Because some people would rather not go through page after page of my rant about GTA IV, here’s the skinny on the flaws. It’s also a little more organized.
1) “Living” city must be on life support.
Just go to Star Junction. Maybe people who have never been to Times Square wouldn’t notice, but the number of people who walk the streets is absolutely unacceptable. Rockstar essentially built an architect’s model of a city. The buildings are all there, the architecture is visibly appreciable, the signage is modeled accurately. But where are all the people? Where are all the cars? It feels like a ghost town. You can get away with this in some areas of Liberty City, but certainly not in Star Junction. The other thing that I kept reading about was the “verticality” of the game. I was incredibly disappointed to see that Niko couldn’t seem to learn how to reach his hands up to grab onto a fire escape.
2) Liberty City currency is worthless
You earn money as your rise through the ranks of the criminal underworld. You would think that there is something to do with that money. What can you do with your hard earned cash? Buy weapons and ammo; clothe yourself; feed yourself. There is little to do with your money in this game. There isn’t any reason to hoard your money, there isn’t any reason to earn it either. In GTA IV, money is worthless.
3) Lack of depth in regards to activities, shopping, etc.
Your currency is worthless because there is nothing to do with it. All we get are a couple of mini-games. We get to bowl, shoot pool, and play darts. There are only three clothing shops. Life feels hollow after the story is complete. There is no reason to keep going. Having $750,000 means nothing. You don’t feel that striving for the American Dream has got you anywhere. There is motivation to earn money because there is no reward, nothing to spend it on.
Now, about the cops…
