GTA V: 10 Reasons You Should Still Be Playing GTA IV

1. Niko Bellic

Niko is a big bone of contention amongst GTA fans. Some think he€™s the best since Ray Liotta€™s legendary turn as Tommy Vercetti in Vice City. Some think he's one of the worst there's been. Yet sales figures speak for themselves; there's clearly something about a one Mr. Bellic that made us all go out and open our wallets when GTA IV was released. He€™s tough as nails, fiercely loyal to his family and doesn€™t take shit from anybody, yet underneath all that he€™s surprisingly sweet and tender. I mean, if you just ignore the mass murder, aggravated assault, extortion and intimidation, then he€™s really not a bad guy at all right? One of the reasons GTA IV resonated so deeply with some and alienated so many others is in just how different it is from previous games in the series. III, Vice City and San Andreas were linked intrinsically to Americana but IV succeeded in taking the franchise in whole new international directions. Tapping into contemporary anxieties over immigration and criminality Niko escapes one war in his native land of - he€™s been interpreted as Serbian, Russian and Croation and although he speaks Serbian, he€™s referred to as a Balkan, so let€™s just say - Eastern Europe and falls right into another in Liberty City. It€™s a different kind of war, fought in the streets, the offices, the boardrooms instead of the battlefield but it€™s a war all the same. Niko himself is emblematic of the fact that the American dream is no longer strictly American and through him Rockstar prove once again that they€™ve get their middle finger pressed firmly against the pulse of the zeitgeist. So there's our offer. We're still playing IV and still will be, most likely until V shows up to take it's place! You can follow all our Grand Theft Auto coverage on our dedicated GTA V hub page. Get on it!