Grand Theft Auto has never really been a franchise that excited me. As much as I attempt to present a rough, from the streets, etc, persona, the fact is that I am very much a straight arrow, and a game that focuses on criminal activity pretty much exclusively has therefore never really appealed to me. Games such as Crackdown, where one is?ostensibly, at least?working on the side of Law, and for the Greater Good, are ones that I can enjoy much more readily. Pedestrians that are accidentally run down are sacrifices for the ultimate salvation of Pacific City, not collateral damage in a drug-fueled quest for money and, well, more drugs. So while my girlfriend might be able to take some sort of sick, disturbed joy in beating up innocent sailors with a baseball bat to take what small amount of money they have, I’ve generally steered clear of the franchise.
GTA IV, however, has piqued my attention. Not so much because the formula has been changed?I have absolutely no doubt that it remains the same?but for some other reason that I am having difficultly putting my finger on. Perhaps playing Crackdown has given me an new appreciation for sandbox games, and I am itching for another city in which to run wild. Perhaps what can only be described as a multitude of multi-player options has enticed me. Perhaps the increasingly dark and onerous toil of life has taken its toll on my optimism and moral compass, leaving me to no longer consider murder, extortion, and drug-running as reprehensible, but instead as viable business ventures. Whatever the reason, I fully intend to buy this game when it’s released, well, tomorrow.
As I’ve mentioned, well, twice, so far, Crackdown is the only gaming experience I’ve had thus far that comes close to what I imagine GTA IV will be like. As anyone who’s played Crackdown knows, there aren’t really “missions”; your job is just to kill a bunch of dudes. The GTA series has never employed this much looser mission structure, and from what I hear, GTA IV is no different. Although I enjoy the extreme openness of Crackdown, I’m looking forward to something that can only be described as more RPG-esque. Although early accounts have reported that many of the missions are difficult, clear goals, and lots of them, are something that I really enjoy in my games. My real hope is that there will be a multitude of missions totally unrelated to the main story, Oblivion-style. A large number of “side-quests”, for lack of better term, is a gameplay mechanic that really helps me immerse myself in a game, and the world it takes place in. The idea that everything you do in a world is only relevant insofar as it relates to the main storyline is something that I feel really detracts from any game. When a game can answer the question “What is everyone else doing?”, then it has, in my view, succeeded in creating a world, and not just a game.
The rumored DLC cities are another thing that has me?and this is, perhaps, the understatement of the year?extremely excited. I don’t believe I’ve made a secret of the fact that I am a huge fan of DLC, or at least the idea of it implemented properly. Adding entire new cities?which would essentially amount to new games?to the existing game creates a system that I hope we begin to see more of. I’m taking about the game itself as a platform, of sorts. I’ve talked about this on the show, but I just wanted to mention it here. The only games I can think of right off the bat that have done this are RPGs; Oblivion and Mass Effect. Oblivion’s offering was, unarguably, far more significant, but both games offered a significant amount of new content for a reasonable fee. This sort of thing has been around for a long time, of course, in many games; UT and its famous mods, for instance. I am certainly not adverse to paying for content?in fact, even though I really like keeping my money, I am usually happy to pay for games that I like because I like to think it ensures that if the developer and publisher see people buying their game they will make more games like it. It’s really a pretty simple principle. Now that I have a real job, I am even more willing to do this. I don’t mean, of course, that I don’t want good deals on my games?after all, I only bought Crackdown after it dropped to $15. This is why I love the idea of new cities as DLC for GTA IV. I would be more than happy to pay $20 or $30 for what is essentially a new game instead of going out and paying $60 for another disc that gives me essentially the same thing. Rockstar gets my money, I get my game, and everyone is happy. Angels descend from Heaven, and hallelujahs are sung. Not only do I basically get a new game for a great price, but that new game also plugs right into my old game, offering even more possibilities than two separate games. Before long, Nico is no longer just running around in Liberty City?he has an entire world to play in. I am not ashamed to tell you that the very idea gets me sexually excited.
I am very hopeful that GTA IV will live up to at least some of my expectations. After all, I hear the reviews are good, sometimes ridiculously so. Will it let me down somewhere? Of course it will. Nothing is perfect. But if it lives up to even some of its promises, I’m pretty sure my 360 will be seeing a lot of Liberty City in the coming weeks.
Oh, and did I mention that apparently the plot and characterization are really good? Yes please.