Grand Theft Auto 4 Gameplay Secrets

1. Look Both Ways Before Crossing the Street

They should have hammered this into all of you in elementary school, but damn is it important to keep in mind when playing Grand Theft Auto IV. Liberty City’s drivers are certifiably insane and they have no problems racking up a couple of manslaughter charges. Look both ways when crossing a busy street at mid-day or plan to be laid out on the very same by an oncoming vehicle at least 60% of the time.

2. Keep Your Friends Close

No, really. Your friends in GTA IV are good for more than seeing shows and driving drunk with. Get them to like you enough and you’ll discover there’s a whole new meaning for the term “friends with benefits.” Who needs casual sex in a virtual world? Wouldn’t you rather make a call and have a couple of uzi-toting maniacs arrive to back you up a few moments later?

3. Pop Your ZiT Cherry

As soon as you’ve got access to the in-game cell phone – immediately after the game’s opening cutscene – pull up the keypad and dial 948-555-0100. There. ZiT is in your phonebook now. Liberty City’s radio stations are fantastic. You’re inevitably going to want to know the name of one song or another, most likely in the heat of a high-speed chase through Broker. Why fumble with entering the numbers in at an inopportune moment when you can just get it out of the way right off the bat?

4. All Your Safehouses Are Belong To Us

The GTA safehouse, once an all-too-frequent pitstop, is now more intended for killing in-game time than anything else. A welcome autosave mechanic records your progress after every completed mission in GTA IV. Catching some shuteye at the safehouse pushes the clock forward six hours. Perfect when you’re waiting for a call or excited to get to an appointment the following day. The game even wakes you up early if you’re in danger of missing said appointment.

5. Take the A Train

Well, not ALL the time. Liberty City’s subways are a pain, though they have their uses when your wanted level starts to rise. There’s no quicker way to lose the po-po than riding a waiting subway out of the search zone. Depending on how naughty you’ve been you may be riding for awhile, but it’s a reliable and relatively safe escape option nonetheless.

6. Don’t Steal Those Cabs… Much

Seriously. Why steal a yellow cab when you can hop in the back seat – ousting any current passengers, naturally – and, for a small fee, let another driver do all the work. Very useful for gathering weapons, armor and health just before or in the midst of a mission. As an added bonus, you can yank the driver out of his car when you’ve reached your final destination and snuff him out on the spot to get your cash back.

7. Know the Lay of the Land

As was the case in previous GTA games, the citizens of the city aren’t too diligent about keeping weapons off the streets. A thorough search will yield an armory’s worth of freebies just lying around for anyone – i.e. Niko Bellic – to pick up. You can be armed to the teeth well before a certain someone hands you your first firearm for a mission. For those just starting out, Molotov cocktails are hidden near the bowling alley in Firefly Island, beneath a covered sitting area. Just take a stroll on the boardwalk and keep watching for an orange glow on your right as you approach the bowling alley.

8. Don’t Fire Until You Can See…

…the tops of their heads. GTA IV’s awesome new aiming mechanic allows you to lock on and then adjust your reticule to target specific parts of the body. You can even zoom in – to varying degrees, depending on the weapon – with a click of the right analog stick. Head shots are an instant kill in GTA IV. Need I say more?

9. Stay Connected

GTA IV’s cell phone is very useful for dialing up friends and making plans. I just hope Niko has an unlimited text messaging plan, since he tends to get a dozen or more in the space of an in-game day. Many of the messages are relatively useless, redundant restatements of previously learned facts. However, some characters will send Niko job opportunities in a text message. And let’s not forget, anytime a mission ends in failure, a “Try Again?” restart is no further than a text message away.

The same applies to e-mail and the Internet. Most of GTA IV’s World Wide Web is pure comedic fluff, providing additional color and nothing more. There are, however, certain sites which Niko can interact with. He’ll also get occasional e-mails containing job offers. Entire portions of the game can be skipped over by Luddites who refuse to embrace the brave new world in which we live.

10. Don’t Forget to See the Sights

Niko may have his own reasons for coming to Liberty City, but that shouldn’t stop him from seeing the sights as well. Firefly Island, Rotterdam Tower, the Statue of Happiness… these are just some of the tourist hotspots to which millions flock each year. Join in with the rabble and take in everything that Liberty City has to offer. Who knows… you may even find a secret or two for your efforts. At the foot of the Statue, for example…

11. Orange is Your New Favorite Color

I was going to cap this list at 10, but this one is important. Anything in GTA IV with any value to Niko – other than cold, hard cash of course – glows bright orange. Don’t ask me why things work like this… they just do. But take advantage of that fact. Use it as a locator beacon for weapons, pigeons and other pickups. Love the orange glow and it will always love you back.

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