Test of time = passed.

[chronic lumbago]

Hey there, I've got my PS4 back in the Christmas of 2013 and have barely touched my X360 since then. GTAIV was my favorite game of that gen, a game I've played through 6 times - plus I spend countless hours exploring, playing with peds, yes even reading the internet websites. Before Skyrim came along, I basically played IV all the time.

 

It's been years since I've last touched GTAIV. Until recently. Usually, once I've played through a game enough times I will never touch it again because of the burnout. While replaying The Witcher 3 I thought which one of my favorite games I want to replay and GTAIV was the first candidate that crossed my mind.

Will I still enjoy it after all these years? Will the dated mechanics and outdated graphics hold me back from enjoying it?

 

The answer is a big f*cking no.

 

GTAIV is to this day an incredible experience. Even though I've seen the story multiple times and played the game for years, Niko's journey still draws me in unlike most of the other games out there.

Niko's story is a dark crime drama, which proves in a very natural way how chasing the criminal lifestyle isn't all about a fun and flowers. The writing in this game is superb. From outstanding cutscenes to going bowling with a friend, every step Niko takes pushes the story and the depth of it's characters foward.

Playing through it again makes me realize that GTAV simply doesn't hold up and looks like a bad joke - and I liked GTAV. It just shows how excellent the writing is.

 

Listening to Vladivostok, Beat102.7, Radio Broker, hearing the trailer music in the internet cafe and The Journey to hearing the satisfying mission complete sound makes me feel quite nostalgic.

 

The elephant in the room are the graphics. While technically it's not even close to most current gen games, the atmosphere is still absorbing, the city is detailed and I was surprised that the game still looks quite good. It looks rough around the edges but still, I think the city still holds up or looks even better than some of today's games. Maybe it doesn't have photorealistic facial animations or cars took straight out of real life. Doesn't matter. There's nothing quite like walking down Hove Beach during a thunderstorm or cruizing around during the fog. Sunsets are gorgeus too, especially with that Skyline. Draw distance isn't that good but who cares if it still looks good?

 

I'm currently wrapping up the Broker chapter and can't put down the controller. Today's games usually get me bored after 1-2 hours, but GTAIV has something other games don't have.

 

So yeah, sorry if this is a pointless post but just wanted to write my experience with replaying the game. If you don't have anything to play and your GTAIV copy is covered by dust - get it clean, play through it and frame it on your wall.

Edited August 14, 2017 by fashion

[DOUGL4S1]

GTA IV is one of those games that feel timeless. Most parts of the game do not look dated at all, even over 9 years after its release. If it just had slightly better graphics and maybe character models, it could be passed as a game that was released yesterday.

 

And GTAs San Andreas and IV are some of the only games I can play for hours straight. Start a new game, and suddenly you're meeting Playboy X, and 7 hours have passed.

Edited August 14, 2017 by DOUGL4S1

[The Rockstar Gamer 108]

I remember playing IV on my old lappy. After I crashed it up by playing 48+ h continuously, I bought a 360 and started playing IV and EFLC in it.

All the IVs serve cool even now. Screw the graphicsthing. We need "beauty", and that is found in games not so easy. IV is just a perfect game.

[chronic lumbago]

Gotta agree with you. Once I complete IV and the episodes, San Andreas could very well be the next game on my list.

I think it's interesting how I can play IV for hours and almost forget I own a PS4. Right now, IV puts it to shame.

 

I'd let them cut off my arm for a IV remaster. Well, maybe not the arm but a leg so at least I could play it for hours without standing up.

 

I really wish I had a decent PC and GTAIV to bump the graphics up to 11.

Edited August 14, 2017 by fashion

[Algonquin Assassin]

I don't think I've gone longer than a couple of months at a time without playing GTA IV since 2008. Even if I don't finish every save I start I still like to fire it up. Though I'm at the end of my 10th one. Should have it finished sometime this week.

 

The crazy thing about GTA IV is despite the plethora of current gen games I have on PS4/XB1 I've only completed a small % of them and the ones I have completed I might go back to once or not at all. It probably sounds like a broken record coming from me, but I can't emphasis enough how much replay value GTA IV has even if you've played it from top to bottom.

 

It's interesting to see someone who hasn't played the game in years come back to it and still enjoy it as much as ever.

[Ma-mothers-Ma-Sister]

It's the greatest game of all time with San Andreas right behind it. I hope it gets remastered next year so i can earn all the achievements again

[Nico]

After I crashed it up by playing 48+ h continuously, I bought a 360 and started playing IV and EFLC in it.

Holy sh*t man, more than 48 consecutive hours? On a laptop? That's impressive. I assume you were playing with the thing plugged in, otherwise it wouldn't have lasted an hour.

 

I could never, ever play one single game for more than 4 or 5 consecutive hours, even on my vicious years. I've heard about plenty of kids who played games for more than one day without rest, but I never was like that.

 

Regarding IV, there's little I can add, is the pinnacle of the series when it comes to the plot. It may not be as fun to play as San Andreas, but is still the best for me.

[AuSsIeThUnDeR36]

Ah the nostalgia GTA IV brings. It's got that 2008 vibe, when the internet was just upping it's game with various chat rooms and weird web sites. Smoking became illegal in bars and in office buildings as various pedestrians will be heard complaining about, the gritty Liberty City in the Autumn, home of many different walks of life from the rich and famous to the subway dwellers.

Speaking of subway dwellers, IV opened up the infamous Ratman myth which many tried to find and images of the mythical Ratman appeared and were studied and scoured over.

Speaking of searching for places even when you've thought you have seen everything in Liberty City you can try searching for pigeons (flying rats) by just doing this I saw many new places I had never seen before.

The environment detail is very immersive in that pedestrians are actually doing things now. Cleaning windows, serving other pedestrians hotdogs, dock workers working out their tallys with clipboard, security guards patrolling their yard etc. There's just so many others that would take ages to mention.

There's also the actual sound recordings of NYC that can be heard. The tweet tweet of birds in early morning and other birds noises such as ducks quacking in Middle Park. The brisk whistle of an actual pedestrian hailing a taxi. The clomp clomp of bunches of pedestrians bustling down the sidewalk. The train ding dong notification heard as the train doors close. There's literally 1,000 other ingame sounds that are of actual NYC and adds to the immersive quality.

The gameplay is fantastic and it's always fun and challenging. I play exclusively in free aim for the realism factor and it's more challenging to aim using Ps3.

I also love the fact that most missions can be completed with various methods and it's fun to try different ways. In saying that, my only gripe is that some of the car chase missions (Wrong Is Right, Meltdown, No Way on the Subway, Buoys Ahoy) feel forced, that you can't catch up to them to finish them off. Also some missions see Niko climbing lots of stairs (Shadow, Lure) which can get boring fast. But for the majority of missions the style is very well executed and plays as a very realistic crime/action movie.

The weapons are simplified such as handguns, grenades and smgs and the most heavy weapon is rocket launcher. No silly things like lazer guns or jet packs. They kept everything in IV very 'in your face'. There's decisions Niko must make that affects him in the end so there's definitely replayability. It's a totally addictive experience just exploring or roleplaying in IV. This game has something for everyone.

Edited August 15, 2017 by AuSsIeThUnDeR36

[MattedSpam]

Grand Theft Auto IV is a timeless masterpiece that everyone should experience...great post.

[chronic lumbago]

So finished the main game last night and can't wait to jump into TLAD again. The playthrough reminded me of a lot of stuff I've almost forgotten. I was amazed (yet again) on how this story evolves. The occassional jokes made me laugh as if I saw them for the first time.

I also realized how excellent the radio shows actually are, some A+ comedy there. It's dark, often perverted humor but it's funny as hell.

 

An almost forgotten fact is how tough the story choices actually are. All of them, every single choice is hard to make, they're very impactful. I was stuck at every single one, didn't just rush it or looked at the rewads. I thought about Niko and what I would actually do in his shoes.

Especially the last two choices were tough.

I decided to kill Bravic, which left Niko completely empty and went with the deal ending instead of heading for revenge. I knew Roman would die, but after killing Darko it felt right for Niko to try to put his revenge guns down. The ending scene feels much more satisfying when killing Dimitri instead of Pegorino.

 

GTAIV is probably the best crime fiction drama ever made, not only of video games.