Released virtually without hype, it’s still managed to be one of 2008’s most-anticipated video games. Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA), the latest offering in the controversial franchise fromRockstar Games, came out at midnight, with many stores open to sell it – an indication of its popularity. Reviewers were only allowed to playit at Rockstar’s offices – no review copies were sent out – but they didn’t let that restriction stop them from raving about the game. Eurogamer summed it up by commenting, “GTA IV is the 10/10 you were expecting. Almost everything you do in Liberty City would be good enough to drive itsown game, and the best parts would be good enough to outrun the competition, but the reason it works so well is that Rockstar has made a game that requires no patience to play.” Itpraises “the best script in the series” and the refinements, such as making the cell phone central to the game, not merely as a device for making calls and texting (while you drive, ofcourse), but as a tool for maneuvering between gameplaying and activities. The New York Times calls the game “a violent, intelligent, profane,endearing, obnoxious, sly, richly textured and thoroughly compelling work of cultural satire disguised as fun” and points out that this time “the real star of the game is the city itself.It looks like New York. It sounds like New York. It feels like New York. Liberty City has been so meticulously created it almost even smells like New York. From Brooklyn (called Broker), throughQueens (Dukes), the Bronx (Bohan), Manhattan (Algonquin) and an urban slice of New Jersey (Alderney), the game’s streets and alleys ooze a stylized yet unmistakable authenticity.” Reviewer Seth Schiesel concludes by saying “It all adds up to a new level of depth for an interactive entertainment experience. I’ve spent almost 60 hours practically sequestered in a(real world) Manhattan hotel room in recent weeks playing through Grand Theft Auto IV’s main story line and the game still says I have found only 64 percent of its content. I won’t everreach 100 percent, not least because I won’t hunt down all 200 of the target pigeons (known as flying rats here) that the designers have hidden around the city.”
