7. Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is Rockstar's introduction to the high-definition universe. From the opening cutscene, players feel enveloped by a completely new environment. They know they will be entering the gritty realism of crime, and breaking away from the exaggerated parodies that Rockstar had historically created. The second Niko Bellic gets in the car to drive Roman home, the player feels the change. Everything suddenly becomes realistic, and the once-ridiculous environments and situations that players once found themselves in as Tommy Vercetti or CJ disappear. GTA IV focuses
heavily on character development and follows a
very emotional storyline. For the first time in the GTA series, the protagonist has a backstory that plays an incredibly important role in the progression of the game. GTA IV also introduces several new features, such as random side missions from people on the streets. One of the most impressive aspects of the game, however, is the player's discretion. There are several points throughout the story that the player gets to choose how to handle a situation - does he save the petty crook or let him fall off the roof? Does he kill the crooked cop, or his drug-addicted brother? Does he take the deal or kill his nemesis? Whatever the choices are, they play important roles in the development of the main character and how the story unfolds. This was previously unheard of in the series - characters
had to kill Lance. They
had to kill Tenpenny. There was no choice. However, aside from the sheer beauty of the game, the fantastic storyline, and the incredible realism, GTA IV had a lot that could have been much better. Perhaps the game was
too realistic. At times, IV felt more like a melodrama and less like a GTA game. There was an overload of missions that included driving from point A to point B, and an underwhelming focus on missions like the famous Three Leaf Clover bank heist mission. There was also a major decrease in map size that shrunk Liberty City to at
most the size of Los Santos alone; vehicle customisation disappeared; and the only customisation for Niko was a few clothing stores scattered sparsely throughout the city with a very limited selection of attire. There was a lesser feeling of personal attachment and control of Niko, and more of a feeling of simply performing actions on his behalf. As innovative and fantastic as GTA IV was, there was more wrong with it (the overall gameplay) than right (the best story in the series) and puts it further down on the list than Rockstar perhaps would have intended.