I stood in line at the midnight launch for GTA IV, and boy was it ever worth the wait. If you haven’t picked up this game yet you should seriously, seriously do so stat, unless every place is sold out. This is definitely the best game in the series. Much deeper storyline, better character development, more variety in things to do, and the hugest, best looking city yet. One thing I really like is that Niko is not just another thug. He’s got a fresh-off-the-boat innocence about him that “humanizes” him. For example, he’s awkward on his first date. Real people are interested in dating, and are usually awkward on a first date. This game really allows you to feel like you’re living the life of Niko instead of just being a videogame character with the personality of a potted plant strongarming their way through a bunch of fights. Driving is more realistic also. You can’t just floor it all the time, and you have to brake around corners. It feels a lot more like a racing game now. Some people are complaining about this on the forums but I like it. It requires more skill and will feel natural to racing game fans. Shooting and aiming are great in the game too. Aiming is a breeze with the push of the left trigger, so you can get down to the important business of turning the bad guy into swiss cheese instead of messing around with aim. There are a lot of laughs to be had in the game as well. I won’t divulge any of it because I don’t want to be a spoiler, but do watch tv and flip through your radio channels, and listen to people on the street. I haven’t played a lot yet but the game has made an outstanding first impression so far.
I noticed that Game Informer, IGN, and Gamespot all gave this game a perfect “10″. As great as this game is, I just can’t see giving it a “10″. “10″s should only be for perfection, and perfection should be nearly impossible. Giving a game a “10″ is like saying developers can’t do any better, not at all. I don’t believe that. Believe me, I am not saying this game isn’t amazing, and at least so far it’s been a strong 9.50 or 9.75 in my opinion. But I think most game reviewers take the perfect 10 rating too lightly. There has never been a “perfect” game and there may never be. We need to keep reminding developers they can always do better, even when they’re doing “great”. And for the game reviewers (yes, I’ve read this) that say “10″ doesn’t have to mean perfect… what if a “perfect” game does get released? How would they set it apart if they’ve already given “10″s to other games? It may never happen, but there is a reason for the saying “perfect 10″. It means “it doesn’t get ANY better than this”. As great as GTA IV is, it could be even better. It could have co-op local play. It could have even better graphics. Darn close maybe, but not 100% perfect. I do not believe we have ever had a game that left absolutely no room for improvement – 100% perfect.
At any rate, do yourself a favor and pick up this game if you haven’t already. It’s an amazing gaming experience.
