Ranking The Best Grand Theft Auto Games

5. Grand Theft Auto IV

GTA IV has some of my favorite characters in the Grand Theft Auto universe. Packie McReary, Brucie, Playboy X and Niko Bellic complement a strong story and an equally wonderful cast. To this day, I still hold Niko’s criminal actions as the most justifiable of the series’ protagonists. Additionally, the setting of Liberty City is probably best projected in Grand Theft Auto IV, as the near-photo-realism of some of the city’s landscape brings to life the feel of New York City in a video game world.

Ultimately, though, I feel this game overreached. Despite removing a lot of the features of previous GTA games, Grand Theft Auto IV tried to do too many things with surface level entry. There were a lot fewer cars, fewer weapons, fewer story missions and a smaller city than in previous titles. In a series famed for its carnage and destruction, limiting RPG’s to an 8 round capacity boggles the mind. Side events like comedy shows, darts, etc. felt rushed for completion.

To make up for it, GTA IV focused more on development with side characters. If I have to get one more phone call from my cousin Roman asking me to go bowling while trying to spend my free roam time doing what I want to do…you can see how it can become frustrating over time. Plus, ignoring my friends to play the game the way I wanted resulted in losing friend-exclusive privileges, punishing me for not putting in time to do mundane tasks that take a considerable amount of time to finish.

Ultimately, the game provided a much emptier experience than what reviewers consider the 3rd best reviewed video game of all time.