GTA4: Early review

Here are some of my first impressions on Grand Theft Auto IV:

Every videogame-reviewing company/magazine/Web site has scored the game highly, and IGN even gave it a 10, and has said it is the best game since Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time. Now, I didn't play OoT, so I don't know about that. I will say that, in about 6 or 7 hours of gameplay, GTA4 is very good. But that is no surprise. I have been unable to put it down, except that sleep and work have gotten in the way.

Before I talk about the new games, I'll talk a bit about the older ones. I didn't own any of the first three GTA games (or the expansion packs), but I did play them at a friend's house, and still have a soft spot for GTA2. To that point, I had pretty much just been playing sports games, Mario, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Sonic. An open-world game was a completely different thing for me, and I could spend hours running around with a flamethrower and drawing SWAT teams and helicopters after me.

I also played GTA3 at my friend's house, and mostly spent the time running around and building up my wanted level.

When I finally got a game myself, it was GTA: Vice City, and it was awesome. The storyline was great, as was just about everything else except for the fact that Tommy Vercetti couldn't swim. But the game is so massive that I got about halfway through before I got tired of it, and only would play when I felt like making a little mayhem that wasn't appropriate in the streets of Coshocton, or on Kent State campus. (Reading summaries of the game now, I guess I was a lot further along in the main story, but hadn't done a lot of the side missions.) Also, the 80's setting, music, cars and characters were awesome. I cruised around frequently listening to Michael Jackson...Come to think of it, that's what I do in real life now.

The next game was GTA: San Andreas, and I really just never got into it. I don't know if it was the setting, or if I didn't identify with the character (an African-American gangbanger from L.A....hmmmm.), or if it was that you were forced to lift weights frequently and eat healthy food in order to stay in shape. Now, I do like RPGs, but my GTA games need to have more action, more story and less fitness. I finished even less of that game than Vice City.

Then there were the three "Stories" games, which I never got into. Partially because I had moved back into paying attention to sports games, and switched my gaming allegiances to the Nintendo Wii.

So, when GTA4 was announced forever ago, I really didn't care. I was done with the series. Not that any of the games were bad — they had just worn out their welcome with me.

Then I got an Xbox 360, and then I started paying attention to previews about the game. In about March, I got intrigued, but decided I wouldn't spend the money. Then I read IGN's thumbs-up review, and pre-ordered my copy on Saturday.

I picked up the game during my lunch hour, but didn't get to play until 8:30 at night...Oh, the agony. I played until about 1 a.m., I think. Though maybe it was closer to 1:30. Everything about the game was just great. Correction: IS great. From the opening video, to the introduction of Niko and his cousin Roman, to the graphics and simultaneous beauty and grit of Liberty City, to the driving, shooting mechanics and cover system, everything is wonderful. Granted, I'm about 10 hours in right now, and have a good 20 to 30 more hours in the main story (probably closer to 30...I'm not that good at these games). And that's not counting the hours I could spend on killing sprees, watching TV, bowling, surfing the Web, playing darts, playing pool, going to the comedy club or going out drinking with my cousin.

AND: I haven't touched online multiplayer yet, which I've heard is amazing.

The real test, for me, will be to see whether I'm still interested in the game after another 10 hours of gameplay, which I could easily get this weekend, especially if it's rainy outside like it's supposed to be. In normal, non-sports games, I get tired of the game about half-way through. By all accounts, that shouldn't happen with GTA4. I hope. Till next time: Meet me in Liberty City.