Here is a review by The IB, This game is on Grand Theft Auto IV. Grand Theft Auto IV was released on April 29th, 2008 (just a mere 2 days after my 15th birthday), GTA IV is the first game under the new HD Generation. This game is set in Liberty City (no, not the same Liberty City from GTA III, this is a completely different Liberty City). This game has also introduce a new gaming engine hardware which makes a little more HD affects and graphics to fit in with the quality the PlayStation 3 (and Xbox 360) offers and how gamers want to get into a more modern look in gaming. There are a few downers I have about this game, but it isn’t a whole lot. Anyways, time to move onto this review.

Graphics..

For the graphics, some people say that they are horrible, but remember, Rockstar was testing out a new game engine that they independently own called RAGE (or “Rockstar Advanced Game Engine” for short) because in the past, they used RenderWare and that engine hardware was used in multiple games in and outside of Rockstar, so, to me, they still look aright, sure, it might looked like the brightness and contrast looks quite off (like it looks more darker and bleached than in past GTA titles and a lot of other gamers has complained about this, not me, I think the graphics to my point of view looks better than they have ever been to my opinion. This being the age where HD is starting to become a whole lot more mainstream, Rockstar wanted to test out some HD graphics on the 7th Generation consoles such as the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. As for everything else like on how the character looks, it makes it look like the character look like more lifelike, and I think with this updated graphics and sprites to my view, this is really a huge step up for future GTA games like GTA V released 5 years later in 2013. So, yeah, people does complain about on how horrible the game’s graphics are, but overall, they all really overreacted on those graphics, they are great none the less.

For the graphics, I will give this game a 9 out of 10, sure, this being Rockstar first experience with the new independently owned engine hardware called RAGE, I think it went pretty alright, some people might deny it, but hey, I didn’t give this game a “9” for nothing.

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Sound/Music..

For the sound effects, it had got a huge HD upgrade which with the new HD graphics is what the GTA series really needs for the 7th generation consoles. If you look at it, the effects such as the weapons, explosions, the environment, the voices, the vehicles, and a whole lot of other things in the game makes it more realistic than before and also with the NPC, they can be a whole lot more interactive than in past games where your actions can trigger their reactions and sayings, so, more realistic voice acting and more realistic effects… Yes please.

For the music of the game, it’s got a wide selection of radio stations to choose from, you got a selection of 19 different stations which is the most stations in a single Grand Theft Auto game, you got genres such as Funk, Eastern European, Disco, Hip Hop, Electric, Rock, Metal, Alternative, Jazz, Latin, Reggae, Soul, and Talk. So, mostly it has a whole lot of urban music and what would you normally expect in a game that is mostly featured entirely with Liberty City. It’s not just the radio station music is what makes this game good, I also like the Game’s theme song as well, for some reason, the game’s theme is the best one in my opinion.

For the sound effects and the music, I do have to give it a perfect 10 out of 10, the reason for the perfect score is the more realism into the game and the highest radio stations in a single GTA game, so yeah, I think both the sound effects and the music gets a “10”, amazing effects and amazing music.

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Addiction Level..

Sure, with the addiction level in this game, it is really up there, It’s got a whole lot of interesting thing and the storyline also what got the gamer pretty interested into this game, and you also know on how Grand Theft Auto games can play out, they have a whole lot of content that cause the player to be hooked into this game series for a good, long time, although it isn’t as addictive as Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, but it is still addictive none the less. For me, ever since I started playing this game in 2009 at a friend’s house, I always wanted to play this game all the time because I have been a long time GTA fan and I didn’t really have a PlayStation 3 at that time, although I did get it the following year in 2010 because the PlayStation 2 seem it was getting a little outdated because of the new generations being the hot, new thing and a couple of months later, I went and bought the game (I was 17 at the time, don’t worry about that), and I have played this game all the time between that point all the way till GTA V was released 3 years later. I do have to say that this game don’t have as much stuff than San Andreas, that’s mostly the reason why a lot of people isn’t as addictive to this game than SA, but not me, I have like the same level of addiction of both, that is what a true GTA fan is, like all the games no matter on how bad or good it is.

For the Addiction Level, I do have to give it a perfect 10 out of 10, the reason for the perfect score, if you look at it, the game has a whole lot of interesting feature that will bring a lot of fans into this game and want to play this game like no tomorrow, at least to my point of view, that’s why it gets the “10”

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The Storyline..

The storyline of GTA IV is your Niko Bellic that has come over from Eastern Europe on a cargo ship called The Platypus to the United States after his cousin named Roman Bellic has invited him to America by lying to him saying that he has a bunch of women, cars, a huge mansion, but as reality turns out, none of those lies are true because Roman only owns a rundown apartment and operates an independent taxi service. But after doing a few favors for Roman, Niko discovered that Roman owe some money to another person named Vladimir Glebov, but to make up for those debts, Vlad makes Niko do some dirty work, but after having enough with Vlad’s actions to Roman’s girlfriend (Mallorie), Niko went ahead and kill Vlad, but Roman realized that Niko just made things worse after killing Vlad, and by worse, Mikhail Faustin kidnap Roman and Niko, but to repay them for their debts (again), Niko decided to do his dirty work, but Dimitri Rascalov told Niko that Faustin was abusing his powers especially when he wants you to kill Lenny Petrovic and blows up an automotive garage, but for Petrovic’s revenge to the Faustin family is for Mikhail being killed, so Dimitri makes you kill Faustin, but then he (Dimitri) later stabs you in the back after you were supposed to get the reward that Petrovic family offered for Mikhail’s death. After Dimitri stabbed you in the back, it’s been plot for revenge since and at the end, you have 2 different paths to make, either you make your difference with Dimitri and make a drug deal (which he will still stab you in the back) or get your revenge on Dimitri for stabbing you in the back. But whatever path you choose, it will eliminate one of the optimists which are Roman (Deal) or Kate (Revenge), and you avenge their deaths by killing the person that was responsible for their death. So, I think this is by far the best storyline in the entire GTA series to my point of view.

For the storyline, I do have to give it a perfect 10 out of 10, This game is very similar to the storylines of GTA III and GTA San Andreas, it give out a revenger story that you have someone betray you for greed, but no matter if you settle your different with them or not, you still need to kill them, and a bunch of other stories in the game as well makes this game get a “10”.

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Depth..

The Depth is pretty alright. You can be able do a whole lot more than you have done in past GTA titles with all the things you have done in GTA San Andreas with a few extra stuff added in as well, like encountering random characters outside of a mission that can help or hurt you. You also have a pretty decent size city to explore in (which is almost the same size as GTA III’s Liberty City, but a tiny bit bigger), so you have a lot to explore in this game and you also have a lot of fun activities to experience with like bowling, darts, getting drunk and a bunch of other interesting things, but Rockstar has bombed this by overshooting the fun part with playing with your friends with them bugging you like 24/7 which is the only downer of this game, but all and all, with all the fun activities are still great to do. As for getting 100% in the game, you got to do a whole lot more stuff than you did in past GTA games to get a 100% completion, like killing pigeons (which they call “Flying Rats” in this game which I think is funny), so I think getting the 100% takes like twice to 3 times as much time than it takes to complete the main storyline of the game, but that does give the gamer a good amount of time on completing this game.

I give this game for the Depth a 9 out of 10, the reason on a 9 is because too much of a good thing is really a bad thing, I think Rockstar has overshot the depth part of the game with a few annoyance such as your cousin bugging you about going bowling (yes the infamous bowling phone call from Roman when you’re in the middle of something), that is why I got to give the Depth a “9”

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Difficulty / Gameplay..

For the difficulty, I think in a way, it is a whole lot harder to complete than in past GTA titles, and to my point of view, nearly all the missions, especially near the end, I have failed the mission at least once when I first started this game, but at least the easiest thing that makes it better is that instead of driving all the way to the mission, you can just call for a taxi and just skip to the location, but if you have anyone else with you and/or have something in the car or you need that car, then you still have to drive all the way to the destination you want to get to which sometime can be a pain, but unlike in past games, the map has a new GPS path so you aren’t guessing on where in the world you’re going so you don’t have to pause and check the map numerous of times, so that is a great idea that Rockstar has done finally, added a GPS system in your driving in GTA.

As for the gameplay, sure, a whole lot of people also complain on the game’s gameplay, saying it’s all messed up. I do have to agree with that in a certain extent, the reason on why I have to agree with that is well, because the physics and the performance of the vehicle you want to controls are quite way off though, sometimes is can be quite hard to even control any of the vehicles such as a motorbike, you can’t be able to control the whole thing without crashing into something and that can be quite annoying, but other than the poor vehicle performance, I still think the game is still alright, the performance isn’t game breaking, I can give it that, maybe a little more work into it will make for a better game to my opinion.

For the difficulty and the Gameplay, I have to give it a 9 out of 10, why a 9, well, the game is really hard and does have poor vehicle performance. I feel like this game has a lot more challenging missions than we haven’t really seen in a past GTA game and as for the performance, well, it is pretty self-explanatory, this is why I gave it a 9

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Overall..

Overall, I got to say, this is one fun and entertaining game, although it got a couple of downs, but it still has a lot of upside to it, like take for an example, the sound effects and the music, I think this is one of the best parts of this game, I think the effects are a benchmark for all the realistic sounds that are made in later games and I just also think the music in this game is also in its unique form, amazing music, that is all I got to say. I also think the storyline also takes the cake in this game, and personally this game has the greatest storyline in the entire GTA, you get tricked by your cousin thinking that America was this great country that everybody can be rich, but what turns out is the complete opposite where he owes money to people, so the storyline is really great and fit with the GTA series. But the only thing that kind of bombed this game is the graphics, the difficulty and the gameplay, this is what most people say on why this isn’t the best Grand Theft Auto game out there, and mostly to my point of view, those fans don’t really like change with the series, but I personally don’t bother those changes and just live with the new game, because that is how I am.

For my final thoughts on the game, this is a pretty interesting game for the player to experience with the interesting amount of newer HD improvements such as the graphics and the sounds, and I think if you like a lot more modern gaming, this game would interest the gamer, sure, on other thought that this game sucks, it doesn’t to my point of view, if you try it, it’s actually fun to play, you should try the game out.

For the final score, I will give this game a 9.2 out of 10. I think both the graphics the difficulty and the gameplay prevent this game being ranked any higher, but I still think a 9.2 for this game seems a whole lot more appropriated, the reason why, as long you got something that makes this game unique, you will get a highly rated game, such as this game, it’s got an amazing sound effects and music and an amazing storyline, you can’t get wrong with that, that’s why this game gets a 9.2.