The Bar

Publisher: Rockstar

Platform: Xbox360 Buy it / Playstation 3 Buy it

ESRB Rating: Mature (17+)

Official Bar Score: 

The latest GTA game is a brilliant masterpiece of game design. It’s probably one of the greatest games ever, if not the best so far. Granted I’ve only played 12 hours or so of said game, so it’s fair to say that I’ve only skimmed the surface of how great this game is. Rockstar has perfected every detail in GTA4 from the people on the streets, to the cars you drive, to the buildings that you crash your cars into while running over people on the street.

The game follows Nikko Bellic a legal immigrant straight off the boat. He’s new to the city, but an old friend to violence and thanks to his cousin Roman, Nikko soon finds himself doing terrible things to terrible people. The plot is fun and the cut scenes that give these characters life are well done and well produced. Like GTA3 there are few celebrity performers in the game, which gives the characters a more realistic feel. Nikko himself is a likable guy. He’s funny, sentimental, and carries himself well. He’s the best protagonist in the series.

The biggest character in the game is the city itself. Rockstar has recreated Liberty City to mirror real life New York. Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens are all there, just renamed and retooled. The city feels alive and you can see that the creators wanted to make it a real universe. People walk around and talk on their cell phones while smoking cigarettes. It starts to rain and they cover themselves or use an umbrella. There’s TV, radio, and the internet which all play off one another. Nikko also carries around a cell phone, which adds another layer of interaction.

The graphics in the game take every advantage of the newer systems. I’ve played the game on the X-Box 360 and can see how much detail they’ve put into everything. It’s insane how much they’ve put into the look. The city itself is practically photo realistic, and while the people and the cars don’t look that great, it’s the best the series has ever been.

GTA4’s controls are pretty easy to learn and the game itself shows you how to use them. There’s a separate set for driving and one for on foot. The scheme is different than the other games, but it’s not worse for it. In fact it’s very much an improvement. Shooting is a lot better than previous GTA’s and now you can actually aim the firearm to shoot the target’s hand, leg, or head. Or my favorite, the junk.

I really could spend hours telling you how great this game is. While there are some minor flaws to the game, I have to admit it’s definitely one of the best ever. Go out and buy it. Now. Seriously. I’m going to stop writing so I can get back to playing it.

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