First impression: Grand Theft Auto IV
It’s GTA only better
Here are some adventures from my first two hours of playing last night:
- Completed one true mission
- Knifed a couple thugs who had it coming
- Stole four cars, including a police cruiser
- Went to the bar with my cousin, got drunk and decided to drive home…
- … Somehow evaded the cops who saw me stumble into my car while intoxicated…
- … Drove so poorly (because of the intoxication effects) in successfully evading the cops the car just stopped moving after a collision. As we stumbled to the side of the road the vehicle exploded into a beautiful display of fire and debris.
- Completed a couple “drive someone here” scenarios
- Smashed my car into a pole so hard that I was thrown through the windshield and subsequently into another moving vehicle.
- Bought a couple hot dogs at a roadside vendor to stop my health from flashing red
- Bought a pair of jeans to impress Michelle
- Took Michelle bowling, lost on purpose (at least that’s what I told myself)
After only a few hours of playtime, a couple things are obvious about Grand Theft Auto IV.
- This is GTA, through and through …
- …But it is better in several ways — and I haven’t even fired a weapon/used the new cover system yet.
- When they saw the nearly finished product, even the game’s designers jaws had to drop. This is by far the best looking GTA, but it still looks like GTA.
- It absolutely feels like GTA, from the funny names of businesses to the crazy driving to the obnoxious citizens. It’s all here. It just looks, sounds and feels better.
There are so many things about this game that allows it to bear the moniker “sequel” to GTAIII (Vice City and San Andreas weren’t considered true sequels, but their influence is omnipresent in IV). The looks, the controls, the melee combat, the wanted level and escaping said wanted level are next-generation GTA.
This game will devour hours of your life, actually hours of millions of lives, and it will be worth every moment. I’ve read it will take 25-45 hours to complete based on skill level and amount of side missions completed. That’s a lot of time, but even if you won’t be able to finish it, everyone should play this game.
If you’re a fan, stop reading now, go buy and play the game. If you need to buy and Xbox 360 or a Playstation 3 to do it, don’t hesitate. Just be sure to come back to Sloppy Potatoes tomorrow.
If you are not a fan, or have never picked up a video game, you still need to experience this game for what it is, not for what the mainstream media will have you believe it is. I recommend you buy it and play it. If you absolutely refuse, find a friend or a friend-of-a-friend who owns GTAIV and play it. You may not love it, but you will enjoy it. That is a guarantee.
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