Grand Theft Auto IV -(A+) Yes. Fuckin' A. Yes. In building its franchise for the next-gen consoles, Rockstar has showed that better gameplay mechanics and story go hand in hand with better graphics. There's less of the abstract stuff, like collecting hidden packages and rampages. And there's a deeper, richer storyline in this version. Not only are you a stranger in a strange land, trying to carve out your slice of Success Pie, you're put in the middle of a honest to god living, breathing, city. Even people you pass by on the street are living out their own dramas.
Let's look at the various elements, shall we?
Gameplay: Challenging, with only the minor frustration at getting killed near the end of a mission tempered by the fact you get to replay the mission immediately. I wouldn't mind quicker access to weapons and armor, though. The area's easy to navigate, owing mainly to the fact that each vehicle you drive has an onboard g.p.s. system. The 'sandbox' element, for me, is the most fun. I've been playing this game almost non-stop and I've only discovered a tenth of the city so far.
Visuals: Incredible. I'm gonna sound like a audiophile raving about Glenn Gould's 'Goldberg Variations' here, but having a background in graphics and art, bear with me. The level of detail in this game makes me think that the art staff at Rockstar must all have O.C.D. The lighting at various points of the day, the weather effects, the ragdoll animations when you or people you hit with your car fly and crumple, the explosions... Wow. Just, wow. The big controversy, the violence in this game, is tempered by the pg-13 depiction of blood.-puffs when a bullet or shotgun shell finds it's mark, the occasional pool when you execute someone gangster style, spatters on your monitor when you get hit. It's more abstract, yet more chilling then earlier versions of GTA.
Sound+Music- Ambient noise is well-done. As a whole, the whole game brings all the details together to give you an experience that drops you into the game without hitting you over the head over the level of craft in the environment. As well it should be. Parks and open spaces dull the roar of more populated areas, and you feel the sense of place in each region of the map.
The soundtrack ties into that earlier observation about the level of detail being so well-done, you don't notice it. While I suspect the primary motivation for the (extensive!) music playlist is that the GTA franchise doesn't need a boost from star musicians, it has the added benefit of introducing previously unknown genres of music- classic jazz, world music, to the player. I'm not too sure about the inclusion of 'Goodbye Horses' by Lazarus Q, however. 'Scuse me while I tangent...
"Goodbye Horses" is what's known as a 'Ruined Song'. That is, it's presence on GTA4 distracts us from the game by making us remember that it's the song playing during that scene in 'Silence of the Lambs' where the killer dons a victim's scalp and tucks his junk tween his legs and- you get the idea. It's no small consolation to the band members that their most commercially successful song has such unpleasant connections. Kinda like that instrumental by the Revels that's playing during Pulp Fiction when Marcellus is getting raped by the hillbillies. Thus, a song like 'Goodbye Horses' is not a good idea to use as background unless one wishes to make similar connections to 'Silence'. Anyways...
Story- While the satiric element is as much a part of this game as the previous ones, the actual story is tinged with a genuine sense of melancholy, particularly in the story threads of some of the supporting characters, like Dwayne, Kate and her brother Packie, and Niko Bellic, the protagonist himself. What it does is inform the player's choices in this world, and the consequences of his actions. (Spoiler alert: Don't kill Dwayne, or you'll really hate yourself.)
It's Game of the Year, as far as I'm concerned.
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