There was only light street traffic on the West Side Highway, and I enjoyed the drive from cocoon of my car - open river on one side, grim cityscape on the other. Driving is relaxing to me, under the right conditions. And since this is a game site, it's an easy guess that under these conditions, I wasn't even in a real car, I was in Grand Theft Auto IV. No, I wasn't shooting at other drivers, because that would have drowned out the trance music I had on the radio. Indeed, I've found that the best of what GTA IV has to offer has nothing to do with violence.
Did the developers know that they would end up fulfilling my desire for engrossing hour-long car cruises? Of course they did. I know they did, because they also designed automatic taxi rides and helicopter tours for leisurely sightseeing. Historically, there has never been a wrong way to play a GTA game, but if you played for reflection, contemplation... you were, um, playing it wrong. That is, before IV.
Playing Grand Theft Auto IV like, well, a Grand Theft Auto game, yields exactly that and not much more. Gamers in love with sandbox action would not be blamed if they complained that developers didn’t do much to ‘innovate’ on the cash cow. Well actually, they did innovate, just not there. Not in the murder. Violence junkies, ironically, now could be the ones ‘playing it wrong!’
This is not just one of those 'I'll play it my way' tracts. A focus on the non-violence really does seem to have been a design mantra in IV. For one, you have friends. Friends you must actively relate to, call up, and take to cabaret performances, stand-up comedy, or bars. With them, compete in fully-fledged pool, darts, and bowling games, and more. If you want to stop being social, then watch TV, surf the internet, play arcade games, or just take a walk. IV’s Liberty City is meant to be taken in, not taken out.
Not all of this is brilliantly realized, and (for example) taking an actual walk in actual New York is much better than one virtual, but together these threads weave an engrossing whole. I feel like the developers were saying, “Oh, you want your guns? Sure, sure, here’s a reasonably improved battle mechanic, but we’ve got more interesting things to deal with.” Thank you, GTA IV, so do I. I never dreamed we'd be on the same page!
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