author: Luc
The Details Make The Depth. Let’s Take a Look Back at Grand Theft Auto IV – The Most Serious Game in the GTA Series
Table of Contents
The phone is connected to another small revolution that Rockstar introduced in the fourth installment of the series. Again, at first it didn't seem like anything special, but it added another very important layer to this perfect sandbox. What I'm referring to is of course the possibility of establishing "friendships", wandering around the city with a companion and indulging in a variety of activities. Fancy a break from daily gangster-ing? At any point in the game we can call up Michelle and get her to go on another date with our character, for example to Split Sides. Feel like doing a bit of sport? Perhaps darts? Pool? Bowling with Roman ("Roman, I'll be happy to go bowling with you for the hundredth time. Say, in an hour")? How about a drop of booze, some restaurant or a strip club? The plethora of available choices was not limited to the abovementioned options. Any pastime we chose was genuinely entertaining, thus adding depth to Liberty City.
Grand Theft Auto IV was one of the few installments in the series that received two major story expansions. Issued as separate productions and sold under the title Episodes from Liberty City, the two add-ons, entitled respectively The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony were less gloomy than the core version, though they didn't steer clear of more serious topics. Both titles met with a very enthusiastic reception of players and critics alike, receiving ratings in the vicinity of 9/10. Few expansion packs can boast an equally impressive achievement.
This feeling was reinforced by the array of other diverse elements. Of course, this doesn’t refer to missions only (although they were numerous), but also things such as available cars. To show the true scale of the phenomenon, it's best to use solid statistics. In GTA III we had a total of 56 vehicles that we could drive, swim or fly. While an impressive figure, it still completely faded in comparison with what was given at our disposal in the fourth installment. We could explore the corners of Liberty City in 127 unique cars, planes or boats. And while it's true that GTA V doubled this number, it was extremely impressive in 2008. If we also consider the possibilities provided later by the PC version, said difference deepens even further. Let’s not overlook the fact that the PC optimization for GTA IV was terrible, and both versions were left far behind by GTA V. Still, we cannot deny one thing – this edition was accompanied with phenomenal mods. It's thanks to them that the production is still alive and can boast a large following, despite being several years old. They include a wide variety ranging from simple modifications improving various elements or adding new clothes, through the ones providing complete substitution of characters and creation of new threads, and finally those that revamp the graphic design to the extent that even modern games look mediocre compared to GTA IV. The modding community did wonders to the game, and the results achieved could – and still can – easily compete with what players create in Skyrim. After the release of GTA V, the new installment will probably take the lead, but we shouldn't forget that for many years the biggest modifications made were for GTA IV.
Dark And Brooding
All this meant that almost everyone who tried their luck in GTA IV was immediately immersed in the atmosphere of Liberty City. Which was, despite its specific nature, simply amazing. The story of Niko Bellic wasn't to everyone's liking, but if we managed to survive the arduous beginning and actually engaged in the narrative, it turned out that Rockstar provided the players with something to remember for at least several years to follow. The thing that’s impossible to overlook from the moment you launch the game is the fact that GTA IV is just awfully serious.
