3. Superior Driving Mechanics
Theres one sure fire way to make players come back to a game again and again. Its not in a gimmick, a concept or even a brand identity. Its in superior, satisfying and rewarding gameplay mechanics. And in GTA IV, Rockstar brings that to the table in spades. Its about as far removed from the more arcade-like driving mechanics of the previous games. It feels much more like a sim than an arcade driver; much more Gran Turismo than Sega Rally. And at first that basically translates into much more difficult. I can almost guarantee that on your first trip with Roman from the docks to his apartment you pretty much annihilated his cab, right? Dont worry. We all did. Yep, GTA IVs driving engine is hard to master, especially for the first few missions. But I believe it was the American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson who said that which we persist at doing becomes easier to do. When you finally wrap your head around driving in Liberty City youll eventually pull off that first 'handbrake-turn, down-a-narrow-alley and off-an-insane-stunt-jump' escapes from the cops. Thats the moment you'll realise that GTA IV might just have better driving mechanics than any other game of its ilk. And also the moment you realise that you need to change your underwear.