StevieQ Presents: Grand Theft Auto IV: A Run-and-Gun Live Coverage

Here's how it's going to work. This is going to be a true LIVE coverage. This way, you can get my impressions as I progress through the game's opening hours.

Update I (One and a half hours in): The game opens with a cut-scene. You're on a dingy boat; Niko Bellic climbs from the cabin area out onto the deck and looks to the shore; the magestic Liberty City lights up the night like a beacon of hope. The boat docks, and passengers disembark to be greeted by family members. However, no one is there for Niko.
Suddenly, a car slides haphazardly down an off-ramp, and a drunken cousin Roman stumbles out. A brief spat of dialogue, and you're in the driver's seat, on the road.

The first few missions of the game introduce you to the game's formulas: how to call your friends, how to take your girlfriend out on a date, how to evade the cops. Little Jacob, a sweet rastafarian whose accent prompted me to turn on cut-scenes, shows you how to use a "piece," and your first fire-fight is spent protecting me from some shysters.

Thus far, the game is living up to my lofty expectations set by 10 from IGN and a 9.8 from GameTrailers. My only complaint is that the textures look kind of bland so far. Some thing to take notice of is the virtual lack of load times. The only ones I've experienced so far have been in tutorials, which don't appear very often.

The other thing I've noticed is the different car handling; the vehicles are more difficult to handle, more realistic. Also, each car is different. If you're running from the cops, you'd rather be in a sturdy Sedan than a clunky Hummer. Speaking of which, evading the cops is much better (and easier) now. The cops will search for you in an area that gets larger as your wanted level goes up. If you can egt out of the search area without beign seen, you're hoem free. However, the area will relocate if you're spotted. This adds a cool, cat-and-mouse element, and just running from the law can be challenging and fun at the same time.

Update II (Four hours in): After a bit more, the missions aren't really expanding at all. I've done a couple more "Chase this dude, kill him." Hopefully I get to mess around with guns a bit more in future.

I've already faced a difficult moral choice, whether to let a guy live or kill him. I'm going with the merciful way this play-through, so I let him live. Probably a bad choice.

A feature different from the old GTAs is relationships. To keep your friends happy, you need to call them on your phone and invite them to go bowling, play darts, drink, or even go to cabaret shows! I've been out with Roman a few times, so I've unlocked his special ability; I can get a free ride anywhere in the city just by calling him on my phone.

The sound is okay thus far. At least the guns don't sound like toys. The voice acting is well done, if the synchronizing to the lips isn't. It doesn't seem like I'll be able to play the game for extended periods of time, if it keeps on like this. I guess in short: a slow start.

That's all for today.