One aspect in which Rockstar seem to have outdone themselves is the audio department (radio stations not included). Everything in the game, right from pedestrians' dialogs to gunshots to explosions, sound as realistic and immersive as possible. One thing I really liked was that there were times when I stood on the streets and I could actually hear radio stations from different cars as they passed me. Very impressive!
Remember I said GTA IV was awesome but not perfect? Well, now we come to the part that makes this game not-so-perfect. For starters I did not like way cars and bikes controlled in this game. I feel San Andreas hit the sweet spot as far as vehicular control was concerned; the realistic approach a la PGR 4 doesn’t work too well for me. Sure, you get better cars as you progress in the game, but they always feel as if they’re on ice, making it really tough to escape cops as and when you do rack up a 3 or more star rating.
I wasn’t too happy with the radio stations in this game as well since they (a) lack the variety we’re used to in previous GTA games and (b) lack the punch previous radio stations managed to pack. You do have your talk shows that constantly poke fun at American pop culture, but for some reason, it just felt… lacking. Also, why the f**k can’t I upload my own tunes to the game like I could in previous GTAs, huh, Rockstar? Hopefully, I’ll be able to do that once the PC version comes about (come on, we all know that it’s happening one day).
Other than these (teensy) issues, GTA IV is a superb game and should be experienced by anyone (and by anyone I mean people above 18 since the game does have a lot of 'adult' content) who owns either a PS3 or an Xbox360. We were a bit strapped for time as far the review's concerned, so as of now we can only offer the single player review. Head back next week for a detailed MP review.
Unfortunately for us Indians the game hasn’t hit stores yet and the local distributors aren’t sure when that will happen, so all you can do is sit and pray or order the game from various sites.




