Playing GTA IV: Ur doin’ it rong.
Due recent events in my life (debts, the upcoming Muse concert in my city, debts and debts) I haven’t been able to be up to date with more recent game releases. Sure, it’s no big deal when the game is good, becasue if that’s the case, it stays good long before its original release, but the downside is that if by any chance you get the game not months but only weeks after the launching day, suddenly there’s no one else to comment it with, becasue everybody else has moved on to different, newer things.
So, I picked up GTAIV two weeks ago, which, in internet time, is way too late into the party. This was the very first time I got into a GTA and actually I’ve never tried any other ’sandbox’ game before (with the not-so-notable exceptions of one of those spider-man games and Assassin’s Creed, but those are not too good), so I didn’t reallyl know what to expect. I mean, for all I knew about the franchise, its only charm was the ability to be a real jerk in major populated cities.
To my surprise, though, Grand Theft Auto IV, recent member of the “Videogames are violent as hell” family, is quite a relaxing game. Just looking at the city while I walk (yes, not run) is a very satisfying experience. Taking a cab and fool around through the buildings and bridges while I listen to either the jazz station or my own musical selection is way more fun to me than going out, punching a stranger, stealing a car and find innovative forms of suicide.
Yes, I know I’m playing it “wrong”, but I don’t really care, because that’s the thing about videogames. You play them the way you like it, as long as there’s enough “freedom” to do it. Also, I like to get into the skin of my characters in my first playthroughs and try to act or make decision accordingly to his or her motivations and personality. That said, Niko is definitely not a bad guy. His just bad luck, and while he can be tough, he also has a melancolic quality to him. Am I trying too hard? Perhaps, but that’s how I feel the character, based on what little I know about his past and the way he talks to his cousin Roman. That means he won’t steal a car or cause mayhem unless completely necessary, and even so, sometimes he regrets doing certain hits (specially when he finds out he has been double-crossed).
When everything about the story is said and done, maybe then I’ll be a real jerk in Liberty City, but in the mean time, I enjoy playing Niko Bellic, and Niko Bellic, in my life, desires only a peaceful life. Or who knows? Maybe the suppressed rage that runs through my body thanks to the fact that I don’t have a PS3 and want to play MGS4 eventually explodes causing the deaths of thousands and thaousands of Liberty citizens.
