1 2009. Rockstar announced a Windows version of the game for release in North America on 18 November 2008 and in Europe three days later. The game is set in a redesigned rendition of Liberty City, a fictional city based heavily on modern day New York City. It follows Nico Bellic, a war veteran from Eastern Europe, who comes to the United States in search of the American Dream, but quickly becomes entangled in a seedy underworld of gangs, crime, and corruption. Like other games in the series, GTA IV is composed of elements from driving games and third-person shooters, and features "open-world" gameplay that gives players more control over their playing experience. GTA IV is the first console game in the series to feature an online multiplayer mode, which contains fifteen different game types. A major commercial and critical success, Grand Theft Auto IV broke sales records by selling about 3.6 million units on its first day of release and grossing more than $500 million in its first week. As of 16 August 2008, the game has sold over 10 million copies. Grand Theft Auto IV has received overwhelmingly positive reviews, becoming the highest-rated video game of all-time on Game Ratio, aggregated review website.

Gameplay

Grand Theft Auto IV is structured similarly to previous games in the series. The core gameplay consists of elements of a third-person shooter and a driving game, affording the player a large, open environment in which to move around. On foot, the player's character is capable of walking, running, swimming, climbing and jumping, as well as utilising weapons and basic hand-to-hand combat. Players can steal and drive a variety of vehicles, including automobiles, boats, helicopters, and motorcycles. Grand Theft Auto IV takes advantage of Natural Motion's Euphoria engine, which combines artificial intelligence, bio mechanics and physics to make NPC behaviour and movement adaptive and more realistic. The open, non-linear environment allows players to explore and choose how they wish to play the game. Although storyline missions are necessary to progress through the game and unlock certain parts of the map and content, they are not required, as players can complete them at their own leisure. When not taking on a storyline mission, players can free-roam. However, creating havoc can attract unwanted and potentially fatal attention from the authorities. It is possible to have multiple active missions, due to the fact that some missions will run over the course of several days and will require the player to wait for further instructions, etc. The player can also partake in a variety of optional side missions. For the first time in the series, Grand Theft Auto IV features "morality choices" at several points throughout the game, in which the player is forced to choose between killing a character or sparing their life or killing one of two characters. The game has two different endings, which are determined by decisions made by the player throughout and at the end of the game. Each choice affects the final missions the player can partake, and the fate of some characters.

Combat and Police Response

The gunfight system has been reworked to a better third-person scheme. The player can slide to cover, blindfire, and free aim. When locked on, the target's health is indicated by eight green segments inside the target circle. As the opponent's health decreases, the number of segments drop and turn red. Players can now target individual body parts using a revamped targeting system. Niko's health is represented by a green semi-circle on the left side of the minimap, and a blue semi-circle on the right represents armour. If Niko gets injured, he can recover health by using an escort service, eating, drinking soda, sleeping, using medical kits, or by calling for paramedics using his phone. Health is generally reduced by physical injuries such as falling from heights and going through the windscreen of a vehicle when crashing. Body armour is gradually damaged by gunshots and stab wounds. When Niko's health level reaches zero, he respawns at the nearest hospital, but loses 10% of his total wealth (up to a maximum of $10,000). Niko is able to retain his weapons after re-spawning at a hospital, unlike previous GTA games (besides Vice city stories), where this ability had to be unlocked. However, weapons are still confiscated if he is arrested and taken to a police station. Wanted levels operate differently from previous GTA games. When the police are in search of Niko, a search radius appears on the map in which the police will be looking for him. The size of this radius increases with the player's wanted level and re-centres itself on Niko's location if he is spotted by the police. The player can evade the police by escaping the search radius and temporarily keeping a low profile by not committing further offences. The wanted levels can be lost by either driving into a "Pay 'N' Spray" as in previous games or by disguising himself by clandestinely changing vehicles in empty areas such as parking garages. However, entering a "Pay 'N' Spray" will no longer remove the wanted levels if the police notice Niko entering the garage. The player has the option to attempt escaping arrest before he is handcuffed, at the cost of increasing his wanted level by one star. Additionally, pedestrians with cellphones can report crimes they witness in the surrounding environment. The type of police response also differs slightly from previous GTA games; however, creating more chaos still leads to a stronger response. "Minor" crimes, such as assault, public discharge of a firearm, grand theft auto, and homicide, continue to be handled by police patrols. Higher wanted levels still activate police helicopter and water craft support teams and FBI-like agents, known as FIB (Federal Investigation Bureau) in GTA: IV. However, police SWAT and the military no longer appear at a higher wanted levels, as seen in previous renditions of the series. Instead, they have been replaced with an elite counter-terrorism team known as N.O.O.S.E. (National Office Of Security Enforcement), an amalgamation of SWAT and the Department of Homeland Security.

Vehicles

Stealing a parked car will now show Niko breaking the glass (if it is locked) by either kicking out the window or smashing it with his elbow and then hotwiring it, as opposed to previous games where the player simply entered the driver's seat or cannot enter if it's locked. A new feature in GTA: IV allows the player to focus the camera on the target during chases, enabled by holding the cinematic camera button. Every vehicle in the game utilizes the in-game minimap as a GPS device. Another new feature includes voice directions when a destination is selected on the map; although this feature is only available in the expensive cars (but can be turned on for all cars in the options menu). "Waypoints" can be placed on destinations on the map, leaving a green trail on the map between Niko and the destination. However, the biggest addition of the GTA series is the new ability to hail a taxi cab, which allows the player to travel to destinations without having to manually drive. Travel in a taxi cab also allows Niko to instantly reach a destination, if the player chooses to skip the actual journey. The player is no longer able to pilot Fixed-wing aircraft, as was possible in previous GTA games, but can still pilot helicopters, including the police "Annihilator", which has mounted machine guns. Car damage physics are more detailed in GTA: IV than in its predecessors. When major collisions on motorbikes occur, the player's helmet will most likely fall off. The physics engine will turn the player into a rag doll after a crash, instead of using a predefined animation, resulting in more realistic collisions. Niko can lose health (or die) if he crashes or smashes through the windscreen of cars when colliding with objects at high speed. Vehicles will not explode if they are flipped over, or shot in any place other than the engine block or fuel tank, however they may catch fire and eventually explode if they are repeatedly damaged via collisions. Explosions can sometimes render nearby vehicles unusable, or cause them to catch fire. Car engines can also die, rendering them unable to start.
When driving or riding in a car, the player is able to smash the window, free-aim, and fire out of the vehicle with several different one-handed weapons as well dropping grenades or Molotov cocktails. In certain areas of Liberty City, Niko can stop along side a prostitute, honk his car horn and let her in. This then enables him to engage in three different sexual activities with the prostitute at different costs.

Communication

The use of the mobile phone has been expanded to perform multiple actions. When selecting the mobile phone, a zoomed-in version of the phone pops up in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. The phone allows the player to view text messages and appointments, as well as arrange to meet friends for a variety of activities. Retrying a failed mission can be performed by accessing the menu. The player can take photos with the mobile phone and upload them to the police computer during certain missions. Niko can dial 911 to call the police for them to arrest an attacker, or just to waste their time on a false alarm. He can also contact the paramedics and the fire station. Paramedics, upon arrival, can heal Niko to full health if he so chooses. The cost is the same as if he were to lose all health and be healed at a hospital. Also, the phone allows access to the game's multiplayer. The game also features several different in-game databases that Niko can make use of. An in-game version of the Internet can be used by accessing the Internet cafe chain, "TW@", located throughout the city. There are over 100 accessible fictitious websites within the game, and Niko can also send and receive email (complete with random spam mail) and set up prospective dates. Although the Internet café was seen in Grand Theft Auto III, it did not give the player the option to browse the internet. In a police vehicle, Niko can use an in-car computer to access Liberty City's criminal database, discover information about various criminals in Liberty City and even track them down for a reward. The game also features in-game television programming, with several viewable channels featuring programs and advertisements. The television shows cover a wide variety of genres, including news, comedy, talk shows, and sports. There is also a parody of Ric Burns' New York: A Documentary Film running continuously on one of the game's television stations, detailing the history of Liberty City in the same grandiose style as Burns' eight-part documentary.

Multiplayer

Grand Theft Auto IV is the first video game in the series to include online multiplayer, with 15 modes of play available. The multiplayer supports up to 16 players and allows players to explore the entire city. Players use a customisable character in a majority of the modes, and cash earned during play translates to a level at which more clothing is available for their character, depending on the level. Hosts of the games can control many variables, such as time of day, police presence, pedestrian presence, traffic, location of game, and weapons. The online games are split into ranked and unranked matches. The reward for the ranked gameplay is cash, which determines players' ranks. The game does not feature any split screen or LAN multiplayer modes.
There are several different game modes available. Team based gameplay modes include Team Deathmatch, where 2-8 teams compete to accumulate the most kills in a traditional deathmatch; Team Mafiya Work, in which 2–8 teams compete to complete contract work for the "mafiya", such as escorting/killing targets or stealing cars; Team Car Jack City where 2–8 teams compete to steal cars and earn money for keeping them undamaged; Cops n' Crooks, featuring a team of cops who must compete against a team of crooks (which features the "All for One" variation - requiring the cops to kill the crooks' "Boss" before he is escorted to the extraction point - and the "One for All" variation - requiring the cops to kill all of the crooks before they reach the extraction point); and Turf War, involving two teams who compete to take control of designated areas of the map and control them for as long as possible. The game also includes a variety of racing and cooperative modes, which include Race, in which players race through checkpoints in a traditional automobile race; a GTA Race variation, where players race through checkpoints in an automobile race, with the ability to combat their opponents; Hangman's N.O.O.S.E., a co-op mode that requires players to collect a person from the airport and safely escort him to the extraction point before the cops kill him; Deal Breaker, a co-op mission that requires players to assault a construction site captured by enemies, then chase a group of enemies before they escape; and Bomb da Base II, a co-op mission that requires players to clear out a ship, then destroy it with explosives. The game also features a Free Mode, in which players have the entire map open to explore, with no end goal or mission to complete.