Grand Theft Auto IV is Here!

A great thing about the summer is the abundance of new video game releases. Even better still is the ample time that you’ll probably have to play, play and play some more. Wii may be the latest video game console but Playstation’s and Xbox’s are still at large, releasing new games by the dozen! One new game currently out on the market is Grand Theft Auto IV which is exclusive to Playstation and Xbox.

Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV) was developed as the 9th title in the Grand Theft Auto series produced by Rockstar North. On April 29, 2008 the game was released everywhere in the world excluding Japan. The game was very well and very widely received. On it’s first day out in stores it sold over 3.6 million copies and grossed over $500 million in it’s first week!

Gamers can expect several nuances from this latest version of the GTA series. One of the most notable is the storyline which gets personal as you play the character Niko Bellic, a European war veteran who’s living a life of crime that’s killing him on the inside. The artistic effects play a large role in depicting his inner conflicts.

The new way in which the missions are executed greatly contribute to its realistic factor. Niko is actually seen breaking the window of a locked car and hot wiring it rather than just sliding into the seat as seen in the previous GTA games. The gunfight system has been modified into a third-person (viewing the character from multiple angles) scheme that features the players ability to slide, cover, blindfire and free aim. Players can actually target a specific body with the new targeting system introduced in this series.