Grand Theft Auto 4-WOW moments

Grand Theft Auto IV is one of biggest games to come out this year and probably one of the most important games to come out in the history of gaming. Although i could go into how great GTA IV is, I wont because this Hub is about moments in the game that made me say wow or wtf and made me really think "did that just happen?". If you know nothing about GTA then here is a brief description of the game-play. You are an angry immigrant that just arrived in Liberty City (a clone of New York but with a twist) and you are looking to make some money, kill some other immigrants, bang some hookers, drive around in a free roaming city doing whatever you want, and getting shot up. What makes GTA IV so amazing is that Liberty City is huge and feels alive. Rockstar (the game developer) spent years taking photos and making a complete copy of New York and turned it into a game so keep that in mind that you have the freedom to explore all those areas. With all that freedom you're bound to come to points in the game that make your jaw drop to the floor and really appreciate what the game has to offer. First off, some of these wow things you may not get because you may not enjoy video games, or stereotype them as nerd toys. If you fall into that category think of it this way, cars have gone from basic engines with a seat to have more computers in them then some of the first air-crafts. Video games have also progressed and taken leaps and bounds into next generation territory. So some of these wow factors will be cool from a game-play standpoint, some from a technical stand, and others just in their own category. So here we go...

After the opening credits you step off a boat and you arrive in Liberty City. As you get into a car with your cousin Roman you drive out of a dock area and as soon as you get to the street it no longer feels like a video game but a breathing city you are exploring. I noticed that the traffic was diverse, and since it was night time, only a few vehicles were out. A taxi went by and someone got inside it and took off. Street lights lit up the streets with pockets of light. Bums were huddled in their lice infested jackets around burning metal trash cans. Paper and trash littered the streets like any industrial place you would expect. If you pan the camera around you get to see different lights and buildings and everything's texture looks flawless and life like. This was one of the first times in a game that I stopped and just looked around at the environment and felt like it was truly something special. Check out the YouTube video to see the trailer that shows off Liberty City, notice all the little details.

This is one of those cool little details that most people may overlook or not think it is important which in the real big picture its not but it is definitely a cool touch. I was driving around Liberty City running over a few people in my Patriot (knock off Hummer) and I noticed that there was a lot of trash cans out. So im driving along and I see the Trashmaster come up and start picking up trash. There is a trash day in the game. No, this is not important to the game-play but what an amazing touch that just made the world feel so much more alive. I couldn't find any videos of the trash day in progress but here is a video of the trash guys on the back of the truck.

All the vehicles in GTA IV look amazing and handle more realistically whether you like it or not. The cars also fall apart more realistically too which is awesome to see it happen in action. When you shoot a tire it slowly deflates, bullets in cars are shown where it is actually impacted and stays there the whole time until blown up or fixed. One cool but annoying thing that happened to me was I was driving and I took a bad turn and ran into another car messing up my fender and it was hanging a little lower than usual. So I keep driving and I go over a bump and the fender hits the bump and finishes braking off getting stuck under the front of my car as I dragging it along. Another time i was being chases by the fuzz and I don't know how or why it happened but after a few crazy jumps and crashes I noticed my left tire making weird noises and eventually the car started to fall more and more apart and it would pull to the left simulating real damage. Another cool feature is if you are going fast enough and you run into something your body flies through the windshield turning your body into a rag-doll mess. Lastly, you can flash your headlights!!!! Yes, I just said that, the action is pointless unless you want your high beams on for more light but the fact that you have that control is really amazing. It's just another one of those little things most developers would overlook but implementing it makes it feel so much more alive. Tire when they go flat will run on the rubber for a while but it will eventually fall off and then your rim is exposed causing sparks to fly everywhere. Cars even will stall out when too much damage has been taken. All these little details just add up to such an alive place to be and making you go 'wow' at every turn. Here's a car chase video..

The Police cars and the Taxis have taken on a new roll in the GTA games. Before you would just break into one, steal it and run people over. In past games you could turn your siren on and chase bad-guys with the cop car to make money. Taxis you could steal and drop people off. The Taxi missions are out but now, you have the ability to actually use the taxi. You can hail down a cab and have it take you to any place in Liberty City with a little bit of extra cash. While doing this you can sit there listening to the radio, talk to the cabi, or just look around as the guy drives you. If all that gets boring, all you have to do is hit a button and it will fast forward to your destination and all is good. Cop cars still have the ability to do Vigilante missions but now you get to access the Police computer and hunt down criminals by name, current crimes, pictures off of your cell phone, or call in back up. These two little touches really put a ton of diversity into both of those cars. Lastly, the radio has a ton of new radio stations ranging from oldies, hip hop, rap, rock, alternative, tencho, R&B, and everything in between. There are so many radio stations that I have just spent most of my time listening to the talk shows because they are hilarious. Here is a vid of the police harassing the good citizen that is Nico

That's it for now, i have a lot more to say but don't want to make this hub 20 pages long so there are just a few of the things that have made me really appreciate the technical achievements of the Grand Theft Auto IV game. Drop off a few comments if you have some other wow moments or questions. I'll hopefully be reviewing the game soon but still haven't beat it. With school out i should have more time to play. Happy Hubbin and stay tuned for more wow moments.