A lot of superlative phrases are thrown around these days when game publishers are trying to hype their newest releases; Hollywood-quality story, emergent gameplay, genre-defining gameplay, and living, breathing worlds are common terms, all of which have been used in reference to the Grand Theft Auto series for quite some time, despite many (including myself much of the time) arguing to the contrary. Well, just like the Earth revolves around the sun, the hype wagon is once again in full effect, claiming that Rockstar's newest entry in the series, Grand Theft Auto IV, will shatter all expectations and deliver the most immersing gaming experience yet. Does it live up to such grandiose claims and is such a feat even possible?

Haunted by a dark past, Niko Bellic is forced to leave his unknown Eastern European homeland in hopes of finding greener pastures in America. Lured to Liberty City by his cousin Roman's tales of fast cars, easy women and huge estates, Niko finds Liberty City to be a lot less than he'd hoped for; upon his arrival he discovers that Roman is in fact in debt to criminals all over town and his "mansion" is a small, one-bedroom apartment that looks like it should be condemned. With nowhere else to go, Niko is forced to take his chances in Liberty City and help Roman get back on his feet while simultaneously searching for a figure from his shady past.

The mystery surrounding Niko's past is something that GTA veterans will likely not be accustomed to; in past games of the series the protagonist's motives are clearly shown, leaving little question as to why a character acts in the ways that he does. At the beginning of GTA IV though, Niko's past is shady and unknown, and his reasons for fleeing from his unknown Eastern European country are vague at best. While a plot device like this has the potential to go sour, being quite similar to the overused amnesia angle that many games utilize these days, it adds an interesting effect to the proceedings: just as the city begins to open up and you can use more effective weaponry, Niko's past also becomes clearer, along with his motivation. It's an interesting effect and is made somehow more poignant thanks to the parallel expansion of the city's borders.

Another interesting choice Rockstar has made is the decision not to include any big name actors in the story; any celebrities found within Liberty City are either on TV or taking the roles of Radio DJs. While an argument can be made for the kitsch value of celebrity voice talent, it's hard to deny the effect of their removal; the story is the star now, not the actors portraying it. Instead of listening for and laughing at the Burt Reynolds, Ice-T or Samuel L. Jackson appearances, the characters themselves and their own personal quirkiness shine through. The obvious risk, though, is that without A-list actors (or close enough, I'm looking at you, Gary Busey) the voice work would suffer. Thankfully, the performances here are almost always top notch as the conversations flow naturally and the nuances of each character's individual personality are shown off nicely. Another impressive feat is the fact that normally stereotypical characters - such as Little Jacob, a pot-smoking Rasta, and Brucie, a steroid-abusing narcissist - manage to still feel like people with actual character and motivations for their actions, rather than being reduced to simple caricatures. More fascinating than the other players in the story is evolution - or devolution, depending on how you look at it - of Niko himself, and the effect he has on how most players will actually play the game. When the game opens, Niko is mournful of his past and bent on changing his ways and becoming a much more respectable human being. This unusual portrayal of a GTA protagonist, along with the new Euphoria physics engine that gives pedestrians much more sympathy (more on that later), will likely mean that you'll start the game trying to keep in character; I found myself avoiding hitting pedestrians, walking respectfully around the stores in town, and overall, trying to be a more respectable citizen. As Niko spends more time in Liberty City though, his demeanor slowly shifts and his reactions to the inevitable tasks set before him changes with it. It's a fascinating dynamic once I finally caught onto it, and it really helps the story become more meaningful in the end, as my actions seemed to parallel those of Niko's quite noticeably.

Is all of this saying that the game's story is Hollywood-caliber, and that the bar for narrative in games has been raised? Well, no, not really. While the story is exceptionally well delivered - the characters are actually interesting (especially Niko, who is one of the most easily likable playable characters in recent memory) and you'll feel more attached to the story than usual, thanks to the legitimately tough decisions that you're forced to make throughout the game - it's not without its disconnects. For one, almost all of the main story segments are forced to end with the same result: Person X is a rival gang leader/betrayed me/is in my way, and I need to teach him a lesson/bump him off. While the game deviates from this formula on occasion, it's still a staple in more than its fair share of the cut scenes. Also noticeable is the lack of originality during the introduction of main characters; seemingly everyone in the story meets Niko because they, or someone they know, needs Niko to help them with something. You don't meet anyone important by chance, or at an event, or anything of that ilk, and it takes away the humanity of the story a bit and makes you realize that, alas, it's still just a game. So, while the story is certainly exceptional and one of the better tales in gaming, there is still a way to go before we're in contention for film's storytelling crown.

An aspect of the game with just as much impact as the story though is city in which it takes place. The newest iteration of Liberty City is breathtaking upon first glance, and not just because of the shiny new graphics (which are impressive considering the scale). The real magic that makes the city feel so alive is in the smaller details; all of the storefronts look like real (albeit satire-filled) locations, the backdrops of adjacent islands look beautiful, especially when lit up at night, and the citizens roam the streets, engage in conversations that seem plausible and interesting, performing menial tasks like shopping or buying hot dogs along the way. It's such a busy city that sometimes I enjoyed just looking out at all it from the back seat of a cab instead of simply skipping the ride entirely.

There are a few things that take you out of the experience though. First up is the variable frame rate, and while it maintains a reasonable speed most of the time, it's not unusual during busier section to see it dip dramatically. Another graphical issue is the amount of textural pop-in found throughout the game; it's not unusual to find yourself running into the interior of building only to find a blurry mess for the first five or so seconds - and all of this is assuming that the building you wanted to enter isn't just a prop. As great as all of the storefronts look, not all of them are real, and as such you'll find yourself trying to enter quite a few, only to find out that you can't. While this is fine for most businesses, some are fairly questionable, such as a Cluck N' Bells that you inexplicably can't enter, despite being able to go into others around town. Most disappointing, however, is the tease that is the arcade in China Town. It's got an extremely believable sign that's all flashing lights and retro looking 8-bit sprite art on the windows, but it's all for naught, as it's not a real building. You broke my heart, Rockstar.

Of course, like all recent iterations the series, the music found in the game is exceptional and captures the setting very well. While not quite on par with the series' best (Vice City), it's still a great collection of wildly varying tracks. Who would've thought that Elton John would be in the same game as Busta Rhymes and LCD Soundsystem? But while the music is great as always, it's disappointing that the ads and talk radio are still littered with sophomoric humor. While they may be laugh out loud funny in some instances, they really contrast with the well written and serious of tone main story.

The most fascinating aspect of the city I found while plowing through the game was that you can have a genuinely good time just living in this city. Bored of all of the violence and extortion? Then why not call your girlfriend up and go to a live cabaret or comedy show? Feel like relaxing at home? Then why not watch one of the many surprisingly entertaining shows available on TV (think along the lines of the radio station, only with a visual element as well)? In a partying mood? Then why not go drinking with Roman and shamble after taxis, screaming for them to stop? Feeling more active? Then you could go bowling, play darts, or have a couple games of pool. As with their real-life counterparts, most of the activities you can find in GTA IV are genuinely enjoyable and help you to grow roots in the city, away from rampant gang violence and cut scenes.

Another facet that really gives the streets of Liberty City life is the new Euphoria physics system, which causes everything and, most impressively, everyone in the game to react appropriately to each situation. Unlike in games featuring standard ragdoll physics, people no longer crumple lifelessly when their health reaches zero. Now when someone is bumped into or knocked down, they try to brace themselves accordingly; when you gently tap someone with the hood of your car, they plant their hands on the hood and curse you out; when you shoot someone in the leg, they crumple accordingly, eventually getting up and limping away from you while begging for mercy. One of the more impressive effects though is the effect on Niko (and friends) when drunk; your vision blurs considerably, while Niko sways back and forth in real time in an almost fruitless attempt to keep his balance, bracing himself where appropriate in order to keep himself upright. All of this, of course, translates to driving drunk as well, which is made exponentially more difficult while inebriated, not to mention that it makes you a magnet for police. So, while it is possible to drive drunk in the game, it's certainly not endorsed in any way, especially considering that any character with you at the time, or Niko himself, says something along the lines of "this is a really stupid idea" whenever you get behind the wheel while drunk. The lesson here? Take a cab, friends.

Another tool that really makes you feel connected to Liberty City is the addition of Niko's cell phone. You can talk to friends to get new missions, chat for a bit to collect snippets of story, or just ask if a buddy wants to get a bite to eat. After sufficiently wooing said friends, they offer up a new service for Niko to call upon, all of which are extremely useful - from calling for a free cab ride to asking a friend to meet you in a back alley to sell you some extra firearms, you'll find yourself calling upon your friends for favors quite often. In fact, I found myself trying to call the random numbers found on billboards throughout town, but this more often than not resulted in a busy tone, which really took me out of the experience. While it's hard to ask Rockstar to put even more into an already stuffed game, a simple greeting message from each number would have been a cool addition. Oh well, there's always GTA V!

Of course, the real meat and potatoes of the series has always been the over-the-top gameplay, which remains intact and, in many cases, has been improved upon in this newest iteration. One of the most notable improvements is the updated gunplay system. In past games, the poor lock-on system was undoubtedly the weakest link in the games; it wasn't uncommon in the heat of battle to find yourself frantically switching from pedestrian to enemy, trying to select the right target. Luckily, almost all of the old issues have been fixed during the leap to the current generation; with a focus heavily on using cover, the new aiming system - and in turn the combat itself - has a much more methodical feel to it. The most obvious change is the inclusion of an effective cover system. While in the past you more often than not found yourself clumsily walking into a room and trying to auto-aim an enemy as quickly as possible, you now feel much more in control of a situation. Thanks to the ability to stick against a doorway a la Gears of War or Uncharted, you can either blind-fire at enemies or poke out of cover and pick someone off. It's a seemingly small addition on paper, but it really slows down the gun battles and adds a level of strategy not found in the older games, especially when combined with the Euphoria physics engine. Say you're outgunned and an enemy is seemingly glued to his cover, not really giving you much to aim at, making rushing him a very bad idea. But you're in luck because the enemy has left his knee exposed! A simple aiming adjustment, a quick bullet into the exposed limb, and the enemy is down on all fours at your mercy. It's a feeling of empowerment never really found in GTA before, no matter how big a gun you had, and along with the new instant mission restarts, it drastically reduces the frustration formerly synonymous with the later missions in the series. It may not be quite at the level of a game like Uncharted, and there are still instances where an enemy sneaks up behind you and the game goes hog-wild while you try desperately to aim at the guy who's unloading a shotgun directly into your spine, but it's certainly not nearly at the level it was in games past.

And speaking of games past, the driving physics have been overhauled for this outing as well, although the results are more of a wash. Gone are the easy e-brake drifts of old; the cars are much more realistic this time around, meaning that old road-boats control as such. In fact, it means that anything short of a high-end sports car corners like a wet bar of soap on an ice rink. It's definitely a shift towards more realistic driving and it can certainly be adjusted to, but having to slow to a reasonable speed before every turn feels a bit out of place in Grand Theft Auto; part of the appeal of the game before was the ludicrous high-speed chases where you could barrel around a corner at the last second to fake out pursuers. That doesn't mean that the chases are no longer exciting - they still are, especially in combination with the aforementioned Euphoria physics - it's just that they aren't quite as seat-of-your-pants fast. In fact, probably the biggest victim of the new physics are the motorbikes; without the ability to drift into a corner, the bikes have to come to almost a complete stop before turning. What this translates to is that when you're being tailed, almost every time you try to turn, someone will barrel right into you, severely injuring you, if not killing you on the spot. All in all it's more of a personal preference as to whether you'll like the new driving model more than those of the previous games, but either way it's very possible to get accustomed to if given half a chance.

On top of the already extremely meaty story campaign is a bevy of multiplayer modes - a first for GTA on console. It's a pretty impressive technical feat that Rockstar has created sixteen-player online matches with the entirety of Liberty City available as your playground, and certainly not one they really needed to make, considering the depth of the single player campaign. Fortunately, what's included here is not simply an afterthought. On top of the freeform Party mode, where you and your friends are dropped into the city to do as you please, there's a range of modes at your disposal, from the obvious deathmatch variants to races to co-op escort missions and more. In fact, there is a large amount of customization for each mode itself; want to race in a small section of Broker with checkpoints in short order, or a Cannonball Run-style choose your own path race across the entire city? Want it to be confined to one car, or have players able to abandon their vehicle for another at any time? Whatever your style, you're sure to find something here to like and someone to play it with, thanks to GTA's enormous fanbase. With that said, be aware that the community reflects its mainstream success, as it's full of poor sports, racists, squeaky kids, and stoned/drunken frat boys in almost every match. As such, it's a game you'll probably want to play exclusively with friends, unless you're desperate for a quick fix.

So, is Grand Theft Auto IV the gaming masterpiece - the Godfather, War and Peace, or Beethoven's Fifth? Not quite. It may be more of an evolution than the revolution that some were expecting, and as such, people who disliked the series before will no doubt continue to do so. For fans or people new to the franchise though, there's little doubt that what's been delivered is amazing quality. Although not quite perfect, GTA IV is still easily the best iteration of the series yet. Given that you are of age and maturity to handle the content of the series, GTA IV is, without a doubt, a must own for anyone interested in once again walking the streets of Liberty City.

Reviewed by Jordan Wasilka for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).