The Liberty City Appreciation Thread

[brOkeRxBoYxLC]

my favorite city ever. no matter what city comes out, il always stay faithful to liberty. i am a new yorker, so it was extra special to me. i know there were some flaws in the city and game itself, but the realism it brought to gaming was absolutely incredible. From under the tracks on mohawk ave in Broker, to the bright lights in star junction. was truly a magnificent city and one can only hope it appears in another gta game.. only better. then that will rule the whole series, just like what IV did.

[RASPY]

At first I was unsure about the city when I first played it. I was unsure about the game full stop. I wasn't sold at first. I clocked the game but only ever used the GPS to get around so I didn't get to appreciate the map. My initial thought was that the map, and city itself looked great graphics wise but that was it.

 

After a while of playing it I realised that I didn't know the map. The new style of roads that resemble real life routes isn't what we were used to as GTA players so I'm sure a lot of us were initially heavily dependent on the GPS. I forced myself to learn the map, it's a decision I never regret. I fell in love with the city. The different aspects it had to offer. The daytime, nightie, anytime; I love it.

 

I love the character each island has. Within that I love the different character of each area within said islands. What R* made was amazing. Though I didn't appreciate it at first, I sure as hell do now. When night settles and the headlights and street lights turn on, it's an amazing place.

 

When you get into a helicopter, especially at night, you can truly appreciate the world that is LC. No doubt driving is my main thing, I think they smashed it with the mechanics. Long drives and cruises through the north of Alderney, long straights in Algonquin, and the dark streets of Broker and barren areas of Bohan all boast their own character and beauty. I never liked Alderney but from learning the routes I've fallen in love with this typical 'industrial' island that all LCs have had.

 

You can't really sum it up. The realism is what gets me. Although it's limited in activities, I'm sure GTA V will make up for those. At the same time I consider it as the GTA3 of the PS3 era - The first of a new wave of bad assness.

Edited September 14, 2013 by Raspy

[DAWeeE1]

I still don't think Los Santos will be as vibrant and atmospheric as Liberty City is. I appreciate that there is the countryside which gives a little more variation, but the city itself will probably "suffer" in some way. IRL, I'm an urban person. I'd take the toxic fumes of a busy street everyday before sunny beaches.

[Mad_Maxine]

Alltho I love california, and the whole san andreas setting, it never felt right in SA, where as Liberty, did look like NY from what ive seen (Ive never been to NY) Im going to hopefully experinace the same things in GTA V that I did in IV, but for me it will be better since I Know the land better, I want to visit some of the places I Know in LA, I hope they kept that classic car dealer in thats in RL, Seems a good place for the aston martin and that muria type car to apear no?

 

Anyway im going off topic, Yes OP I enjoyed walking and stuff too, Im an RP nerd, and I love keeping in charactor, I walked to romans cab office, Afterall why would niko who just came into the country, suddenly steal a car just to drive two blocks down the street? so I like walking around, I like taking in the atmosphere, My favorite place? Would be the central island that I dont know the name of, But it seemed more livley, its a shame the busses were only parked and neverm oved but I still liked that area, was slightly dissopointed with the third island, seemed a little dull and not much to do over there, Some people mabye liked looking around the industrial areas and such but they seemed a little empty to me, coulda done with some work and such going on to make it feel less cold and empty.

 

But ya, overall Really nice place, they captured the look of it, nobody seemed really that happy, and the whole city looked clouded over quite a lot, dull and gray... and from what ive seen thats what NYC seems to look like, They did well at making it even feel cold Stil Cant wait for sunny california now,

[SiDiBooTs]

Got the game on the midnight release & still play it now, its my go to game whenever I just want to sit back relax & do whatever i want. I've completed the game 5 times to 100%, & lost count how many times I've just gone through the story, I'll never get rid of it, always go back for a visit. I don't normally talk this much, so i'll shut up now.....

[vicetremendouslysoon]

Liberty defiantly has a special feel to it. The streets and skylines of the city are truly amazing, along with the atmosphere. Will I go back and play IV after GTAV? Hard to say.

[.Ryan.]

Kind of interesting to read this thread as the last post was made the day before GTA V was released. Although a few threads have discussed LC my intention with this one was to make it "official" so I'm going to pin it for people to discuss it rather than digging it up all the time.

[QuietLoneWolf]

Replaying GTA IV currently for the first time since V. As much as I loved my time in Los Santos and Blaine County, Liberty City will always be my virtual home. It is by far my favourite game environment. I spend a lot of time driving around soaking up the atmosphere. I especially love going for a drive during a night time storm. <3

[woggleman]

It's a shame that because of Bloomberg the New York portrayed in the game is slowly dying and becoming just as superficial as LA.

[Eks]

My favorite place is definitely Star Junction. Feels like a very 'alive' place. Very city-like.

[GoldenBlade]

Just started a new GTA IV playthrough tonight. I've been away for much too long! Liberty City is pure awesomeness. Each time I visit it, I fall in love all over again.

[Gnocchi Flip Flops]

I must admit that Los Santos has spoiled me with it's architectural eye candy in Vespucci, Morningwood, and Rockford Hills, but Liberty City/Alderney juat feels more like a real city. To me, all it needed was more interiors, especially in Alderney, and better graphics - though I should not complain about the lack of interiors as Los Santos REALLY lacks them.

 

Liberty City strangely feels more lively and real than Los Santos. Such a missed opportunity, Los Santos. If they could've added more ghettos, suburbs, interiors, and detail it would've been perfect. I'd gladly sacrifice Mount Gordo, Paleto, the Alamo Sea, and Fort Zancudo for a bigger, more lively, and more satisfying/believable Los Santos.

[woggleman]

I must admit that Los Santos has spoiled me with it's architectural eye candy in Vespucci, Morningwood, and Rockford Hills, but Liberty City/Alderney juat feels more like a real city. To me, all it needed was more interiors, especially in Alderney, and better graphics - though I should not complain about the lack of interiors as Los Santos REALLY lacks them.

 

Liberty City strangely feels more lively and real than Los Santos. Such a missed opportunity, Los Santos. If they could've added more ghettos, suburbs, interiors, and detail it would've been perfect. I'd gladly sacrifice Mount Gordo, Paleto, the Alamo Sea, and Fort Zancudo for a bigger, more lively, and more satisfying/believable Los Santos.

You seem like you are probably more of a New York person.

[Gnocchi Flip Flops]

 

 

I must admit that Los Santos has spoiled me with it's architectural eye candy in Vespucci, Morningwood, and Rockford Hills, but Liberty City/Alderney juat feels more like a real city. To me, all it needed was more interiors, especially in Alderney, and better graphics - though I should not complain about the lack of interiors as Los Santos REALLY lacks them.

Liberty City strangely feels more lively and real than Los Santos. Such a missed opportunity, Los Santos. If they could've added more ghettos, suburbs, interiors, and detail it would've been perfect. I'd gladly sacrifice Mount Gordo, Paleto, the Alamo Sea, and Fort Zancudo for a bigger, more lively, and more satisfying/believable Los Santos.

 

You seem like you are probably more of a New York person.Well I certainly dig New Yorks beautiful architecture and personally like the layout of the city, but I have always loved Southern California and Los Angeles. I loved the wide anf many long highways in LA, for some reason the suburbs are cool even in places like Simi Valley or the San Bernardino Valley. I just love the place. And me personally, I feel Rockstar focused more on making a superficial like LA instead of one that felt like the real place. Yeah they can add twists, they switched sh*t up with LC, but it had a bit of a NY vibe. LA is more than a mansion paradise, ghetto, and Hollywood.

[.Emmi]

Liberty City is my all time favorite GTA setting too.

 

I fell in love with the HD version of Liberty City instantly.

 

This city is breathtaking and I'd love to get back there (in an even better, updated version) in an upcoming GTA title eventually.

 

[Ixnay]

I'll take LC over LS any day. Last night was game night - beer, music, games, and nothing but fun! - and I started up V. I drove around aimlessly for five minutes before I switched the IV for the rest of the evening. V may look great, but I just cannot get into it for some reason.

 

I just think there are more things to enjoy. I'm originally from the East Coast; maybe that's part of it. I'd rather be running around a gritty city than a "Disneyworld" city. I still enjoy getting into a taxi and enjoying the ride, looking around at the scenery. I rode past a cop car last night that was pulled over to the sidewalk; it looked like he was helping someone change a tire. Little things like that make the city way more alive than V, which seems to be all about surface.

 

Driving is a lot more fun in IV. Sure, the vehicles were a bit more unwieldy, but you really get a sense of speed, and I like that you can hit things, spin around, and keep going. Crashes are a lot more fun. I think they went overboard in V, making the other vehicles into speed killers and way too easy to direct.

 

I like looking for "flying rats". I have yet to get them all. I find the characters IV more likable, even if they're jerks or idiots. I like that other characters call, wanting to do things. I played for quite a while last night before I got one phone call. Sometimes I just want to spend a few hours bowling, or playing darts, or boating. At least doing these things actually served a purpose in IV.

[Magic_Al]

It's a shame that because of Bloomberg the New York portrayed in the game is slowly dying and becoming just as superficial as LA.

 

I wonder if Liberty City gets ported to GTA Online, if Star Junction will have turned into a pedestrian mall.

[.Ryan.]

I can't believe it.

 

I had no idea there was a second laundromat near Steinway. Do you have any idea how many times I've driven on that bridge?

 

Lol. I honestly have never taken notice.

 

Bravo LC. Still amazing me after almost 6 years.

[I<3GTAV]

I haven't played IV since September 16, and I don't plan on playing it for a while. I want the next time I go there to feel special and fresh. It's sort of like moving; if you've lived in a place for 6 years, your probably going to get sick of it and want to live somewhere fresh, but that place will always be special and eventually, you'll want to go back. I still <3 LC

[.Ryan.]

I haven't played IV since September 16, and I don't plan on playing it for a while. I want the next time I go there to feel special and fresh. It's sort of like moving; if you've lived in a place for 6 years, your probably going to get sick of it and want to live somewhere fresh, but that place will always be special and eventually, you'll want to go back. I still <3 LC

 

Come back home. You know you want to bud.

[woggleman]

 

It's a shame that because of Bloomberg the New York portrayed in the game is slowly dying and becoming just as superficial as LA.

 

I wonder if Liberty City gets ported to GTA Online, if Star Junction will have turned into a pedestrian mall.

 

I don't know. People complain that Los Santos is like Disneyland but you don't get any more Disneyland than modern day Times Square without actually going to Disneyland. They actually have people dressed up as cartoon characters taking pictures with children walking around.

[livejoker]

Was wondering why GTA V section only had '13 members. You guys are all here
GTA IV is still my favorite game of all time mostly to story and city. The city is damn fanastic. As OP, for me it would be walking but in Star Junction. Bohan isn't bad either. Any Burgershot, really. Try to imagine life as a real New Yorker which is walk all around the place.

[ddyoung]

I love LC, being from New York, it will always be special to me. It felt so life like and you honestly could have mistaken some things for real life in the city.

[grumpy cat meme]

I just played GTA TBoGT, and wow.

 

I love exploring the countryside in SA, but for the city LC is definitely better than LS. It's weird because, in real life, I prefer Los Angeles to NYC...

 

There seems to be something in this city... I don't know. LC doesn't have the glitz nor the graphics, nor the breathtaking sunsets, nor the freeways, nor the palm trees, nor the amazing mansions, nor the nice lifestyle of Los Santos but it keeps being the best city in the series, IMO. I don't know why, and it bothers me much.

 

I don't know if it's the crowds, the grit, the skyscrapers or the bridges; Man, I absolutely love Liberty City's bridges: crossing on Charge Island on a clear night and seeing the bright lights of Midtown and Uptown, crossing the Algonquin Bridge and, there it is, THE WALL, something that makes you wonder how did they manage to build such a large number of skyscrapers on this tiny piece of land that is Algonquin. I love to go eastbound (from Algonquin to Broker) and visualize the little skyline of East Island and then just press L3 and see that not even half a mile away, there it is, once again: THE WALL. The contrast is extraordinary and not found anywhere in Los Santos...

 

What else to say, LC has it all... While LS just have the glamourous shine of its superficiality (even though I love its freeways).

[uncredited]

I have always thought I was the only one appreciating the city so far. You guys have given me the wish to start a new game--taking my time to achieve the missions and driving or walking around. I have never discovered those drugdealers. I prefer the feeling the city has in IV compared to TBoGT. The city is darker, even gloomy sometimes. I have never been to New York but IV contributes to keep my envy awaken. Thanks to all of you guys.

[.Ryan.]

No worries.

 

My intention with this thread was for all GTA IV LC fans to share what they like about it.

[Gnocchi Flip Flops]

Its been a long time since I've actually sat back and relaxed, observing the city and it's charm. I should try and do that again. Its wild that a video game city from 2008 still looks extraordinary today. Going to sightsee again.

[Tracksuit Hitman]

I started playing IV + Episodes recently. I finished IV (90 something percent) and started TBoGT this morning.

 

I first loved LC when III was released. There's no denying that III was one hell of a game back in it's day. Playing it now feels strange because of the lack of protagonist dialogue, although the gameplay is still phenomenal. Of course, the city itself is nothing compared to what it was in IV and the IV DLC. III is, in some ways, better than VC. That said, I'm a fan of Vice City and hope to see the city return. With the amount of VC references in IV and V I hope to see VC brought back in the next GTA. That, London or Russia.

 

But as this is the IV forum I won't go on about VC, III and my future wishes in terms of location.

 

In IV (original, excluding the DLC) Liberty City was sure as hell improved a lot since we saw it in III. I loved the amount of interiors, especially the apartment complexes. Apartment complexes were pretty amazing, although I hoped that we could do home invasion robberies on apartments in the various complexes around the city - that would have been awesome. I liked TW@ and the new addition of modern technology along with the civilian IA. The homeless people were pretty fun to engage with. The mini-missions wouldn't have been as fun of they were set elsewhere. Algonquin was my favourite although Bohan and the suburbs were f*cking fantastic.

 

In the episodes I loved seeing the improved mafia connections, biker connections and club life. The club life, organized crime, television shows and what not were amazing additions and made the game that much fun when you didn't want to cause mass destruction.

 

In SA I liked San Andreas. I'm stuck with comparing SA with LC because they're both amazing. I kind of got put off SA when playing V because of the stereotypical bullsh*t that entailed within that game, although again, I'm not looking for a full scaled discussion about that because this is the IV forum and not the V forum.

 

tl;dr, in IV + Episodes a lot was brought in, the club life and the organized crime made the city awesome if you ask me. The civilians and the realistic suburbs and cities were phenomenally pulled off and I have to say LC is my favourite GTA city. "The land of opportunity".

[GatoYBeans]

liberty city is the definite city or like the syrup on top of the pile of pancakes. GTA IV will always be in my mind the GRAND THEFT AUTO game however GTA V is also amazing however it gets old when you play with on old guy, a gangster and a sociopath. I would rather play with a Serb, a biker and Dominican in the dark stories of the city where the dreams come to die. Also online works much better than GTA V midget online connection.

[CometGT]

Liberty City either in the III era or IV era has it uniqueness and quirks that I think is something that can't be beaten in any other game (apart from VC and VCS in my opinion), and that is what I like about LC as a whole. Yes IV's LC is gritty, filled with crime where ever you walk, filled with most of the shops non accessible in every part of the city, houses non buy able etc etc. But that what makes IV, IV, and it doesn't make me annoyed or disappointed at all one bit whenever I play IV. And i have never appreciated IV as much as I did after playing V for about a month, which made me want to play IV more often than I have. I don't hate V, but I just find it a bit less fun, and I can't really connect with the main characters of V as much as I did with IV + EFLC.

 

IV's story is emotional, well put together, gritty, and at the same time enjoyable and fun to play. It still makes me laugh whenever I play IV's story or just drive around LC to do whatever I want. And after 5 or so years playing IV, Vlad's cutscene with Niko from "Clean Getaway" still makes me laugh.

 

On another note. I don't think you can beat driving on the motorway(freeway) in Alderney with the sunset and just admiring all it's beauty without giving a second thought. Dare I say it, IV is a tad better than V (my opinion that is)

Edited February 7, 2014 by SentinelXSVCS22