What motivates you?
The game-play here has been completely reworked, and is better than the previous games in every way. You still have the auto aim feature, but its uses much less awkward angles than before. Better still, you can now free aim for the awesome head shots by only pressing halfway on your control stick. Its also much easier to take people down via drive-by. You can now shoot forward from your vehicle, which may not sound like much, but it makes those chase missions way better than in previous games. You can also free aim out of your car now as well, not to mention you can use weapons other than the sub-machine gun while driving now. Dropping grenades out of your window while driving down the freeway at max speed can result in some interesting situations.
The cars handle much more realistic now, which takes some getting sued to. This led to some frustrating moments early in the game, but once you get the hang of things its actually better than before, and you can notice more of a difference between cars. The cars are much more diverse this time around, and while you can no longer find a tank or a plane to steal, you won't have a problem finding something to drive. Which brings me to traffic, there's lots of it, and they aren't the friendliest of drivers. I think my record for being hit by cars while trying to cross the street is three times.
The difficulty is perfect, not quite as hard as previous games in the series, but still a challenge. The missions are much more creative and fun for the most part. The cover system is certainly a welcome addition to the series. It doesn't work quite as well as the cover system in Gears of War, but tis still very helpful and is pretty much the only way you're not going to constantly die. Body armor definitely helps too.
Rockstar went and did something very controversial this time around, something that many fans have complained about, but I actually am very glad they did it. They trimmed the fat off of San Andreas. What I mean by this is that they took out all of those meaningless novelties that were slapped on last time around. This means no more RPG elements, no more turf wars, no more car customization, and no more hot coffee. I felt that these features took away from the game, and just kind of bogged it down. Rockstar seems to have agreed.
The graphics this time around are fantastic considering the scope of the game. This is what fans like myself have been waiting for, an environment that truly immerses the player. So not only are the graphics as a whole, but everything is just much more detailed. There's actual textures now! The lighting is fantastic, flying over the city in a helicopter at night is just simply awesome. There's a very far draw distance, which is nice. There are almost no load times, probably thanks to the mandatory install on the PS3 version. I noticed hardly any frame-rate problems. I didn't see any glitches or pop-in. Contrary to past games in the series, this game is actually pretty much technical problem free. Smoke effects are great, explosions really stand out, its really makes it fun to just blow stuff up. Something that really helps immerse the player are the perfectly done character animations. The way Niko slides to cover, walks, falls, or even steps off and on the sidewalk is perfectly executed. Its just as great looking game overall.
The soundtrack had a lot of work put into it this time around. The soundtracks in past games in the series have always been great, but this is my favorite. Its very diverse, and doesn't run with a common theme like the previous games. There's just something about it that got me hooked, i really go into this time around. I'm waiting in anticipation for the soundtrack to come out in a box set like Vice City and San Andreas. The sound effects are great as well. The guns sound like real guns, and the explosions are awesome. Even better is the superb voice acting, it really helps the story out.
I have found previous Grand Theft Auto games to be lacking in story. They were either childish like in San Andreas, a movie ripoff like in Vice City, or essentially nonexistent like in GTA III. Not this time, this time Rockstar put a lot of effort into the story to make sure it wasn't the weak part of the game. Not only is this the best story in a Grand Theft Auto game, but its one of the best I've experienced in any game. It progresses at a realistic rate, involved awesome characters, and had some great twists and turns along the way. I seriously got attached to some of the characters, like Niko, Roman, and the Mcgreary family as a whole. It kind of made me sad to see it all end. The ending, is awesome. Its sad, but it provides closure. It is a little mysterious though, Rockstar kind of leaves it up to your imagination. I have heard though, that there is more than one ending depending on how you go through the game and what decisions you make, so yours could be a completely different experience than mine. One thing I know I share with anyone who finishes GTA IV is the longest credits I have ever seen in my life. That seriously took like 15 minutes to sit through.
This game truly left an impression on me. I hope I never forget about it in the many years waiting for me down the road. Its one of those games that rival films, and even surpasses them, as an art form. If you're a Grand Theft Auto fan, you should definitely own this game. If you're a fan of awesome games, you should definitely own this game. I love this game, and it easily made it into my top 10.