GTA IV will be a phenomenon

Mike Bantick
Thursday, 17 April 2008 05:44

Opinion and Analysis

Another part of the GTA IV steamrolling build up that is sure to be in the news is the ever present focus on the maturity level of the game.  Many in the media and beyond will mention the violence and adult themes that are even more (pardon the pun) fleshed out in this incarnation of the franchise.

This will no doubt keep GTA IV in the news, propelling it even further into sales history stardom, for good or for evil. 

The bottom line here is that RockStar have set themselves the bar-raising task to build on past efforts that other developers have only begun to imitate at some levels.  It has always been a source of frustration to RockStar that, within the mainstream media, more is not made of the living world that has been crafted for GTA games.  And with GTA IV this world immersion level has been taken to new heights.

GTA IV is set to stamp yet another footnote in video game history for the franchise, and there will be many pundits (including myself) getting in on the action as we build the hype to the April 29th release date.  Many barrows will be pushed on both sides of the moral equation, which is great, especially in Australia and New Zealand as the need to generation discussion about the widening gulf between rating systems and entertainment technology becomes even more relevant to society.