Before GTA V: 20 Greatest Achievements In Grand Theft Auto IV

15. Lowest Point

GTA7 In all seriousness, this is a really depressing achievement. Essentially, Rockstar is rewarding you for totally screwing up Roman's life. Perhaps it's a humorous attempt to shrug off the misery of having your apartment and business burnt to the ground. Perhaps Rockstar is actually a bunch of emotionless monsters who find pleasure in watching other people suffer. Regardless, this mission - and its accompanying achievement - introduce the player to a previously unseen side of Roman. For once, you actually feel bad for the poor sap. Simultaneously, you feel guilty. Why? Because you're just as much to blame as Roman is for his life going south. This is a highly emotional mission, so perhaps that is why Rockstar decided to give you a gold medal for completing it. I wonder if they give you a real trophy if you cry hysterically during the cutscenes...

14. No More Strangers

GTA8 Rockstar's last two games - Grand Theft Auto IV (and its expansions) and Red Dead Redemption have made much use of strangers and random side-quests. With IV, one of the achievements Rockstar set is to scrounge Liberty City to find all of the bizarre beings that crawl out of the grimy underworld and request your assistance. They range from drug addicts to psychotic ex-wives to street musicians. Rockstar makes sure there is never a dull moment in the lives of Liberty City inhabitants. There are fourteen strangers that can be helped - three of which can be killed during the story and thus may or may not appear as strangers. This achievement can be fulfilling for some or stressful for others. Personally, I always wind up backtracking when I see a stranger's symbol appear on the minimap. Others will intentionally murder the stranger (quite brutally) just to avoid accidentally talking to them. Regardless, the inclusion of strangers adds a nice touch of interactivity, and a few more ways of wasting time. And the nice silver achievement is pretty, too.
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Contributor

Sam took a four-year hiatus from writing for What Culture, but has returned ready to go. Sam created, produced, wrote, directed, and starred in the video game show Press Start during his years at university and continues to contribute material. He has self-published several books, and has written for other online magazines. Sam can be contacted via email at sam.tuchin@gmail.com, followed on Instagram @casthimnew or Twitter @antellopenguin