Grand Theft Auto IV

The long awaited sequel to one of the most anticipated games to ever hit shelves.
The whole genre of crime style games have arisen with the highly successful GTA series from the dawn of GTA on PC where an overhead view with limited use of 3D graphics caught the eyes of many intrigued fans. To the expansion of 3D graphics and the evolution of real time crime style games.

I believe before GTA there wasn't even a genre of this caliper. The  genius's at Rockstar had a great innovation on their hands and with the coming of next gen' consoles came the birth of one of the greatest games ever. Need I say more?

Well, not to be bias but I've always preferred the Playstation then the over endorsed XBox.
I have both systems PS3 and XBox 360 note: I'm not that rich one is mine and the other are my brothers.

Reluctant enough to have been able to purchase GTA IV a week after its release date I was so eager to play it that I didn't even have time to finish my school homework.
Once home from the local game retailer I was induced to play. My expectations for this game was huge. The hype surrounding GTA IV has been over hyped. Since 07' it has been publicized that Rockstar North was to take over the tittle and being Canadian I knew that Rockstar North would not disappoint.

Okay enough of the chit chat lets get started.
Although I haven't had the chance to test out the game on XBox 360. The only minor problem I have with the PS3 version is the long load time right at the beginning. Its kinda of a GTA tradition since the release of GTA 3, the loading at the begging with the still artwork of various of characters in the game. The only problem I have is that there is no "Loading indicator" to let you know how long it will take.

Once inside the fabulous render of modern day "New York" or in the GTA world of "Liberty City" you find yourself in a panoramic view of "L.C". The credits roll as you are introduced to your narrator/protagonist for the game. Niko, a Russian immigrant on a voyage to meet his cousin and to look for a new beginning in Liberty city.
I don't want to spoil all the details for those who haven't had the pleasure of playing the game.

Liberty City is a huge city with separate sections unlockable once played through the story mode. The use of the next gen' consoles' fast processors make it a unique and lush environment.  With great lighting this game "Kicks Ass". The lighting itself sells the realness of the game, but the creators didn't stop there to convince you of the life-like of this game. The whole game is based to simulate real-time situations. Cars are detailed with perfection, engines purred with enhance horse power for the more powerful cars. People on the street are always in a chatter about social and economic states of the city.

The creators kept true to the original tittle and kept the game relevant to its predecessors.  Although there are plenty of new changes there are still those classics. The classic safe houses and being able to save. Now they added a sleep mode to skip through 6 hours of in game time. The whole game is made to be realistic as possible. If you have an arrangement with either Roman or one of Niko's girlfriend's you can choose to not meet them earning you unfavorable points by that person or if you chose to make that person like you and earn special traits and abilities then you would want to do as much favors and make good to your arrangements.
The controls in this game are quite different then the past. Most of the game controls are the same, the only difference's (depending on which console you have), the driving controls for cars are used with the top buttons such as L1,L2,R1,R2 same with the XBox with LT1 and RT1. However, in PS3 they use the Six Axis and allow the player to control other vehicles with this control. With bikes one can use the Six axis to steer as well as, boats, helicopters which can all be practiced in the Six axis tutorial in the Cell phone menu.
Another new feature is the Cell phone. As in GTA Vice city the player is given a cell phone where he can receive missions and updates from mission givers. This time in GTA IV the player is given a cell phone where he can, instead of receiving, Niko can decide whether or not to do missions by calling up that person and arranging a meeting. With the PSP GTA series witnessing a huge hit with multiplayer, and the huge on line play with Vice City. GTA IV has a huge on line multilayer community both on Playstation network and on XBox Live. There are many different modes of play from Turf wars, to plain out death match. This game is sure to bring hours upon hours of fun and the great story that GTA is known for is sure to put you on the edge of suspense.

To wrap things up. GTA IV is a well put together game. It  delivers and lives up to the hype surrounding this highly anticipated game. The graphics are up to par with next gen' consoles. The lighting is astonishing. The sounds are clever with the use of the radio feature (which is a trademark of the GTA series) allowing the player to sample some of the latest songs in popular genres as well as get wacky comments and facts about Liberty City. The controls are well put together and very easy to use. What more can I say? Rockstar has delivered one of the greatest games to ever hit next gen consoles. It is thanks to the GTA series that games in this genre have a benchmark to follow up on. There have been many attempts to recreate a popular game in this genre but none have come close to par as what Rockstar has perfected.

I give GTA IV a 10/10 with its unique style and excellent graphics. If your are fortunate enough to have a chance, go purchase this game. Your 50-60 bucks are put to good use and you won't be disappointed with this game.