Grand Theft Auto IV Critic Reviews

It's got a world you believe in, a cast you care about and a script stuffed with brilliant moments... Utterly stunning in every resepct.

Expectations were so high for Grand Theft Auto IV that one of the biggest surprises is that it's managed to meet them. That it's also gone on to confound these is truly a marvel, and the game's Liberty City is nothing less than one of the greatest videogame worlds yet conceived.

I could go on and on about why Grand Theft Auto IV is one of the best games we've ever seen and why even folks who are easily offended should play it, but that would be pointless. The only thing you need to know is that you have to play this game. Period.

Almost everything you do in Liberty City would be good enough to drive its own game, and the best parts would be good enough to outrun the competition, but the reason it works so well is that Rockstar has made a game that requires no patience to play. This, as much as its usual coherency and the best script in the series, is what makes GTA IV the best openworld game yet, and why it will take something miraculous to rob it of game of the year status.

None of these little flaws take away from Liberty City's breathtaking vistas, incredibly varied scenery, and lived-in look (the PS3 version has the slightest visual edge, plus motion-control support -- but then it's missing Achievements and the eventual downloadable episodes exclusive to the 360 game). The city just feels alive.

The very nature of the American Dream is the central theme in Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV, a gaming masterpiece that is a picture-perfect snapshot of the underworld of today's big cities. This is not only the finest title of the generation thus far, it is one of the best games of all-time.

It's amazing that a sequel that keeps the core gameplay concepts of its prior incarnations can do so much to change itself into something new. Cabs are awesome, as is the cellphones capabilities. But perhaps the biggest innovation is the notion that you can create a game that's as valid a piece of art as any book or movie. Is this our "Citizen Kane" moment?

Grand Theft Auto IV lives up to its grand expectations by weaving a Hollywood-ready "American Dream" plotline with a finely-tuned game experience -- taking the tried-and-true GTA formula and plugging it into a living, breathing version of Liberty City.

Considering the fact that it's been a target of political and media pundits who keep harping on the infamous "Hot Coffee" incident, it's understandable to think that Rockstar might tone down the adult themes in GTA IV. But thankfully, that didn't happen. This is a mature game, and a devilishly good one at that.

I now know how film critics felt after screening "The Godfather." It's been days since Grand Theft Auto IV's credits rolled, yet I can't seem to construct a coherent thought without my mind wandering off into a daydream about the game. I just want to drop everything in my life so I can play it again. Experience it again. Live it again...Grand Theft Auto IV doesn't just raise the bar for the storied franchise; it completely changes the landscape of gaming.

We all knew GTA 4 would be a great game and sell millions of copies, but I didn't expect it to shame pretty much every other game I've played this generation.

GTA IV is the best action game ever. The game has beautiful details, nice situations, extrodinary gameplay, sharp humor and great graphics. There are certainly a few minor negatives about the game, but the positive points are just too much. We have one piece of advice: Buy!

Smashing down the barriers between videogames and movies, GTA4 is what happens when flawless game design and ridiculously high production values collide.

A game that you simply have to play. The single-player game, which you can still play long after you complete the story, is the series' best by far, and the multiplayer features are good enough that you'll likely have no problem finding people to play with for many months to come.

With so much to see and do that even months of play won’t cover it all and some of the tightest mechanics seen in a modern game, GTA IV is every bit as good as you could ask for it to be. You quite simply will not need another game this year.

The important thing is that after many years of frustrating missions, driving back home to save repeatedly, struggling with wonky physics, and dealing with farcical storylines, GTA IV has delivered a polished and almost fully renovated experience with a darker and more mature treatment of the subject matter.

In order to describe every little thing that you see in this game would require volumes. There is a staggering level of detail and for every detail we've mentioned so far, there are at least a dozen we've missed. Still, that's the beauty of Grand Theft Auto IV: the details will always be there for you to discover yourself.

Rockstar North has once again managed to elevate the GTA franchise to new levels of excellence. It's the best GTA experience to date, with a fantastic online mode to boot. Sure, this title does have its share of flaws, but when the game as a whole is nothing short of a masterpiece there is no reason as to why this game shouldn’t be a perfect ten.

In my opinion, Grand Theft Auto IV is the best game of this generation, thus far, and one of the best games ever made.

It's not merely the fact that Rockstar have taken an already engaging gameworld and rebuilt it from the ground up, it's the fact that they've done that, and shoehorned in realistic weather systems, day to night transitions, realtime lighting, realistic character movement and animation, realistic physics and kinetics, incidental details, solid and well written dialogue, convincing AI and non-player characters and a multiplayer system that puts other games to shame.