Launched in 2008, “Grand Theft Auto 4” brought players back to the narrow streets and dimly lit cityscape that is Liberty City — this time in full HD. It proved to be a significant leap forward, taking advantage of Rockstar’s sparkly new RAGE engine for improved physics and graphical fidelity.
Although it has received many perfect scores, still sitting at a 98 Metacritic score, “GTA 4” lives on in the minds of most gamers as a relatively overrated experience. Imprecise driving, crazy (often even otherworldly) physics, and a dark tone all disappointed some with the first HD iteration of Liberty City.
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And yet, its tendrils can still be felt today, hilariously triggering a cultural shift as New York City and the world beyond became more dependent on modern technologies like cell phones, internet blogs, and directional GPS. It has long been a shining beacon and, despite its age, remains one of my personal favorites in the franchise.
For the past several months, I’ve been replaying “GTA 4” on PS3 (as we don’t have the remaster yet), reliving the dark and gloomy atmosphere of Rockstar’s first foray into HD world building. At this point, I can’t help but think that “Grand Theft Auto 6,” the 12th installment in the franchise and Rockstar’s next major hit, could benefit from using some of the elements that made its predecessor so memorable.
A darkness of its own
Rockstar took a dramatic turn with storytelling, atmosphere and combat in “GTA 4.” Unlike previous games, which were often a bit too cartoonish and relatively easy to beat, “GTA 4” was a different world. It featured the dark and gloomy setting of Liberty City in which a former military Eastern European leader seeks an escape from his own dark past.
Much of the story of “GTA 4” revolves around Nico and his cousin Roman, as they try to make ends meet in a city rocked by terrorism, corruption and ever-increasing crime rates. Despite leaving his homeland for a better future in America, Nico instead returns to a life of violence and murder.
In stark contrast to its sequel and its predecessors, “GTA 4” will leave its players with $700,000 in its final act, which is a pittance compared to the potential $1 billion players could get at the end of “GTA 5.” Thanks to the original premise of the story, which Rockstar himself considered a “rag to rag is better rag” story, a sharper and more realistic portrayal of life in the big city.
“GTA 4’s” combat was even more difficult. You might have a bigger health bar, but the damage was dialed up to 11 and gunfights became more grueling compared to previous games with blurry vision effects when changing targets and limited arsenal.
The game’s ragdoll physics were also a major plus, allowing Nico to automatically push and run over pedestrians, often knocking them to the ground with dramatic (and hilarious) effect. This also made the deaths, whether they were Nico or NPCs, more life-like.
This built-in realism and gritty narrative make “GTA 4” so special and, although it may not be the same tight-knit city best suited for such a true-to-life digital world, “GTA 6” certainly takes should Pay attention with its own dark narrative elements, difficult combat and more realistic animations.
As Rockstar’s RAGE engine reaches its ninth version, with many claiming that it is now even better than Unreal Engine 5, it’s a safe bet that “GTA 6” will have absolute realism and its first trailer certainly confirms it. is
Entertainment galore
To counter its overriding darkness, “GTA 4” offers some supporting characters and activities as a bit of leniency. With Roman’s constant calls to go bowling, it may have been forever immortalized as a meme, but I miss the emphasis on friendship and relationships, which I sorely lacked in “GTA 5.”
When the characters are taken outside the city, players are greeted with some amazing dialogue that would otherwise not be heard. Great examples include Little Jacob, Dwayne, and even Packy, all of which give players a deeper understanding of the story and their true motives.
Minigames like bowling, pool, and darts (the latter of which is the only one to make it into “GTA 5”), likewise offer escapes from the streets of Liberty City and constant death, hanging on Nico’s story.
While I’m sure “GTA 6” will have some interesting mini-games of its own, many of which are Florida parodies, I hope we can take friends and acquaintances to these places to enjoy the fun. Pedestrians on Vice Beach. Bowling with Roman does nothing to tame the sadness that seeps into the story of “GTA 4,” and I hope “GTA 6” can feel the same jovial beats.
Single player DLC
Although “GTA 4” had its own online mode (which many claim is much better than the current version), “GTA Online” sparked a whole new way for Rockstar to monetize its player base. Sure, the game sold 16 million units in less than a week, generating about $1.15 billion for Rockstar, but its online portion proved more profitable, with daily revenue estimated at $2.5 million.
Given this milestone success, the game will unfortunately lose out to some incredible single-player DLCs, ensuring that “GTA 5” has become the most profitable entertainment product of all time. Now with stories emerging from multiple finished projects, one of which even features a modern Liberty City map, many are hoping that “GTA 6” won’t miss out on similar updates in its future lifetime.
While “GTA Online” can’t be blamed for all of that, as the studio was also in the process of making “Red Dead Redemption 2,” it’s still sad that “GTA 5” didn’t get the same love as “GTA 4.” Done with such wonderful updates as “The Lost and the Damned” and “The Ballad of Gay Tony”.
Both players offered an entirely new protagonist to follow with dual stories that merged together, helping to shape the full picture of the intertwined lives of Liberty City and its residents. Despite its massive size, Liberty City proved to be incredibly tight-knit as random characters came together in the most interesting ways.
“GTA 6” and all its Florida Man glory will hopefully have similar interactions. As opposed to “GTA 5” (and “GTA 4” if you count its DLC), the next “GTA” game will follow only two protagonists, Jason and Lucia. Perhaps the next DLC could introduce an entirely new character, one that we meet in the main game, offering an exciting new perspective on Vice City — and hopefully, with additions like Liberty City, Las Venturas, and more to come. Setlist in existence.
With “Grand Theft Auto 6” not scheduled for release until 2025, fans have a long wait ahead of them. With “GTA Definitive Edition” on Netflix and a full port of “Red Dead Redemption” now available on modern consoles, there’s more than enough content to satisfy the masses.
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