Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 sandbox-style action-adventure video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by Rockstar North, which has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system. The game involves a separate timeline and world than its predecessors in the Grand Theft Auto series, starting the fourth “era” in the series, and is set in fictional Liberty City, based heavily on modern day New York City.[a] The game follows Niko Bellic, an Eastern European war veteran who comes to the United States in search of the American Dream, but quickly becomes entangled in a world of gangs, crime, and corruption. Like other games in the series, GTA IV is composed of elements from driving games and third-person shooters, and features “open-world” gameplay, in which players can interact with the game world at their leisure. Grand Theft Auto IV also features several online multiplayer modes.
Two expansion packs have been developed for the game, originally released as downloadable content for the Xbox 360 version throughout 2009. Both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony feature new plots that are interconnected with the main GTA IV storyline, and follow new protagonists. The two episodes have been released together for all platforms as a stand-alone game called Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City. Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition is a bundle that includes both the original GTA IV game and the Episodes.
Quite like its predecessors, the core gameplay of GTA IV consists of giving the player a large, open world environment in which to move around freely. 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 NPC behaviour and movement adaptive and more realistic.
The open, non-linear environment allows players to explore and choose how they wish to play the game. Although 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. Side missions such as locating and destroying criminals in the police car database or participating in street races can keep the player occupied for hours.
It is possible to have many 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 many 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.
System requirements
Minimum system requirements
OS: Windows XP/Vista
Processor: Intel Core 2 DUO @ 1.8 GHz/AMD Athlon 64 X2 @ 2.4 GHz
Memory: 1.5 GB
Hard Drive: 16 GB Free
Video Memory: 256 MB (nVidia GeForce 7900/ATI Radeon X1900)
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 9.0c
Keyboard & Mouse
DVD Rom Drive
Recommended system requirements
OS: Windows XP/Vista
Processor: Intel Core 2 QUAD @ 2.4 GHz/AMD Phenom X3 @ 2.1 GHz
Memory: 2 GB (2.5 GB for Vista)
Hard Drive: 18 GB Free
Video Memory: 512 MB (nVidia GeForce 8600/ATI 3870)
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 9.0c or 10
Keyboard & Mouse
DVD Rom Drive
