Gta 4 review. Plot and gameplay

There is probably not a single gamer in the world who at least once has not heard of such a series of games as Grand theft Auto. And, probably, there is also not a single gamer who has not launched one of the parts of this wonderful series at least once in his life. Everyone had her first GTA: someone began his adventure in Sunny Weis City, someone had fastened criminal days in the Niggle Rainakh Los Santos, and someone began the Gamer's Dream in Liberty City in GTA IV. My review will be on it today.

Development of the game began in 2004, immediately after the release of GTA: SA, but the official announcement took place only at E3 2006. Grand Theft auto IV was released on April 29, 2008 for the then generation of consoles - the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Six months later, the game was released for personal computers, but was immediately criticized for terrible optimization. Even the most powerful computers of the time could not keep the game running properly. Nevertheless, the game sold very well and became the most successful in the history of the publishing studio. Rockstar games... The game grossed more than $ 300 million in just the first day of sales and thus earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records. Of course, these are huge numbers for any studio, and in the future, the developers from Rockstar North will release two add-ons, but more on them later.

Plot

Niko Bellic (or Niko Bellic) took part in battles in a real war and in his homeland completely went headlong into the underworld, however, Niko has some disagreements with his "employer" and he is forced to leave the country. Where to go if not to America? Moreover, Niko has a cousin there, who has written more than once that he has become an important person in the land of endless possibilities, about his house, cars ... Niko gets a job on the Platypus ship, which goes to Liberty City and goes to meet his "American dream". But upon arriving in the city, it becomes clear that his cousin Roman lied about everything and was in trouble himself, many of them were of a criminal nature. Therefore, Niko Bellic has to take up the old again in order to pay off the debts of Roman and get a job in Liberty City.

There are two endings in the game, which depend on the choice you made in one of the last missions. I think it is already clear that a story related to the mafia cannot have a happy happy ending, however, the lesser of two evils is chosen, so it's up to you.

Gameplay

The gameplay of this game cannot be described in two words - the game world is large and full of various activities, however, it is sad that they are repeated and there is not much variety in the game. Upon arrival, the player wants to explore the world, but after completing just a couple of missions and traveling around the city, you understand that world of gta IV is not so attractive and has almost nothing to do in it. For example, most gamers know the world of GTA: SA better than their hometown, because the world was really diverse there, but here, unfortunately, there is no such thing and it is practically not tempting to study it.

However, there are also pluses. One of these is, albeit slightly crooked, shelter system. In the previous parts of the series, we dodged bullets only by crouching behind some bush, but in this part, literally every centimeter can become a shelter. But watch out - many of them are destructible and will let you down in a firefight.

Niko Bellic is not a terminator, and if in the previous parts of the series, players carried out entire detachments of special forces, then this will not happen here. In the early stages of the game, even a fight with one civilian can lead to death. Then, of course, you will get a variety of weapons in your arsenal: from a baseball bat to an RPG. But the opponents will not be blunt either - when you are fired on from all sides from the AK, it can be difficult to get out of the situation alive. However, it's good that in GTA IV, as in the previous parts of the series, there is a body armor that will help you in difficult situations.

The situation with the police is newer than in the old units. Of course, the 6 wanted stars have not gone anywhere, the degree of the crime committed will affect the number of stars and the effectiveness of your elimination. Also, car painting services have not gone anywhere, which will help you get away from the police. On the first star, they will try to simply arrest you, if this happens, then some of the money for a bribe will be taken from you and all weapons will be confiscated. The evasion from the police is now different - you do not need to look for one star all over the map to slow down the search. After they started looking for you, a certain police search ralius appears on the map. In order to get away from the cops, you need to leave this radius and avoid the police for a while. If you are noticed, the radius will move to your current situation and you have to leave again. If you are going to shoot to the last drop of blood, then fighters from NOOSE (analogue of the American SWAT) can be launched on you. It will be more difficult with these guys. If you are killed, then your weapon will not go anywhere, but you will give part of the money anyway. Fortunately, there is a maturation download to help you in case you don’t want to give away your honestly stolen money. You can save in your homes, which you will receive as you progress through the story. In order for it to mature, you just need to go to sleep. Also, auto-saves occur after the completion of each mission. If you are killed during the passage of the task, then a notification will come to your game mobile phone with a proposal to replay the mission from the beginning, but you will not have to go and take the quest again.

By the way, if I started talking about mobile phones, then it is worth remembering one of the main innovations - the mobile phone. First, you will have an old model that you cannot call with. However, very soon you will receive an improved model, and by the middle of the game an even newer one. The mobile phone does not have a lot of functions, it is designed only for game functions and it will not work on it. You will have a list of contacts that you can call. For example, to go and play darts. You develop a relationship with each character if you do not forget him and walk him. Or, on the contrary, the attitude deteriorates if you constantly score on him. After you make friends with a certain character, a special function will become available to you. For example, having made friends with Roman, you can order a taxi and ride for free around the city. Each of the characters has their favorite places and hated ones, so think about where to take your friend. Also mobile phone equipped with a camera, but the taken photo will not be uploaded to Instagram, you only have to take a photo of the plot. There is also a transition to video reactor multiplayer. In the message menu, you can only receive messages, you will not be able to send them (only for the plot). If you are tired of the theme installed on your phone, then you can change it in the settings menu. You can do the same with the ringtone. New ringtones and themes can be downloaded from the Internet Cafe.

The Internet is another innovation in GTA IV. Sitting at the computer, you get access to the digital web. However, the in-game Internet will not replace the real one, so if you are already thinking how not to pay for the Internet, then cross out this option right away. There are not many sites available on the Internet and you can hardly spend hours there. The main reason why a loan is needed here at all is e-mail. Some of the characters will communicate with you there, and some will give Additional tasks so you can raise your dough.

The game also has the opportunity to work honestly. Ask Roman and he will give you a job as a taxi driver. And the best part is that you don't have to drive through the city at a time like in GTA: SA. however, you won't make much money. You can try yourself as an avenger. Having stolen a police car, you get access to a cop database, where you can find especially dangerous criminals and kill them. Or go for ongoing delinquencies.

In your free time from assignments, you can sit on the sofa in the apartment and calmly watch TV. There are only two channels in Liberty City, which are designed for one and a half hours of viewing in total.

Optimization

As I said earlier, the optimization in the game is pretty bad, and at the time of release it was one of the worst. Over time, the game was tweaked, but even now not everything has been fixed. Periodic departures are also present. And the overall FPS sometimes sags.

Outcome

Guys, Grand Theft Auto is definitely a game worth playing for everyone, but it's not the most successful successor to the great series of games. Therefore, she will not receive the maximum rating from me, however, I will not underestimate it, but rather even slightly overestimate it. Although the game began to become boring in the end, it is certainly interesting to play it.

Grand Theft Auto 4, this year's most anticipated game, has proven to be quite controversial. Naturally, everyone will buy it, but not everyone will be satisfied with the purchase. Boring missions coexist here with great graphics and realistic car behavior. Will you like the game? Quite possible. Will you hate her? Most likely.

send

Banality is shabby originality; originality - there is a first performance, a premiere, as the French say, platitudes.

M. Nordau.

Journalists love platitudes, because they are easier to write about. Why analyze the activities of former President Putin, if it can be simply and unpretentiously characterized as "successful." Why go to the premiere of a new performance at the Bolshoi Theater, if you can once again write about the ballerina Volochkova. Why carefully explore the world of action, if they are supposed to admire and almost bleat with joy that such wonderful game still appeared on the new generation consoles. And until this caramel wave finally washed us into the abyss of delicious epithets and metaphors, let's try to take a sober look at things. The new part turned out not only to be a failure, but clearly not as interesting as it is customary to say about it.

"Du yu spik english"?

The main character comes from of Eastern Europe Niko Bellich - comes to the metropolis of Liberty City to visit his relative Roman, who is engaged in petty fraud. Here a guy with a characteristic Serbian dialect wants to build new life, forget the monstrous war in which he took part (how original!) and find the traitor, because of whom Bellic lost a couple of his best friends (even more original!). A compassionate relative immediately gives him a "dust-free" job - take a friend there, take him out of there, do the third. This is how Niko earns his first money, and at the same time meets representatives underworld Liberty City.

Almost every task can be roughly divided into three stages. The first is car theft. Everything is simple here: the car can be snatched from the parking lot or simply thrown out of the front seat of a gaping driver. It is better to do both the first and the second without unnecessary witnesses, otherwise then another ten minutes will have to run away from annoying cops throughout the city. The second stage is to pick up the right person. It is not difficult to find it - after receiving the assignment, it will appear on the map, on which the GPS system will automatically pave the optimal path. As a rule, your companions will be drug dealers and other dark personalities. Well, and finally, the third stage is, as a rule, a shootout, theft, or something like that. Compared to the previous part of the series, there were no visible changes in the gameplay, alas.

And this is a difficult city ...

But the city itself has significantly changed. From a small bug of times, it finally turned into a real metropolis living its own life. On the streets here, accidents often occur, leading to many kilometers of traffic jams; petty hooligans do not miss an opportunity to mock the arrogant "white collars", and prostitutes with frantic zeal to lure clients. Postmen deliver mail every morning, and at night clubs open their doors, where you can not only drink and have fun with the girls, but also buy drugs. True, there is no more "peppercorn" - that the hero is having sex, we can only learn from the approving cries that are heard from the apartment of another friend. It's a pity, but they sound very unconvincing - either Niko is not as good as it is commonly believed, or the actress who voiced these moaning has never faked an orgasm in her life.

However, if casual relationships do not suit you, then you can have an affair with some girl. Everything here is like in life: dates, first kisses, dinners in restaurants and bowling. The potential victim usually gives up after the third evening together and invites Niko to spend the night with her. To speed up this process, you will have to carefully monitor yourself - fortunately, there is a good store in the city with discounted items, where you can buy a new wardrobe for a hundred dollars. In addition, it is better not to fight in front of a girl and, of course, you should not beat her herself, otherwise then you will beg for forgiveness for another hour.

But “walking” is worth not only your passion - business partners are also not averse to playing bowling or billiards. During such informal meetings, you can get to know them better, as well as secure yourself several lucrative orders. As a rule, after a couple of glasses of beer, the interlocutors become chatty and in a couple of hours they will call Niko nothing but “friend for all time”. It's not worth it, because, quite possibly, the next day you will have to kill one of them - these are the rules of life here.

Driving school

By the way, speaking of life - for the first time in the series' long history, car control has become realistic. From now on, cars and heavy, hamero-like jeeps are really different things. If the former rush around the city at breakneck speeds and often do not fit into the turns, the latter, like tanks, move slowly but surely. This will have to be taken into account when performing tasks: where you need to catch up with someone, it is better to take a smaller car, but it is easier to drive around the city in an SUV. Even after several serious accidents, such a car can not be changed, but only slightly "tinted" in the nearest workshop.

And it's easier to hide from the police in jeeps. At first it seems that one or two patrol cars can be easily escaped, but over time, insolent cops will become more and more dodgy. The situation when six cars are chasing you, and a whole barricade is built around the nearest corner - is typical for Liberty City. And even if Niko is still stopped, this does not mean that everything is over - it is quite possible to escape from annoying police officers or, even better, to steal their car. Which is already quite in the spirit of the series.

It is really difficult to evaluate. On the one hand, it is a clear leader among gangster action games: excellent graphics, good music, realistic car controls and exciting shootings. On the other hand, a boring plot, indistinct the main character and a bunch of similar, often completely disgustingly modeled tasks. Perhaps that is why you just want to live in Liberty City: walk the streets, take pictures of girls, while away evenings in nightclubs, and carry out hundreds of unnecessary orders of snickering bandits - thank you.

At the very, very first glance, GTA 4 seems to be a step backward - instead of a whole state with several major cities and suburbs, as in San andreas, we are once again waiting for the one and only Liberty City. But these fears are in vain. It is enough to play quite a bit to understand: the fourth part has stepped forward, and significantly. And it's not even a new engine, but a surprisingly prettier gameplay. It seems that we are doing the same thing - in the role of Niko Belic, a Serbian emigrant, we study the huge Liberty City, carry out missions of a not entirely linear plot, find all sorts of additional activities, just hang out, while passing the time. However, in GTA 4, all this is done with some previously unprecedented attention to detail - the developers surprise us with every little thing, every pleasant idea.

How it all began?

The GTA series is actually split into two completely different stages. The first two parts are 2D scrollers, with cars, shooting and a fairly simple goal to earn as much money as possible by robbery in a certain amount of time. GTA 3 and add-ons ( Vice city, San Andreas, Liberty City stories- each actually pulled for a full-fledged continuation) became one of the best games with "free" gameplay. In the role of the main character, we found ourselves in a huge city (and in the case of San Andreas, the whole state), where we could do almost anything: wander the streets, steal cars, perform plot and additional missions... Moreover, the variety of tasks was simply amazing: races, shootouts, surveillance, and much more. Here - and a good three-dimensional engine. Here is an amazing variety of everything and everyone, which did not allow the game to get bored until the very last moment.

A separate article in the "new" GTA was the plot. The hero of each part is an inhabitant of the criminal "bottom" of our world. Accordingly, there was no heroism in the game, no high morality - the hero had to go over the heads of his opponents (and sometimes some "friends"), face meanness, betrayal and respond with the same coin. Drugs, prostitution, dirty vocabulary, ethnic strife - for these and many other things, GTA repeatedly received the most stringent age ratings and found itself in the center of high-profile scandals. Although in fact the developers of the series, the Rockstar studio, simply showed us all the wrong side of the world in which we all live - not very neat, woven from the remnants of ridiculous "gangster romance", ridicule of everyday problems and stereotypes and a huge amount of truth. Finishing the story about the plot, it is worth noting one more signature feature - a luxurious presentation. Beautifully written characters, quality video direction, really unexpected twists - in all this, Rockstar has taken the highest quality bar available only the best representatives gaming industry.

The public expected from GTA 4, first of all, a technological breakthrough. Developed for next-generation consoles, the game was finally able to afford what it desperately needed: a modern graphics engine that delivered a shameful image. This, of course, happened (see the corresponding paragraph below). But another pleasant event happened - an unexpected leap in the quality of gameplay, in the approach to its development. With this, things were good and in previous parts series, but GTA 4 was still able to surpass them.

What is it about?

In the foreign press about the plot of GTA 4 they probably write - "traditional for the series." You can't do that in Russia. The fact is that as soon as after the opening cutscene citizen Gluck’oza starts shouting from the columns of the color "Ain-Zwai-Dri", you understand - the fourth part of the series is about us, Russians.

The main character, Niko Belich, is from Serbia. He arrives in Liberty City and settles with his brother Roman, in Hove Beach, the Russian district of that city. The real analogues of the first and second are New York and Brighton Beach, and it is worth noting how well they were recreated in the game. In the city, albeit in a somewhat parody form, there are many of the main attractions of New York. The atmosphere is also felt - from district to district it changes, instead of business "jackets" on the street there are idly staggering dark-skinned or unshaven men, excellently swearing in Russian. At the same time, the environment has become noticeably livelier - the characters are not just playing the role of scenery, but are trying with all their might to create the impression that real life is in full swing here.

But back to the plot. Roman is a loser in life, a merry fellow and a joker - just vlez v dolgi and almost immediately after the start of the game he has a voznikayut problemi. Niko, a veteran of one of the post-Soviet local wars, has to stand up for his brother. Well, then off we go - mission after mission sucks us into the criminal whirlpool of Liberty City.

All this was done, as always, beautifully. Each character we meet on the way is unique, unlike others and is capable of presenting many surprises. The commercials, thanks to the new engine, have become stunningly similar to the film - and the film with very good actors and excellent direction.

How is it played?

In general, the concept remains the same: you can move around the huge city as you like, while on the map there are always invitingly looming several symbols indicating the story characters who are ready to give a mission. Assignments great amount, but, according to the sensations, they became somewhat monotonous and simpler - although with all this, Rockstar did not abandon the not very interesting idea, when, when replaying a mission, we sometimes have to travel half of the city first to the person giving it, and then roll from there to place of execution.

Some of the uniformity of missions is compensated by a bunch of very different things. Firstly, this is the plot - it is so addictive that you can drive up to the final video, performing the same mission in general. Secondly, Rockstar still hasn't forgotten how to make masterpieces out of some tasks - in addition to the usual chases, shootouts and races, there is, for example, a mission in which, in order to understand which of those niggas we have to kill , you need to carefully take a photo on a mobile phone, send it to the customer and receive instructions. Modern technologies are also actively used: by hijacking a police car, you can get access to the cops' database and pick up a lot of interesting things there, and with the help of the Internet, for example, we make acquaintance with a young man of not quite traditional orientation, whom we are asked to kill in the next assignment. There are only a few percent of such missions in GTA 4, but they leave an unforgettable impression.

An interesting idea from Rockstar is that the relationship with the characters is directly dependent on the player's actions. Niko has a mobile phone with which you can call any of your acquaintances and invite him somewhere: have a snack, play billiards, or, for example, watch a show in a cabaret. And the comrades themselves do not forget about us and regularly call with counter offers, and often not at the most opportune moment. The more often we communicate with someone, the better he treats us. The girls flare up ardent feelings, but stern men can easily help with the implementation of the next mission. The only drawback of such a system is that if you try to be friends with everyone in a row, then there is no time left to complete the main plot. You have to make a choice in favor of a couple of the most useful people at the moment.

As a result, you simply stop noticing the monotony of tasks - the main thing is not to rush headlong through the plot, but to enjoy all the possibilities of the game. In the evening, after another bloody bath, you call your girlfriend, go with her to a nightclub, where you get drunk. The way back is an exciting fight with the car. The reward for the trip is a creaking bed and moans like "oh-oh, you're the best, Niko!" The next morning - breakfast with the rastaman Jacob (he helped a lot on one of the recent missions, do not forget this), and then a visit to the Internet cafe, a long search for suitable candidates on the dating site (the old girlfriend is tired) and a few minutes to answer the letter mothers from distant Serbia. Then a trip to the gun store - to replenish the arsenal. Then - a visit to another acquaintance for a story mission ... which is interrupted two blocks later when Niko notices an old acquaintance on the sidelines selling on the street.

This is the main change in GTA 4 - we really have a game about life in the city. The plot and the corresponding missions here are just one of the elements of this life. Probably the most important, but far from the only one.

Another rather important improvement in GTA 4 is combat system... By latest fashion in game shootings, shelters are actively used. Niko can hide behind corners, crouch behind low barriers, fire as peeking out of them, or in general at random. Physics plays an important role in shootouts, but that's the topic of the next chapter.

What does it look and sound like?

Technologically GTA 4, oddly enough, has become noticeably more realistic. During shootouts, bullets can easily smash some fragile shelter or, for example, pierce a wooden door through and through. The corpses behave in a very exemplary manner - they fall beautifully and assume natural postures. Physics "reached out" to the control of cars - they became not as "cardboard" as in the previous parts. And this does not mean that driving in GTA 4 is more difficult, but rather more interesting.

The picture, oddly enough, can even cause disappointment for someone. When Rockstar promised GTA 4 on a completely new engine, many began to expect a revelation from it - something that boggles the imagination and opens up new horizons. In fact, even modern technology is not enough to reproduce the whole city in all its beauties - so some simplifications had to be made, and the GTA 4 picture looks noticeably duller than that of some high-tech shooter.

Traditionally, everything is fine with music. An excellent selection of tracks for a whole bunch of radio stations, good voice actors - what else do you need?

Game of the Year?

We will not guess, but GTA 4 is clearly one of the contenders for this title. For too long - four years - we waited for the sequel the next series... And it doesn't disappoint for a second - Rockstar really did a great deal to create an almost perfect simulator of gang life in a big city.

Platform discrimination

PC is the last platform that GTA 4 has brought its attention to. console versions, released in the spring on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, were practically twins - the only thing was that the game showed slightly better performance on the Sony console (some Xbox 360 apologists, however, dispute this statement with a roar). But on the Xbox 360 from the very beginning, a unique additional content was announced - several small add-ons (the first will be released on February 17) with an additional storyline and other features.

The PC version also boasts some goodies. Firstly, it is, of course, an improved engine - new special effects have been added, the game environment has become more diverse, and a powerful editor is also promised.

pros

• Amazing variety - there's always something to do in Liberty City
• Great plot
• Many small and pleasant finds
• New engine

Minuses

• Sometimes missions are too monotonous