Grand Theft Auto IV Review
- Posted May 7th, 2008 at 16:19 EDT by Eric Blattberg
- 71 Comments
Review Score
- PSU Review Score
- 9.5
- Avg. user review score:
- 8.8
Summary
One of the greatest video game stories ever told. It may have its flaws, but it is the most ambitious game made to date and, without a doubt, the best game so far this generation.
We like
- The movie-caliber storyline
- The stylistically unprecedented recreation of New York City
- The vast online experience
We dislike
- The slight framerate dips and pop-in
- The lack of a checkpoint system
See PSU's review on Metacritic & GameRankings
(continued from previous page) ...genre. The sweeping color palette flows across the morning sky as the sun rises over the ocean horizon. The people, the city, the cars, everything is highly detailed yet beautifully stylized (the game implements depth of field and motion blur to full effect). The framerate is prone to dips when the action gets really heavy and pop-in isn’t overly rare, but these issues are overshadowed by the grand scheme of things. The little details shine as well. The smoke that rolls out of car windows when driving around with resident Rastafarian Little Jacob feels just as impressive to me as the Statue of Happiness. Whilst playing GTA IV, you get the overwhelming sense that Rockstar really cares about Liberty City and its fictional inhabitants, and that makes you care as well.
What better way to show your appreciation for the city than tearing it up online with up to 15 other players? Rockstar has finally seen the light and given its fans something they’ve been wanting for the longest time now – online Grand Theft Auto. As if the offline experience wasn’t enough to warrant the $60 price tag, Rockstar went the extra mile and provided its users with incredibly in-depth online capability as well. Not only will you be able to roam free in Liberty City with up to 15 of your friends, but you’ll also be able to completely customize the look and feel of your online persona. When you first hop online, your options for customization will be somewhat limited, though fortunately you're able to purchase new clothing with cash you earn as you rank up.
Outside of Free Roam, Rockstar has also implemented 14 other gameplay modes that you can partake in, ranging from deathmatches to mission work, cat ‘n’ mouse games to turf wars. The guys over at Rockstar North left little to be desired within the brilliantly executed online environment. One of the more pleasing features of the online portion of GTA IV is the ability to play online with not only pedestrians and traffic enabled, but with non-player police serving as a third party in various scenarios. With that said, the inauguration of online play within the Grand Theft Auto universe provides a huge step up in not only the game's direction, but user-experience altogether.
If this review went on for another 10 pages, I still couldn’t list everything you can do in Liberty City. I’ve completely managed to avoid mentioning the scandalous drunk driving mechanic within the game. That proves testament to my point though – Grand Theft Auto IV is filled to the brim with limitless opportunity. Contained within Grand Theft Auto IV is one greatest video game stories ever told, and that’s only the beginning. It has its flaws, but it’s the most ambitious game made to date and, without a doubt, the best game so far this generation. Keep on rockin’ Rockstar, you’ve got yourself a winner.
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Comments
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snake_eater
- 11:40am EDT - May 7th, 2008
- 5
i think 9.5 is too high, do you guys just like to run around blowing things up. compare the content to san andreas. after you're done with the storyline what else is there left to do? when you have $100000000 what can you spend it on? NOTHING, except two clothing stores and some fake dates. No property to buy
No cars to buy
No car modifications to buy
Small collection of clothes
Small collection of guns
That being said, it was a fun game and I enjoyed playing it, but it didnt' live up to the hype content wise. The gameplay was excellent though, and so were the physics
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I95SOUTH
- 11:41am EDT - May 7th, 2008
- 6
Cons
- - Slight framerate dips, pop-in
- - Shooting mechanics could benefit from minor tweaking
- - Lack of a checkpoint system
I'm sorry, but who ever wrote this is an off person. When did gta ever had a checkpoint in any of the gta games. All I remember is safehouse. the shooting is great, and who ever looks at a frame that hard. I think that the view of the city at night from one of those tall building is nice( i know I sound a little sofe right now) But its one of the best game ever. 1.gta4 2.shenmue 3. FF7
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Dreamseller21
- 11:50am EDT - May 7th, 2008
- 7
I didnt find anything wrong with the shooting mechanics and checkpoint system? after you sucessfully complete a mission it autosaves and if you fail you can easily restart it.
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DARKBLADE1
- 12:04pm EDT - May 7th, 2008
- 8
in multiplayer, y does your moneynot save when you exit? i have to start all over again every time. its really annoying
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Odium_Generis_Humani
- 12:10pm EDT - May 7th, 2008
- 9
How can it get a perfect score with its bugs? Maybe the 360 version can get a 10, but not the PS3 one. The "cons" section is dead on. You don't give a 10 to games that suffer from that, period. Not only that, I just ASSUMED that you could buy property, I didn't know you couldn't! This is just hype. How do you give a 10 to a game that took a content step BACKWARDS. 9.5 is fine (if not high). I KNEW IGN was just a bunch of blind fanboys. Those are serious issues, man! I also noticed that they wait longer to post a review than other sites. You know what that means don't you? Other sites are giving you reviews with little time playing the game. I remember IGN's 5.5 for MLB the Show 07 (total BS). Early review...the guy didn't even play it. Good on you PSU, kudos.
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I have MORE respect for this site now that it was bold enough to point out these things. I didn't know what to think about their reviews until now. Go PSU!
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zombieking36
- 12:31pm EDT - May 7th, 2008
- 12
LOL, it should have been a ten! Go by fun man, not popins and framerate issues that are scarce compared to the 360 vers.
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Die-romantic
- 12:49pm EDT - May 7th, 2008
- 16
8.0 it should've been Many features on San Andreas left out No abilty to buy properties WTF! Could've been on ps3 but no Microsoft ruin it with the crashbox pleasecutme H3ll planes could have been possible greedy B@stards Microsoft: your frustration our fault Microsoft: your potential our passion Im now waiting for the review of Iron Man which got 3.8 by a bunch of idiots @ ign
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Xdeth
- 3:09pm EDT - May 7th, 2008
- 20
I love this game and think the 9.5 is right on. I've been playing GTA sinc it first came on on the PC and this game pushes the bar higher. The one thing I disagree with is the check point system. It saves auto after any mission or event. What more do you want? You want it to save it right as you go to pull the trigger? That is someone who is just to picky. When it comes to GTA their are 3 types of people. Those who are true fans, those who are posers and buy it for the hype, and those who will never like it.
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