GTA IV Single Player

The more missions you successfully complete, the richer you’ll become and you’ll be able to splurge your newly acquired wealth on weapons, sharp threads, cars etc. Even though you can’t customize the way Niko looks as far as physical and facial attributes are concerned, you can dyke him up in different jackets, jeans, designer suits, and so on.

Once you get your hands on some serious firepower you’ll experience the game’s all-new revamped combat mechanics that work pretty well... most of the time. Draw any of your weapons and press down on the left trigger (LT) to initiate a Resident Evil 4-esque aiming system that makes sure the camera stays rooted firmly behind Niko’s shoulder, giving him a better view of the action. As you approach any sort of cover, simply press the Right Bumper (RB) and Niko will immediately snap to that surface, be it a wall, a car, a fire hydrant, a door, or even a hot dog stand.

As in most games that boast of a cover system, you’ll be able to lay down some blind fire (that’s surprisingly accurate) as well as pop out of cover from time to time for them juicy headshots. Running between cover to cover on the other hand is a tad sloppy and doesn’t feel as fluid as in Gears of War. And then there were times when I ended up taking cover behind objects I really didn’t want to; when you have ten guys laying some serious fire on you, it doesn’t work out too well for ya. All said and done, this is a major upgrade over previous iterations, making 95% of the firefights in this game as intense and enjoyable as a solid third person shooter.

From a technical standpoint this game delivers and I was pretty impressed with the frame rates that remain rock solid throughout most of the game. However, there were times when the frame rate dipped to a crawl, especially when I started blowing tons of stuff up with my rocket launcher. The game also has a blurry hand-drawn look going for it, and the first time you play you may have a slight WTF expression on your face. But after a while (ten minutes tops), once you get past all the blurriness, you’ll begin to soak in the sights and sounds of Liberty City in all its glory.