The Fun Bucket

I received my copy of Grand Theft Auto IV in the mail today. I really liked the special edition. When I opened up the box that had Amazon.ca written all over it, I found another rather large box marked Grand Theft Auto IV: Special Edition with a picture of a girl and a lollipop on it. Inside that box was another box. This box was black, heavier and contained the rest of the special edition. I guess it was a lockbox or safe of sorts. I opened up that box and found two keys, a Rockstar keychain, a Grand Theft Auto IV art book, a Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack, a neat Rockstar-branded bag, French versions of the map and manual (all games in Canada have French/English cases and French/English instruction manuals) and - finally - the actual game in it’s case. I ripped the plastic wrap off that (by this time a lot of plastic was on my bed) and found more French material and more plastic that I needed to tear off. Wow, Rockstar really packaged this one. I anxiously tore that off, felt the awesomeness of the case and opened it up. Inside the case was an English version of the map and manual and the game disc. The first thing I did was look on the bottom of the disc to see which batch it was. I read a theory on a forum that AO3 discs were the most likely to have freezing problems and even though all discs were reported to have a problems and that was just a theory, I still felt the need to look at mine. Mine was AO4 so a little bit of reassurance came back to me at that moment.

On to the game! I put the disc in my PlayStation 3 and waited for it to load. I already knew there would be a mandatory install so I prepared myself for the minutes of sheer anxiety that come with waiting before being able to play one of your most anticipated games of all time. I waited for the installation and finally got to play the actual game. The first thing I noticed was it was extremely dark and I couldn’t see anything. That was fixed with a quick press of the start button and the brightness turned up as high as it could go. My first task was to drive a short distance. As a veteran of the older, more arcade-style Grand Theft Auto games, that was easier said than done. I had a little trouble steering the car and braking correctly and I think I’ve hit just about every possible object I could hit in the city but eventually I got there and got used to it. Within approximately 20-30 minutes, driving went from being a chore to something enjoyable. I found that the standard controls (using triggers for acceleration and braking) worked better than the series’ classic X for acceleration and square for braking. I didn’t get a gun until further in the game, though the hand-to-hand combat was somewhat enjoyable. The new way of targeting - pressing L2 all the way in to target a particular enemy or pressing it half way to enable free-aim is an improvement over the targeting in the previous games.

I’m really enjoying the story of the game so far. The characters are lifelike and I’m really starting to care for them almost as if I’m actually Niko. The city is also vibrant and unlike in the previous games, pedestrians and other drivers actually react to what you do to them. When I kicked up a little riot just outside an alleyway and then stole a bike, the guy next to the bike actually hung on to the back of the bike as I rode off. I got rid of him quick when I took a sharp turn though his responsiveness and actions to get the bike back/hurt me were impressive. The cell phone was an added touch and really made me feel more connected to Liberty City.

One thing I found that took me away from the more serious, gritty storyline were the side missions and extras in the game such as girlfriends. By the time I was finished hanging out with my first girlfriend, Michelle, I felt like I almost knew her in real life. Characters have so much personality and it’s so much more genuine then in the previous games. We went bowling and I actually enjoyed the controls Rockstar had set up for the minigame. You would choose a position with the left analog stick, hit X and then actually perform the bowling action with the right analog stick by pulling it back and pushing it ahead, tilting it slightly left or slightly right to adjust the curve of the ball. Michelle was a good bowler but I won the game.

Taxis were another convenient feature though when the cops aren’t looking, I found just jacking a nearby taxi quicker and cheaper than actually going for the ride. If you feel bad jacking a taxi, you can hit L1 and a nearby taxi driver will pull over for you to get in. Hold in triangle and you will open the back door and once inside, you can select your destination. Since taxi drivers abide the law more than I do when I’m driving in the game, the ride took longer than I expected but you have the option to completely skip the ride (for a fee) or just look around with the analog stick and enjoy the sights and sounds of Liberty City.

I’ve only played for about two hours so far though those two hours were definitely the most enjoyable gaming hours I’ve ever experienced, minus the first 20-30 minutes where I was just crashing into everything due to the fact that I’m so used to the arcade-like driving in the older Grand Theft Auto games. If you’ve been on the fence about purchasing Grand Theft Auto IV, get off that fence and get out to your local video game store and buy the game. Seriously, go. Right now. You won’t regret it.