Grand Theft Auto IV Rating & Review

For those of you who are about to purchase the newest installment of the Grand Theft Auto series (GTA IV), or for those of you whom own both a Playstation 3 console & an XBox 360 console, I hope this review sheds a little bit of light on the GTA IV subject for you and helps in your decision of purchase.

GTA IV Story Line: Your character, Niko Bellic is an immigrant from the Ukraine. He has come to America to have a better life. Little did he know, it's not all that it's cracked up to be. Niko ends up getting mixed up with the Russian mob and some other shady characters along his journey. He is asked to perform unspeakable tasks which makes for a great story and a great game, so hold on tight!


The first subject I'd like to touch on is, what you can expect from the GTA IV game. I have read dozens of reviews on and about GTA IV, all of which make this newest installment of the GTA series sound like the second coming of Christ. Is it? In my opinion, No. Is the game spectacular? Yes, but it is nothing you haven't seen before if you are familiar with the Grand Theft Auto series.

With over 15 hours clocked in on my GTA IV game-play meter (GTA IV game-play meter can be viewed under in-game options), I have to say that the game itself is tremendous compared to it's closest relative, GTA3.
GTA IV takes place in Liberty City, AKA., New York City. Although New York City was renamed to Liberty City in GTA IV, you will still find almost all of the famous landmarks intact, such as the Empire State building, the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, Coney Island and Central Park to name a few. You will also find most of the boroughs intact as well, minus the lost borough of course, Staten Island, which might be introduced at a later date via downloadable content (DLC).

Let's start with the review part of my article. GTA IV is very much like GTA3 in that the both take place in a Major City setting such as New York. For all intents and purposes, the foundation of which GTA3 & IV are built on are identicle. An easy way to explain this is, GTA IV is GTA3 x 50 (GTA3 x 50 = GTA IV). The shear geographical size of GTA IV is mind blowing. It almost feels as if you could drive up down every single street in Manhattan. From Coney Island to Central Park, it's here for you to explore. The detail that went into this game is like no other that I have ever seen in any other Video Game on the market. This is saying a lot because I have been a Super-Hardcore gamer since ATARI ruled the arcades with their Mega-hit, Asteroids in the late 70's.

Have you ever been to Coney Island? If you have, then you are familiar with it's world famous Ferris Wheel named, The Wonder Wheel (est. 1918). Seeing this landmark in the game and how it fits so perfectly into it's surroundings, absolutely took my breath away. I am sorry about repeating myself, but I can't stress the great amount detail that went into this game enough. I don't want to ruin everything for you, so you'll have to see for yourself what else is in store.

Being a life long New Yorker, and a life long Artist in the New York area, very few things cause me to turn my head in awe. The art work that went into making GTA IV does just that. As an artist, GTA IV is the pinnacle of what every artist in the Video Game field strives to achieve. Pure greatness.

I'm itching to talk about my favorite site in all the world, the Brooklyn Bridge, renamed the Broker Bridge in GTAIV. Before you read my thoughts on how I feel the Brooklyn Bridge was depicted and replicated in GTA IV, I'd like you to know that I have a personal connection with this Bridge. I've been in love with it's beauty and architecture since my Mother first wheeled me across it in my stroller. I was on the Brooklyn side of it when Tower 2 fell on 9/11 and it takes my breath away every single time my eyes fall upon it. So let me say, I was completely blown away when I saw it in GTA IV. Here's how it happened:
It was a hazy night, slightly drizzling and foggy. I was driving down a cobblestone street in Broker (Brooklyn) and as I came to the street's corner, a beautiful seen of the Broker Bridge came up over the horizon. It's lights were glowing as they cut through the midnight fog and the Liberty City (NYC) skyline was in it's background. Everything from South Street Seaport to the tri-colored lights atop the Empire State Building were in sight. It was just Amazing. Keep in mind, this is the game I am talking about, not some in-game animation. The great thing was, it didn't stand out like a sore thumb. That's the beauty of it. The whole game is breath taking from street to street. Each and every street appears to have it's own personal originality and personality.

Speaking of personality, each character and pedestrian walking and driving the streets of Liberty City has their own personality as well. Not only personality, but mannerisms, voice, height, weight & overall look and feel. Everything that makes an individual an individual, down to the last zit. The people walking the streets of Liberty City is what really brings this game to life.
Rockstar Games, the creator of the GTA series, has stated that GTA IV cost the company $100 million to develop, and now I know why. In order to make a game that is this spectacular and lifelike, $100 million actually sounds like a bargain compared to what you get after purchasing GTA IV.

Gameplay, PS3 vs. XBox360: Game play is great. It is everything you'd expect from the Grand Theft Auto series. Your character is easily controllable on both systems. There a multitude of camera angles to chose from, so chose the one that best fits your needs and likings.

What is really cool was the "Helicopter-like" camera angle that you can chose while driving in a car. It gives you a bird's eye view of the surrounding area while vehicle control remains stable and fun. If the bird's eyes view Cam becomes to hard to handle, have no fear. In this setting you can switch to slow motion, making your driving experience unique and unmatched by any other game I have played in my life.

GTA IV & the Cell Phone: One of the greatest features of GTA IV is the use of the cell phone. It basically controls the route that the game takes. It holds your contacts, your missions and Multi-player/Online capabilities. You can dial 911 for police assistance or you can call your friend and play Online. The cell phone's use in GTA IV is one of the most innovative and groundbreaking aspects to the GTA IV experience. The developers get a double A+ for bringing this idea to life.

ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) gives GTA IV a M+17 rating, which means, no one under 17 years of age can purchase this game. Do I think this was a fair and just rating? Yes! Extremely fair. So extremely fair in fact that the only thing more fair would be if you went to Las Vegas to gamble, and the dealer paid you whether you won or lost. This is by far the most graphic and explicit game I have ever seen. After seeing what happened to Rockstar Games after the notorious "Hot Coffee mini game controversy"(SEE HERE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Coffee_minigame_controversy), it blows my mind how the ESRB gave GTAIV a M+17 rating. Did they miss something??? Did they review the same game that I have??? All I can say is WOW! I am extremely liberal when it comes to Movie and game ratings, and even I think this is over the top. Let me explain, then you can judge for yourself.
(This next part of the review is extremely graphic, yet is an exact depiction of what happens in GTA IV. If you are 18 years of age or under, please stop reading now and consult your parent or legal guardian. Thank you)

The Hookers of GTA IV: I drove to a place called "Chase Point" in Bohan. In real life this is known as "Hunts Point" in the Bronx. It is accurately depicted in the game as it is a place where you can pick up Prostitutes. Hunts Point was made famous by the HBO documentaries called "Hookers at the Point".
So, in the game, I drove up to a street corner in Chase Point where a trio of woman, dressed in mini-skirts and thigh-high boots, were having a conversation. I honked my car horn. One of the woman walked over to my car and asked me, "Do you want a piece of this a*s?". I pushed the button that answered "YES" and she got into my car and we drove away. I found a secluded area of the neighborhood where I could park my car. After I pulled over the woman gave me 3 choices of service. $20, $50 or $70. Of course I jumped right in and went for the $70 option. She then put her hand between my legs in order to get me aroused. After a few seconds of hand movement, she straddled me in the driver's seat while using one of her hands to guide me inside of her. Then she road me like I was a mechanical bull, all the while saying, (verbatim) "Oh Yeah! Grab My T*tties now you F*ck! F*ck the Sh*t out of it!".
I was blown away. Did I think it was great? Yes, but I was still blown away and shocked by the raw explicitness of the scene.

After having sex with the hooker, I paid her and she exited the car. Of course I felt the need to get my money back, so I shot her in the head and grabbed my cash.
After losing the Police I went back to check out the $20 & $50 options. The $20 option is hand manipulation and the $50 option was oral sex. Both of which, not being as graphic as the $70 option which is straight sex but still somewhat graphic in nature.

Although I feel that the hooker scenes are part of what makes GTA IV great and they are a MUST for the GTA franchise, I do NOT think this game is for anyone under the age of 17. I also think that the ESRB's rating system is completely wrong, but that's a whole other article.


GTA IV on PS3 vs. XBox 360: I don't want to get into a big debate about console wars in this review. I played both the PS3 & XBox 360 versions of this game on the identical setup, and here is what I saw. The PS3 version of this game looks more like a Film in it's color and shading. The XBox version appears more cartoonie, with the colors being more solid with slight less shadowing on the animation models. The most significant difference that I noticed between the two versions was that on the XBox 360 version, the background scenery (trees, pedestrians, cars, etc.) continuously seems to pop-up in the middle of the streets while driving though high traffic areas.
I deliberately caused high-traffic areas with both systems in order to make an accurate comparison. I did this by shooting people and running people over with my car. Killing people gives you "Wanted Status" by the Cops. Getting your Wanted Level up causes the Police to chase you. The higher the Wanted Level (1-6), the more cops will join the chase, until eventually S.W.A.T and the Military are on your tail. The more stuff that happens on the screen, the harder the console's processor has to work, resulting in a slowdown of game play. Images and animations seem to go in slow motion when things are blowing up all over the place. I think this has somewhat to do with the frame rate that the developers chose to use, but we'll get to that in the next paragraph.
It seemed to me that the XBox 360 version had far more trouble processing large amounts of information. Game play slowed down very frequently in these situations. In my 15 hours of game play on the PS3 version I noted a total of 3 bog-downs in game play, where as, in my 4 hours of game play on the XBox 360 version, the amount of bog-downs were countless in these high traffic areas.

Disappointing Frame Rate: As a true Artist and sort of a perfectionist, I am very aware of the beauty of imperfection. GTA IV's 30 frames per second frame rate is an imperfection that I would never been able to live with if I were on the development team of this game. For me it's GTA IV's one and only vise. Can GTA IV's 30fps be over looked as a deciding factor on whether or not to purchase this game? Yes. It can be over looked.
GTA IV is so overwhelmingly great in every other aspect that the 30fps is something that you can live with. It haunts me to think that if the game was 60fps or higher, it would be the most perfect video game in creation to date (as of 05.01.2008). The GTA IV development team gets a big C- for not going with a higher, more stable frame rate for GTA IV, which in my opinion would have been 60 or above.

Physics: The physics of GTA IV are amazing. Every part of the game works well with eachother. It's like one big gigantic, well oiled machine. Player movements, explosions, weather, cars, headlights, motorcycles, choppers and anything else you can stumble upon while shooting your favorite drug dealer, is top notch down to the very last detail. There is nothing in this game that doesn't fit or stands out because of it's physics. I give GTAIV's physics an A-. An A- for this type of game is a perfect score.

Detail, Content and Depth: GTA IV is the absolute King of depth in the Video Game world. Right now, nothing even comes close. For example, your headlights are not bright enough to cut through the rain & fog as you travel over the Bridge at night? Don't worry, just turn on your brights! Smash your car enough and it will stall out. Try to start it. Sometimes it will, sometimes it won't. It all depends on the make & model. One of the passengers is smoking weed in your car? Open the door, the smoke roles out. It's amazing. The detail of GTA IV is endless. It's as deep as the deepest ocean. You have to see it to believe it.

Multi-Player & Online Game play: The Online game play of GTA IV is great. There are 16 different game-types to chose from in Online play. GTA IV offers your standard choices of online matches, such as "Death Match" & "Team Death Match". GTA IV also offers a bunch of original games during online play such as "Cops & Crooks", where one team plays as the Police and another team plays as the Crooks. "Turf War", where each team tries to take over the other team's territory in various parts of the City. There are 16 online game modes available in total, with all being completely different from eachother. Some others are listed as "GTA Race", which is a car race; Hangman's NOOSE, Mafiya Work, Team Mafiya Work, Car Jack City, Bomb da Base, Bomb da Base II, Turf War, Deal Breaker and Free mode.

With other games that feature online play, there is a vast difference between the actual in-game single player mode and online multi-player mode. This is not the case with GTA IV. As far as game play, the Online mode is exactly the same as single player mode, meaning the looks and feels exactly the same throughout, keeping it consistantly great no matter how you chose to play GTA IV.

Music & Soundtrack: Following in the footsteps of it's predicesors, GTA IV includes a killer soundtrack that can be accessed by car radio. While driving around Liberty City, the player can chose between 16 different music stations and 3 different talk radio stations, for a total of 19 car radio stations. Each station is specific to a certain genre of music. The talk radio stations are subject specific as well. To take it one step further, each radio station is hosted by a famous personality. My favorite radio station is the Bob Marley station called Tuff Gong Radio, named after Bob Marley's Record Label from the 70's. I also must add that the Jazz station contains one of my favorite songs of all-time. The song St. Thomas by Sonny Rollins. I attribute this song as having the single biggest influence on me in my life as a musician, so you can understand how pleased I was to see that it was used on such a monumental game. It is a track from one of the greatest albums of all time. The Sonny Rollins album Saxophone Colossus. If you can, check it out. All and all, the Music and use of music in GTA IV gets an A+. It is nothing less then superb.

My Personal Opinion on Purchasing GTA IV: This is by far the greatest game ever made. I think every single gamer on the planet should own a copy regardless of choice of system, PS3 or X360. Saying that, I do not think that Grandparents should buy this game to reward their Grand-kids for a good report card. DO NOT PURCHASE THIS GAME FOR ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 17. If you do, you're a bad parent in my opinion.


Here is the list of stations, tracks and Guest DJs in the GTA IV game:

The Beat 102.7
DJ: DJ Mister Cee and The Evil Genius DJ Green Lantern
Genre: Contemporary Hip hop
Tracklist:
Styles P - "What's The Problem"
Uncle Murda - "Anybody Can Get It"
Qadir - "Nickname"
Busta Rhymes - "Where's My Money"
Maino - "Getaway Driver"
Red Cafe - "Stick'm"
Tru Life - "Wet 'Em Up"
Johnny Polygon - "Price on Your Head"
Swizz Beatz - "Top Down"
Nas - "War is Necessary"
Kanye West feat. Dwele - "Flashing Lights"
Joell Ortiz feat. Jadakiss & Saigon - "Hip Hop (Remix)"
Fat Joe feat. Lil Wayne - "Crackhouse"
Mobb Deep feat. Havoc & Prodigy from H.N.I.C. Part 2 Sessions - "Dirty New Yorker D"
Ghostface Killah feat. Kid Capri - "We Celebrate"
Styles P feat. Sheek Louch & Jadakiss - "Blow Your Mind (Remix)"
Papoose - "Stylin'"



The Classics 104.1
DJ: Mixed by DJ Premier
Genre: Old school hip hop
Tracklist:
Group Home - "Supa Star"
Brand Nubian - "All for one"
Special Ed - "I Got It Made"
Jeru the Damaja - "D. Original"
Marley Marl feat. Craig G - "Droppin' Science"
MC Lyte - "Cha"
Audio 2 - "Top Billin'"
Stetsasonic - "Go Stetsa"
T. La Rock & Jazzy Jay - "It's Yours"
Gang Starr - "Who's Gonna Take the Weight"
Main Source - "Live at the Barbeque"



Electro-Choc
ElectrochocDJ: François K
Genre: Modern Electro/Dance Rock
Tracklist:
Padded Cell - "Signal Failure"
Black Devil Disco Club - "The Devil in Us (Dub)"
One + One - "No Pressure (Deadmau5 Remix)"
Alex Gopher - "Brain Leech(Bugged mind remix)"
K.I.M. - "B.T.T.T.T.R.Y. (Bag Raiders Remix)"
Simian Mobile Disco - "Tits and Acid"
Nitzer Ebb - "Let Your Body Learn"
Kavinsky - "Testarossa (Sebastian Remix)"
Chris Lake vs. Deadmau5 - "I Thought Inside Out (Original Mix)"
Boys Noize - "& Down"
Justice - "Waters of Nazareth"
Killing Joke - "Turn to Red"
Playgroup - "Make it Happen"
Liquid – "Optimo"



Fusion FM
DJ: Roy Ayers
Genre: Funk/Jazz-Fusion
Tracklist:
David McCallum - "The Edge"
Roy Ayers - "Funk in the Hole"
Gong - "Heavy Tune"
David Axelrod - "Holy Thursday"
Grover Washington, Jr. - "Knucklehead"
Aleksander Maliszewski - "Pokusa"
Ryo Kawasaki - "Raisins"
Marc Moulin - "Stomp"
Billy Cobham - "Stratus"
Tom Scott & The L.A. Express - "Sneakin' in The Back"



IF99 - International Funk
IF99DJ: Femi Kuti
Genre: Funk & Afrobeat
Tracklist:
Lonnie Liston Smith - "A Chance for Peace"
War - "Galaxy"
The O'Jays - "Give The People What They Want"
Gil Scott-Heron - "Home is Where The Hatred Is"
The Meters - "Just Kissed My Baby"
Mandrill - "Livin' It Up"
Manu Dibango - "New Bell"
Fela Kuti - "Sorrow, Tears & Blood"
Femi Kuti - "Truth Don Die"
Creative Source - "Who Is He And What Is He To You"
Hummingbird - "You Can't Hide Love"
Fela Kuti - "Zombie"



JnR - Jazz Nation Radio 108.5
DJ: Roy Haynes
Genre: Jazz
Tracklist:
Count Basie - "April in Paris"
John Coltrane - "Giant Steps"
Chet Baker - "Let's Get Lost"
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - "Moanin'"
Miles Davis - "Move"
Charlie Parker - "Night and Day"
Roy Haynes - "Snap Crackle"
Sonny Rollins - "St. Thomas"
Duke Ellington - "Take the 'A' Train"
Dizzy Gillespie - "Whisper Not (Big Band)"



The Journey
DJ: A computer
Genre: Ambient/Chillout
Tracklist:
Global Communication - "8:07"
Terry Riley - "A Rainbow in Curved Air"
Steve Roach - "Arrival"
Michael Shrieve - "Communique 'Approach Spiral'"
Jean Michel Jarre - "Oxygène, Pt 4"
Philip Glass - "Pruit Igoe"
Tangerine Dream - "Remote Viewing"
Aphex Twin - "Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2 CD2 TRK5"
Ray Lynch - "The Oh of Pleasure"



K109 The Studio
K109 The StudioDJ: Karl Lagerfeld
Genre: Disco
Tracklist:
Peter Brown - "Burning Love Breakdown"
Tamiko Jones - "Can't Live Without Your Love"
Gino Soccio - "Dancer"
Suzy Q - "Get On Up And Do It Again"
Electrik Funk - "On A Journey"
Don Ray - "Standing In The Rain"
Cerrone - "Supernature"
Rainbow Brown - "Till You Surrender"
Harry Thumann - "Under Water"
Skatt Brothers - "Walk The Night"



L.C.H.C - Liberty City Hardcore
Liberty City HardcoreDJ: Jimmy Gestapo
Genre: Hardcore Punk
Tracklist:
Murphy's Law - "A Day in the Life"
Maximum Penalty - "All Your Boyz"
Underdog - "Back to Back"
Leeway - "Enforcer"
Sick of it All - "Injustice System"
Cro-Mags - "It's The Limit"
Sheer Terror - "Just Can't Hate Enough"
Bad Brains - "Right Brigade"
Killing Time - "Tell Tale"
Agnostic Front - "Victim in Pain"



Liberty Rock Radio 97.8
DJ: Iggy Pop
Genre: Classic Rock
Tracklist:
The Smashing Pumpkins - "1979"
The Stooges - "Cocaine"
Godley & Creme - "Cry"
The Sisters of Mercy - "Dominion/Mother Russia"
Stevie Nicks - "Edge of Seventeen"
ELO - "Evil Woman"
David Bowie - "Fascination"
Q Lazzarus - "Goodbye Horses"
Black Sabbath - "Heaven and Hell"
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - "Her Strut"
Iggy Pop - "I Wanna Be Your Dog"c
Thin Lizzy - "Jailbreak"
Genesis - "Mama"
Hello - "New York Groove"
Queen - "One Vision"
The Black Crowes - "Remedy"
Joe Walsh - "Rocky Mountain Way"
The Who - "The Seeker"
Elton John - "Street Kids"
Heart - "Straight On"
ZZ Top - "Thug"
R.E.M. - "Turn You Inside Out"



Massive B Soundsystem 96.9
DJ: Bobby Konders
Genre: Dancehall
Tracklist:
Burro Banton - "Badder Den Dem"
Choppa Chop - "Set It Off"
Mavado - "Real McCoy"
Jabba - "Raise It Up"
Bunji Garlin - "Brrrt"
Richie Spice - "Youth Dem Cold"
Chuck Fenda - "All About Da Weed"
Chezidek - "Call Pon Dem"
Mavado - "Last Night"
Spragga Benz - "Da Order"
Bounty Killer - "Bullet Proof Skin"
Shaggy - "Church Heathen"
Munga - "No Fraid A"
Buju Banton - "Driver"



Radio Broker
DJ: Juliette Lewis
Genre: Alternative Rock
Tracklist:
The Boggs - "Arm in Arm (Shy Child Mix)"
Cheeseburger - "Cocaine"
Get Shakes - "Disneyland, Pt 1"
LCD Soundsystem - "Get Innocuous"
The Prairie Cartel - "Homicide"
Juliette & the Licks - "Inside the Cage (David Gilmour Girls remix)"
Unkle feat. The Duke Spirit - "Mayday"
The Rapture - "No Sex For Ben"
Tom Vek - "One Horse Race"
Teenager - "Pony"
Les Savy Fav - "Raging in the Plague Age"
White Light Parade - "Riot in the City"
Deluka - "Sleep is Impossible"
The Black Keys - "Strange Times"
The Pistolas - "Take it With a Kiss"
Ralph Myerz - "The Teacher"
Greenskeepers - "Vagabond"
Whitey - "Wrap it Up"
!!! - "Yadnus (Still Going to the Roadhouse mix)"



San Juan Sounds
DJ: Daddy Yankee
Genre: Reggaeton
Tracklist:
Calle 13 - "Atrévete-te-te"
Daddy Yankee - "Impacto"
Hector El Father - "Maldades"
Voltio feat. Jowell & Randy - "Pónmela"
Don Omar - "Salio El Sol"
Wisin & Yandel - "Sexy Movimiento"
Tito el Bambino - "Siente El Boom (Remix)"
Angel y Khriz - "Ven Bailalo"



Tuff Gong Radio
DJ: Carl Bradshaw
Genre: Reggae
Tracklist:
Stephen Marley - "Chase Dem"
Bob Marley and the Wailers - "Concrete Jungle (The Unreleased Original Jamaican Version)"
Bob Marley and the Wailers - "Pimper's Paradise"
Bob Marley and the Wailers - "Rat Race"
Bob Marley and the Wailers - "Rebel Music (3 O'Clock Roadblock)"
Bob Marley and the Wailers - "Satisfy My Soul"
Bob Marley and the Wailers - "So Much Trouble in the World"
Bob Marley and the Wailers - "Stand Up Jamrock"
Bob Marley and the Wailers - "Wake Up & Live (Parts 1 & 2)"



The Vibe 98.8
DJ: Vaughn Harper
Genre: Soul/R&B
Tracklist:
Ne-Yo - "Because of You"
R. Kelly - "Bump N' Grind"
Mtume - "C.O.D. (I'll Deliver)"
Alexander O'Neal - "Criticize"
Ramp - "Daylight"
Isley Brothers - "Footsteps in the Dark"
Jodeci - "Freek'n You"
Lloyd - "Get It Shawty"
Jill Scott - "Golden"
Loose Ends - "Hangin' On A String"
Freddie Jackson - "Have You Ever Loved Somebody"
Dru Hill - "In My Bed (So Def remix)"
Marvin Gaye - "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)"
Minnie Riperton - "Inside My Love"
Barry White - "It's Only Love Doing It's Thing"
C.J. - "I Want You"
S.O.S. Band - "Just Be Good To Me"
Ginuwine - "Pony"
Raheem DeVaughn - "You"



Vladivostok FM
Vladivostok FMDJ: Ruslana
Genre: Eastern European music
Tracklist:
Gruppa Kino - "Gruppa krovi"
Marakesh - "Jdat"
Zvery - "Kvartira"
Seryoga - "King Ring"
Seryoga - "Liberty City: The Invasion"
Splin - "Liniya zhizni"
Basta - "Mama"
Leningrad - "Nikogo ne zhalko"
Ranetki - "O Tebe"
Dolphin - "RAP"
Glukoza - "Schweine"
Ruslana - "Wild Dances (Ukranian FM Version)"
Oleg Kvasha - "Zelenoglazoe Taksi (Club Remix)"