jeriendhal | Notes on Grand Theft Auto 4

Trying to get back into the habit of daily postings again now that Holiday Hell is about over. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, I recently took advantage of Steam's 75% off holiday sale and downloaded GTA 4 for the PC. I can see why the game gained so many accolades while developing some controversy in the dedicated GTA fanbase. In the game, you're playing Nico, a ex-soldier from ~~Serbia~~ an unidentified Eastern European country who's trying to escape his demons by settling down in Liberty City. Unfortunately his past has moved ahead of him as he must deal with Russian gangsters and his useless brother Roman as he tries to make a new life for himself.

I'm less than a quarter way through this I think and all I can say is that the story is a helluva lot grittier than previous GTA games. Aside from Roman's pathetic bumbling and sexual innuendo, there's little humor to be found outside the radio channels, the story more akin to Eastern Promises rather than over the top homages to Scarface and various Hip Hop gangsta films.

But god, the detail in the game is amazing. THere's the huge map of an erzatz New York, filled with as many streets as the real one, with odd quirks like the concrete barriers lining the side of a bridge exit, looking just like something that was set there "temporarily" fifteen years ago, or the way a car stop in front of you and the driver casually dumps out the contents of his coffee cup onto the street. It's just fascinating to pause and watch the foot traffic go by.

And I haven't even opened up all of the city yet.