Rockstar Games, the company that has brought the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) franchise announced on its website the official release date of the fourth installment of the popular simulation-action game.
GTA IV is set to be released this coming April 29 on American shelves, several months after the initial release date of October 17, 2007.
GTA IV
On this version, players return to a redesigned Liberty City and following the storyline of an East European named Nikolai “Niko” Bellic. The story is that Niko was persuaded by his cousin Roman to come join him in America who was according to his e-mails living a “fabulous life”, upon arriving Liberty City he found out the truth and the mess he was in.
Players have a lot to look for in GTA IV, besides the spectacular graphics there are gameplay changes that was incorporated in GTA IV. First, is that unlike the previous games where the main protagonist can easily steal a car by opening the car’s door and violently taking out the driver/owner, Niko needs to smash the cars window and hot wire it before he could use it. The animation for this is varied and random because niko would need a different approach per car.
Another change is that avoiding the law is more complicated and realistic, unlike before where a pay n’ spray is the outlaw’s ticket to freedom, now Niko needs to be creative if he wants to shake the cops off his trail.
Also, bystanders on GTA IV are wiser and more diverse, you could see pedestrians drinking soda, eating snacks and even scratching their nose and coughing. They could also pedestrians can now report crimes.
An Ode to Gaming
These are some of the changes and improvements players could anticipate with its release.
Overall, the look and feel of the game is well worth the wait. It would seem that GTA IV is more realistic and apparently more challenging to play, but the game can only be enjoyed by those who have a Playstation 3 and an Xbox 360, which given the current gaming situation in the Philippines only by a limited number of people.
Rockstar has stayed mum on the question if they would release a PC version of the game.
