Normally, outside of the iPhone and iPod Touch, I won’t delve into video games here on GA simply because that’s a whole different field than what we cover here. However, that being said, this game is so acclaimed, so hyped, so over-the-top media-frenzy can’t-turn-on-even-the-AM-stations-without-hearing-about-it that if I failed to write it up than I wouldn’t be doing my duty.
Originally, I wasn’t interested in GTA IV. I’ve played all the other incarnations since GTA III was released all those years ago and I started to feel like it was getting a bit redundant. But as months became weeks leading up to the release, the reviews began trickling in. And after reading the very first one, from Official Xbox Magazine UK, I was sold. The next day I went out and pre-ordered from my local Microplay. In the following days, more reviews reaffirmed what OXM had already established: GTA IV was a outstanding achievement.
So how full is the bandwagon? Well, analysts predicted that GTA IV would sell nearly 6 million copies, totalling $400 million dollars in sales worldwide. In its opening week! Rave reviews, stellar sales; all the makings of a memorable, iconic game (not to mention a strong candidacy for the coveted, and highly exploited, ‘Game of the Year’ title).
So, what’s it like? How does it play? Well, dozens of reviews are out there, each seemingly rife with their own pros and cons, so detailing them here wouldn’t be the best use of our time. However, I can tell you that while the other iterations attempted to create depth in their respective cities, GTA IV actually accomplishes this feat. It’s worth noting that since the release of GTA III, no other title in the franchise has been anything but an expansion or redux of that original formula that was so successful. With titles like Vice City and San Andreas, it was as though Rockstar North (the game’s developers) was giving GTA III the CSI Miami/New York treatment, providing merely a change of setting and tweaking a few elements here and there. However, GTA IV, the numerical next-step in the franchise strives to define itself as progressive, something they accomplished through crafting a highly immersive world. Taking friends out for a (oddly challenging) game of bowling or trying to school your cousin in a satisfyingly realistic game of pool, simply oozes character and depth. In other games, including VC and SA, these elements would be tacked on, one-liners that publishers can slap on the back of the box and claim the player can do but in GTA IV it simply feels organic to embark on these leisure activities.
That’s all for now. And if you haven’t picked up GTA IV, why not become 6 million +1?
