GTA IV – Gameplay: All the world is yours
May 9, 2008 | Filed under Games, Reviews
The Grand Theft Auto series popularized the idea of an open-world game, and GTA IV really takes it to the next level. The game is set in Liberty City, a sprawling urban environment so closely based on New York City that the first time I saw the trailer, I thought it was set in the real world. Even though Liberty City is smaller in scale than NYC, it feels huge, thanks to a nearly unlimited field of view. Go up to a rooftop and you’ll see skyscrapers, streets, and bridges, all of which you can visit. The view is even more breathtaking from a helicopter at night, when the city is lit up and you can see the headlights from traffic.
The amount of things you can do in the game are scary. The other day, I was just wandering around and found a couple of forklifts sitting unattended, and I was able to drive one. If you want to make the cops or an ambulance running, you call 911 on your cell phone. There are loads of toys to play with, and one of the major advantages to going through the main single player story first is that the game gives you a tour of most of these toys. It feels like the designers did this intentionally, preparing you for all the side missions and free-form fun you’ll have once the main missions are over – not to mention multiplayer.
All this open world goodness really shines during the single player missions. There are so many different ways to get tasks done, it’s mind-boggling. One defining moment for me was when I was tasked with taking out three strip club managers. You can go in shooting, or you can casually walk in and scope out the place before trying to make your hits. I settled on blasting my way in, but the targets managed to escape out the back door. The terrified club patrons must have called the cops, because the wanted zone lit up my radar and sirens surrounded me. After shooting my way out of the club past the bodyguards and cops, I saw the targets making their escape. A sports coupe was handily left nearby, so I grabbed it and pursued. After a brutal chase involving lots of shots fired and lots of car abuse, the targets escaped from their vehicle and took cover behind it. My car was a smoking wreck, about to catch fire any moment. I bailed from my car, leaving it rolling towards the club managers’ SUV. Two of them had taken cover behind it and were taking shots at me. A nearby citizen had stopped because of the wreckage, and fled his car when the gunfire started. I took cover behind his car and shot at my own car, causing it to explode and take out the SUV, and the two mafiosos hiding behind it. I locked on to the last target, took him out with a headshot, and ran like hell from the cops, just barely escaping on foot.
This situation could have played out hundreds of different ways, thanks to the freedom and flexibility of the game engine, and it’s just one of the things that make it such a thrill to play.