Grand Theft Auto 4 s probably one of those games I should've reviewed years ago when I first played it, but I also imagine it would've been received much worse considering the state of the PC version. While I'm on the subject it's only fair to emphasize I modded the game with GTA4 Reborn mod which largely handles all the [now] leftover GfWL/XBox Live issues, bug fixes and restored some content like all the songs Rockstar in their expiring licenses wisdom saw fit to remove. Real question is how much can you fix a game that has such deep core issues related to its platform and does it stand the test of time after a decade of open world progress? Well... let's find out, cousin.

Following my usual format story is up first, but honestly if you have any GTA experience you can kinda tell where it's going – start from rags and become a very rich person or disappear anonymously.

This fourth installment does its own thing with a certain twist ending, but that's clearly spoiler territory so we won't go there. In any case, we assume the role of Niko Belic escaping his history concerning Yugoslav Wars shenanigans and who has some pretty bitter memories on the matter as he finds his way to Liberty City where his famed cousin Roman is living the high life. Except it all ends up being fanciful tales considering he barely owns a taxi service and has to deal with pushy Russian mobsters. Well, NB being the protagonist that he is, things certainly take a turn following his arrival and it's not long before he gets to pursue a certain obsession that has essentially ruined his life – track down the person who betrayed him back during the war and got his other friends killed in the process of selling them all out. This becomes the proagonist's primary motivation when you're not being an errand boy for everyone under the sun with their greed and need.

Which is already where my problems start to rear their ugly head. Story in GTA4 isn't really that good and never goes beyond the basic level it starts out. That department is carried more by whether you care about the main cast or not... which could be said about all the Grand Theft Autos from 3 onward, though. And I do care about Niko. Roman less so, but they make for a great dynamic duo until the game kinda forgets about them after the first third or so after which you get mired neck deep in the affairs of organized crime simply because you want to get paid. I'll touch on this more when I get to discussing actual systems and gameplay. Let's just say you're not really working for all that useful payout, so real currency you're looking for are interesting character stories. GTA4 thankfully delivers on those in spades even if they end up being little more than criminal/national stereotypes at their core. From your friendly Rastafari masquerading as a mobile weapon shop to myriad of Italian/Russian/Irish gangsters and other small time pushers. They all have missions that desperately require someone to solve them and you happen to be available. I would like to point out there are story choices on multiple occasions, but only the very last one truly matters in a sense it determines the ending. Meaning it's not some extensive investment to see both of them unfold.

I feel like any city GTA game is set in almost acts as if it were a character in its own right so Liberty City deserves some attention. Definitely not one of my favorites. It goes without saying the city is based on New York City, albeit representing four out of five boroughs, but I'm not a fan of it being so heavily urbanized and split onto islands. Meaning you're always crossing bridges and I can only assume it may have something to do with hiding loading times because it ended up annoying me and just taking taxis to distant locations was far easier than driving there myself. That's a problem in a game where hijacking cars and driving are both kind of a big deal.

While I'm on the subject I might as well transition into gameplay itself.

Before anything else is said there's a HUGE elephant in the room that has to be addressed – driving physics. I cannot emphasize strongly enough how mad they drove me and were going to play a major role in rating GTA4 negatively as I set out to play the game even back in the day. Until they just stopped annoying me one day as I realized it simply took time to, as kids say these day, “get good” at driving. Not all cars were manufactured equal and you really end up looking for those better, premium cars that handle better overall. Where game makes a misstep is missing any form of car customization past getting a new paint job. I feel like at least some of the inherent problems with these driving physics, where most cars handle like tanks trying to ice skate, could have been alleviated with customization where you get to tweak things like breaks, suspension, etc. Alas such system is absent from the game and it takes a while until good cars become easily available. Thankfully, you can at least store them in front of your apartment(s). It is worth noting there are also bikes, helicopters and boats in the game with airplanes being suspiciously absent. Less said about helicopter controls the better. I just don't get what is it with Rockstar and helicopter controls, but there was little fun to be found in matching altitude while dodging rockets and trying to hit my target with the machine gun simultaneously.

Second-most thing you'll be doing is shooting, naturally. This entry sees the first modern implementation of a sticky system for the series and naturally there were some bumps left to iron out in the future. After pressing the cover button Niko will stick to the nearest viable cover from which you can then shoot wildly or take aim for more accurate shots. Standard fare for modern TPS so far. My problem with the system was this weird [lack of] accuracy if you take your time to aim shots because you kinda have to take into account Niko has to make a move to “step out” of the cover to actually fire which throws off your aim. It's something you learn to compensate for, but bullets basically won't be landing precisely where you've aimed them at. Speaking of movement this ties into the way protagonist moves about as GTA4 embraces that slow, almost weight-based movement some don't like. I didn't mind it, but it certainly takes a while to get used to coming from snappy arcade approach of older 3D titles in the series. One thing I do not like is walking being the game's default movement speed and having to constantly keep a button pressed to run or, god help us, mash the button to sprint. Analog sticks were in use so why couldn't have that range of motion been used instead? At least basic running. It comes off as one of many pet peeves it would probably take Rockstar a game or two to figure out fully.

Earlier I spoke about how money isn't really your reward for doing things in the game. Except it is, but you have nothing to spend it on. Game loves to shower you in cash, and even netting you real nice lump of change after the final mission, but unlike previous games where you could buy real estate to serve as a noticeable money sink, once you buy the clothes you want there's nothing to invest any of it here. This is not helped by the fact game gives you apartments, where you sleep to advance time/save and change clothes, for free as the story progresses. I kept saving my money wondering when I'd be able to spend it all only to be disappointed. This problem kinda extends past financial matters into the game as a whole – I feel like GTA4 ended up being too boring, too mundane in its pursuit to be serious. I mean, unless you really like hunting those 200 pigeons and have given up on life. Even customary taxi and police missions, along with Brucie getting you into the car stealing business, feel like they barely make a difference in the overall content drought unless story was what you signed up for in the first place.

So you've been reading up to this point and probably thinking “Whoa, that's a lot of negatives!”. You're right. Problem is that positives in GTA4 are actually under the hood or simply far too outweighed by the negatives to make a difference.

Euphoria system, for example, is one of those sadly forgotten gems that combined physics, adaptable animations and AI to create true semblance of a living world, eschewing pre-determined animations and overt recycling thereof. It also permeates the entirety of the GTA4 experience and is mind blowing once you actually realize how it's working. Shove button is in the game for a reason. I wish it was used for more tangible things than that seeing as it makes for a very immersive addition that never goes past that, though.

I'll finish this with a quick summary of the PC port. In short? Pretty low on the totem pole of ports out there. I'm grateful for not having to play the game in the state it was released in, but even modded and with the benefit of a modern PC it still has issues like reliably unreliable framerate that varies all over the place, even more awkward vehicle controls with M&K, etc. Most of the problems lie on the technical side of things and I have found solutions but some, like uncapping the framerate to get around jerky performance, leads to further comedic situations like camera zooming in extensively during cutscenes. Its a mess all-around and I would not recommend playing the vanilla version if you ever intended to play GTA4 on PC.

Final Thoughts and Rating?

Even modded GTA4 still has problems with the PC version and performance-wise you will definitely be able to tell. You're looking at a title serving as a solid example of budding practices from the last generation, except made by Rockstar so it has that level of attention and care they're known for. Still, expect brown & bloom everywhere paired with very acquired taste driving mechanics and a cover system too sticky for its own good. It is not a bad game and definitely has impressive elements like Euphoria usage, but overall there are too many strikes against it and minor annoyances unless you really want to see the leap series made from its PS2 days. I would argue most of those leaps were backwards despite impressive production, but that's just me.