Grand Theft Auto IV Review

 (Originally published to Glitchwave on 5/3/2024)

[Image from glitchwave.com]

Grand Theft Auto IV

Developer: Rockstar

Publisher: Rockstar

Genre(s): Open-World, Third-Person Shooter

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC

Release Date: April 29, 2008

Have we all collectively performed a 180 regarding the legacy of Grand Theft Auto IV? At its release, this entry in the chaotic video game series that facilitates every gamer’s darkest, antisocial impulses was welcomed into the Met Gala of gaming on a rolled-out red carpet. After establishing itself as one of the most prolific and influential series across the previous array of video game consoles, how could the rabid gaming consumer base not refrain from salivating at the prospect of a next-generation GTA game? While the 3D open-world template of the series evolved throughout the trilogy of games released for the PS2, plenty of rudimentary presentational sniggles still persisted with the hardware. Grand Theft Auto, along with the open-world genre on the whole, could’ve benefited greatly from being developed on superior pieces of technology because its ambitions transcended the confines that restricted the sixth generation of consoles. With the borderline cinematic framework that the seventh generation’s graphics supplied, the realistic rendering of the citywide bloodbath gamers could commit in a matter of a few minutes would really give everyone’s parents a valid reason (in their minds) to start picketing once again in an attempt to preserve the fading sanctity of childhood innocence. However, one prevalent criticism of GTA IV that only became more pervasive as the years passed is that perhaps the game was bogged down by its attention to cinematic realism. Vice City and San Andreas had established a sense of buoyancy that complemented the free-flowing nature of the open-world genre, and the comparatively subdued graphics and mechanics contradicted the desired evolution that fans had anticipated. Sure, GTA IV was still a colossal hit whose adulation rivaled that of the previous PS2 titles, but the exhilarating fun factor that the PS2 games sought to develop was sort of lost with the developers striving for artistic deliberation. However, the two words at the end of the last sentence are exactly why I’ve come around to lauding GTA IV as a pillar of creative commentary and gaming narrative.

Something that I often harped on pedantically regarding GTA IV from the get-go is the game’s continuation of the numerical titles. Obviously, if you’ve been counting, GTA IV is the sixth entry in the series, and Vice City and San Andreas received far too much widespread critical acclaim and financial success to be relegated to the status of subgames. The validity of the numeral in the title could still be sustained on account of GTA IV being the fourth 3D GTA game, pretending that the primitive first two GTA games evaporated from existence. It could be that every mainline title in the series is connected by the setting of Liberty City, the familiar urban environment that GTA IV has chosen to update with the visual sheen of advanced graphics. Still, how could anyone possibly decipher what real-life urban area the first two GTA games were emulating from a painfully constrictive, 90-degree top-down angle? Really, the pattern that connects GTA IV to its predecessor last used a Roman numeral in its title is the shared pessimistic disposition toward the often romanticized ideal of the American City.

Specifically, GTA IV comments on how it pertains to the fabled “American Dream,” channeling F. Scott Fitzgerald in the 21st century with the same amount of critical venom. Compounding this thesis in GTA IV is how especially fallacious America’s promises are for those migrating to its supposedly lucrative soil as immigrants. Namely, if you’re a thirty-something Serbian man named Niko Bellic, who has just finished his six-month maiden voyage to the land of liberty (relating to the country as well as the city) to start anew. Upon docking the frigate on the offshore Liberty City harbor, Niko is cheerfully greeted by his pudgy, former Serbian immigrant cousin Roman, who drives Niko to his apartment with the rapturous aura of a chariot taking Niko to Shangri-Las. To his dismay, the state of Roman’s compact, cockroach-infested apartment located under the train tracks in the southern region of the borough of Broker is more like Shangri-Lousy, affirming Niko’s suspicions that his cousin was embellishing his American lifestyle and he’s just as much of a doofus as he was in the home country. To magnify the already substandard conditions of Roman’s living space, Roman is steeped in debt to the locally operated Russian mob thanks to his frequent gambling habits. Not only does American life not come with the privileges of “Barbara with big titties and Stephanie who sucks like a vacuum,” the constant prying eyes of organized crime place a looming cloud of danger over the heads of these two Slavic cousins. Niko’s honest assessment of the circumstances he finds himself in Liberty City is that they are not too dissimilar to that of his homeland, except that he assumes that he at least won’t have to duck and cover due to a midnight bombing. Roman’s crappy American existence being plopped onto Niko as a welcoming gift only scratches the surface of the disappointment he is about to endure.

But Liberty City isn’t necessarily indicative of the entirety of the land of the free and the brave, nor is it Rockstar’s mirrored microcosm of the country displayed in a fully fabricated, end-all American urban environment. Players of GTA III tended to jot down contextual hints that Liberty City was Rockstar’s rendering of New York City due to it sharing some stark similarities in its fractured, multi-burrough architecture and generally smoggy, congested city atmosphere associated with America’s most populated metropolitan area. Rockstar never explicitly stated that Liberty City in GTA III was a polygonal parody of The Big Apple but upon inspecting the layout and topography of GTA IV’s map, they no longer have to. Narrowing the scope of the game’s setting to a singular city after exhibiting a grand tour of notable West Coast zip codes in San Andreas might seem like a regression unfitting for GTA IV’s newfound, next-generational capabilities. However, I must impress on the full scope of this map’s full ambitions: Liberty City is now a bonafide recreation of New York City to every last minute detail. If calling it an exact replica is too hyperbolic, then it's at least the most realistic and intricate depiction of New York City seen in gaming thus far. At the beginning of the story, Niko is restricted to a rough amalgamation of the Long Island twin boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens sandwiched together as the borough of Broker, with the Coney Island Ferris wheel and wooden roller coaster as prominent backdrops from the street view of Roman’s apartment. Once Niko and Roman are forced to flee Roman’s humble abode in Hove Beach, the player will receive a taste of the northern industrial borough of The Bronx as Bohan, and then the voluminous glow at the heart of the city with Manhattan repurposed as Algonquin. The suburban Staten Island should’ve ideally rounded out all five boroughs here but was swapped in favor of bridging Algonquin to the adjacent state of Alderney. Whether it be the isolation, relative insignificance, or an inspirational nod to The Sopranos, it must sting for Staten Island residents to see their legitimate slice of New York life get axed to instead exhibit an area modeled after Jersey City. Still, the meticulous mapping of the metropolitan area arguably the most synonymous with American urbanity is undoubtedly a substantial leap in evolutionary feats for the open-world genre. Some will bemoan the fact that the entire city is shrouded in that dour graphical haze that permeated throughout the seventh generation of gaming. However, how GTA IV uses this aesthetic exudes the cold atmosphere similar to GTA III’s depiction of Liberty City, so I’ll take it as an example of an artistic choice rather than hopping on a trend. What exactly are the developers suggesting about NYC with this continually glum aura, though?

I still don’t think I’ve fully elucidated the extent of Rockstar’s efforts to recreate New York City for GTA IV’s world map. For those who have never visited or are completely unaware, New York City exhibits such a confounding amount of hustle and bustle that it has been dubbed “the city that never sleeps.” One can infer from the city’s perpetual state of insomnia that its cacophonous vibrancy is ceaseless, and therefore will always prove to be an overwhelming setting to exist in. Even for those who comfortably live amongst the neverending soundscape of chatter and the honking of car horns, none of them are willing to contend with the rat race of its street traffic. There’s a reason why every New York resident has thigh muscles made of steel and or a storybook of bizarre encounters on the subway. Even the zen patience threshold of a devout Buddhist monk would snap like a twig amid the non-stop wall-to-wall congestion of vehicles. Because the name of the game is Grand Theft Auto and not Grand Theft MetroPass, Niko is forced to become another brick sealed into the stiff cement of traffic. Not only is avoiding head-on vehicular collisions much more difficult than in any previous GTA game, but New York’s street schematics are anything but straightforward. Navigating through any of these boroughs more serpentine than a dragon’s small intestinal tract is a dizzying escapade liable to drive the player mad. Not to mention, GTA IV’s driving mechanics have been adulterated by the game’s realism initiative, buttering the controls that inflict realistic, dire consequences to those who drive erratically like a GTA game would normally warrant. Apparently, seatbelts are also a foreign concept to our Serbian protagonist as well, so get ready to witness Niko violently ejecting himself from the driver’s seat when hitting another car as an example of the game’s ragdoll-intensive physics engine. As frustratingly complicated and frankly dangerous the roads are for the player, their design emulates the hectic drive of New York City as genuinely as possible. I’d claim that this facet of realism is too imposing on the game’s enjoyment factor because I started to dread getting behind the wheel when every island borough was unlocked and each trip required crossing a bevy of bridges to venture between them. However, the developers show some awareness that driving through NYC is admittedly excruciating and provides innovative conveniences like the modern GPS tool that directs Niko to his waypoint objective and the ability to catch a taxi cab. Still, I must remind everyone what the name of this game is and how this map discourages players from engaging in it.

If the core gameplay of Grand Theft Auto isn’t literally snatching vehicles for joyrides, one could argue that it's the third-person shooting gameplay that facilitates the franchise’s freewill imperative. Across the 3D PS2 trilogy, the gunplay had improved from unwaveringly clumsy in GTA III to a point of sharper efficiency with the requisite addition of the target system in Vice City and San Andreas. Still, defending oneself with the protagonist’s roulette of firearms always required them to expose themselves to the firepower from the enemy’s opposition. Years later during the next console generation, the ubiquity of ducking behind cover among games in the third-person shooter genre most likely caused a lightbulb to appear over the heads of the developers at Rockstar. During missions that involve Niko being pinned down by various goons in an alleyway or building complex, he is the first GTA protagonist who can take advantage of shielding himself behind a pillar or a vertical grounded structure and conduct business from a relatively safe position with the press of a single controller button. Of course, enemy AI wisely recognizes that they can also use the cover that the environment organically provides, so combat during these sections tends to divert into a tense waiting game. Once one of these moles briefly peaks its head above the barrier to aim their weapon at Niko, this opportune moment allows the player to practice the nifty augmentation to the targeting system. Upon locking onto a target, the cursor can now move slightly to hone in on a specific piece of anatomy. Needless to say, enemies are likely to falter much quicker due to the greater assurance of executing headshots. Enemies will also stagger vigorously even if Niko’s shot wasn’t fatal because realism begets writhing in pain upon one’s flesh being pierced by hot lead. The ragdoll physics that cause enemies to stumble and fall upon being shot not only provide instances of physical comedy but they’re indicative of how agreeable the overall combat is in the player’s favor after taking too severe a risk by standing out in the open like a sitting duck for three straight games.

It’s most fortunate that the GTA series has finally honed its shooting gameplay to a point of comfortable competency because the vast majority of the game’s missions will involve Niko being catapulted into these perilous situations. Because absconding to America hasn’t automatically granted Roman the “Life of Riley,” his financial outlet to support his meager living is managing a taxi cab company operated out of Broker, which Niko assumed he would work at as his cousin’s subordinate. However, the constant harassment towards Roman by Russian mafia lieutenant, Vlad Glebov, allows Niko to earn a living the GTA way: climbing up the crime world ladder by stacking a body count. However, Vlad’s bullying towards Roman crosses the line when he starts making sexual advances toward Roman’s girlfriend and secretary Mallorie, and Niko permanently subdues him for his lecherous behavior and simply for being a repugnant human being overall. Niko’s actions here absorb his employment to Vlad’s crime boss: the irascible, volatile Mikhail Faustin who commands Niko to kill on command with disturbingly little consideration. Faustin’s right-hand man, Dimitri Rascalov, eventually has Niko return the favor of mindless murder to their boss after his tyrannical power streak goes too far, killing a rival mob boss's son in cold blood. However, Dimitri’s true motivations for what seemed like a debilitating, yet dutiful decision was to usurp the crime throne for himself and launch a full-scale manhunt for Niko’s head in the interest of friend and business associate Ray Bulgarin, a former employer of Niko back in Europe who seeks revenge after fingering Niko for a coincidental cargo freight mishap. After Dimitri sets Roman’s home and business ablaze, the cousin’s refuge in Bohan allows Niko to become acquainted with some of Mallorie’s neighbors. Poser philanthropist Manny, Catalina’s spiritual successor Elizabeta along with her prime drug peddler Playboy X, and Irish criminal Patrick “Packie” McReary, all provide Niko with work committing acts of ultraviolence so he can sustain livability in Liberty City. The last character mentioned even introduces Niko to his (literal) crime family with their own story arc, which eventually leads Niko to work for the Italian Mafia. The Italians are also at war with the Russians over control of the city’s organized crime, and Niko gladly sides with them as an outlet to stick it to Dimitri for causing him and Roman so much strife.

What I’m trying to illustrate by detailing Niko’s journey through Liberty City’s illegal underbelly is that no matter who is assigning Niko odd jobs, they will involve Niko barricading himself behind sheet metal or solid concrete to deflect the whizzing bullets from a small army of enemies on most occasions. However, I can confidently state that once Niko progressively shifts to another employer, the game naturally increases its difficulty curve. The legions of armed goons Niko tackles when servicing Elizabeta are more formidable than the ones he’s hired on to kill for Faustin, and the same rate of increase applies to when Niko starts to mow down suited thugs for the mafia. The fluctuating difficulty curve that all three GTA games on the PS2 practically etched into the open-world code through habitual persistence is rearranged into something neatly structured. Exceptions that disrupt GTA IV’s harmonious flow pop up now and then, and my pick for the steepest mission is when Dimitri kidnaps Roman as bait to lure Niko into an abandoned warehouse guarded by at least fifty of his cronies. The bank heist mission with Packie and his family is the notorious pick for most players, but I argue that they are conflating difficulty with the length of the mission. San Andreas was littered with feats of endurance similar to GTA IV’s bank heist, but a mission of this caliber seems excessive in GTA IV because the game’s missions are tied down to a cinematic construct. Between the commonplace duck and cover missions, GTA IV often features shorter missions with only one objective to further the plot. I’d normally decry these types of missions as nothing but lazy filler, but the character preambles before each mission are consistently entertaining. In fact, GTA IV’s writing is so razor-sharp that it distracts the player from noticing when the mission objectives start to blur together. Still, whether or not a mission asks for considerable effort from the player or to complete a cursory task, GTA IV is far easier than any of its PS2 predecessors. Forward aim while shooting in a vehicle, body armor having distinctive attributes removed from one’s health, and only losing a sum of money upon death as opposed to stripping the protagonist of their entire arsenal also greatly factor into GTA IV’s agreeableness.

If you’re feeling like your engagement with GTA IV’s missions is starting to wane, the game offers a plethora of momentary distractions as par for the open-world course. Similar to Call of Duty around the same time, GTA recognized that there are certain perks to modernity. The developers could implement fresh features that extend the parameters of the player’s total activities as technology progresses in the real world, no longer having anachronisms to be mindful of while developing a period piece. Because GTA IV is set in the late 2000s when the game was developed, Niko owns a fully functional, customizable cell phone with a digital screen and camera. It goes without saying that this device is far more practical and accessible than that brick with an antenna CJ was lugging around the state of San Andreas. Another aspect of the then-current technological landscape is the addition of internet cafes, rows of computers available at all times of day for a small fee of one dollar per visit. Here, Niko can sift through emails, look at car listings, and even interact with strange women on a primeval dating site before such platforms took the world by storm. It’s just a shame that all of these technological advancements implemented in the GTA universe are just as endearingly antiquated as the intentionally quaint facets of the retro culture showcased in both Vice City and San Andreas as of writing this review. Fortunately, GTA IV also features new “timeless” activities, for lack of a better word. Minigames unseen in any prior GTA game include pool, darts, and bowling, whose mechanics are all at least competent enough to win a majority of the time. Niko can visit the city’s various watering holes to drink himself stupid, which then can result in a drunk driving sequence if he hops back into the vehicle he arrived in. If I’m not mistaken, this specific element of GTA IV’s gameplay garnered the biggest backlash from irate parents, who protested that the ability to drive while intoxicated somehow topped all immoral activities one could partake in across the series. With some perspective, it could also serve as a cheap simulation to teach younger gamers how affected one’s ability to drive is while under the influence, but I digress. The coolest new addition for my money is going to a comedy club, for both Ricky Gervais and Katt Williams essentially perform an exclusive set for the game in a motion capture suit. Helicopters have totally overtaken jets and commercial planes as the flying vehicles to jack due to the sensitivities of a certain event that occurred in NYC earlier that decade, and the strip clubs are more immersive thanks to the upscaled visuals. Don’t worry, Niko still isn’t allowed to touch the strippers wearing nipple tassels in the backroom, so another “Hot Coffee” minigame moral panic isn’t necessary (discounting how realistic the sex looks with the prostitutes now).

These frivolous activities aren’t solely offered to let the pent-up and guarded Niko unwind. Rockstar is apparently a firm believer in the “the more the merrier” sentiment, and they convey this theory through another new overarching, optional mechanic. From time to time, Roman will ring up Niko while he’s out on the town if he’d like to engage in one of the aforementioned activities with him. If Niko complies and nothing goes horribly awry during the outing, Roman will express his satisfaction by giving Niko a “thumbs up” which increases his “friendship meter.” As the game progresses, Niko will extend his cellular number to other people whose relationships can be strengthened through spending time with them. Niko merely tolerates the brash adrenaline junkie Brucie for Roman’s sake, as he combats Brucie’s obnoxious posturing with comments on how it's all compensation to mask his deepest insecurities. Niko rather gels nicely with level-headed pot-dealing rasta man “Little Jacob” whose thick Jamaican verbiage eludes even the subtitles. The pessimistic attitude of ex-con Playboy X associate Dwayne practically makes him a kindred spirit to Niko. The crass, ill-tempered Packie is the only McCreary brother to join Niko outside of business hours, but his younger sister Kate is a dateable character who catches Niko’s affections. The date-oriented outings function the same as hangouts with the bros, with the only difference being that Niko can press his luck for some hanky panky upon completing the date. However, Kate’s adulthood chastity streak practically makes her eligible for nunhood, but there are plenty of other girls who will fuck Niko’s brains out after an enjoyable evening. Michelle is a girlfriend given to Niko automatically to test the waters of this new mechanic, who perhaps submits herself to Niko too quickly that it verges on suspicion. If there is one feature of GTA IV that is infamously derided, it’s definitely this one. Sure, spending time with mates is an ideal facet of a prosperous life that increases the immersion into reality that the series has always sought to emulate. However, if one’s friends are as needy and entitled as the ones in Niko's contact list, I’d rather live as a lone wolf. Again, these interactions are optional, and maxing one’s relationship to Niko does come with legitimate benefits. Still, it’s not as if Niko can turn his phone off to halt the incessant phone calls from these select people, which always seems to occur whenever Niko is nearing the start of a new mission. What infuriates me the most about these distracting little excursions is that every friend insists that Niko chauffeur them, and they actually have the fucking gall to complain if he’s a smidge tardy. I apologize, but I thought Niko was the new kid in town who isn’t privy to Liberty City’s perpetual ongoings. What city do they think this is? Wichita? Perhaps to make this mechanic less grating, Rockstar should’ve taken note of Persona’s social links and let Niko have sole control of who he hangs out with and when rather than being bombarded with requests at inopportune moments.

Even though they can be annoyingly inconsiderate, I still enjoy spending time with these secondary characters in GTA IV. Each of them exhibits unique personality traits with a dynamic and personable aura that heightens their charisma, and the less likable ones (Brucie) at least offer consistent amusement. Still, all of them are as lifeless as mall mannequins compared to the Niko tree that they all branch from. On paper, Niko is yet another example of an archetypal protagonist serving as the focal point of a wild, high-octane crime story. He’s another useful idiot in the crime world whose livelihood is contingent on obeying the assassination tasks given to him by the scum of society with no questions asked. One could initially write Niko off as another murderous sociopath with little consciousness of his actions, but Niko is surprisingly more complicated than calculus with layers of richness stacked higher than a red velvet wedding cake. Like CJ, Niko is a product of his environment but is far more aware of how his unfortunate upbringing affected him. Besides the fact that his formative years were spent in a third-world country where he lived without electricity until he was twelve, Niko is among the generation of post-soviet youths to unwillingly participate as soldiers in the Yugoslav Wars of the early 1990s once the nation of Yugoslavia dissolved into six sovereign countries. He might not have sustained any mortal injuries during this tumultuous era of Eastern Europe’s history, but the atrocities he witnessed and was forced to commit were abominable enough to permanently fracture his soul. Anytime Niko waxes poetic about his experiences, namely in the scene where he discusses them with Faustin’s wife or when he reveals what really happened to Roman’s mother, I feel as if an anvil has plummeted on my stomach and I’m about to be sick. Because the war has irreparably scarred Niko, a thick callousness to all amoral human behavior has coated his persona. This is how he thinks nothing of performing deplorable tasks for money, and why he laughs in the face of any adversary’s intimidation tactics. Niko’s been through the wringer, and he’s come out of it as spiritually broken as a glass menagerie after an earthquake. Yet, despite his nihilistic disposition, Niko is known to exhibit signs of compassion towards others. While Roman’s oblivious optimism often irks Niko, he would never compromise his thick and thin, brotherly loyalty to his cousin for any profit. He’s friendly towards those who do not antagonize him, and he’s probably more honest than any of America’s notable presidents whose legacy is defined by that positive character trait. See how lovingly Niko treats the heroin-addicted teenage girl Marnie encountered during a “stranger mission” despite her hostility and pathetic desperation and tell me with a straight face that Niko isn’t an upstanding citizen given the right circumstances. With all of the blood that he regularly spills during the missions stacked against him, I guess no one can definitively say. Yet, this quandary caused by character complexities is exactly why Niko is bar none GTA’s greatest protagonist. Also, Niko’s dry wit he consistently brandishes while bantering with any secondary character makes him the funniest GTA protagonist as well. Sorry, CJ. The bar set by the emotionless Claude was buried under the sea floor at the start, but Niko skyrockets the standard of GTA protagonists over the moon. He’s going to be a tough act to follow.

While most players sympathize with Niko and grant him positive merits as a human being, his true incentive for coming to America is one marked by vengeance. After dumping Vlad’s body into the harbor, Niko reveals to Roman that the real reason for shipping off overseas is to enact revenge on one of his old Serbian friends during the war who sold his platoon out for a sum of money. Niko was one of three survivors of the ensuing massacre, and he figures that the possible perpetrator of the unforgivable betrayal now lives somewhere in Liberty City. Niko’s goal is sidelined until “Michelle,” who unsurprisingly reveals herself to be a federal agent after a miserably bad performance while “undercover,” intercepts Elizabeta’s cocaine raid. Elizabeta will never see the light of day, but Niko is given an ultimatum to cooperate with a disguised intelligence unit to avoid jail time or deportation. For his efforts, working with UL Paper shows their gratitude by locating the man Niko is seeking. However, Florian Cravic, a flamboyantly gay man who legally changed his name to Bernie Crane, is not the man Niko is looking for. It’s really hard to believe that this guy shares the same harrowing experiences as Niko, to be frank. By process of elimination, Niko figures that the culprit is Darko Brevic, and Niko must get involved with a topsy-turvy diamond racket for the Italian Alderney City mafia. Eventually, they perform that favor for Niko and fish the European vermin out of whatever hole he resides in and must answer to Niko for his sins. In this moment, Niko can choose whether to cathartically execute Darko, or spare the pathetic junkie wastrel who has managed to carve out a worse fate than death for himself.

This arc-fulfilling moment, along with several other instances beforehand, highlights that life is a series of choices of one’s own volition. Besides deciding whether or not to put Darko out of his misery, which leaves Niko empty inside anyway, providing critical options to the player that affect the outcome of the story is immediately granted again in the game’s final mission. Niko evidently forgot to give the Italian mafia a two-week notice of resignation because as far as mob boss Jimmy Pegorino is concerned, he’s still on the family’s payroll. Niko refuses to adhere to Pegorino’s demands on principle, but the other factor of working with his arch nemesis Dimitri makes this deal out of the question. However, the game lets the player choose between the two outcomes of Niko’s predicament: to defy Pegorino or to swallow his laurels and cut a deal with Dimitri for the sake of his employer. Given that the mere mention of Dimitri’s name causes Niko to erupt in a fiery rage, I realize it's nonsensical for him to engage with the borscht-eating scoundrel professionally. However, the route where Niko lowers his guard to Dimitri leads to the only sensical outcome that puts a period on this story. Dimitri will still screw Niko over and cut him and the mafia out of the profitable heroin deal. To further show that this man has no limits to his duplicity, he hires a hitman to shoot Niko during Roman and Mallorie’s wedding reception. Roman is accidentally shot and killed instead, which lights a furious fire under Niko’s feet to finally pursue Dimitri and bring him to justice. With Little Jacob’s assistance, Niko shoots down Dimitri’s escape chopper and delivers the finishing blow to him on the islet where the “Statue of Happiness” landmark resides. If Niko instead plans to kill Dimitri on the ship that Niko arrived in at the very beginning of the game, Pegorino takes it upon himself to perform a drive-by shooting for Niko’s insubordination and Kate dies instead. Pegorino is swapped for Dimitri in this instance.

Besides the fact that killing Pegorino is fairly anticlimactic and Niko’s relationship with Kate is budding and uncertain, Roman’s death is the sensible outcome between the two potential tragedies that end GTA IV. Not only was Roman a central character as soon as Niko’s boat docked, but he’s the optimistic ying to Niko’s despairing yang. While both characters live in the same unideal situation, Roman embraces every bit of his life with little to no complaints. Roman adores the opportunities that living in America has given him even if they don’t match the ecstasy of excess. He expresses to Niko that he should adopt the same attitude not only to make the expedition here worth the effort but to truly shed the crushing weight of his Serbian past. Throughout the game, Niko has only allowed his past to shape his present, which has only resulted in more baggage with fatal repercussions. Once Roman has been ousted from Niko’s life as a result of his actions, he fully submits to Roman’s optimistic ideals and quits the crime life for good. As much as Roman was depicted as a bumbling fool for the entirety of the game, his outlook is surprisingly the wisest way to interpret the American ideal. This nation can’t entitle you to excellence, but it will at least give anyone the chance to alter the conditions of your life for a more promising tomorrow.

The three GTA games on the PS2 were the cutting edge of video game advancements, so much so that they all suffered from biting off more than their hardware could chew to some extent. Now that a succeeding generation could prosper with those games as a template, I can empathize with the prevailing disappointment that piled onto GTA IV. Unlike the previous games that astounded gamers because they were before their time, GTA IV is a product of its time and all-pervading peculiarities of the era. Given that I’ve been known to vocally disparage many seventh-generation practices and that GTA IV is rife with them, I should persist in lambasting this entry. However, Rockstar manages to grasp all of the aspects of this era of gaming I find unsavory and cultivate them into something surprisingly masterful. There isn’t a single space of land in Liberty City that is wasted, and the writers have written a story of the same spellbinding magnitude as the Martin Scorsese films and HBO crime dramas of where its inspiration stems. I still find some elements of GTA IV to be more objectionable than in San Andreas, and some are so jarring that I don’t care if it's for the sake of artistic integrity. Still, how many triple-A developers are willing to alienate some of the gaming audience to fulfill their desired vision for their work? Not too many, I presume. I tip my hat to thee, Rockstar.