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I haven’t written on my new blog for a couple of weeks now.  The main reason for this is the fact that I got my hands on GTA IV (Xbox360) and has been trapped in Liberty City for most of the time!

One word to describe GTA IV is “amazing”. 

The story starts with your arrival in Liberty City by boat.  You play the part of Niko Bellic a Russian immigrant with a dodgy past.   Here you team up with your smart-talking cousin Roman who has a taxi company and has a passion for gambling and mixing with the wrong crowd.

Liberty City is loosely based on New York and the environment is so full and rich it’s almost good enough just to take a walk and listen to all the people around you.  There are street vendors, beggars, gangsters and cops all over the place. 

Each part of the city has its own unique look and feel.  There are also a lot to do when you’re not out stealing, hustling or killing for the all mighty dollar.  You can visit bars, pool halls and go bowling.  If you feel like it you can go on a helicopter tour for a few dollars.  The better option (and a lot more fun!) is to steal a chopper and go fly round the city.  There are bikes and boats and the subway too. 

A nice touch is the fact that on some missions you can choose whether a target lives or dies.  The decisions you make will influence your options later in the game.  You also have a cell phone this time around.  Using it, you can call any of your contacts to go out with them to a bar, play pool or even take them out to a strip club.  This is useful for networking and getting more and more jobs from them.  You can even dial 911 to send a paramedic if the hospital is too far away!

You also have access to the internet and email which you can also use for your missions. 

The graphics, sound effects, game play and storyline compliment each other extremely well.  The game also eases you into the controls and how you can use the environment.  You also have a very nice GPS system to keep track of where you want to go without getting lost.

The most fun, as always, is to get your wanted level up and try and shake the cops and get out alive.  This time the wanted level is a bit different than previous GTAs.  When your wanted level is 1 a small circle will appear on your GPS.  This circle is basically the search area where the cops are actively looking for you.  Each time a cop spots you (while in the circle) the circle midpoint will move to where that cop is.  So if a cop car is chasing you and keeps you in sight the circle will also move with you and will be difficult to move out of.   As your wanted level increases the circle will get bigger and bigger. You can still go into a pay ‘n spray to change the colour of your car, but you will only loose your wanted level this way if there are no cops around to see you enter.

If you hijack a police car you can also use the onboard computer to access police files and search for targets.  Another nice touch is the fact that you can call a taxi to take you to a destination instead of driving there yourself.  The soundtrack is really great – 19 radio stations having each a unique sound.  You can also watch TV when you are in your flat.

I can go on and on about how well built this game is, but the best way is for you to go out there and get your copy and experience it!