Grand Theft Auto IV

Is it really worth this much hype?

	Version Xbox 360, PS3	Developer Rockstar North	Publisher Rockstar	Genre Action

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All of the drama takes place in a game world that is believably lived-in, perhaps as captivating as New York itself. After the superb opening credits - odd as it may sound - it's the scenic cab rides that will make you fall in love with Liberty City in the first instance. It seems so passive, but just the joy of being driven home at night, your choice of radio station playing, looking out of the windows at the passing scenery and cityscape, is eerily realistic and frankly an experience you have never had before in a videogame. At least not like this. Of course, as the game progresses, there are eventually many other ways to take in the spectacular, superlative-exhausting views of Liberty City - in gritty detail on the ground, as well as on water and in the air. I guarantee that if you're playing now and still have a way to go, if your jaw has not yet dropped in a big way, those moments are right around the corner.

The satire for which the series is famed is perhaps funnier than ever in GTA IV's Liberty City, and makes for a uniquely fitting counterpoint to the game's serious characters and plot themes.

Presentation, in general, is another strong point. Aside from the game's trademark art style and universally loved aesthetic, I also admired the way that GTA IV does not even have a title screen. The first load of the game goes straight into the opening credits. It's all so clutter-free (even multiplayer is accessed from within a singleplayer story game, from your cell phone) while all the options, stats, brief and so on are neatly tucked away in the game's slick Pause area - something you'll visit frequently, since it's where you access the game map and set waypoints for your vehicle GPS or cab destination.

Contrary to one claim prior to release that there would be "no loading, ever", there are in fact occasional loading times. Not when walking from indoors to outdoors of course (as promised), but when going into a cut scene, or when skipping to an entirely different part of the city via cab. I only mention this as a positive, however, since this loading time is absolutely minimal - especially considering the vast amount of detail being loaded into memory. Certainly, the prowess of this game's RAGE-powered streaming engine is breathtaking.

The genuinely awesome power of the engine is not in question - even the most trivial scene is a technical marvel to behold. This has got to be the hottest technology in the industry right now for any sort of large-scale open world. Whether day or night, clear or stormy, distant or far, every detail is intelligently streamed in, filtered through, and dynamically lit with such incredible draw distance and such visual flare, you have to ask whether at this moment in time the RAGE engine may be as hot an asset as the GTA franchise itself for Take 2. Frequently, I said to myself, "Fuck me, that's genuine graphics - real geometry, real lighting, not a static painted background" - anywhere you can see, you can go. Technically and artistically, Liberty City is in a league of its own.

Of course, the list of GTA IV's visual accolades extends well beyond the detailed city and includes character detail and animation, and every last drop of motion capture (check out the performances in the comedy club - the comedians are hilarious in the way that they move, not just for their jokes). The frame rate is impressive and the camera is rarely a problem, even in indoor environments, and I was surprised at how far you can push the camera towards Niko without the model glitching or something slipping up.

In terms of audio production, this aspect of the game is so good it's basically a joke. The soundtrack, as you would expect from a GTA game, is both fitting and spectacular, and the game's original themes are perfect. The calibre of voice acting is by far and away the best I've ever experienced in a game - and a damn sight better than a large portion of movies these days as well. I don't know what else to say.

I did, however, have a gripe with the volume levelling. I guess this is a sound 'normalising' issue - basically, in-car the game is too loud compared to non-car aspects of the game like missions and cut-scenes, and normalising this would be advisable as I found I had to keep adjusting the volume to a comfortable level. Also it's always a strain to hear what is being said in conversations during vehicle travel, particularly in cell phone conversations, and especially if the music is on. It doesn't help that you are unable to turn off the radio once a phone conversation is initiated. I will admit I was only playing the game with a stereo speakers set up (and I know from playing at Rockstar that the 5.1 sound is spectacular - something I praised very heavily in my first preview) but then again, I have never had this volume issue with other games on my set-up. Presumably, it would be easy to patch this.

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