READ THIS **MUST HAVE** 360 OWNERS A+++++ MASTERFUL!!!!

The fourth installment of the popular series by Rockstar features improved graphics, new features, and new gameplay. Players take on the role of Niko Bellic, a rough-around-the-edge chap from Eastern Europe. Niko has arrived in America, in Liberty City -- a land full of promise and opportunity. His cousin convinced him to emigrate, to join him in his mansion and life of luxury, but as soon as he steps off the boat, Niko discovers the truth about the American way. Still, the wealth, the comfort, the bliss of the good life, it all really is here ... And it's all for the taking.

GTA IV reinvents the series with a renewed version of Liberty City detailed to the last pothole and rooftop vent. There are now four boroughs to explore plus extra area outside of Liberty City proper. With the ability to climb obstacles, drive cars, steer boats and pilot helicopters, the world of GTA is more accessible than ever before.
ESRB Rating: M for Intense Violence, Blood, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Partial Nudity, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
Genre: Third-Person Action Adventure
Online Play: 16 Versus / 4 Co-Op
Also Available On: PlayStation 3, PC
Release Date: April 29, 2008
MSRP: $59.99
April 29, 2008
MSRP: GBP £49.99
April 29, 2008
Expansion Packs:
{XBL EXPANSION} Grand Theft Auto IV: Downloadable Expansion Pack I

Niko Bellic
A character from the Grand Theft Auto universe. Niko Bellic lived it rough back home, but his cousin Roman has convinced him that there is a place where life is good. So Niko has left the Old Country to come to America, to Liberty City...

All Characters:
Bledar Morina
Brucie Villetta
Bryce Dawkins
Elizabeta (GTA)
Francis McReary
Mallorie (GTA)
Manny Escuela
Niko Bellic
Phil Bell
Roman Bellic
Vlad Glebov

story: Niko Bellic is just of the boat from Eastern Europe, to find that his cousin is in trouble. He is in debt and the loan sharks are after him.
You as Niko must help him out.

At the moment these are all the new updates i know in grand theft auto IV.

In San Andreas you were able to play pool, i assume now in IV you are able to gamble, dance, shoot hoops, hit the arcade and also sky dive.

Pedestrian holding an umbrella in the rain. A small touch that adds a ton of realism. Will people wear hats when it's sunny? Coats when it snows? Will it snow?

Their will possibly be a new weapon 'hacksaw' that will replace the chainsaw off Vice City and San Andreas? GTA IV is more Sopranos than Scarface, so the switch would be appropriate.

Nikolai falling out of the sky and onto a car roof. First, he's really falling; his back is to the ground, not his feet like in every other GTA. Second, he seems to drop and lose his weapon while plummeting. Third, he doesn't land on his feet, unhurt, but smashes and dents the vehicle. Finally, the car's headlights shatter individually from the impact. Wow.

The firefighter missions are back. This scene also shows off the game's rain. It lashes more than falls, leaves behind huge puddles and splashes when each drop hits the ground.

Check out the blood on Nikolai's outfit. Our hero's appearance changes dynamically with the damage he takes.

Another possible example of the improved vehicle damage physics. A police car skids sideways into a semi truck and receives a massive dent in the exact location of impact. Also, can cars skid on their sides now, instead of automatically flipping onto their roofs and exploding?

Anyways i wont spoil any more.

Surprisingly Addicting

You play as an Eastern European man, Niko Bellic, who is taken into the American culture by his cousin, Roman. Although promised that the ‘American Dream’ was as simple as can be, Niko learns that there’s a lot more to ‘making it’ in America. Battle gang members and uncover secrets as you make your way through possibly the best videogame storyline of all time.
There’s only one word that can describe my reaction to the graphics… speechless. I really don’t even know what to say. It’s as real as you will probably ever see. The texture is unbelievable and the game is just so goddamn realistic. I don’t think I can think of any flaws. Also, unlike other GTA games, there are very few glitches, and that makes the game even more enjoyable (unless you’re one of the losers who is just looking to find what’s wrong in the game).
Like always, the soundtrack for the game is crazy. There’s so many different genres and no matter what kind of sound you’re looking for, whether it be rap, rock, metal, classical, jazz, blues, country, techno, etc, the music will blow you off your feet. But the one thing that truly made my jaw drop was the commentary. Not only was it unbelievably realistic and fun, but every time you fail a mission and have to start over, the commentary from each character changes. It’s hard to explain… you have to see it for yourself to understand.
The controls are even more advanced than they used to be, and I didn’t even know that was possible. Also, the difficulty of the game is at the perfect level (not too easy, not too hard) and can be beaten by anyone who really makes a good attempt. And thank god, ‘RockStar’ decided to finally cut down on the cheat code count which really got annoying on San Andreas and Vice City. So props to them for making that sacrifice.
If you don’t have a ball playing this game, then there must be something mentally wrong with you. Unlike the old GTA games, the missions are actually probably more exciting and action filled than just driving around and shooting people in the face (not to say that isn’t ridiculously fun). After the first mission, you will immediately be hooked to the storyline and won’t be able to turn your system off until you beat the game. This is probably the game that causes 50% of RROD on the 360.

Replay Value: High

It's no San Andreas

I love the GTA series. Having the freedom to do whatever you want whenever you want in a living environment has endless fun potential. It was Vice City that reeled me in to the GTA scene and I have enjoyed every game after. San Andreas took the series to new heights with its expanded map and character customizations. Unfortunately, after playing GTA 4, I realized many of the things that made San Andreas the pinnacle of GTA games were sadly omitted in this latest installment.

The biggest omission was the toned down customization. You can still buy different outfits for your character, but it is nothing like San Andreas. Also gone is the car customization. Sure, it really didn't do anything to enhance the cars performance, but I enjoyed making my cars unique and I hoped with the new technology the designers would of added new depths, but they instead took it out completely.

Some people might of found the attribute building in San Andreas a pain, but I enjoyed the RPG aspect. It gave me more of a sense of accomplishment knowing my character was weak in the beginning, but much more powerful in the end.

The cars drive much more differently than in past GTA titles. You are more likely to skid and spinout than pulling off a cool 180. It took me awhile to get the hang of the new car physics and it isn't much of a bother now, but some might consider this a large demerit for GTA 4.

The radio stations are always a big draw since you do spend most of your time driving around and they add to the atmosphere of being in a city. The Vice City GTAs and San Andreas had the best soundtracks and funniest commercials and radio shows. For some reason, the GTA games based in Liberty City have a strange sound track and the radio shows don't seem as funny.

Though a lot of what I enjoyed in past games was either removed or altered, there are a some things that GTA 4 added that I did enjoy. I liked the cell phone feature, though having someone call you while you are doing something can be annoying. Using the internet is also another nice feature, but I wish it was more interactive. Bowling is a nice distraction along with playing pool(introduced in San Andreas). Gone are the taxi, vigilante, and fire missions as we know them. You can still sort of do taxi missions in the beginning, but if you enjoyed the Crazy Taxi variety, you are out of luck. The new vigilante missions are structured nicely since you now have to access a police computer and track down your targets. The fire missions are gone, but I really haven't missed them much. The combat is revamped. I didn't have much of an issue with the old way, but I do enjoy using the free aim for all weapons for added challenge. One last thing, going on one man killing sprees are a thing of the past or a least much more difficult. You take more damage and the cops will take you down much easier.

Overall, GTA 4 is a great game. If San Andreas wasn't so good, GTA 4 wouldn't look like a small step backwards instead of a leap forward. I am hoping that future GTAs will build off GTA 4 and add more to it. Any fan of the series will be satisfied with GTA 4, but they might not be able to shake the feeling that something is missing.

Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360)

Description
The fourth installment of the popular series by Rockstar features improved graphics, new features, and new gameplay. Players take on the role of Niko Bellic, a rough-around-the-edge chap from Eastern Europe. Niko has arrived in America, in Liberty City -- a land full of promise and opportunity. His cousin convinced him to emigrate, to join him in his mansion and life of luxury, but as soon as he steps off the boat, Niko discovers the truth about the American way. Still, the wealth, the comfort, the bliss of the good life, it all really is here ... And it's all for the taking.


GTA IV reinvents the series with a renewed version of Liberty City detailed to the last pothole and rooftop vent. There are now four boroughs to explore plus extra area outside of Liberty City proper. With the ability to climb obstacles, drive cars, steer boats and pilot helicopters, the world of GTA is more accessible than ever before.



Warnings
Blood,Intense Violence,Partial Nudity,Strong Sexual Content,Strong language,Use of Drugs and Alcohol


Details
Players: 1-16 Players
Controller: Gamepad,Joystick
Memory Card: Yes

GTA IV

I have always played the GTA games and basically its come down to if a new one comes out, I'll buy it just so I can play the next one from the series, not whether or not it looked good in the trailers (even though I admit if it looks good that just makes me want buy it more). When I heard about there being a GTA 4 I loked it up and thought it has a great storyline compared to GTA S.A. and the graphics looked great. After playing it, not only did I find that to be true but it was great drving around cars from previous games made to look ten times better. And then I noticed how realistic the game is, in looks and in what you can do. You can't fly panes in this game but I find that OK because it is only one city and there is only one airport so there wouldn't be much of a point of being able to fly a leer jet or a hydra. You can fly a few helicopters, one of which (the Annihilator) is armed with four mini-guns, so not all is lost. You also don't get a jet pack, and well let's face it, the only real ones that worked had enough fuel to run for like 10 minutes. The fighting is very real, and Rockstar finally fixed a few things here and there in the game that wouldn't make sense in real life. For example, mos parked cars are locker in GTA 4, as would be in real life, so Niko (your player, the Russian immigrant) has to break the car window and hot wire the car. In all the previous games it seemed you had a key to every car in the city. You only can get weapons that you could (legally or illegally to some extent) in real life, so no flamethrower and no c4 and heat seeking rockets. You get various melee weapons, molotov cocktails, a few pistols, a few shotguns, an uzi and mp5, an m16 and ak47, some sort of sniper rifle, hand grenades, and an rpg. In RL (real life), you could buy most guns at a gun store with the exception of maybe a full auto ak47 and m16, and an rpg. These you probably but off of the black market (i.e. Russian connections, gangsters). Grenades would fit in to that category. In RL, melee weapons can be found at home, a sports store, even at a grocery store. A flame thrower on the other hand isn't even used in the army or at last is so rarely used that it would be hard to obtain one even if you had the clearance for one. Heat-seekers? This isn't some Colombian gang/cocaine war, you won't be able to obtain one anywhere in a normal city. The way your car moves around when braking and swerving is very realistic and if you bust a tire, it will fall of your rim at high speeds after a few moments and you'll be driving around literally on your rims. You can do burnouts and if you do one for too long your tire will pop. The cops are more realistic. I a guy murders a bunch of people and even if he blows up a few cars or kills a few cops, your not going to see a brigade of Abrams rolling down the streets so that they can send a volley of cannon fire at him. NO army in GTA 4,or atleast no tanks. Standard cops, SWAT and FBI are still there. Boats are still used in this game. Running over people/walking in to people/ swerving right buy pdestrians is very realistic in this game. Hitting people at high speed will make them roll onto your hood/ hit your windshield. If you drive right by a person (like 5 inches away from someone), they lean back and grab your car, just like a person would do in real life (while saying vulgar things at you). Overall, its a great game and it really shows what it would be like to be involves in organized crime/ G.T.A