[quote][b][u]Quick Summary[/u][/b]
[b]Story:[/b] Revisiting Niko's story after all these years made me appreciate the smaller details I had missed the first time around, while the DLCs added different perspectives to the same events.
[b]Gameplay:[/b] The driving is still one of my favourite parts of the game. It can be challenging at first, but once you get used to it, it becomes really fun.
[b]Mechanics:[/b] Getting around Liberty City is enjoyable, with fast travel making it easier to reach locations, while races, stunt jumps and the DLC activities add more to do.
[b]Overall:[/b] A game that was absolutely worth revisiting, especially since I had forgotten so much of the story and had never played the two DLCs before.[/quote]
[h1]Grand Theft Auto IV – Revisiting Liberty City[/h1]
I decided to run this game back after playing it years ago.
Back then, I mostly remembered the gameplay and some of its mechanics, especially the driving. I also remembered how much darker the game looked compared to other GTA games, with a much less colourful visual style.
What I did not remember very well was the actual story. I remembered certain parts here and there, but I had forgotten a lot of Niko's background and many of the smaller details.
With the game being on sale on Steam, I decided to pick it up again. I also had another reason to revisit it this time. I had never played either of the two DLCs, so this gave me a chance to finally experience them.
[h2]Story[/h2]
This time around, I made sure to actually pay attention to the story.
Since I had played the game years ago, I knew some of the major events, but I had forgotten enough that many smaller details felt new again. I paid more attention to Niko's background, the characters around him, and how everything develops throughout the story.
It was a different experience compared to my first playthrough. Back then, I mostly played through the game without thinking too much about the story. This time, I paid more attention to the conversations and cutscenes, which made me appreciate it more.
[h2]Gameplay & Mechanics[/h2]
The driving is still one of my favourite parts of the game.
I know a lot of people dislike the driving in GTA IV because the cars feel heavier and take some time to get used to, but once I got used to it, I really enjoyed it.
This time I played with a controller, and being able to control the speed more naturally made the driving feel much better.
The main gameplay still holds up well. Missions are enjoyable, the shooting feels good enough, and fast travel makes getting around the city easier.
The races were also fun. They could become annoying when I made a mistake, but I never felt like I needed a specific car to win them.
[h2]World & Exploration[/h2]
Liberty City still has a great atmosphere.
The darker colour grading is something I remembered from my first playthrough, and coming back to the game reminded me just how different it feels compared to the more colourful GTA games.
There is plenty to do outside of the main story, although some activities were definitely more enjoyable than others.
The biggest annoyance for me was collecting the pigeons. There are a lot of them, and keeping track of which ones I had already collected became more annoying than the actual activity.
The stunt jumps were more enjoyable. I completed around five or six accidentally while doing missions and finished the remaining ones towards the end.
[h2]Technical Issues & Achievement[/h2]
My first experience with GTA IV on PC was not great.
Back then, I remember having quite a few bugs and needing to apply patches just to get the game working properly. I initially thought my system might not be good enough, but that same system later ran GTA V, so I realised the problem was more with the PC version itself.
A lot of those issues have been fixed now, but there are still a few things worth knowing about. The final mission can have an issue where the required button input does not register properly at higher frame rates. I recommend using FusionFix or limiting the game to 30 FPS to avoid the problem.
There are also some missions where failing means replaying a larger section because of limited checkpoints.
I also happened to look up one achievement beforehand, and I am glad I did. Its timer counts more than just active mission time, so free roaming, cutscenes and mission failures can count as well.
I finished the main story in around 30 hours without rushing or skipping cutscenes.
[h2]The DLCs[/h2]
One thing I really liked about both DLCs is that they take place during the same timeline as the main game.
Because of that, you get to see certain events from a different perspective and come across some interactions with characters from the main story. I will leave it at that to avoid spoilers, but I really liked how everything connects together.
[h2]The Lost and Damned[/h2]
The Lost and Damned is shorter than the main game, and it also felt a little less polished compared to the second DLC.
One of the biggest changes is the lack of fast travel. Since Johnny is always riding around on his bike, you should expect to spend a lot more time travelling to missions. You cannot simply call a taxi, so this is the only one where fast travel feels more restricted.
The story itself is still really good. GTA V already shows what happens to Johnny later, but this DLC gives you more background on him.
One small complaint I had was with the map. When selecting a location, the crosshair can be quite difficult to see sometimes, which made selecting locations more annoying than it needed to be.
[h2]The Ballad of Gay Tony[/h2]
The Ballad of Gay Tony felt a bit more impactful to me.
Even though all three stories have a few interactions with each other and show different perspectives of the same events, this DLC felt more rewarding overall, especially since I was also working towards the achievements.
Luis was also a really nice character and brought some fresh air compared to Niko and Johnny.
I still had a few complaints with some missions, especially the enemy waves. The chase scenes could also get annoying, as enemies could instantly spawn back behind you even after escaping. This was especially noticeable during the drug wars.
Overall, I enjoyed The Ballad of Gay Tony more than The Lost and Damned.
[h2]Final Thoughts[/h2]
Overall, revisiting GTA IV and finally playing both DLCs was absolutely worth it.
I had forgotten a lot more of the game than I expected, especially when it came to the story. Playing through it again and paying attention to the smaller details made me appreciate Niko's story much more.
The driving is still my favourite part, and the darker atmosphere gives the game its own identity.
The pigeons were probably my least favourite activity, while the races and stunt jumps were more enjoyable.
The two DLCs were also a great addition. I liked seeing the same timeline from different perspectives, and The Ballad of Gay Tony ended up being my favourite of the two.
I am glad I decided to run GTA IV back after all these years. It gave me a chance to experience Niko's story again and finally play the two DLCs I missed the first time around.
