Grand Theft Auto IV is an action adventure video game developed by Rockstar North. It is the ninth title in the Grand Auto Theft series and was released on 29th April 2008 in Australia, Europe and North America. The game is based in Liberty City, a fictional city, based on modern day New York. The hero is Niko Bellic who is a war veteran and has come to US to fulfill his American Dream, but quickly gets tangled up in seedy underworld of gangs, crime and corruption. The game apart from giving you driving and third person shooter experience also gives you features of open game play which will give the players more control over their playing experience. The player’s character is capable of walking, running, swimming, climbing and jumping, as well as utilizing weapons and basic hand-to-hand combat.

You can steal a variety of vehicles right from a motorcycle to a helicopter. Grand Theft Auto IV uses Natural Motion’s Euphoria engine to make the characters and the objects look more realistic, for example the car will go into a deep spin if you do not watch yourself on the turns.

The shooting system of the game is very realistic. You can lock on to the targets body part with a revamped targeting system. Niko’s health is represented by green semi-circle which is on the left side of the map. Health lost can be recovered by using an escort service, eating, drinking soda, sleeping, using medical kits or by calling paramedics.

When Niko losses his health completely he re-spawns at the hospital, with of course his wealth going down by 10%. When police search’s for Niko, a search circle appears which increases if he is spotted or the police are too close to him.

Presentation wise the game is just excellent. The emphasis on each and every detail is excellent. When you steal the car or have pizza in a restaurant you will be mesmerized by the amount of detailing that has gone to build the game. The lighting in the game is also just great. The affect of the lighting in the game can be clearly felt when you go under a bridge and you are able to see the sunlight peek through cracks. The camera system is also excellent as it allows you to rotate the right analog stick to get a 360 degree view, this is particularly helpful if police chasing you.

There are eleven radio stations in the game which gives us ample choice of music. You can choose from rock, classical, R & B and numerous others. The dialogue of Niko are non repetitive and are very well written. The only complaint that one could have is in the implementation of SIXAXIS support which, at times, can make the game very sloppy. The game is all right at first, as you can tilt your controller to do a wheelie on a motorcycle, but when you try to manage a helicopter then the problem starts. Therefore it is always better to stick with standard controls.

The game has an excellent environment, a great story line and excellent graphics. The effort put in detailing is truly mind blowing. All this makes it a must have game.