GTA 4 is still the best Grand Theft Auto and it needs a remake

A reader replays GTA 4 and claims that the game does many things better than GTA 5, especially regarding the story.

With all the hype and excitement for GTA 6 I thought I would go back in time to 2008 and check out the first Grand Theft Auto of the Xbox 360 era and play GTA 4. You don’t expect to go back to a 16 year old game without running into problems and I was initially hesitant to give it a try considering I didn’t enjoy the GTA Trilogy remasters at all.

The remasters were just bad, and that didn’t necessarily mean the games underneath were bad, they just weren’t presented in the best possible way. So I went into GTA 4 with a certain amount of optimism, even though I remember having issues with it even back then.

I’ve been playing for most of the past weekend and I have to say that it’s somehow better than I remembered. I think that’s because I’m prepared for the weird physics of the cars and the janky combat, but for me combat has never been a big part of GTA. Instead it’s the exploration and the characters and I think in GTA 4 they’re the best they’ve ever been.

The first thing you’ll notice, aside from the fact that the graphics have held up well, is that Niko is a much better protagonist than anyone else in GTA 5. I didn’t particularly like any of the three, but even though Niko is a deeply flawed character, he feels like a real person, not the cartoonish exaggerations that plague GTA 5. He mostly wants to do the right thing, or at least feels bad about some of the things he gets involved in, and that’s important.

More importantly, and I think this was GTA 5’s biggest flaw, is that GTA 4 has a proper plot, with a beginning, middle, and end. In GTA 5, random stuff just happens until the game suddenly wraps up the story out of nowhere and in an incredibly rushed and unsatisfying way.

But in GTA 4 there is actual buildup to the finale, as everything builds towards an inevitable conclusion and there are actual consequences to your actions, not just the lame final decision at the end of GTA 5. People get what they deserve, and things aren’t just played for laughs.

Gameplay-wise there are issues, I don’t think anyone would say there aren’t any, but while it feels a little out of place, it’s now clear that the weird vehicle handling is a result of Rockstar trying to make the physics more realistic. It’s not always fun, but it’s at least more ambitious than the boring races in GTA 5.

I still don’t know why Rockstar made the combat so complicated in the first games and that’s actually indefensible. But like I said, it’s not really the focus of the game and you get used to it.

The mission design is also really good and while that’s definitely something that GTA 5 did well, I’d say GTA 4 is just as good, with a more realistic take on the GTA world that does include some mundane tasks, but I think that adds to the immersion and sense of reality. The lack of mid-mission saves is a real pain though.

So yeah, I would definitely recommend GTA 4 and I honestly think it could be the best of the series. I would love it if Rockstar would do a remake or remaster with modern graphics and controls. But maybe not use the same people to do it as GTA 3.

By reader Goldin

Reader’s comments do not necessarily reflect the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500-600 word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next suitable weekend slot. Simply contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you don’t need to send an email.

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