Difficult to get my footing even
enough to commence such a splash making title, I suppose I should start with
the controversy. As we’re all aware at this point, the AU release of GTAIV has
had a hefty portion of its majesty stripped away in the trek from Rockstar’s
workbench across to our collectively clammy hands, while I myself am still
somewhat foggy on the specifics of the censorship, I am however aware that much
of the near photo real violence has been dropped.
Aside from the sure boost in hype
the censorship of a game surely creates (at a mob capacity), grasping the game
as the individual (myself) I’ve been typically surprised with this zealously
anticipated installment into Rockstar’s famous murder simulator series.
Actually, no, surprised just wasn’t a rich enough sift through my journalistic
wank bank, lets go with aghast.
For all jaded game connoisseurs
of the now, hype concerning the next big milestones on the gaming horizon
usually assault our ears like petrol soaked steel wool; we make it our own
personal mission to remain skeptical and uninterested for the entire duration
of its media development, we don’t want to get swept away by the escalating
intrigue feeding our desire for culpable, irresponsible simulation. Eventually
though, we can’t deny the fact that we really would have a whole butt load of
fun cruising round a real-time scale American satire, encouraged to dabble with
the hypothetical breaking, nay mugging of the law and ultimate power over life
and death rashly entrusted to our blood thirsty gamer claw fingers.
Firstly, I like to place myself squarely in between gamers
and/or developers currently writing and/or playing new installments of the
Biblequest series and those currently writing/playing/jerking off to some sort
of independent baby killing simulator. Having positioned myself sufficiently I
can say next, without reproach, that GTAIV is a masterfully crafted videogame.
Excessively gratuitous of course, though anyone aware of the depth of research
into the comings and goings of a major American city that Rockstar have put to
good use, or the complicated, delicate and almost restrictive physics engine
they have built, could surely appreciate this title. After taking my first
cruise around the docks, watching some bad television in the apartment and
making my first few contacts in the big smoke, tearing up the gutters
Carmageddon style was hardly my next craving. The plume lighting, subtle motion
blurs and velocity related physics cultivating the rare feeling of a motor
vehicle’s actual weight would stop anyone in their tracks. I’ve seen few games
so far that truly do yank your big dumb mouth open and wrench you from the game
track for lengthy spells of sight seeing. GTAIV has finally provided a game
that will ground, even the most impatient gamers, into taking a slow stroll and
marveling at the breathtaking care that has gone into a stoop out the front of
some shithole downtown, or the specularity on the back of a guys head you just
clumsily ran into on the street.
I could almost go as far as to
say that the GTA’s have finally become sophisticated enough to put them above
their reputation as a series of epic genocide encouraging, crime celebrating
blood baths. After marveling at the leap they’ve made from GTAIII to IV
something quite strange happened to me; Niko’s racially stereotypical cousin
Roman made a crass observation at my driving Mrs. Daisy grade skills behind the
wheel of his Taxi. At which point I realized that the streets we were
traversing captured the depressing nature of a real ghetto, so beautifully that
I didn’t want to go speeding through and miss the hard work, that the car was
so close to the handling of a real life sluggish shit bomb, I could kill us
both if I was to engage in any reckless driving, that every person walking the
streets had their own individually comical profanity to spit at my face if I
jostled them, that I had all day to cruise round and check out the new and
improved Liberty City and didn’t want to send fifty people over my bonnet
before having my wheels bashed across a highway by cop cruisers, while on fire.
There was just no need. And you will catch yourself doing the same once you’ve
played GTAIV for the initial ten minutes, you’ll take your time, you’ll see the
sights and you commit lots of crimes sure, but not the kind that have three
digit death tolls and require the national guard to bring you in.
As far as the whole committing a
crime aspect goes, the LCPD can and will break your ass with extreme prejudice,
when and if you fail to keep your nose clean. In my first five minutes of
stumbling round, familiarizing myself with the new levels of controll
complication, I accidentally bumped into some surly old Slavic guy in the block
behind Roman’s pad which ensued in a fist fight, which in turn was followed
swiftly by a shout to freeze, which was conclusively followed by my foolish
attempt to leg it, resulting in Niko being shot dead while resisting. Come to
think of it, the only few times I have since deemed it a just enough scenario
to break the law and dangerously boot my current vehicle above third, would
have been during high speed police chases. Though there isn’t much chasing to
be done when your car handles like a sack of crap and becomes a hurtling death
log of doom above 20 clicks.
This is just the point though,
for the first time ever Rockstar have released a game so entrenched in
real-time physics, laws and repercussions that I (speaking for myself, as a
gamer) don’t want to go postal, not even just to see what happens. I want to
make good for Niko, I want to abide by the law in public and meet shady
individuals behind closed doors, I want to dress up as nicely as I can and be
on time for my dates, take her out for good conversation and not thrash her car
on the way home.
Its very hard to say anything
negative about this game, which puts me in an even worse position now I
suppose, as the GTA’s have traditionally been the games we love to hate
publicly. I suppose a follow up article might be in order once I’ve completed
the game.
~BM