TheXboxLife

2007 will be a year to remember with all the fantastic game releases including Halo 3, Bioshock, Call of Duty 4, etc…but sadly GTA IV will not be included, as Rockstar has pushed the release date back to 2008. With all the hype revolving around this game, it may not be a bad thing for a later release date around Easter, because the developers have gone all out in the latest addition to this epic series.





The character you will live under is Nikolai “Niko” Bellic, an Eastern European immigrant who comes to the USA seeking the American Dream under the guidance of Niko’s cousin (who’s actually a dead-beat cab driver with massive debt — Niko was unaware of this).





GTA IV features the new world of Liberty City (NYC), and includes the 4 sections of Algonquin (Manhattan), Broker (Brooklyn), Dukes (Queens), and Bohan (Bronx). This is supposed to be the largest city in any of the games, and offers the best graphics seen so far in any of the previous versions. Still, there are some changes to the game.





First, the RPG style that was offered in San Andreas has changed dramatically. You won’t be able to waste your days working out or doing other useless things like getting haircuts and becoming fat. Instead, the developers paid more attention to the actual control and realism of the game. Your car will be supplied with a GPS, allowing for much easier navigation, and hopes that players will actually learn there way around the city, because every street has a unique name. Along with the GPS addition, your character will now be able to hail cab drivers to get around the city faster (yes, cabbies get you there faster!). Though you’ll have to dish out some money, you won’t mind once you complete your missions faster. Of course you’ll still have the option to steal cars, but smashing the window, breaking the steering column and then hot wiring the car will take longer then in the past. This will give more of a chance to you getting BUSTED!





As for the police, the developers really want the player to make use of the radar, and when trying to escape from police this will be especially important. In order to get your wanted level down you will have to get out of the red perimeter shown in your radar. This red circle represents where the police are searching for you. Even when you are within the red circle you won’t always be seen. Now there is more of a “cat and mouse” option to the game, where if the police are not looking directly at you, they will not be able to see you. The high speed chases will prove to be more intense (as usual), because the amount of damage your car can take has definitely dropped to a more realistic level. You will still be able to have those massive gun battles (though they are much more limited now), but be careful because your enemies feature much more accuracy in this game. Accompanied by this you now have the option to cover and “blind fire”, though it will be interesting to see this in action.





For your ammunition you will no longer be able to go see your favorite gun dealers in the city. Instead, you make a phone call to your Rastafarian gun dealer who drops off your weaponry at whatever location you desire. With this, you will also have a cell phone, being able to contact anyone by the touch of a button. There is a high level of technology used in this game, where missions include using the internet is some way or another.


The violence, of course, was improved in all areas. There is much more realism in the game, and the cock-backing of the head from a point blank bullet was proof enough. Not to mention the amount of blood squirting from the wound, the graphics are very realistic.


Overall, I’m extremely excited to see this game, and am not surprised by some of the changes made. Especially in regards to the RPG style of the game, I was never a big fan of it.