Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action-adventure video gamedeveloped by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 29 April 2008 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, and on 2 December 2008 on Microsoft Windows. It is the eleventh title in the Grand Theft Auto series, and the first main entry since Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in 2004. As the first title in the series to be released for the seventh generation of video game consoles, Grand Theft Auto IV was highly anticipated preceding its release.
Grand Theft Auto IV is played from a third-person perspective in an open world environment, allowing the player to interact with the game world at their leisure. The game is set within the fictional state of Liberty City, which is heavily based on New York City.[note 1] The single-player story follows Niko Bellic, a veteran of an unnamed war in Eastern Europe who comes to the United States in search of someone important, but quickly becomes entangled in a world of gangs, crime, and corruption. An online multiplayer mode is included with the game, allowing up to 16 players to engage in both co-operative and competitive gameplay in a recreation of the single-player setting.[note 2] Two expansion packs were later released as downloadable content for the game, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, which both feature new plots that are interconnected with the main Grand Theft Auto IV storyline, and follow new protagonists.
Development began shortly following the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Upon its release, the game was acclaimed by many reviewers who praised its story missions, setting, and updates from previous games in the series. A commercial success, Grand Theft Auto IV broke industry sales records by earning US $500 million in the first week of its release.
Its successor, Grand Theft Auto V, was released on 17 September 2013, and has also received universal critical acclaim.
Quite like its predecessors, Grand Theft Auto IV allows the player to intervene on a large open world environment. On foot, the player character can walk, run, jump, climb over obstacles and swim, as well as use weapons and perform basic hand-to-hand combat. Players can steal and drive a variety of vehicles, including automobiles, boats, helicopters, and motorcycles.Grand Theft Auto IV takes advantage of Natural Motion's Euphoria engine, which combines artificial intelligence, bio-mechanics and physics to make open, non-linear environments that allow players to explore and choose how they wish to play the game. Although completing most of the storyline missions are necessary to progress through the game and unlock certain content and parts of the city, they are not required, as players can complete them at their own leisure. When not attempting a storyline mission, players can free-roam, giving them the ability to do activities. Some side missions include locating and destroying criminals in the police car database, or participating in street races. The player can also swim, a feature that was introduced in San Andreas, but missing from prior titles.
It is possible to have several active missions running at one time, as some missions run over the course of several days and require the player to wait for further instructions or events. The player can also attempt a variety of optional side missions.Grand Theft Auto IV also contains morality choices at points throughout the game, which alter the storyline appropriately depending on the player's choice. Which of the game's two different endings occurs is determined by one of these choices.
Gunfights in Grand Theft Auto IV are conducted using a third-person system.[6] The game's cover system allows the player to deftly move between cover, to fire blindly, aim freely, and target a specific enemy. Individual body parts can also be targeted.[7]Additionally, Niko can perform "cinematic executions" at certain points in the story. Niko's health is shown by a green semicircle on the left side of the mini-map, while a blue semicircle on the right represents armour. When locked on a target, their health and (if applicable) armour level appears in the target circle. There are more hand-to-hand combat moves than in past games in the series, including dodging and blocking, disarming an opponent and counter-attacking.
If Niko is injured he can recover health using various techniques, including eating, using medical kits or calling for paramedics. Body armour can absorb gunshots and explosive damage but is gradually used up in the process.[8] If Niko's health level reaches zero, the action stops, and he re-appears at the nearest hospital having lost some money (but retaining his weapons).
The Wanted Level system has changed from previous Grand Theft Auto games. Although their star levels are retained (which increase with the number or severity of criminal acts by the player, with corresponding increases in law enforcement interference), the law enforcement agencies which may pursue the player have changed, with the focus on making them more realistic. In previous Grand Theft Auto titles, as wanted level rose the player was pursued by increasingly well-armed and violent agencies, culminating with the Army at the highest wanted level. In Grand Theft Auto IV, the LCPD (Liberty City Police Department) are assisted by other authoritative forces like the FIB, the game's rendition of the FBI and N.O.O.S.E, the city's S.W.A.T team and the game's rendition of the Department of Homeland Security.
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