Grand Theft Auto IV Review and Video

Grand Theft Auto IV

Developer: Rockstar
Players: 1-16
Release Date: April 19th, 2008
ESRB Content Descriptors: Use of Drugs and Alcohol, Intense Violence, Blood, Strong Sexual Content, Strong Language, Partial Nudity

Grand Theft Auto 4 Review

Almost 4 years later and we're finally getting our hands on the next installment of the GTA series. Has it lived up to the hype? Has it been worth the wait? See below for NoSun's final verdict.

Graphics
I've had the chance to play both versions and quite frankly, there isn’t much of a difference. Graphics have never been the deciding factor for our love of the series anyway right? However, for the size of the city and for the XBOX 360 DVD size limitation, the game looks amazing. There have been a couple graphical glitches including blurry text and over saturation of colors. This wasn’t anything that couldn’t be fixed by a quick restart of the game. By today's standards the graphics are below average. By GTA standards, it’s a masterpiece.

Sound
Some of the best dialogue I have heard in a game. The voice acting is superb and is backed up by an excellent soundtrack. The sounds of the city add to the player immersion. From the popping of your junker car exhaust to the cell phone conversations of random Liberty City citizens, it’s simply amazing.

Single Player
GTA4 has the best storyline of any in the series. I was a little disappointed that building your own criminal empire was left out of the game. However, Niko Bellic and company bring their own kind of excitement to the table. Most characters in the past have never drawn me in. You almost feel for Niko and his situation due to his own history which is revealed slowly throughout the game. If you purchase this game for single player action only, you will not be disappointed.

(Multiplayer reviewed below)

Grand Theft Auto IV (Playstation 3) GTA 4 PS3 complete

$31.00
Time Left: 4h 2m

Basicly New Grand Theft Auto 4

$35.00
Time Left: 5h 32m

Grand Theft Auto IV (Playstation 3) plus code book new

$49.99
Time Left: 10h 51m

Grand Theft Auto IV (Special Edition) (Playstation 3)

$40.00
Time Left: 11h 14m

Grand Theft Auto IV for PS3 Playstation 3 *USED

$35.95

Time Left: 11h 18m

Grand Theft Auto 4, Halo3, Mirrors Edge

$36.00
Time Left: 11h 38m

View more items on eBay

Multiplayer

So far I haven’t been too impressed with the online portion of this game. Yes it is fun to pull drive-bys with your buddies online. Yes it is fun exploring the city. Yes the host migration is amazing. And.....yes it does get boring very quickly. It is also very difficult to navigate through their online world. There are times that we were kicked back to single player when we just wanted to leave our party. We then had to wait to load into the single player and then back again. My party also found ourselves waiting in a game lobby for 15 minutes without anyone joining. I'm hoping this is only because everyone is so engrossed with the single player and not because their online system is hosed. However, the general consensus on my PSN buddy list is that single player is where it’s at. For the time being, finish single player and hope they patch MP before too long.

Final Verdict

I would say that waiting in line around midnight at my local GameStop on launch day was well worth it (that’s really saying something considering the sprinklers came on at about 11:55PM and cleared nearly half the line). I'd say the only feature lacking at this point is the multiplayer. Here's hoping to some future patches that will allow for a better experience. My overall experience with the game has been a positive one which is why I'm giving it an

8.5/10

For more fun

Rockstar does have a little more for the gamers to enjoy. Check out the Social Club where they have contests and more! -> http://socialclub.rockstargames.com/

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