Grand Theft Auto IV's Liberty City is a time capsule, filled with 2008 nostalgia. In this video I aim to go over some of the things that I personally love about this game. This isn't a review of GTA IV, this is just a collection of things that make it special to me. A kind of video essay I suppose? From the city itself, its atmosphere and interiors, to the technology of the time, how you interact with it, and how you use it to interact with the wider world.
GTA IV has been talked about ad nauseam on KZhead, so if you've chosen to click on this video and give it a watch, then I thank you very much.
Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
02:41 - Liberty City - 2008
10:17 - Information Technology
16:11 - Friends & Family
18:45 - A Word On Sound
21:05 - Physics & Car Damage
23:40 - Conclusion
#gta4 #gta #libertycity
They still love me.
“Nico! Wah a gwan bredren?” - sincerely little Jacob
hey Nico, let's go bowling.
Hot take. Vice city stories
we do you crazy Serb
GTA 4 Is the best GTA
It truly is truly a masterpiece and fits the setting amazingly gta 6 is getting me very hype I believe it will have some gta 4 in it physics and environment wise
@@venom01016 really hmm gotta see official gameplay till then I don't follow leaks but that would suck if truee
@@venom01016they claimed the physics had to be that way because of the limits of ps3 but were at ps5 now I hope they reverse the physics back to an improved version of 4
@@venom01016god I hope not. Driving in gta 4 was so much more fun than 5
@@venom01016 idk but they claimed that and it’s not completely off, ps3 was a nightmare to code on if you didn’t already had a great codebase with proper implementations, maybe they meant the xbox360 instead of ps3 because it didn’t have as much potential as the PS3 SPEs offered in contrast. Also that was a bit a design choice too yes but I hope we’ll get a great balance of euphoria physics and easy controls in VI
This game genuinely feels like a period piece. It is simply overflowing with that certain mid to late 2000s feeling, it is indescribable and can only be felt, but this will always make it one of my favorite pieces of art ever. It gives me feels that nothing else does. Crazy to think that it’s almost 16 years old. Vice City was set 16 years earlier than its release date, let that sink in. I love this game with all my heart and I am not trying to be melodramatic when I say that part of my soul will always be in Liberty City.
Totally agree with you
GTA 4 Liberty City always feels bigger to GTA 5 map to me, so much enjoyable to explore
Actually bigger than Los Santos if you take out the airport and useless areas
🗽
more alive but dead at the same time, very special feeling to it!!
@@ross3695_basedhaxwell that’s not a fair comparison what defines a useless area?
@@RapEssentials The area with a bunch of containers
I believe that the jump from GTA San Andreas to GTA IV will be the biggest one we may ever see. Graphics, storylines and all these details make it such a uniquely genuine work.
the next big step is when we enter the game itself
Agree 💯
I would agree but really thinking VI is going to be something incredible
@@animaza5563coming soon lol 😂
There'll never be another GTA like this again. It feels like they made the game they wanted to make, the direction they wanted to take and almost to perfection. I still like GTA V but always get the feeling they were going more for mass appeal, to appeal to as big an audience as possible. I just can't imagine them making the same decisions that made this game great nowadays.
That's why GTA4, RDR1, RDR2, Maxpayne 3 and Bully were the games Dan Houser wanted to make. Which seems like its a big reason for not wanting to do GTA6 as he did not know what they would do with it.
GTA SA, GTA 4 and RDR2 are THE open world masterpieces. They are the most fleshed out, legendary open worlds and not many games come close even 15 - 20 years later. Liberty City still hasn't been topped in the GTA series and not many other open worlds have even come close to them. 2008 was the golden era of AAAs
GTA 4 an open world masterpiece?? The only thing you can do in Liberty City is eat in restaurants and hang out with friends, besides there is almost no reward for exploration. GTA V clears IV in terms of open world
@@MertzwillerIn GTA4 you can do racers, helicopter tours, play games such as golf, parachuting, darts etc, have more enterable buildings outside missions, and each island serves their own activities and purposes. Whereas over 70% map of GTA5 outside the city is basically just a flat open empty countryside with no any place of interest and activities whatsoever.
@@channe30492 of those things are only on tbogt and in GTA 5 your can do all of that(if your on ps4/ps5 xboxone/seriesx)
@@Mertzwiller Nah the GTA 5 open world is bland especially on PS3. It has a smaller city with way less depth to it with plastic npcs, everything was crushed into a really small area. and the countryside was a joke, tiny desert, too many mountains everywhere, endless roads that are way too long, tiny Paleto Bay, almost no grass The open world is one of the worst things about GTA 5
Bully is also a fantastic open world the NPC interaction is great.
Ive said it again and again. R* managed to capture 06-10 so perfectly with this title. with remmants of the early 2000s again. Great video Glack. So much quality with this title. We didnt know we had it good during that time.
GTA 4's depressive tone fit so well with the times, while still managing to be escapism.
What GTA IV lacked in customization and RPG elements, it made us with its atmosphere, story and amazing time with friends. IV will always be my favorite. Once a year I play thru it and try to do some Multiplayer. I’ve been playing GTA since early 2002, but that year in 2008 and 2009 will always be special to me.
Roman in the Taxi casually calling Niko a Sociopathic killer in front of the cab driver is pretty hilarious.
Honestly, that’s like a perfect description of GTA 4. I couldn’t even say it better myself. GTA 4 honestly was such a fantastic game, & 4 what’s it worth now. It was an experience for of all us when we were just 15 almost 16 years younger… Can’t stop time from moving on.
As for the interiors, it's just one aspect of how this game has variability in where you can go on foot. It's not all just somewhere at the nearest road's level. Even outside there are many pathways through alleyways and up/on-side buildings, latters, elevators, stairwells, pedestrian bridges and tunnels, subway station access (of both kinds for the respective boroughs). Maps of a single massive city like this really have the highest potential,
GTA IV it's a Masterpiece. Great video 👏🏻
GTA 4 was the easily the best GTA. It has such an indescribable aesthetic and edge to it. It perfectly encapsulates the era it was released in
Still the best GTA game 15 years later. The story and characters alone make the gameplay worthwhile, but the atmosphere truly makes the experience even more special. I still remember getting this game the first day it came out and playing it every day until I beat it and I made sure to save the game twice before making the final decision for the ending so I could see both of them. It was an experience like no other for me playing video games. Thank you for the video man, take care!
These vids have convinced me to finish GTA IV after I forgot about it 2 years ago. I'm halfway through now.
How is it?
bro hasn't been on KZhead since lmao@@MatthewArchive
I love this game so much. I get a feeling of nostalgia when I turn it on and see what NYC used to look like when I was 18. I live near Meadows Park in Dukes (Queens) and seeing some old buildings that are no longer here, bring me back to simpler times. Great video!
I can definitely relate to this video hard man. I still love gta v but even as someone that started with V I’ve always been so taken with Liberty city. Great video dude
Good video man, I’ve been playing this game off and on since 2007 and finally beat it last year on Xbox series x. Going to beat it again soon on steam deck, the game just makes me feel like I’m at home or that I’m not alone in the city in a good way.
Best intro music ever in gta 4
If you press ‘Y’ you’ll exit the car and it’ll keep running like normal. If you hold ‘Y’ Niko will turn the engine off. Idk why this wasn’t included in GTA5 😂
Loved jumping in taxis just taking in the sights
This is really great! I didn’t know about all the hidden stuff and the sound was magical! I can still remember the feel when I’d go to an online lobby and how the jet sounds from the airport sounded on my surround sound system. It really brought you there!
2:43 Worth mentioning that GTA 4 takes place in Autumn/Fall 2007, since the game was meant to release during that time until it got delayed to Spring 2008 for technical reasons.
While the delay is true, if you were to look up Niko’s file in the police database you’ll find he arrived in 2008. There are also a few other crimes other people had committed in 2008 too!
@@CaptainGlack I believe those were added after the decision was made to delayed the game to 2008, the decision was made in right around early 2007 after all, but the game originally was meant to be set in Fall/Autumn 2007 and you can tell by the in-game weather.
This GTA was right before the cancer social media phenom started growing
People didn't even have smartphones when this came out. It's crazy
You nailed it, I couldn’t agree more
Yeah because instead of being called out on social media, you had some complete stranger in another country shouting down their Headset calling you a F*gott or N***er for sniping them from three blocks away 😅
the way you can pick up random objects on the ground, even cigarettes, and how you can tip street musicians are one of my favorite things about it
when it rains, pedestrians react accordingly. using newspaper as a quick umbrella and running to the nearest cover or just pulling one out and keep on with their day.
Man I got waves of nostalgia watching this ❤️ I bought the PS3 collectors edition online and it got shipped to me randomly 1 day early before the games official release date. Teen me was ecstatic. To get this and MGS4 in the same year was epic.
One of the best in-depth explanations of the environments of GTA IV I've ever seen! I'd like to see more videos like this, CaptainGlack! Love it!
Awsome video dude, pls more of this gta4 contant i loved it. Really well done
Amazing, when I first went through a binge on your channel I was saving this original video for last, was so bummed when I was hit with the age restriction! (I didn’t feel like giving YT even more of my personal info lol). Thanks for the reupload!
You watch age restricted KZhead instead of just lying about your age?
@@AJayZy KZhead requires you give actual ID nowadays, which I honestly don’t feel like giving. And plus, it’s rare that anything I watch is age restricted anyway lol
@@Dragono_ Fair enough, maybe I should reflect on my age restricted content. Although I didn’t give them personal info on mine
@@AJayZy it’s a fairly new feature I believe, and up until now I never really came across age restricted stuff
This game really need a remaster, but rockstar seems to not care about it. This game would sell a lot with a new graphic refresh, the game is an experience and it should be known to the new generations. It was sooo head of its time, and still it is, if compared with the other open world games, even gta 5.
Need remake, not remaster. It's stupid to remaster games that are over 10 years old.
I think you did a great job presenting this game. This my first bought GTA game as well, though not the first I've played and I spent a lot of hours on it, though not as much as I could, or compared to how much I spent in GTA S.A. which was my favorite of the series until maybe GTA V (I've played GTA 2, V.C., S.A., IV & V)
Subscribed. Thank you for the nostalgia trip
Such a good video thank you g!
They need to make gta 4 available on the new consoles but without remastering it. It’s just perfect the way it is. Loved the video dude keep it up !
It is available on Xbox series X/S via backwards compatibility
GTA 4 is phenomenal one of the best games ever
I remember the good old days of GTA 4 it was my first GTA game I have ever played before and so far today is one of my favorite GTA game for its story, physics , car damage and other amazing things. GTA 5 was good game for its time but I do like how GTA 4 was able to do better.
Did a replay of IV once where I tried to walk around and use public transport as much as possible (we love a game with a metro). There was this moment, late at night where I was walking down to the subway and there was a busker playing sax and idk the vibes were just insane, like V WISHES it could ooze such an atmosphere. Also the story is just devastating, so so so human. It's the perfect elegy for the post Y2K pre iPhone world and I love it with all my heart. Excellent vid dude!!!!!
Yeah I actually have to go back to Liberty City every so often, the physics and dense city made for a living breathing world but Santos just felt like an advert for the online game in comparison, I truly hope we can wander around Vice City with a lush southern Florida vibe! Vice City was a childhood favorite as was 3 so seeing jump from 3 to 4 was amazing, imagine seeing VC to 6!? 😊
When I close my eyes I still see Liberty city still clear in my memories, like a second home. as well as some Modern Warfare maps.
I'm glad someone else feels the same. A true moment captured in time. I was the same age as Niko in 2008,so I felt a strong connection to him. I truly hope we see Niko again, but not in a Johnny way. Thanks for such a passion filled video.
Born in Brooklyn and lived in the Tri-State my whole life. Currently 30 min outside Manhattan. Everything in this thing is nutz. The Projects. The 90s. The people. The cabs. The cops. The Bronx, Queens, Central Park. Cony Island, Even Hoboken and the view of the city across the water. The different Bridges. Love how they captured the Brooklyn Bridge. Funk Flex on the radio. The drab environment and lack of color. The comedy store downtown. Time Square. Rockstar are working some wild magic with what they can capture in a any given sandbox!
Favorite game of all time. Love to see someone else just adore this game. Good video
great video bro, I hope gta 6 manages to capture the same immersion that gta 4 has while also learning from rdr 2
Replaying GTAIV, the heavy-feeling cars are really missing from V, especially GTA Online where they ping around like Hot Wheels. Fishtailing in IV and having to get up speed again to escape the cops is always a tense moment. It's a game that really shines in those smaller action moments. Not so much the wild jumps and explosions, but like, getting staggered and trying to get Niko up and get to cover, or turning a car around in a tight alleyway. I love the whole game but I think the first third or so is the best part. I'm not as interested in Niko and Jacob having helicopter bazooka duels for a shady government agency as I am in seeing them carry out low-stakes pot deals in back alleys.
Bohan was PERFECT for games of Turf War, we spent countless hours playing that - I really want a remaster for this game for a multiplayer resurgence. V's online got beyond boring within 2 years, but IV's MP never got old.
I love this game but I honestly played TBOGT and TLAD more. I fucking loved Luis and Johnny bro I wish the DLCs were longer. I was absolutely IMMERSED in both Johnny and Luis’s stories and I’ve even replayed the DLC more times than the original 😅😅😅 Niko is great and without him GTA IV would not be what it is, it’s dark, gritty & gnarly but bro that DLC was otherworldly for me. TBOGT was ELECTRIC and TLAD was BADASS. I loved being in the same world with new characters and new shit to see. Tony and Luis’s dialogue is my favorite thing everrrrr god I’m about to replay! 😂 seriously jealous of anyone who can mod it because the game is gorgeous even with the old graphics and if it was REMASTERED TODAY I’d take it over gta 6 fr 💯
There's something about GTA 4 that's missing in 5. It's hard to describe exactly, but I think it makes 4 a more likeable place to spend time. I remember playing the PC version online back around 2011/12, and the lobbies would be packed. Race lobbies on a Saturday morning would be laggy as hell, but were much more fun compared to V online racing.
I drive slow in both V and IV. I often slink around and sight see. I explore cool landmarks and skyline pictures I can take with the camera. It is such a great feeling to just drive around and exist in these worlds they've made. I deliberately remove the map and as many HUD elements and take in the surroundings and memorize the map so I can better immerse myself playing. It's such a good vibe.
Absolutely my favourite GTA followed by Vice City. Also bonus points for legit SINGLE PLAYER dlc that was good. Niko is my favourite protagonist from the series.
The quintessential Grand Theft Auto game
I played through Grand Theft Auto IV for the first time at the start of last year, and I think it blows away Grand Theft Auto V in many regards. You covered everything that makes the game great excellently. This game and its story also really hit me on an emotional level, and the only other game to do that to me was Silent Hill 2.
13:45 don't know if you know this but good news about your favourite ringtone, it's a full song from the radio of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City stories. a track from Head Radio, specifically with the same name. it's even on spotify! the actual track sounds alot like an R&B/Soul one inspired by the likes of Ne-Yo, who funnily enough is featured in GTA IV with the track "Because of You" in The Vibe FM.
best gta hands down. great video!
dark frutiger aero really would be the best way to describe the vibe of GTA IV
spot on
To me the very thing that stands out on GTA IV is the attention to detail, animations, reflections, smoke coming out of the car, the wind on the trees, like everything has a weight like real life, theres nothing much to do apart from that, like real life...
This is one of my fav videos on the internet
I never understood everyone's obsession with the airport. Yes it's cool but what I found annoying was how people would set up free mode games that ONLY let you spawn at the airport. In GTA 4 free mode was a lot different for those who don't remember. You actually had pre game lobbies were the host would set up the rules for the map. You could modify traffic , gun spawns, you could even turn off police and friendly fire. People often would make the map based entirely at the airport so if you wanted to go somewhere else and you got killed while out there , the game would spawn you all the way back at the airport... So annoying. Definitely don't miss that part of it lol
Yes.survival mode in hospital. So much detail in this game. Playng this once barely scratch the surface. You can play thi 5 times, and each time find something new, all the random action, you can just make up, or get in, sometimes so unexpected, there is something about Liberty city that makes it so fun...
Swing Set is just one of things
Very good write up 👍 *TL:DR Great video very nice job, me likey GTA IV and me likey the things you said about IV. Keep up the good work and Let's be careful out there.* 😉 🧡 I'd also say that IV is my favourit GTA game too (tho it maybe due it being partly like you, it was my first GTA game i had bought myself and not played around a friends house or borrowed a copy.) I only ever briefly remember watching a friend play GTA 1, got too play II a handful of times, only ever saw the case and instruction book for III, loved and played though Vice city dozens of times and then got too the first few missions in San Fierro before i had too return my friends copy of San Andreas back too him. I got IV the day it came out, i had turned 18 a few months before, went down to my local Gamestation (R.I.P.) and got my copy... then a few hours later i had to go get another copy for a friend of mine because his birthday was in May and when making the purchase his copy i ended up locking eyes with the same guy who had sold me my copy earlier ( he was sitting on the floor behind the counter having a brake) I bought IV again last year to play on stream, got 30 something hours for the story but i've gone and put something like 300 hours off stream. Going back and getting up too my old tricks of: knocking NPC's down stairs, the swing set glitch, using the Patriot the rool other cars on too the roofs, smashing up cars with a baseball bat, knocking over destructible objects, getting high star watned levels and watching the chaos of the IA try and keep up and crash into everything and everyone behind me and of corse just driving around the city.(Even after all that last October i managed to find the 3rd swing set 😅) I remember day 1 for GTA V and feeling disapointed due too the physics of either how the cars drove or your characters ragdolling and a few other details i felt hadn't improved from IV. (especially the fighting mechanics. 🤬You know, when one of the 3 characters stands there and just starts kicking the guy instead of like Niko's using his many mooves.( & The fact a speedrunner i watch is sometimes isn't able to work around them even with ten thousand hours under his belt kinda speaks volumes, or at least i think so 😅)) *But i still feel GTA V is a great game*, but after 10 years of it i went back too IV though either nostalgia or being addicted and unable to stop. But proberly has as you said, something to do with the tone, atmosphere and the general snap shot of the time.
I can’t believe we can’t play it on ps4 or 5.
Im from 1997 too. As a kid I loved GTA SA but years later I realized how childish it was and how simple the storyline was. The flying cars type of stuff wasn't realistic at all but it was fun as a kid. Gta IV is a Gta that young kids didn't like or get at that time but they end up loving as they grew up. To me the best GTA ever is GTA IV but I didn't have the same opinion of it back in 2008-2011. GTA V is all about online, appealing to the largest audience possible by making it childish like GTA SA. GTA V was a game developed by accountants instead of a passion project. Kids tend to not be patient when it comes to GTA V online grind $ so they end up asking daddy to purchase them vehicles and stuff.
Bro gta V didn’t get close to 100 on metacritic for fun lol. Its one of the best games ever made.
I feel the same way about IV, and the part of being a time capsule couldn't be more further from the truth. I was in NYC in the summer of '07 and came to live here in '08 the radio, and Liberty City itself is pretty much stuck in that time period... maybe not the graffiti covered subway cars, and the fact that by then most trains were R160 & R142 models. Other than that it's pretty much spot on. This game also have one of the best NPC AI for a open world game, they're reactions, comments, behavior and overall goofiness. And I can't stop gushing over the ragdoll physics and the driving model, and city layout and lot more...
Thank you for your service sir. And for this video.
I wonder if GTAV is ever going to have videos like this. I think its California vibes are really good, but GTA Online has been around for so long we've never had a chance to get nostalgic over that setting.
GTA IV is still my Favorite Game of All Time and Episodes from Liberty City TLAD and TBOGT are my Favorite DLC's!!!🖤🔥
I had a lot of gripes with IV, but after playing V I legit went "Perhaps I judged you harshly". Like I replayed IV from start to finish more, V I beat once and tried to go for trophies on the second run was cut short when my game crashed and corrupted save, and haven't touched it since
*IV was groundbreaking and ahead of it's time and that's a fact it's not a matter of opinion, V is sucha downgrade, IV with additions of EFLC is a complete package, that only lacks some innovations of SA , VCS and CHW , plus IV could be packed with more multiple /moral/ choices than those featured*
I'm going to reply GTA IV with a few basic mods added, the city has such better life to it and the story is better than V in my opinion
this review is great. makes me wanna load it up again. it sucks the remaster was cancelled. wonder what kinda PC mods this has...
2:28 as someone who lived in NYC at the time game is set it does a great job of capturing the vibe. Rockstar nailed the city as a caricature
Ive literally spent lazy days at home on my couch just bowling in gta4 and listening to youtube videos.
13:45 is actually a reference to a song with the same name you can hear on Head Radio in LCS.
Got the pre order with the metal box back in '08 and I had someone staying at my place and I didn't want him playing my copy so I locked it in the box before school ;) so when you said "it's my game on my xbox" I felt that
The first time I played this was a pirated version for my hamster driven pc. I'd hear a crash, niko scream, and then see 10 seconds later that I crashed. Then I my pc would feel generous and crash the game too. Nowadays I own the game on steam and I can't complete it because the high fps break the mission sequencing
This channel is a W
I clearly see the love you have for this game, very well done! Personally, GTA4 only clicked with the ballad of gay Tony for me. I just love GTA 5.
One of my all time favorite games was a blast playing this coming from home school in 2011 along with smackdown vs raw 2011 wwe all stars hitman just dance wii sports etc
Rockstar never topped GTAIV. TLAD and TBOGT were also amazing. I was legitimately disappointed in GTAV, the characters and the online element.
I played The Ballad of Gay Tony then 4 then I finally played The Lost and Damned and I was amazed how they weaved the stories. Best GTA by thousands of miles. Then 5 and San Andreas tie for weird reasons and in weird ways
Beat the game recently on 480p tv setting playing it again on 1080p it’s a whole new vibe
Steam Deck GTA IV gang rise up! Crazy to see how well it runs on linux
Your right this game does capture the late 2000s and early 2010s you had the beginning of smart phones and social media but not everyone had them yet especially smartphones keyboard phones cameras KZhead before it went corporate etc
14:26 this is a secret I never heard before most like I heard it but flew overy head, but man, sure it is dark 💀
Honestly I agree feel so comfortable playing this game
I thought I was tripping, this is a reupload correct?
*I'd love if VI 'll be like a mix of IV along with EFLC , with new improvements and without the downgrades of V*
Sadly it won’t be, it will be reflecting what the world has become today.
GTA 4 came out nearly 16 years ago. Man that makes me feel old 🤧
Hey, you and I are the same age! GTA 3 was also the first I played
i need to play this again sometime/ if ever this year
If you haven’t had a standoff in the hospital , you ain’t playin GTA IV
Great content! IV was the best
I recently started playing gta 4 and its DLCs on my steam deck it's been a blast from the past. Especially loving the bogt DLC as I couldn't really relate to niko but the homie luis is gta at its best imo
GTA 4 actually felt like a Grand Theft Auto. Dingy and dirty.... Like the old top view gta's
If I ever won tens of millions of dollars in a lottery, I will make it my mission to remaster GTA IV.
I feel much the same way about gta4, classic.
I really wish crossplatform was the norm a lot earlier in gaming. If so, IV could still achieve full lobbies more often between people playing 360 & PS3.
The yonkers effect makes gta so appealing in new york.
I love playing gta 4 complete edition on my steam deck too , do you know how to play w mods ?
Didn't you already upload this