We’re a lucky bunch, really. Not us specifically at NowGamer, although the chance to experience Grand Theft Auto IV three weeks before release was certainly a bonus. But no, we’re talking about all of us: gamers. Unlike the movie industry, whose tent pole releases usually amount to unwatchable trash like Pirates Of The Caribbean 3, or records that are micro-marketed to the nth degree, making them near-unlistenable, saccharine-soaked trash, in games, when we’re promised triple-A, nine times out of ten we get it and then some. And, in the case of GTA IV, we’ve been given the most technically impressive, politically witty, mind-blowing, awe-inspiring piece of modern media we’ve seen in the past five years. The word ‘masterpiece’ is bandied around with reckless abandon too much these days, but Rockstar has created an unadulterated, unmitigated, indisputable masterpiece.

Let’s start with an outlandishly sweeping statement: objectively speaking, Grand Theft Auto IV is the best videogame ever made. There you have it. You might have more fun in other games, you might find other games that appeal to your personality or tickle you in ways GTA never could, but in terms of volume, technical achievement and sheer artistry, nothing comes close. Grand Theft Auto IV has the story, the design, the visuals, the characters, the audio, the value, the wonder, the immersion and the awe. It may be borne out of a very familiar template, but trust us, you’ve never seen anything like this before.

It all begins with a fantastic indication of what’s to come: a brilliantly acted, scripted and directed cut-scene, introducing us to our protagonist and probably the best-written character in any videogame to date, Niko Bellic (it’s pronounced ‘Bellik’, in case you’d been wondering). Anyway, Niko is holed up on a freighter just off the coast of Liberty City, and the story starts the second he steps onto the shore. Niko’s cousin, Roman, picks him up in his taxi – pissed, of course – and it’s up to you to drive you both home.

From there, Grand Theft Auto IV never looks back. The opening hours set out to alienate you, to make you feel like the tiniest atom in a vast and foreign land, full of possibility and potential but drowning in decay and with danger around every bend. As is the GTA tradition, only one of Liberty City’s three islands is open from the beginning. Well, technically it’s two – Broker and Bohan – but together they’re equal in size to Algonquin (GTA IV’s Manhattan) and Alderney, it’s not-too-subtle renaming of New Jersey. After games like Crackdown have let us attack their entire environments from the off, you might feel slightly aggrieved at having your explorative side curtailed. But in truth, anything more would be overwhelming.
There’s more activity and interest on one street corner of Broker than there is in some entire games. You can lose minutes, even hours, just interacting with pedestrians, taking in the sights and generally causing mischief, but more on that later. For now, let us revel in the marvel that is Liberty City. Even within the relatively low-key surroundings of Broker and Bohan, the urban sprawl is incredible. Every street has its own personality, its own identity. Broker is dilapidated and dirty, but multicultural and diverse. And if you take a trip to the water, you can see the magnificence of Algonquin’s skyscrapers standing proudly in the distance, tantalisingly just out of reach.

… continued