Customer Reviews

Grand Theft Auto IV Special Edition

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My review isn't about the game, but about what you get with the special edition:

Duffel Bag: Medium-Sized, black bag with a white Rockstar logo outside and a yellow-pattern lining on the inside...surprisingly very eye-catching design. This will make a great gym bag.

License Plate: Not as hard as the real license plate, but still sturdy enough to put on your wall or hit somebody with it.

Safe Deposit Box(with 2 keys): I'm very impressed with this item! I expected some cheap, easy-to-break deposit box, but it is very sturdy and hard to get into. I wouldn't trust my valuables with it, but its a nice box to use in your room to keep sensitive items away from other eyes. Somebody with a screwdriver and some time on their hands would be able to pry it open eventually, but still very stylish and modest safe deposit box.

RockStar keychain: 3-D letter "R" logo of Rockstar, which measues about one square inch.

"The Art of GTA" handbook: a very nice cloth hardcover booklet that shows how the game was made. Very interesting material inside.

"The Music of GTA4" CD: 16-tracks on this CD that comes with a carboard sleeve.

1 Free Month of XBOX Live! This wasn't listed as part of the offer, so I was surprised to see this. It is NOT A TRIAL and you can go to your Live account and simply add a month of XBOX Live Gold to your paid time.


Bottom Line: If you are a fan of GTA and have some money to spend, this is definetely worth an extra $30, especially with an extra month of XBOX Live included.

Packaging first:

You get the game itself, a small duffel bag, a small but informative hardcover art book, a cd with music selections from the game and my favorite item, a safety deposit box complete with a pair of keys and a cool Rockstar Games logo keychain. This in itself makes the special edition of GTA IV worth purchasing over the standard edition.

As for the game?

Consider me blown away. As if the movie quality story of the single player mode isn't enough, now you can experience the thrills and spills of Liberty City with 15, count 'em, 15 other people (a first for GTA games on consoles) and it's unlike any other multi-player experience I've ever had. From the moment I went online with this title, I was instantly won over by the sheer insanity on display before me. If you are familiar with the GTA series at all, then you already know how dynamic and unpredictable events can be. Now imagine what a room full of 16 people adds to that formula of uncertainty and you have in your hands a game that will give you hundreds of hours of gameplay in your future. The graphics and sound are a new benchmark for the series and the amount of detail in your surroundings is enough to make you want to stop and smell the roses. The soundtrack especially, is pure genius. If there's one nitpick to be made, it may be that the controls aren't pitch perfect (especially the cover system, which almost works in your enemies favor when you wind up taking cover on the wrong side of the wall you're against). Still, the controls are still pretty great in their own right, tiny quirks aside. You'll still be able to do just about everything you want to in the game.

Seriously, if this is the future of multiplayer and videogames in general, I'm almost afraid to see what Rockstar will serve us next. This game is a five star title all the way. The best part is that it lives up to all the hype that has preceded it and is without a doubt, money well spent.

I am sure most people know and have heard of the Grand Theft Auto series. So skipping sraight to the point, this game is fun from the beginning and never stops. It builds from all the previous tittles and adds so much more details and realism its astonishing. Regardless if you like progressing through an actually interesting and engaging storyline(1st time for GTA) or creating havoc in Liberty City, you will not be dissapointed. Thats what everything boils down to. If you want to know about some "cool" (aka violent/destructive) things you can do, read on.
What brings this game to life is the amazing amount of detail. Just pay close attention and you will see civilians quarrel, car accidents happen, people being arrested, etc. all without the player having to do anything. In one instance, I recall accidentaly punching a female civilian only to have all the other civilians come after me, out. Outnumber I decided to run only to be chased by a small mob. So I decided to hijack a car. As I was getting into the car, one of the civilians I was being chased by reached in. I began to accelerate the car and the door slammed shut on the civilians arm clamping him to the door. When I noticed him dangling with him arm jammed in the door I decided to swerve next to a car. The civilian's body made impact with the oncoming car which succesfuly removed him from the car and splattered blood on the oncoming car's windshield. If you crash your car into explosives, you will see a beautiful slow motion view of your exploding car in midair.Its movie-like details that come to life that truly awe the player. And although this may sound too violent, etc. its the main reason people play GTA. open-end world. Aside from all the cool details one may discover through the game, the develepors also fixed many of the annoying details of past GTA games. Free im is now possible, the there is an enjoyable multiplayer, you cant dissapear from the cops simply by driving into a pay-n-spray, and many more. Parents, if the scene described above disturbs you, then go for mario kart. Everyone else, you will never run out of things to do, and the fun never stops. GTA IV is sanbox king.

Since everyone copies GTA, I think RS could look around and take some of the better ideas other games have, not just sandboxes. I think Scarface and Saints Row are the standout clones of the past. Here's a couple I can think of:

1. After you finish the story allow a separate "mission select" game save where you can pick and choose any mission in the game, not unlike Rainbow Six Vegas' "scene selection" premise. Just minus out the before and after cut scenes to basically make it like the assassin missions.

2. Allow direct saving via the cell phone at any time. It's lame to have to go to the apartment and watch the little sleeping scene to just save. I know that it auto saves but I've had it lose some of my save before to have to redo 2 or more missions after it supposedly auto saved. I don't think this would make the missions too easy as most of the time you cant really use the phone during missions anyways, someone will show up and shoot you before you get to it.

3. Come out with a simple easy to use custom mission creator pack for modders that is cross platform after the PC version comes out. With XBoxLive and whatever PS3 uses for online, people could buy/sell/give away created missions/scenarios. It would be a great value and XBL/PS3/Rockstar could charge a small commission for the transaction to get their piece. I wish they would have done expansion packs for San Andreas in the long years between games or had an easy to use modders pack. Obviously this would have to have some sort of disclaimer as to the "hot coffee" stuff, but come on this is GTA. Most people would agree that murder is a LOT worse than sex anyways, but the authorities in the country have it grossly backwards.

4. Have some more sophisticated missions that don't just involve go here/kill everyone/run from police scenario we all know is basically the GTA MO. Look at Assassin's Creed or Thief and get some idea. I wish there was more sniping missions/side missions. Don't get me wrong, the combat in this game is much more satisfying than previous games with the cover system. Not sure exactly because I don't have specific examples but I think you can just look around at other games and get ideas.

5. Make a simple all or nothing decision about the customization. None of this half way stuff like in 4, more like the all the way like in SA. I suppose the big thing is by about half way you have way more money than you can use to buy anything, why can't I scrimp to buy an Infernus any time I want? Or advanced weapons(M4 scope/rocket launcher, laser pointer)? I'd like to trick out my Comet/Porsche with better rims/acceleration/brakes and a custom uploaded paint job. I want a phone that has more options like a keyboard so I can see the internet anywhere or watch the TV anywhere. What about a 500000 store only non-spawning race car that handles like an F1 car?

This is a must have game and is awesome but needs to be developed more like the post GTA3 versions.

So as much as I love this game, what are the "flaws" I mentioned in the title? Well, let me start off with the bad news first:

-The vehicle control sucks. Every time you try to stop the car, it spins around. This is really frustrating, becaus sometimes you'll try to stop yourself from getting a wanted level.

-The hand-to-hand combat system is a real joke. You can seriously play through the hand-to-hand combat parts blind-folded. All you have to do is smash the X button several times. The character moves on his own.

-The game is a bit too short. About 6 hours in, you're already halfway through.

So why did I give this game 4 stars? Well, here goes:

-The graphics are amazing. They look realistic, and are a HUGE step up from GTA 1-3, VC, SA, and LCS.

-The voice acting is incredible! Niko sounds amazing, as does Michelle.

-The music is great too, especially the intro music.

-The gameplay is great, although a bit repetitive, still very great.

-The ending is the best video game ending in years.

Allthogether, if you look past the flaws, then this is an amazing game, and GTA in its top form.

Never before in a Game have you really felt like the character was really alive, at least, not like this. Immediately as the credits roll, you are Niko Bellic, a rough around the edges man with a past he's trying to escape for a new life in Liberty City. There's something to him, the sound of his voice, his body language, that even while you aren't playing, or even as you are, there's another layer there, something that seems-believe-it-or-not, very very human, as if you were watching and controlling a real tiny person trapped within your television set.
I find myself drawn to thinking about him and the other characters while I'm not even playing the game, while I'm at work, or on the John. The game is THAT captivating. It has a wonderful style and flair and the story is Oscar-worthy easily, if not some of the best dialogue I've heard spoken. It's both funny and serious, a dramatic satire of America, laced with the same poison that runs through our own culture.
The Graphics and Game play are amazing, and like some people have said, the only drawback is a little problem with the cover system, but it's easy to forget when you are so captivated by the sights and sounds of Liberty City.
This is the game to define the series, a fully meta-human experience, deeper Game play than I've ever seen or thought possible in a piece of interactive art. This game is pure magic, crafted by the some of the most talented artists.
Take the rough ride through GTA IV. Young or Old, it's for the mature mind looking for that next great story, the next level of Art & Entertainment in our times. It makes other games obsolete. Buy Grand Theft Auto IV, you won't be disappointed.

Each generation has its own videos, music, art, books and whatnot, to define it.

With modern society, games have started to become more of a culture and attraction than anything in the past. Anymore, a good game can easily compete, if not outsell, novels and cinematic bigscreen movies.

They are no longer animated-pixel "toys" to the modern world, and can tell a tale and show a world just as vast and creative as those in a movie or book.

And for a game like Grand Theft Auto 4, it not only disproves games are just for nerdy gamers, but its not much of a game at all, as it is a work of art. Quite simply, its the most stunning rendition of reality and the modern world in the face of crimes, gangs, and dilluted dreams of the "land of the free". As soon as you start the game, you will notice the character, Nikko, is alive, and the world around you breathes and moves like a typical stroll down a major city or coastline.

I could go on and on into detail, missions, control, story, but whats the point? It's so perfected, that nothing needs to be said other than "How did they do it?". It's literally breathtaking and awe-inspiring.

I've played 5 hours of it since yesterday, but I can can stand here and produly proclaim that this game is going to be the game that defines this era.

I used to beleive it was the original 1993 id software release DOOM that defined everything for the gaming community, and open up gateways for infinite possibilities for generations to come, but where as it changed the way we perceived and would play games, and what could be permitted in them, Grand Theft Auto 4 redefines by adding life to a game, the ability to step into your character and everything becomes suddenly aware as if you were there yourself.

Do yourself a favor, buy this game. And if you dont have a console to play it on, buy one, and experience it for yourself.

This game it the best 30 bucks ever, if u do not have this game u have not played video games. It has has the game, keychain, duffel bag, music, art work, and the SAFE which is very good and not plastic but metal.

The cars slide around wayyyy too much, the combat is a problem a lot of times, the main character doesn't move fast enough and sometimes awkwardly, and the camera angles changes direction, zooming in and out way too much during critical situations. Other than those things, the game is pretty good. So far, no one has the Grand Theft Auto series beat in creating a modern fully realized world. Good game Rockstar, just not great as some people think it is. Just work out a few bugs and i'm sure it will be a great game. With all the competition and technology getting better and better, you'd better hurry up before someone create a game that's similar and better than yours.

So, I live in Liberty City now in my mind. I drive crazy, I'm trigger happy, and I can survive jumping out of a helicopter if conditions are just right. Truly, I'm an addict.