Grand Theft Auto IV is an action-adventure game released in 2008 by Rockstar Games. The game can be played either online in multiplayer mode or offline in single-player mode. The vast open-world will be enough for you to walk, run, drive, and explore. With its real-life-like vehicle control and a huge jump in the graphics, GTA 4 is still played by millions even in the presence of its successor GTA V.
| Grand Theft Auto V | |
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| Developer | Rockstar North |
| Publisher | Rockstar Games |
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| Release Date | 29 April 2008 |
| Genre | Action-adventure |
| Mode | Single-player, Multiplayer |
But compared to the gamer-favorites San Andreas, Vice City, and GTA V, this version didn’t live up to the mark. The lack of “fun” and the ability to cause disasters so fast with so little effort made it stand down a bit. The vehicle controls were so realistic that it was very hard to turn them around so fast to cause some serious damage. Flying out of the windshield whenever you hit something at a moderate speed scratching your face on the road was also a bit of an exaggeration.
Anyhow, the game was still hugely successful breaking records to be the fastest-selling entertainment product at that time. Making over $310 million on its first day itself, it was a great commercial success. It is still played by thousands all over the world. The overall environment and color grading were also quite different from any other GTA game ever released. Even though it was more “life-like”, wasn’t quite enjoyable for many. The overly implied shadowing features (even though it can be reduced) also contributed to the gloomy look and feel of the game. However, it was a huge jump from the San Andreas in almost every aspect of the overall gameplay.
Gameplay
The game is based on the character Niko Bellic who is trying to escape from his past. You will be accompanied by the cousin, Roman, trying to make a fortune. Everything happens in Liberty City. Soon they realize the dreams aren’t that easy to achieve in the city where the money is the king. Soon they slip into debt and forced to do things to make money with missions and side-missions to progress through the game.
Even though the main focus of the game is to complete missions that will be controlled by your smartphones newly added to the game, you can still roam around. If you can ignore the calls and messages you receive from many, you are free to do whatever you want until you pick them up or answer the texts. The game is very enjoyable for those who really liked the previous versions of the GTA series. But everything is a bit better. There have been huge improvements in the graphics department as well as the vehicle controls.
FAQ
GTA 4 is not a free game. There was an update from Rockstar Games stating that “current owners of Grand Theft Auto IV or Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City on Steam will see their digital versions updated to GTA IV: Complete Edition in their Steam library“. But it only applies to those who own the game already and can be only considered as a free upgrade.
Update: The game wasn’t available on Steam for a certain period. However, it seems like it is back up.
According to Rockstar, the reason why GTA 4 is not available on Steam is that they are cooperating with Microsoft. People who already own the game on their Steam Library will be able to play it from the platform. However, new purchases will not be available via Steam.
GTA 4 is around 22 GB for the complete edition. The information is according to the Rockstar Games and can vary based on the edition you are downloading, any patches applied or updates released.
GTA 4 will be “almost” playable on a 2GB RAM machine given that other resources on your PC such as the CPU, Graphics Card, etc. are capable enough to compensate for that. You can try reducing the graphics settings to the minimum and control other gameplay features that consume a lot of resources. It can be playable.
According to us, Yes. GTA 5 is far better than GTA 4 in so many aspects. If you want the game to respect the laws of physics as much as possible, stick to GTA 4. For almost everything else, go for the GTA 5. You will have more fun playing GTA 5 than GTA 4.
No. GTA 4 is not available on Android devices. The same applies to the iOS platform as well. If you want to play GTA games on Android, you should either pick between GTA San Andreas and GTA Vice City or go for some advanced methods like mirroring your PC screen to your smartphone and using the smartphone controls to play it. Given that both the devices are powerful enough to stream and play the game at the same time, you might find success.