The American dream

by ERIK LEIJON

What more can possibly be said about Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, X360/Rockstar, Rockstar North), the game that moved six million copies worldwide and drummed up $500-million in sales in one week?

Even Lloyd Robertson and Peter Mansbridge couldn’t ignore the socio-cultural impact of Rockstar’s chef d’oeuvre, fumbling over some script about a game that rewards players for shooting cops and getting lapdances. GTA4 is the current debate about the artistic value of video gaming personified. Detractors will see nothing but the omnipresent violence and condemn Rockstar, game developers and gamers everywhere as being bloodthirsty degenerates.

If social networking and video gaming are the preferred form of media of the Web 2.0 generation, then Grand Theft Auto IV is to our generation what “Blowin’ in the Wind” was to the ’60’s.

GTA4 does what the most timeless films, songs, books and paintings do—they reflect the mood of the times so perfectly that they eventually shape the historical perception of how things truly were.

The game stars a fresh off the boat Eastern European named Niko Bellic, running away from his war-ravaged past and hoping to start a new life in America (GTA’s main influence remains Scarface’s rags-to-riches story). Starting out as a hired goon, Bellic increases his stature in the city’s vast criminal underworld, dealing with the many marginalized people of the ethnically diverse, New York-inspired Liberty City.

The gameplay remains unchanged from previous GTA’s. Bellic is free to roam the city, looking for missions to complete, all of which use Liberty City’s vast transportation network as a backdrop. Every mission involves either driving to a location or driving away from one, usually with about a dozen cop cars on your tail.

GTA4 is still a game and restricted by video game rules, but it represents a turning point where interactivity is used to tell a story, not to inhibit or complement one. Whereas in the past it was easy to become derailed by the multitude of side quests that didn’t progress the story, every moment of GTA4 feels important—whether it’s hanging at a strip club owned by your cousin Roman or stealing vehicles for a ’roid-raging car dealer.

If you pay attention to the lifelike and fluid character dialogue, you’re likely to catch something about these eccentric personalities that will resonate. Whether in a mission or simply driving around, there’s always an opportunity to better understand the massive city and its inhabitants.

GTA4 is at heart a satire of modern life, which wasn’t possible before with the retro-themed Vice City and San Andreas. In order to fully acclimatize to life in Liberty City (which is New York City and its boroughs recreated down to nano-detail), there’s so much a player needs to watch out for. Be sure to observe how the non-player characters interact with each other, or how seemingly innocuous radio and television ads seep into the gameplay.

The developers also tackle the sensory overload that occurs in our multitasking world. It’s not uncommon for Niko to be driving like a maniac through the Times Square look-alike, chasing down his next victim, while listening to Iggy Pop plugging the Black Crowes on the radio, and on his cell phone talking to his unintelligible Jamaican friend. It overwhelms the senses, while still keeping you in complete control.

The game may be violent, but so are Scorsese’s Goodfellas and Ellis’s American Psycho, and the artistic merits of either are never questioned. Besides, Grand Theft Auto IV is at its best when two characters are conversing on the streets of the fake Bronx, trying to understand the myriad of shit that’s happening in their digital lives. It’s simple storytelling, the oldest form of communication there is.