And get this; you don't even need to leave your safe house to be entertained by Liberty City. In a Grand Theft Auto first, Rockstar Games has added actual television shows that you can watch. I don't know if it's a social statement or not, but there's something kind of depressing about being a guy on a couch watching a guy on the couch watching TV. Maybe it's just me. Either way, the hour or so of television programming is all top quality, complete with funny commercials, over-the-top TV shows and a few surprise celebrities. The best of the television broadcasting has to be the spot-on Republican Space Rangers and the History Channel-like documentary about the birth of Liberty City. Beyond that there's programming for guys, a show about rich people and even televised poker.
On top of all this is the internet café, where you can communicate with your family back in the old country, look for dates online, buy new ringtones and make a MySpace page. At first this all looks like just extra stuff that you can do when you get bored of running from cops, but it won't take long before you realize that all of these elements play a significant part in the storyline. Make no mistake about it; Rockstar Games has put all of this stuff in deliberately. It adds a lot to the story and creates a full world that offers a lot of the same extras you would have in the real world.
But who cares about all of this atmosphere if the controls are bad. Grand Theft Auto has always had a reputation for having somewhat subpar controls. It's not that the games felt bad, but there was never the same amount of attention put on the controls as the world itself. Thankfully that has all changed with Grand Theft Auto IV. While Rockstar Games hasn't resolved all of the control problems, they've fixed enough of them to turn this from a so-so playing game to an action game that is extremely easy to control.
The biggest change comes with the shooting mechanic, which still has you targeting your enemies but also giving you a lot more freedom to aim and control your shot. There is also a fantastic cover system that feels like it was ripped right out of Gears of War. There are entire shoot out missions built around the new cover system, so figuring out how to use the objects in the area to your advantage is crucial to you beating the game. And to top it all off there is now a hand-to-hand combat system, so getting into a street fight is suddenly something I look forward to, not run from. In all the controls have been properly updated, still giving you the feel of the old Grand Theft Auto games, only now with a lot more depth to them.
The vehicles (from cars to boats to helicopters) have also received some work. In Grand Theft Auto IV the different cars all handle differently, so you will find yourself always looking for one or two of you favorite cars. In most cases the cars feel more natural, so even when you're skidding out of control you still know what you need to do to get out of the situation. The boats also feel better this time around, as do the helicopters. Some may gripe that their favorite Grand Theft Auto ride doesn't feel exactly the same, but for the most part I think all of the cars were tweaked to handle better, not worse.
And then again a lot of the time you won't even need to drive yourself around. Because it is essentially a recreation of New York City, Liberty City is overflowing with taxi cabs. In the old games you could steal the taxi and be on your way, but by holding the "Y" button you can flag down a cab and have him take you where you want to go. Not only is this a time saver (for a few dollars more you can pay the cab to literally skip the trip and you'll be instantly transported to your destination), but these taxis allow you to take in all of the sights and sounds of Liberty City.
I cannot stress enough how stunning Liberty City is. While a lot of it is cityscape, Rockstar Games has managed to do an excellent job of making every block of the game look and feel different. What's more, the different islands (four major ones in all) are all very unique. They come with their own atmosphere and group of people. Heck, they even have their own unique architecture and hang outs. They all feel like they are living and breathing, even though I know that they are nothing more than I's and O's on my Xbox 360 disc. But that isn't the point, because Liberty City is how you feel, not how it was done.
In fact, it's better you don't think about how Rockstar Games was able to pull all this off. It's more than just watching the countless different people walk by, it's about how they all animate and interact with the world. And it's not just them, it's Niko too. The attention to detail is staggering, especially when it comes to body movements and facial expressions. You really get the emotion from these characters, and that turns out to be a crucial part of selling this world. Grand Theft Auto IV isn't about selling you a big "sandbox" world that you can play around in, it's about selling you a world that you actually care about, a world you will want to come back to time and time again.
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