An Analysis of Grand Theft Auto 4

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  • čas přidán 7. 06. 2024
  • This is an in depth retrospective of Rockstar Game's 2008 release, Grand Theft Auto Four. It is part one of a four part series called "The Book of Rockstar Games"
    davidoztv
    twitch.tv/mrdavidoz
    Timestamps:
    Intro 0:00
    Theme and Character 4:59
    Gameplay 31:54
    DLC 46:07
    Conclusion 50:43

Komentáře • 1K

  • @ars5134
    @ars5134 Před 6 lety +2891

    IV had a much smaller map than V, yet has more strip clubs...

    • @ButteryEvolution.
      @ButteryEvolution. Před 5 lety +178

      ARS that cuts deep as fuck tbh

    • @introvertedwifi4818
      @introvertedwifi4818 Před 4 lety +220

      The American dream

    • @jackiessquirrel5508
      @jackiessquirrel5508 Před 4 lety +107

      ARS is it really? It’s so much better than gta 5 anyway, both story and map and gameplay (imo)

    • @kupokinzyt
      @kupokinzyt Před 4 lety +46

      Niko enjoys killing far more than any other GTA protagonists, maybe minus Tommy Vercetti. Obviously Trevor doesn't count here though.

    • @jackiessquirrel5508
      @jackiessquirrel5508 Před 4 lety +76

      KUPOkinz do you compare a gta protagonist who is scarred from the war and a mafia man who does what he can to get through but not to the person who likes killing makes sense

  • @poke2243
    @poke2243 Před 4 lety +1253

    GTA IV just had a certain atmosphere to it that makes it feel special to me. It feels like you're watching a Russian movie set in America.

    • @jgtafighter
      @jgtafighter Před 3 lety +65

      watch Brat and especially Brat 2

    • @hurensohn7605
      @hurensohn7605 Před 3 lety +70

      they captured liberty city so good. its so daek and gritty while los santos is flashy and has a cleaner athmosphere to it which fits because there u r a professional gangster planning big heists while in IV u are a european immigrant trying to make a living.

    • @jackzanetti9139
      @jackzanetti9139 Před 3 lety +16

      @@hurensohn7605 Yes that’s what I like about Rockstar games they do a really good job on creating the atmosphere of the setting/location

    • @delete7316
      @delete7316 Před 3 lety +9

      It feels like playing a Tarantino movie

    • @avace917
      @avace917 Před 2 lety +29

      @@hurensohn7605 as a native New Yorker, I can 100% say that they nailed the vibe of NYC in a general sense. So many landmarks, very accurate geography and lastly cleverly named neighborhoods and boroughs

  • @raffipoladian5601
    @raffipoladian5601 Před 4 lety +1616

    I really like ur analysis of GTA 4. My only thing that I think you left out is that Roman is kinda a symbol of innocence. I think Niko wants to protect Roman because he sees him as uncorrupted by the Serbian war.

    • @themayhemera3046
      @themayhemera3046 Před 3 lety +24

      true

    • @sgtjohnson49
      @sgtjohnson49 Před 3 lety +147

      Roman and Niko's relationship is great. How Niko slowly unpacks his past for Roman as they go through crazier and crazier shit together is awesome.. It reminds me of a Tarantino film, like a lot of great parts of Rockstar games do.

    • @amarson2322
      @amarson2322 Před 3 lety +36

      you mean bosnian war because it was heavily implied that Niko served there

    • @dylangarcia4216
      @dylangarcia4216 Před 3 lety +2

      This made me cry after thinking about it

    • @caporegimeclutch9715
      @caporegimeclutch9715 Před 3 lety +36

      I disagree. I wouldn't say he's a symbol of innocence. He's a degenerate gambler who constantly got involved with the wrong people and never learned from his mistakes. If anything, he's a symbol of greed and the fake promises of coming to America. Roman kept believing that he was going to live the American dream and expected that it would just be handed to him on a silver platter. The only thing innocent about him is that he hasn't been stripped of his humanity as Niko had been. Roman is less a symbol of innocence but instead a symbol of humanity. The entire point of the game is to demonstrate that there really is no innocence. Everybody is either a ruthless criminal forced to do the worst of things to survive, or is able to escape the violence and crime but instead drown themselves in greed. Roman is the latter. He never had to face the realities of war. Instead, he believed that he deserved the best America had to offer.

  • @grehembelly
    @grehembelly Před 5 lety +531

    I didn't exactly seen your point about how Nikos relationship with Roman and theme of loyalty are so important in GTA IV until I remembered mission "Uncle Vlad" where Niko gets freaked out so much when he was called "a traitor" by Roman for not telling Roman about Vlad and Mallorie. It's also kinda funny, how just like Roman, I didn't get why Niko told Roman about what happened to his squad over Vlads dead body - Niko just tried to explain Roman, how painful it was for him to be called a traitor by someone important to him, when the biggest tragedy of Nikos life was caused by a betrayal.

    • @DavidOZ
      @DavidOZ  Před 5 lety +92

      Nice! This is great, and definitely could have made it into the video. Thanks for the comment!

    • @mr.rodgers9891
      @mr.rodgers9891 Před 4 lety +47

      Damn...
      I totally see where you come from. Literally played that mission yesterday and I wholeheartedly agree. That's genius. Major props.

  • @WTFmomentGaming
    @WTFmomentGaming Před 3 lety +278

    You said "I don't know why they made so many hand to hand combat options." Because it's fun! Back in vanilla GTA IV, my friends and I would go to bad parts of town and just fight as many people as we can before we run out of health. Mastering all the little mechanics was crucial to surviving. Rockstar even responded to this- in The Ballad of Gay Tony DLC, they made an underground fight club; a whole activity based around fist fighting.

    • @buttlerubbies747
      @buttlerubbies747 Před 3 lety +38

      Dude right??? The hand to hand is so much more fun in this game than most open world games I’ve played

    • @BronsonFan111
      @BronsonFan111 Před 2 lety +23

      Red Dead 2, Saints Row 2, and GTA 4 have some of the most fun hand-to-hand combat in an open world game I’ve playedz

    • @BronsonFan111
      @BronsonFan111 Před 2 lety +17

      @@oohpaarjan4685 It’s not just that, there’s also special moves you can do when you successfully dodge an attack. And there are unique ones you can get depending on the button you press or melee weapon you are holding. GTA V has a similar function but it’s dumbed wayyyy down where all the counterattacks are just a basic punch.

    • @zekeiwa5837
      @zekeiwa5837 Před 2 lety +10

      @@oohpaarjan4685 that's literally every combat system ever. of course it sounds bad if you oversimplify it, dipshit

    • @FuckYouTube385
      @FuckYouTube385 Před 2 lety +5

      Yeah I like the video. But that's just a stupid take. I mean this is the first time I ever heard anyone complain about the combat system being fun and fleshed out. Weird.

  • @Bigdaddymittens
    @Bigdaddymittens Před 6 lety +812

    Christ, you're really working hard. Probably the best video out there on GTA 4

    • @DavidOZ
      @DavidOZ  Před 6 lety +88

      I'm going to make this work. This whole youtube thing. Riding a lot of motivation.

    • @Bigdaddymittens
      @Bigdaddymittens Před 6 lety +27

      DavidOZ I also love that you tend to respect the viewer's free time, and that you acknowledge how limited it may be for us. Plus, you're not overly pretentious, like many analysis CZcamsrs. Great combination, really.

    • @zcrouch13
      @zcrouch13 Před 6 lety +1

      Facts 💯

    • @zcrouch13
      @zcrouch13 Před 6 lety +5

      “May be better to take this video in chunks” lmao this is my favorite game of all time

    • @big-loss_9043
      @big-loss_9043 Před 4 lety

      Oh yeah yeah

  • @jantopia69
    @jantopia69 Před 4 lety +336

    This is definitely one of the best games ever made during the 00’s

  • @daddydallas4789
    @daddydallas4789 Před 6 lety +1010

    I would not agree that Niko likes the killing. To me it looked like it didn't make fun for him. However the war has made him cold and hardened so it didn't make him feel bad either. He also claimed that he is good at killing and he can't do anything else. I think he doesn't kill for the money. Of course money is a reason, but not primarily. He does it because he has to because with every problem he solves, it causes another problem which needs to be taken care of (e.g. Forced to work for Mikhail after killing Vlad).
    And also he often mentioned to Roman that he hopes that the people he works for will help him finding the traitor. (Ray Buccino helped Niko finding Florian, UL Paper helped him finding Darko) Since Niko killed Vlad the players knew that Niko did not only move to America because of his cousin and a start of a new crimeless life, but also to find ''that special someone''.
    That's why I consider the ''canon'' Niko basically as a good man, he is loyal and does everything for his friends and family. But he is also cold and hardened + vengeful what leads him to doing bad things, despite him being a good man.

    • @pelucheCR7
      @pelucheCR7 Před 5 lety +15

      I think he does like killing though, whenever he kills, his constant shouting feels as if he takes pleasure in killing.

    • @dimebagforever251
      @dimebagforever251 Před 5 lety +162

      @@pelucheCR7 Soldiers are trained to scream to scare enemies in the field or to gather bravery.

    • @blissvii9756
      @blissvii9756 Před 5 lety +88

      Niko is a good guy. Everything about his past ruined him. He thinks that the only thing he knows how to do is kill. Which is sad. He's such a angry and depressed man. I don't think he likes killing either. But he does most of it out of anger or he does it to protect the fewer people he cares about

    • @grindcore124
      @grindcore124 Před 4 lety +62

      in free roam Niko will outright not kill people. Ever notice that the NPC's you kill in free roam don't die, but, rather they lay on the ground in pain? Plus, listen to the things Niko says while fighting "It's just a wound, you want me to finish you off?" and many others. His whole persona is that of a man who wants out. Out of the past, out of the killing and out of the crime.
      He is a broken man who was put in a bad situation. Niko was the first gta character that had the option to spare people. The only other character I can think of that has that option was Johnny.

    • @TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsCunt
      @TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsCunt Před 4 lety +32

      @@grindcore124 They only lay on the ground "wounded" if you shoot them in the body enough times to deplete their health. If you shoot them a few more times, or shoot them in the head, they're dead.

  • @isengard8588
    @isengard8588 Před 5 lety +477

    I wish i could bring back the memories from 2010

  • @pianta4403
    @pianta4403 Před 3 lety +168

    In my opinion Niko is the most realistic character in the franchise, simply because he doesnt want to kill or hurt anyone, he was forced into all this trouble because he had to help Roman. Niko doesnt kill anyone if not nessesary (in the story)

    • @OutOfTheShadows1
      @OutOfTheShadows1 Před 2 lety +7

      I mean.. honestly it's realistic.. but imo having an anti hero protag doesn't really fit with gta's actual gameplay? a game series where at any moment you can run over a pedestrian for no reason, get out of the car, set them on fire, shoot their corpse again, and then open fire into a random crowd, and yet in the story cutscenes they wanna minimize killing and want to be a good person on some level

    • @ansonburgdorf3940
      @ansonburgdorf3940 Před 2 lety +6

      @@OutOfTheShadows1 in SA they give cj the benefit of the doubt by always calling him 'BUSTA' Because he always he crashing cars

    • @yunjin909
      @yunjin909 Před 2 lety +9

      @@OutOfTheShadows1 Gameplay is not canon to the story though, Jimmy from Bully is heavily against bullying and stands up to people weaker than him whenever he can yet you can be a bully yourself in the gameplay, but it's not canon to the story or Jimmy's personality whatsoever

    • @HeyMomonia
      @HeyMomonia Před 2 lety +3

      That's why i think Trevor is one of the best gta character. He's not necessarily deeper or more interesting than other characters that's not the point.
      He's just the perfect character for the gta gameplay. You can run over someone, bazooka him to death and go to the mission and it would fit with the character.

    • @KuyaArbee
      @KuyaArbee Před 2 lety

      very true! many times you had a choice to do what you wanted... you only killed the guns for hire or henchman etc.

  • @SeeminglyBoring
    @SeeminglyBoring Před 3 lety +141

    The scene where niko meets darko brevic, is amazing. If u look at it, its not niko meeting darko, but, niko meeting another niko. No its not just that they look alike, but they are very much alike. They both kill for money. So what do u do, do u kill darko and be who u already are, a killer niko . Or do u spare him, and spare the actual niko inside, the one before the ambush, one before niko becomes a killer. Hence the game treats sparing darko as the good ending as niko saves niko and killing darko as the bad one as niko kills the real niko. THIS to me is SPECTACULAR writing.

    • @verylowendgamers7426
      @verylowendgamers7426 Před 3 lety +6

      this reminds me of mission in fc3 where jason kills vaas

    • @flameuptheherbwoofdownthebeer
      @flameuptheherbwoofdownthebeer Před 2 lety +10

      Completely untrue,but i like your theory,darko betrays nikos unit in the bosnian war and he,florian,and darko are the only ones left,as we know,florian (Aka bernie) didnt do shit,that leaves it to darko,if you kill him,he thanks you because his life is fucked,people here would call that god taking his revenge on the wrongdooer but nah,most probably karma got to him or he did it to himself,anyway,if you spare him,you basically let him suffer more,witch is the true ending to his story,sparing him will leave him with so much more pain than actually killing him.

    • @Aidel1011
      @Aidel1011 Před 2 lety +4

      @@flameuptheherbwoofdownthebeer It's Kosovo War. Niko was finding Darko for 10 years since 1998 which means Darko betrayed Niko for the Albanians, not Bosniaks, then the Albanians paid Darko more money to live in Switzerland as a drug addict and move on before That Special Someone, considering Albanians don't trust Darko Brevic either.

  • @individous2833
    @individous2833 Před 5 lety +242

    from my perspective, GTA IV was designed with all expansions in mind from the beginning. for example: in the ballad of gay tony you can go into a fight club, enter many places that didn't have a real point in existing in the base game and so on. when looked at it in its completion, you can see that the whole world and framework was indeed fully utilized by the developers. after playing every game, it becomes obvious, that the story of GTA IV is much more about the idea of liberty city itself, then it is about any of the protagonists, they are just the catalysts for the narrative. there is so much thought behind every aspect of the games, on so many levels.
    Great analysis, I enjoyed watching it.

    • @s71d3r
      @s71d3r Před 4 lety +7

      Individous 10000% agree

    • @Jolgeable
      @Jolgeable Před 3 lety +3

      Good point.

    • @andreimihail3677
      @andreimihail3677 Před 3 lety +5

      In GTA IV if you call Roman to hangout with you after you already did he tells Niko if he wants the people to say if they are kissing cousins, mokingly asking him if he went to Hercules nightclub

    • @ishmaelforester9825
      @ishmaelforester9825 Před 3 lety +3

      With the expansions it is one of the best action games ever made. What compares to it?

    • @ishmaelforester9825
      @ishmaelforester9825 Před 3 lety +2

      @@andreimihail3677 there is a genuine vibe of dick head loving cousins between him and roman. Their banter is hilarious and adorable.

  • @DionPanday
    @DionPanday Před 6 lety +290

    12:55 YOU CAN SKIP THE TOLL CHECKPOINTS?!

    • @DavidOZ
      @DavidOZ  Před 6 lety +86

      With a motorcycle or a little car, yeah. :)

    • @DionPanday
      @DionPanday Před 6 lety +71

      DavidOZ Just when you think you know everything about a game it still manages to surprise me.

    • @THE_C0NSIGLIERE
      @THE_C0NSIGLIERE Před 6 lety +2

      Yea where have you been

    • @sinenomine8739
      @sinenomine8739 Před 6 lety +8

      Lol, you can skip them on foot and soon get another car hijacked.

    • @leegsy
      @leegsy Před 6 lety +9

      You can also just drive through them but this will damage your vehicle and you gain one star, might be two, not sure. Been ages since I played GTAIV

  • @VlenceLeuth
    @VlenceLeuth Před 3 lety +80

    That bit about police snipers, around 43:30, that's actually already in the game. They're most noticeable in Algonquin. Most people usually don't notice them because they're usually driving away really fast from the cops.

  • @stuglife5514
    @stuglife5514 Před 4 lety +109

    I feel like the reason the Niko is so aggressive when in combat and is so cool and confident is because he was a professional soldier who fought in a conflict. He has real experience

    • @themostdiabolicalhater5986
      @themostdiabolicalhater5986 Před 2 lety +3

      Yup, and water is wet and the sky is blue

    • @_yellow
      @_yellow Před 2 lety +7

      @@themostdiabolicalhater5986 Water isn't wet because wet is used to describle something which usually is dry. For something to be wet, it needs to be able to be dry.

    • @_yellow
      @_yellow Před 2 lety

      @Ertan Soner Very

  • @venomclown1134
    @venomclown1134 Před 4 lety +181

    Anybody here ever read that email from Niko's mom? It was really sad... and probably the last time Niko ever heard from his mother again :(
    Even she couldn't blame her son for what the war did to her boy, and that just kills me man...

    • @jakelarkin2990
      @jakelarkin2990 Před 2 lety +4

      Damn didn't think about that she probably died or got killed and niko never saw her again

    • @sassav6564
      @sassav6564 Před 2 lety +4

      Why do you think it was the last time?

    • @flameuptheherbwoofdownthebeer
      @flameuptheherbwoofdownthebeer Před 2 lety +12

      @@jakelarkin2990 What is the reason for her killing? Niko is serbian,im serbian too,as far as i know there wasnt a war in serbia in 2008 when the game takes place,then again it could have been a gang related murder,since niko is infamous in gta 4 for you know what,but she most definately wasnt murdered,hell,if you choose to accept the deal and roman dies,she actually emails niko about romans death,she probably just dosent use the internet very often since old people here dont rely on internet as much as in america.

    • @deadset15-hrvavik17
      @deadset15-hrvavik17 Před 2 lety +3

      @@flameuptheherbwoofdownthebeer Niko je Srb iz blizine Mostara, on je bio sudjelovao u ratu u Bosni u 1992-95, nakon rata radija je po mediteranu za Bulgarina, no to nije završilo dobro. Nakon toga pronašao je informaciju za Floriana Kravića , to jest da je on možda u Liberty City-u. Zato je odlučija ići tamo kod rođaka u 2008. godinu. Rat se davno desija od tad ali opet je to traumatično bilo, tako je svima koji su to proživili.
      Pozdrav iz Hrvatske.

    • @jakovpetrovic213
      @jakovpetrovic213 Před 2 lety +1

      @@deadset15-hrvavik17 tako je. Fantastična igrica

  • @johnmartin1870
    @johnmartin1870 Před 6 lety +41

    I think roman doesnt want to kill vlad because unlike niko, he is either traumatised by or sick of the murder back home. I think that's a really good detail of his character

  • @wolfgangfrost8043
    @wolfgangfrost8043 Před 4 lety +166

    Recently been replaying IV with ludo-narrative dissonance in mind. I'm at 39% with only 6 cars stolen & 172 kills. Basically only killing who is required to pass missions & minimal collateral damage.

    • @daveyishere55
      @daveyishere55 Před 3 lety +3

      I really want to replay this game as a normal person but sadly I don't have a copy these days

    • @sweep_swoop
      @sweep_swoop Před 2 lety +5

      Pacifist%

    • @grandreddithotel8059
      @grandreddithotel8059 Před 2 lety +26

      Same here. I haven't stolen a single car, just drive Roman's cab or Stevie's car, or just take the train or a cab. Also I save the game by sleeping at night, change Niko's clothes regularly, go to restautants and hamg ouy with friends.

    • @TheHulk1850
      @TheHulk1850 Před 2 lety +11

      @@grandreddithotel8059 That's what I love about GTA 4, it's so realistic, you can easily roleplay it as a life simulator, or at least the closest thing to it!! Besides the missions, of course.

    • @nexus7034
      @nexus7034 Před 2 lety +1

      I’m trying the same thing with Vice City

  • @K1LLeRc0ck
    @K1LLeRc0ck Před 6 lety +78

    I think GTA IV was a great game worthy of its praise. It still holds up and the controls work fine when you get used to them. The texture work is great, especially the use of colors and when playing on pc/xbox one/ps4 the higher resolution brings the game to life.

    • @doomasil7232
      @doomasil7232 Před 3 lety +3

      No gta 4 on ps4 :(

    • @K1LLeRc0ck
      @K1LLeRc0ck Před 3 lety +2

      @@doomasil7232 Damn.

    • @tbl5138
      @tbl5138 Před 3 lety

      Shut your dumbass. Old school graphic gives that vibe to it

    • @K1LLeRc0ck
      @K1LLeRc0ck Před 3 lety +1

      @@tbl5138 The graphics are old school in higher resolution too and it's not _that_ old school to begin with being a ps3 era title 😅😅

    • @BlueShift2000
      @BlueShift2000 Před 2 lety

      @@K1LLeRc0ck there is no better resolution on XOne, not even on the One X.

  • @KerrBox92
    @KerrBox92 Před 4 lety +27

    darko also sold out the other squad members for revenge, not just money. he claimed that some of them were killing other friends of his, painting a picture of how you can't trust everyone you know, also giving more context as to why he did what he did

  • @AsteroidSpy
    @AsteroidSpy Před 6 lety +49

    There are snipers on the roofs on a four star wanted level

    • @honkamania1174
      @honkamania1174 Před 5 lety +12

      Really? Out of the many hours of me playing this game i forgot that small detail.

  • @dmwelchdw
    @dmwelchdw Před rokem +8

    One of the reasons for tapping "A" to sprint, probably has to do with GTA 3 and Vice City. Holding "A" was the sprint, and players realized you could tap A to effectively have infinite sprint. So it became a measured mechanic rather than an infinite exploit.

  • @caesarplaysgames
    @caesarplaysgames Před 6 lety +339

    It may slightly be due to nostalgia, but this is still my personal favorite GTA game, although GTA 5 may be objectively more polished and better at almost every aspect, but I just love GTA 4.

    • @panterxbeats
      @panterxbeats Před 6 lety +141

      I think GTA IV is far more polished in all the right areas, compared to V, which had the most underwhelming story, and a terrible excuse of an ending that just jumps on you when you're not expecting it.

    • @megamike15
      @megamike15 Před 5 lety +60

      nah even when i played 5 for the first time i felt it's story was weaker then 4 and red dead redemption

    • @TabacoTheGreen
      @TabacoTheGreen Před 4 lety +75

      What you said is just the opposite. GTA 4 way more pulishes than GTA 5. Liberty City was alive physics were more realistic, history way deeper and richer. GTA 5 is empty.

    • @deanjulian6189
      @deanjulian6189 Před 4 lety +1

      @@TabacoTheGreen Joe mamma

    • @bardanmalla193
      @bardanmalla193 Před 3 lety +7

      Gta v is a parody

  • @Ar1AnX1x
    @Ar1AnX1x Před 3 lety +17

    *YOU RUINED ME YOU FUCK!!*
    absolute favorite line from niko

  • @DocMortsnarg
    @DocMortsnarg Před 4 lety +16

    The Lost and Damned really comes off as a proto-Red Dead Redemption II. Very similar stories, and I think Rockstar really thought through the ideas that TLAD introduced.

    • @DavidOZ
      @DavidOZ  Před 4 lety +4

      Whoa, this comment kinda blew my mind. That's a good comparison, someone should write that video essay.

    • @DocMortsnarg
      @DocMortsnarg Před 4 lety +4

      @@DavidOZ I kinda wanted to. I remember reading and watching something about Charles Manson while I was playing through RDRII. I thought how similar Dutch was to him, then thought about how much more blatantly similar Billy Grey was; since he even looked like him. I would've figured someone would see some similarities at some point

  • @ue2JY3z10Rb
    @ue2JY3z10Rb Před 3 lety +3

    Just found this video recently and you absolutely killed it.
    Loved every second of it, well done!

  • @JizzyF83
    @JizzyF83 Před 3 lety +99

    It’s a shame that single player got neglected for online. It feels like a chunk of fans were thrown to one side and forgotten for online content

    • @AkinaCelica
      @AkinaCelica Před 3 lety +55

      I think you're thinking of GTA V

    • @stephengrigg5988
      @stephengrigg5988 Před 2 lety +10

      Gta5 and red dead 2 both had 50+ hour stories that had a clear amount of effort put in. The company that owns rockstar forces them to monetize the online segment but they let them do their own thing with the single player and let them take as long as they need. I have no idea how you can call all the work that went into the singleplayer neglect.

    • @tylercouture216
      @tylercouture216 Před 2 lety

      @@stephengrigg5988 because out there own mouths they promised to make single player DLC then cancelled it and literally implemented each Single-players DLC into online mode .......... sounds like single-player neglect

    • @lljw7151
      @lljw7151 Před 2 lety

      @@stephengrigg5988 no dlc... gta4 had a 40+ hr story plus dlc

  • @samsepiol6151
    @samsepiol6151 Před 6 lety +6

    This video is incredible. I had already thought quite a bit about the underlying themes of this game but you've just taken it to a whole other level. Your articulate descriptions and perspective are really amazing and great to hear.

    • @DavidOZ
      @DavidOZ  Před 6 lety

      This is really kind, thank you Corvo. This put a big smile on my face!

  • @lifesuxluke1895
    @lifesuxluke1895 Před 6 lety +3

    This is one of the best critiques I’ve seen on CZcams. Can’t wait to see what you have in store for Rockstar’s other releases.

  • @beardnufsaid
    @beardnufsaid Před 6 lety +7

    Man, once again, great in depth analysis. Can't wait to see what future videos will be like. I miss your streams, btw.

    • @DavidOZ
      @DavidOZ  Před 6 lety +2

      Thanks man. Just got done streaming some for the next analysis. I think you will like it. you can come by its twitch.tv/davidoztv should be doing it almost everyday. Know you're busy! Thank you for the kind words. :)

    • @beardnufsaid
      @beardnufsaid Před 6 lety

      DavidOZ nice man, looking forward to it :)

  • @travosk8668
    @travosk8668 Před 3 lety

    I havent watched a video this long from beginning to end in a while. Thanks man

  • @bLuexd
    @bLuexd Před 3 lety +2

    I really love videos like this. I’ve played this game at least seven times, and had hours upon hours of online gameplay under my belt when the game was actually popping. You brought up a few points that made me look at not only the gameplay and story elements different , but also the overall thought process for making a game like this. Great content, very thought provoking.

  • @PokeStreamHD
    @PokeStreamHD Před 6 lety +10

    Love seeing these. Glad you're getting more support. Incredibly deserved and I know you've worked hard for a few years, even through your hiatus.

  • @euridr2141
    @euridr2141 Před 5 lety +54

    43:30 there are snipers at 5 stars in algonquin

  • @Roc_Official
    @Roc_Official Před 3 lety +1

    This man deserves wayyyyyy more subs. Quality content. Appreciate the hard work. Keep pushing forward, you got the talent for content creation and CZcams.

  • @collinsmith4492
    @collinsmith4492 Před rokem

    Dude your analysis is unreal!! Awesome video!!

  • @abelkarolyi1615
    @abelkarolyi1615 Před 5 lety +20

    We need more youtubers who treat games not only as tools of entertainment but as pieces of art, like you. I hope more will come and if you analysed Witcher 3 I would be very grateful.

    • @movieworld717
      @movieworld717 Před 3 lety

      Agreed, a lot (not all) of these analysis tend to focus on gameplay and how it relates to the other aspects of the game, which isn't bad but I appreciate his focused interest on the thematic/narrative element of games as if they were movie essays.

    • @ubsurd0729
      @ubsurd0729 Před 3 lety

      Leadhead makes very good videos

  • @AndrewDrewJamison
    @AndrewDrewJamison Před 2 lety +3

    This was a very well made video. Good job!
    20:33 voice crack

    • @vlone9470
      @vlone9470 Před 2 lety +1

      27:35 his voice cracks saying “developers”

  • @SuperSladjo
    @SuperSladjo Před 2 lety

    Really good video man, loved every second of it!

  • @leartistiquerealisation2543

    Another great video my dude!

  • @MithriAK
    @MithriAK Před 5 lety +4

    Amazing analyis. This video is gold, I wish more people could see this.

  • @mr.rodgers9891
    @mr.rodgers9891 Před 4 lety +23

    I, myself, would compare the story to GTA 3. The two games are basically inversions of one another. I think that's why they went with the numbered release. GTA 3 has a very tongue in cheek 80's action movie vibe akin to something like Scarface meets Die Hard meets Goodfellas (I know Goodfellas came out in 1990) and is much more arcade style.
    Where as GTA IV is VERY bleak. Very mature and down to earth. Like Reservoir Dogs meets The Usual Suspects with a tiny bit of Heat thrown in for good measure, and has a very realistic and weighty style to the gameplay.
    Claude is a silent doer, where as Niko is a talkative cynic that has no qualms with dying now or later. Both are masterclasses in storytelling. GTA 3 talks through its gameplay and GTA IV talks through the map and story itself. GTA 3 is basically Scarface in 2001 and GTA IV is wholly its own thing. Overall, I would play GTA 3 over IV, but going back and playing IV after V it's very apparent that it was a very cinematic experience. Very movie like.
    Oh yeah, the DLC stories are excellent too. Rockstar has a great track record when it comes to quality.

    • @GuyFromCrowd
      @GuyFromCrowd Před 2 lety +6

      Vice city is even more Scarface-like

    • @jakovpetrovic213
      @jakovpetrovic213 Před 2 lety +1

      @@GuyFromCrowd ye they even have Tony Montana mansion

  • @benjaminberry1660
    @benjaminberry1660 Před 3 lety

    Great video man! Such a thorough analysis

  • @bradbland9307
    @bradbland9307 Před 3 lety

    Great Video... Lots of thought and time put into it . I was thoroughly entertained. Thanks !!!

  • @euridr2141
    @euridr2141 Před 5 lety +15

    Damn.... Respect for you... one of the best gta IV videos.

  • @xcvussk
    @xcvussk Před 6 lety +5

    I realy really liked this video bro ❤
    Good continuation ✌

  • @ldope3904
    @ldope3904 Před 2 lety

    what an excellent video
    high quality analysis thank you for this and putting the time into it

  • @KillukaAnime
    @KillukaAnime Před 3 lety

    This is autentic quality video! :D i loved it, thanks for doing this work, keep it up!

  • @debonairrose
    @debonairrose Před 5 lety +27

    31:04 , you earned my like.

  • @Ar1AnX1x
    @Ar1AnX1x Před 5 lety +13

    I love how you mentioned niko's battleshouts since I thought exactly the same thing
    it made me feel like niko is really there and it's not just a video game

  • @edwardconsole6721
    @edwardconsole6721 Před 6 lety +2

    Another great video, no regrets watching this at like 5 am trying to fall asleep :D

  • @Ddubswest
    @Ddubswest Před 6 lety +1

    Great job mate. Just watched all this whilst doing my housework. Keep it up. :)

    • @DavidOZ
      @DavidOZ  Před 6 lety

      This is really kind, thank you David. Hope I helped! Check out the other videos, might be something you're interested in.

  • @sarthak8441
    @sarthak8441 Před 4 lety +7

    Very beautiful analysis!! Made me fall even more in love with liberty city

  • @emmanuelvelez8431
    @emmanuelvelez8431 Před 6 lety +34

    Nice video men... GTA 4 The Complete Collection is my favorite game of all time... Is a very well made video game...

  • @X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X
    @X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X Před 5 lety

    This was very enjoyable to listen to, thank you!
    I already look forward to your analysis of GTA V.

  • @Jvicente17
    @Jvicente17 Před 4 lety +2

    You are the guy!! The best video about gta IV I have ever seen...

  • @pladamirvutin3526
    @pladamirvutin3526 Před 3 lety +6

    The skipping free roam thing you mentioned what happened to me, calling a taxi after every mission, or romans cab service. the conversations with the driver were great

  • @noxanneballadynasowacka6125

    Fantastic, thought-provoking video. I haven't even played any of the 3D GTA games and I loved every second of it. Thank you so much for this amazing essay.

  • @ianborras
    @ianborras Před 6 lety

    Glad I found this before you blow up. You're really good man. Sub earned!

    • @DavidOZ
      @DavidOZ  Před 6 lety

      Hah, I hope so. We will see. Thank you for the kind words.

  • @poppytoad911
    @poppytoad911 Před 2 lety +1

    I really liked the video, good job on making it. 👍

  • @a_random_orthodox_Christian

    I enjoyed this video tanks for making it

  • @unr8ted77
    @unr8ted77 Před 5 lety +68

    Uninspired writing? The hell you talking about? GTA IV is one of the most well written games ever. You could make an oscar nominated movie from it.

    • @idrinkcofe
      @idrinkcofe Před 4 lety +7

      GothenThot. Have you played them?

    • @idrinkcofe
      @idrinkcofe Před 4 lety +13

      Marty McFly ya when I heard in the video that there’s no commentary I was really surprised. The story is well remembered due to its great narrative and engaging characters.

    • @julianratering8500
      @julianratering8500 Před 4 lety

      @@idrinkcofe I'm replaying the whole game including DLC right now. The story is enjoyable indeed but certainly not the best. Like the guy said, it's functional and good for a GTA game, but there are better stories out there. Games like Bioshock and Spec Ops: The Line have truly great stories.

    • @julianratering8500
      @julianratering8500 Před 4 lety +2

      I can see though why u think it's a great story, and it does have it's moments and overall vibe.

    • @average_enjoyer
      @average_enjoyer Před 4 lety

      I mean it's good but not gold

  • @susa.k.a.pinkguy2036
    @susa.k.a.pinkguy2036 Před 3 lety +1

    i love your content man and i really hope your channel will get bigger :) fight on dude and i can relate currenlty im studying while working 2 jobs at the same time im studying for drivers license all at the same time while still trying to enjoy freetime. i really respect the amount of work u put into makin these videos ;D

  • @TheLethalIntrospectionCrew

    These were some wonderfully killer thoughts! Grand Theft Auto IV is one of our favorite games and one that is packed with so many types of implicit messages it is trying to convey. We love it and have subscribed!

    • @DavidOZ
      @DavidOZ  Před 5 lety +1

      Thank you for the kind words - I'll check out your show! I really appreciate it.

  • @deadrock1678
    @deadrock1678 Před 4 lety +7

    Niko and Arthur are the best rockstar protagonists.

  • @thedankhaloring9175
    @thedankhaloring9175 Před 6 lety +4

    dude i love your stuff! After watching your wolfenstien video i fell in love! new sub

    • @DavidOZ
      @DavidOZ  Před 6 lety +2

      Awesome. Thank you so much dude. :)

  • @BigNutJuice
    @BigNutJuice Před 5 lety

    Very well done video. Great job! Listened to the whole thing. I will look differently at games forever because of you. Thank you!

    • @DavidOZ
      @DavidOZ  Před 5 lety

      This is really kind and I love that you let me know you listened to the whole thing. If you got any questions or things you wanna add let me know. I;m just happy we have another person looking critically at games!

  • @wardmced9305
    @wardmced9305 Před 4 lety

    Love the video man!!

  • @ZacFrazier
    @ZacFrazier Před 6 lety +103

    Hey David, another interesting video here. But as a fan, I wanna offer some constructive criticism for your consideration.
    - In terms of voice over, doing over bum takes and editing those out would just help general production value. Obviously this isn't like terribly detrimental to the overall video.
    - I'd say that the script needs some editing. Now if you want to keep the sort of stream of consciousness style to your scripts, then you can ignore this. But otherwise I'd say there are a couple things I would change. First is the qualifiers you make in the video about how this is your opinion and such. People should be assuming stuff like that off the bat, and it kinda hurts the pacing. What's more, I think you could trim down the time you spend saying what you'll be talking about in the video. Get to your points ASAP and let them speak for themselves. The other critique I have is that I feel you could do a better job of segmenting the video. So an example, you talk about Social Vandalism in the beginning. The script has you backtracking to that definition, but it would be just a bit more coherent to say "GTA IV is social vandalism. Here's are the reasons why." You could do this for each thematic analysis, segmenting the video down even further and allowing us to digest each piece of this pretty large whole.
    Hopefully these critiques are somewhat helpful. And they come from a place of wanting to help a fellow creator out get better at their craft (which is assuming I have any expertise, which I don't, but I figured its something)

    • @DavidOZ
      @DavidOZ  Před 6 lety +44

      These are great critiques. Thanks for being such a great friend of the channel. You obviously have expertise.
      I walk this weird line with this channel. It's almost like, I know that there are things that could be improved, but I can't really say I have always been a perfectionist. I think my takes have gotten better for this video, and I redid a lot of them in production. I know there are still some fluffs. At some point I think I just ask myself, "at what point does this stop being me?"
      The pacing critique is really helpful to me. I don't have anyone to read these through to, so I am pretty much just abusing my keyboard for 11,000 words and then just starting the recording. It's all a work in progress and I think I get better with eachone. I don't think I'll ever stop stream of consciousness though. Thanks again friend.

    • @frowlinian8175
      @frowlinian8175 Před 4 lety +9

      People dont assume people's opinion that goes against their own are ever people's opinion. Your optimism is commendable but... no. Anything not expressly stated to be an opinion of whoever is saying it is assumed to be a fact and a fact that is wrong, or even vice versa... the listener may be fully aware that it's an opinion but they may not know if the speaker is aware of that or not, especially when everything is said so matter of factly.
      Basically it decreases the chance for any hostility by opening it "this is simply my opinion, you're free to have your own and I'd love to hear about it"... it opens the door for discussion rather than closing the door on it by displaying any arrogance of "this is the way it is because I think it's like this"
      However; I agree with most, if not all, your other point but it all boils down to small things that just inherently come with not doing this full time, whether that's time constraints or he's just in the rhythm of doing this or even the lack of ability that he hasnt quite grasped but will come with time...

  • @spider-manunknown9193
    @spider-manunknown9193 Před 3 lety +11

    Grand Theft Auto IV is legendary and Nostalgic in my opinion. I love the storytelling and the theme song I mean cmon the theme song gives it away for being the best.

  • @ibe4zzzi96
    @ibe4zzzi96 Před 11 měsíci

    Wow, your channel really is a hidden gem. Hope you will continue soon!

  • @Shushkin
    @Shushkin Před 5 lety +1

    Brilliant video man!

  • @EvolutionBG
    @EvolutionBG Před 2 lety +3

    I love driving in GTA IV! I have spends hours and hours of just driving. Pure fun.

    • @Marauder1981
      @Marauder1981 Před 2 lety +1

      Same. Hated GTA 5 driving.

    • @EvolutionBG
      @EvolutionBG Před 2 lety

      @@Marauder1981 With a handling mod is kind of enjoyable... also I hate the shaking of the vehicles (not camera) - there is a mod to disable this.

  • @avace917
    @avace917 Před 2 lety +4

    They really did a magnificent job of making THEIR New York City. The geography, the landmarks, the different boroughs. The renamed boroughs and neighborhoods (Dukes = Queens, Purgatory = Hell's Kitchen, Chase Point = Hunt's Point) were done really well. Columbia University was immaculate! It's definitely a parody of the city, but it's VERY accurate. Rockstar really knew where they were.

  • @OAndreDrumond
    @OAndreDrumond Před 2 lety

    loved it brother, keep up!

  • @CheesyCola1
    @CheesyCola1 Před 5 lety

    Great content, as always.

  • @thicboibigsmoke7220
    @thicboibigsmoke7220 Před 2 lety +4

    GTA 4 was...indescribable. The car crashes felt like REAL crashes. Niko was such an understandable character, and I still remember the vivid vitriolic hate i have for the antagonists. It is, without a doubt, one of the best games of the late 2000’s.

  • @thodkats
    @thodkats Před rokem +3

    Niko is Serbian, which is located on the Balkan peninsula, which is in southern Europe. So no, he isnt east european. Nice vid!

  • @tommywilley7065
    @tommywilley7065 Před 4 lety

    I love your analysis its very heart felt

  • @ihatemytown
    @ihatemytown Před 2 lety +2

    Awesome video man!
    I’ve sunk many hundreds of hours into this game. I love it! Flaws and all!
    I’m not a PC player, so I’d love a remaster of it for current hardware. Playing this on PS5 would be awesome!

  • @Spoggi99YT
    @Spoggi99YT Před 4 lety +12

    The motorcycle issues and the zoomed in cutscenes are caused by your game not being locked to 60FPS. This causes physics problems in this engine. Try to cap your game to 60FPS or less with the RivaTuner or a similar software. This should completely eliminate the problem.
    Other than that, great video and amazing analysis. Keep up your great work, greetings from Germany!

  • @AmazingPie
    @AmazingPie Před 2 lety +4

    Rockstar's characters aren't limited to just the main protagonist, but the entire world the game takes place in. Always the perfect setting chosen for each character, that it becomes part of the character itself. I could not imagine GTA 5 with Niko Bellic acting in the streets of Los Santos, the same way I couldn't see Michael being in Liberty City.

  • @redvsnoob7590
    @redvsnoob7590 Před 2 lety

    im so late to this video but honestly this has to be one of the best videos of gta iv. keep the videos coming!

  • @Neith93
    @Neith93 Před 4 lety

    your channel deserves much more attention

  • @arthurmorgan7045
    @arthurmorgan7045 Před 4 lety +11

    2008 good times

  • @WTFmomentGaming
    @WTFmomentGaming Před 3 lety +11

    I view GTA IV as one of the pieces of media most representative of the post 9/11 culture of when it was released. From early on in the game Roman remarks that the bridges to other islands are closed because "fucking terrorists". What's funny is you could say Niko is a terrorist. But you play the missions and realize that the police as well as government officials are the ones paying you to assassinate people and wreak havoc, just like every two bit criminal or imagined "terrorist" lurking in the shadows. GTA IV is a caricature of our culture that conflates two ideas: the concept of a land of opportunity, and the idea that it's really based on the mutual agreement to simply ignore corruption as long as there's a pay day. That's the best way I can describe the relationship between the patriotic New York City and the corrupt Liberty City. It's that distinctly American creed of liberty and opportunity that binds these two things together. Niko is a perfect main character, because as a youth he was radicalized into fighting, realized later that there was only sorrow down that path, and became disillusioned. He had this idea of the American dream in his head though, an idea that American television and his cousin Roman pumped into his head. His excitement turned into pessimism when he got there and realized that the American dream was also a sham, just another shitty advertisement. That really hits home for someone who was a youth in the 2000s trying to figure out what to believe in. It was an era defined by disillusionment. These themes are super prevalent in any form of political media during the time period. One that I am very familiar with is the Green Day album American Idiot, which shares GTA IV's virtue of being overwhelmingly popular during the time, while also critiquing or satirizing the extreme commercialization of our culture that allowed for their success. It's all very interesting since that was a big turning point in our culture, and I like putting these pieces together. Your video is great and very well thought out, it's what got me thinking like this. Great job.

  • @tobinmonroe3046
    @tobinmonroe3046 Před 3 lety

    Fantastic video dude

  • @LycoLoco
    @LycoLoco Před 5 lety +1

    Just watched this whole thing after restarting GTA IV for the third time (first time on PC....those TLaD DLC comments concern me...) and really enjoyed it. Hope to see more content from you in the future and hope you graduated!

  • @garrettyankton5411
    @garrettyankton5411 Před 2 lety +3

    If rockstar re-releases gtaIV again with a slightly better online, I don’t think I could even play gta v again.

  • @user-lq7ye3cm9c
    @user-lq7ye3cm9c Před 2 lety +4

    I still remember the hype around this game
    Even though I didn't skip school to play it more often then most
    I did wake up 3 hours before leaving for school to get enough playtime just to scratch that "itch"

  • @pobstblake92
    @pobstblake92 Před 5 lety +1

    I hope you come back with more videos bud, love this one and your others too!

    • @DavidOZ
      @DavidOZ  Před 5 lety +2

      This is really kind, thank you. I'm uploading soon. Hope to see you in the comments. :D

    • @pobstblake92
      @pobstblake92 Před 5 lety

      @@DavidOZ great to hear!! Will be looking forward to it!

  • @monkonyx7171
    @monkonyx7171 Před 5 lety +1

    I really enjoy your videos

  • @TheKiroshi
    @TheKiroshi Před 4 lety +8

    "Social Vandalism" Jesus that's brilliant.

  • @uhhhh_what7050
    @uhhhh_what7050 Před 3 lety +7

    15:20 if you think about it niko is dark and has shades of gray about his past which is why he sees it that way but the other two dlc’s see it as a red blood and mad feeling for the lost and damned because of the ruthless actions they do for their own family/mc and the game is colorful for the ballad of gay tony because he sees it as if he was pulled to drugs money and a lot of perverse actions across it because he was always in liberty city

  • @remorcist2499
    @remorcist2499 Před 2 lety

    This is a great piece of video

  • @albertbuster6735
    @albertbuster6735 Před 3 lety

    Great content man

  • @energydragon1147
    @energydragon1147 Před 2 lety +7

    I disagree, the writing is PERFECT in GTA 4. This game is a masterpiece on so many levels imo.

    • @AlwafiCharki
      @AlwafiCharki Před rokem +1

      Nope its far away from perfect
      Actually i find it very bad ..terrible
      San Andreas and V are far better
      I wonder why people love this game ? No good story , no good voice actors , bad driving mechanics , shallow azz story
      All the missions are drive from A to B
      The only good thing is the desingn of cities

  • @RazorSparda
    @RazorSparda Před 3 lety +3

    Ladies, this is Roman Bellic, but I guess you already know that. Leave a message.

  • @drsnyder861
    @drsnyder861 Před rokem

    great video man

  • @skermcgurt8681
    @skermcgurt8681 Před 3 lety

    What a great insightful video