Nostalgia is a hell of a drug, but man, this game tests my patience.
I originally played GTA4 on the Xbox 360 back around 2009-2013. I was just a kid back then, messing around with friends I met on the GameFAQs and GameSpot forums. We did so many stupid things that modern gamers probably wouldn't find fun, but honestly, the multiplayer online mode was the best part of the whole game. I recently bought it here on Steam hoping to relive those golden memories, and looking back at it now, I have a massive mix of good and bad feelings.
First, the good stuff: the story of Niko Bellic is incredible. He is easily the most tragic protagonist in the whole GTA franchise and probably the one who suffered the most. Liberty City itself is just this great, depressing satire of the "American dream" - everything is grey, gritty, and hard. There’s no magical happy ending here, which honestly makes it feel a lot closer to real life. I can see why the game felt a bit stripped down compared to San Andreas, too. It’s obvious Rockstar was using this as a testbed for new physics, the phone mechanics, and random side stuff to lay the groundwork for GTA5.
But wow, there is a lot to complain about:
* The economy is totally pointless. Unlike Vice City, San Andreas, or GTA 5, you can't buy businesses or houses. You end up with millions of dollars and literally nothing to spend it on except clothes, food, and guns.
* Then there's the gameplay. Even though I eventually mastered the driving, it still feels awful, like you're constantly sliding around on solid ice. The traffic AI is actively out to get you, especially the cops who seem to purposely swerve into you just to start a chase. Speaking of bugs, I recently had the police search ring get permanently stuck on my map for 20 minutes while I was flying a helicopter. It didn't matter that I was dodging between skyscrapers or that the nearest police chopper was two islands away; they just wouldn't lose me. The game only fixed itself when I finally landed, got out, and stole a car.
* If you are a completionist, this game will break you. I was going for 100% completion (maxed out 5 girlfriends and all other friends), but the game completely blocked me. I got stuck at 13/14 random encounters because I passed a certain story milestone and a specific character related to the diamond storyline just vanished from the map forever. On top of that, Dwayne completely bugged out. I checked guides, did everything right, but he just never called, texted, or emailed me back.
* The map layout doesn't help either. Having only one "Pay n Spray" per island is a nightmare when you're trying to do Stevie's 30 car deliveries and Brucie's emails. No matter how slow and careful I drove, the chaotic traffic always found a way to ding the car right before I arrived.
* And don't even get me started on the final mission. The complete lack of checkpoints between the combat, driving, and helicopter phases is infuriating. I don't know how I passed this mission when I was a kid, guess it was a controller magic. And yes, cheats are fun and all but I didn't use them during my playthrough, tried to be nice :) But after failing over and over because of clunky mechanics, I just gave up on it. (Also, if you play the DLCs, the mission scoring system in The Ballad of Gay Tony is equally annoying if you want 100%).
Still, even with all that frustration, the classic Rockstar sandbox comedy is unmatched. Yesterday, I yanked an NPC out of his car to steal it. The guy immediately fought back and pulled me right back out. A nearby police car saw him do it, arrested him instead of me, and drove away with the poor guy in the back seat while I just sat there in his car. I felt bad, but it was hilarious.
Despite all the negative stuff, I would still recommend this game to anyone just because the plot and the atmosphere are so amazing. It’s a frustrating, clunky experience, but it’s still worth playing.
