Pace Press

Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: Features

Not since the release of the first Grand Theft Auto (GTA) game in 1998 has there been a proper incantation of our beloved city. To think that New York, a city synonymous with crime (even after Times Square was turned into a Disney Store) can't be sent up as the scene of car theft and mayhem is just plain sad. Such urban locales as Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and even San Francisco have had been blessed with a violent version of itself.

The closest the game has come to our fair city was GTA III, the game that brought GTA into a 3D environment. Despite an island setup and an array of bridges and tunnels, said burg (known as Liberty City) could never be confused with the greater New York area. It's small size and ubiquitous look made it more of an unfortunate any-town. Aside from being violent, each game has always brought a hint of satire to each metropolis. Most landmarks and neighborhoods are usually made into lampooned versions of themselves, complete with tongue-in-cheek names (even the state itself is in reference to the most unstable ground in California.) As each game topped the version before it, one could not help but wonder when we'd get a chance to do some damage in a more familiar setting. Said thoughts were laid to rest upon the announcement of GTA IV.

GTA IV, like the roman numerated game before it, takes place in Liberty City once again, but not like the one we remember. The new program can sincerely be compared to its real-life doppelganger. Every single corner contains incredible detail, right down to the blackened gum stuck to our sidewalks. City landmarks look as if they were pulled right off our streets, and their new names reflect some sort of a subtle joke on the actual structure; the isle of Manhattan now takes it's original, native American name. The Lincoln Tunnel is now the Booth Tunnel and the dilapidated Domino Sugar Factory makes a cameo as the Twitchins Sugar Factory. So much of the charm of this game is not just in the gunfire or the detail, but the execution.

The game manages to sum up the many truths of life in the city. It's given such blunt and truthful slogans as, "Steam comes out of the ground, the people are rude, and it costs a fortune." Even the game's version of New Jersey is referred to as "Industrial Wasteland meets Suburban Hell." More can be found in the automobiles. The newest lineup is extremely similar to their real-life counterparts, but they've been given different, more appropriate names: the Prius is now the Dilettante, a word meaning a person who is interested in something they know nothing about. It doesn't just stop at the cars either. GTA IV mocks everything from wireless carriers (blackberrys are known as BitterSweets) celeb-obsessed Web sites and the new Liberty City contains four of New York's five boroughs: Algonquin (Manhattan), Broker (Brooklyn), Dukes (Queens) and Bohan (Bronx).

The designers, much like most New Yorkers, doubted that Staten Island would be fun, so it has been left out, with the fifth borough of Liberty as a version of New Jersey known as Alderney - all this in a package larger than the three cities that made up San Andreas.

NYC officials have already dismissed this game as a great insult to the city. "The mayor does not support any video game where you earn points for injuring or killing police officers," Jason Post, a spokesperson for Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. Statements could be expected due to GTA's reputation as one of the most violent games ever, but people may be surprised, and maybe even flattered, by the satire of our urban lives that is Liberty City. GTA IV is slated for release on April 29 for both the PS3 and XBOX 360 platforms.

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