Niko Bellic, a Serbian ex-soldier, had witnessed the horrors of war, which had rendered him bitter and cynical. Dissatisfied with life, he immigrates to America, which his cousin Roman joyfully praises as a land of money and pleasure. However, the reality is entirely different: Roman is destitute, has no stable work, and owes money to questionable individuals. As Niko tries to aid his helpless cousin and achieve a better future for both, he becomes increasingly embroiled in the criminal underworld. A passionate urge to track down a guy who had betrayed him in Serbia leads Niko to compromise his morality, and once he crosses the line, there is no turning back…
Grand Theft Auto IV is the ninth installment in the Grand Theft Auto series, the fourth main game, and the first for the seventh generation of consoles. Following the series’ previous 3D installments, the game is set entirely in one of the original GTA’s three cities, Liberty City, but in the present day, with a landscape reminiscent of GTA III, albeit more extensive and detailed. Liberty City is strongly modeled after New York, and the protagonist must earn respect, well-being, and power throughout the game.
Like in previous GTA games, the city map is gradually revealed throughout the game. The player begins in Broker (based in Brooklyn) and must proceed through the plot to visit the city’s other three districts (based on the other four boroughs of New York City). The game follows the standard format of missions. The player can sometimes engage in multiple tasks simultaneously and has free access to the game’s non-mission elements while on one.
GTA IV includes most of the standard components of exploration and interaction with the city. Niko can generate mayhem in the town by hijacking cars, listening to radio stations, observing citizen behavior, entering thematic buildings, working as a vigilante, taxi driver, or ambulance driver, hiring a prostitute, going to a strip club, and so on. The ability to watch television (with multiple channels showing various fictional programs) and connect to a fictional Internet, with functional websites (mainly of a hilarious character) made particularly for the game and an e-mail program is among the new features. Other enhancements include searching for offenders in the police department database from a police car, hiring taxi cabs to travel to specific destinations safely, widespread mobile phone use, enhanced pedestrian A.I., and others.
Some prior game elements are absent, such as drivable airplanes and a few other vehicle types. Niko can still swim and have romantic ties with female characters, both introduced in San Andreas. However, the previous entry’s light role-playing features (training to boost stamina, eating, etc.) have been deleted.
GTA IV emphasizes third-person shooter gameplay more than previous versions; most missions devote more time to on-foot navigation and shooting. Crouching, leaning, and taking cover play a more significant role in fighting. Hand-to-hand combat has also been improved, allowing Niko to execute more precise moves.
The game employs the euphoric motion engine, an alternate middleware solution similar to ragdoll physics. It causes all characters in the game environment to move realistically in response to their surroundings. For example, when Niko enters a car, a distinct animation is generated based on his position about the automobile.
Multiplayer is a novel feature in comparison to its predecessors. In 15 scenarios, the same free-roaming environment is available for up to 16 players (32 in the Windows version). Specific modes constrict the surroundings to keep players near one another. In comparison to the console releases, the Windows version has higher-resolution visuals, a video editor for capturing and editing in-game footage, and the ability to personalize the radio station Independence FM with your tunes.
