Grand Theft Auto IV

 PC
Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 40
  3. Negative: 0 out of 40
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  1. Meristation
    100
    Grand Theft Auto IV means the matureness for Rockstar, abandoning -though not completely- all its insane humor and arcade action, this chapter of Niko Bellic captures the essence of the american society with black humor, great narrative and the characteristic 'sandbox' gameplay that the franchise has featured all this years. For the PC version all stays the same: only the great technical optimization, the original video-editor and the 32 players online modes are present as news. But, when you leave a masterpiece exactly the same, its a right move.
  2. Cynamite
    100
    This game is a masterpiece! We have never seen such a harmonic virtual world before. The story is as good as a movie and the graphics offer tons of incredible moments. GTA IV is more than a game.
  3. GameSpy
    100
    A game that could keep anyone busy for a long, long time. Although it's got plenty of excellent features, it's ultimately the storytelling that makes it an instant classic, a game unlike any we've played before. As is the case with many great books and movies, you'll want to know what happens to the characters after the game ends, and one can't help hoping that all of their American Dreams comes true.
  5. VideoGamer
    100
    If you've been waiting for the ultimate version of GTA 4, then this is it, providing you can put up with a fair amount of hassle to get the game running well and all the services you need to sign up to in order to play the game in the first place.
  6. BigPond GameArena
    100
    The gorgeous graphics, proper radio customisation, the much better multiplayer and the phenomenal video editor and what it boils down to is... Grand Theft Auto IV on the PC is the definitive GTA IV experience. You haven't played GTA IV before now - not properly. I guess what I'm really saying is... PC Supremacy.
  7. Gamer.nl
    100
    We can talk hours and hours about it, but it won't change the fact that Grand Theft Auto IV is a very good game. The brand new video editor will offer tons and tons of extra gameplay and makes up for a lot of the waiting time the PC-gamers had to endure. Gamers that still aren't satisfied can wait for the hundreds or so mods that will appear after the release. And with that enough gaming material to last at least until Grand Theft Auto V shows up.
  8. Total PC Gaming
    100
    There hasn't been a better game this year. [Issue#15, p.55]
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  9. 3DJuegos
    96
    PC receives, finally, its own version of a game that will remain, Grand Theft Auto IV. For those who dream about living different lives, with doing what the society bans or considers immoral, and with becoming the darkest guts of the worse human beings, GTA IV is their game. As a great trip to the lowest and the shadiest passions of men, the new game of Rockstar is an epic tale, with a scope never seen before in a videogame.
  10. Gameplanet
    95
    The multiplayer alone makes it a must-buy.
  11. InsideGamer.nl
    95
    GTA IV delivers on the PC, as it did on the next-gen consoles. The game breathes quality from start to finish. The story remains interesting and entertaining, visually it’s a new milestone in the series, and the gameplay just as good as it was on the console. The added video-editor and extended multiplayer-modes make for an even more complete experience, which no PC-gamer should be allowed to miss.
  12. Computer and Video Games
    94
    Impressively bumped-up visuals, more multiplayer carnage and a well-built video editor; this is the ultimate version of 2008's premier sandbox game. If you've got the specs to run it.
  13. GameStar
    93
    The basics are still the same, but GTA 4 is a masterpiece. The game world created by Rockstar North is simply amazing. The shootings, radio, TV, the story and the characters create more than just a sandbox game. It's almost a parallel world.
  14. Play.tm
    93
    It loses a few marks for being so technically daunting, but if you haven't had the opportunity to play GTA IV yet, and you've got a PC that can handle it, then this is probably the best version of the game.
  15. Games Master UK
    93
    A violent, giant triumph; shame about the performance and login fascism. [Jan 2009, p.79]
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  16. PC Gamer UK
    92
    It's the peripheral distractions of both going out with Roman, and meeting your girlfriends, that really make your virtual life so worth living. Although incredibly simplistic, they're oddly touching...One of the finest videogames ever. [Christmas 2008, p.87]
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  17. PC Games
    92
    More than six months after the console-launch GTA 4 hits the PC. With better graphics and the teriffic replay-editor the story about Niko Bellic will arrest your attention to your PC for weeks or even months... promised.
    All this publication's reviews
  18. IGN
    92
    The overall GTA formula has been refined and retooled in this version to be more convenient, more realistic, and ultimately more mature, though it still gets stuck on brambles held over from games past.
  19. PC Gamer
    92
    GTAIV works well as a multiplayer game. [Feb 2009, p.70]
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  20. Computer Games Online RO
    92
    In short, the best Grand Theft Auto so far and an interesting platform for a sequel in the spirit of Vice City or San Andreas. A pity that its launch on the PC was eclipsed by so many technical issues.
  21. PC Zone UK
    91
    The PC version brings enough additions and improvements to the fundamental GTA IV experience to make it an essential purchase for anyone who hasn't played it yet. [Feb 2009, p.74]
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  22. Eurogamer
    90
    A genuinely ground-breaking blockbuster in videogame history. There were moments playing GTA IV that I thought back to my initial experiences with games, and realised exactly how far we've come. There's never been anything quite like GTA IV in the world. That there makes me genuinely happy to be a gamer.
  23. GameZone
    90
    Grand Theft Auto IV is a solid port, adding in some compelling features to reward PC gamers for their patience. However, they’re going to want to sit tight and wait for Rockstar to issue a patch to fix the game’s stability problems.
  24. GameSpot
    90
    Performance issues prevent this lazy PC port of a superb console game from being the best Grand Theft Auto yet.
  25. YouGamers
    90
    The PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV is definitely the best version of the game and almost a must-buy if you haven't already seen it all. Just don't underestimate the hardware needed to run it properly - a quad core CPU is almost mandatory for acceptable performance as is a high end video card. PC-specific Video Editor is a nice bonus but the gameplay is untouched and just as good as on the consoles.
  26. GamePro
    90
    A demanding port of an excellent game, GTA IV PC is only worth a look from gamers that missed Niko's venture to America the first time around.
  27. Gamers.at
    90
    Even though GTA IV is enormously hardware-hungry, it remains one of the prime examples for a console-game that only got better by releasing it for the PC. [Issue#17]
    All this publication's reviews
  28. Pelit (Finland)
    90
    Even the shoddy conversion can not destroy this fine game. But as agme, GTA IV shows worrying tendency slipping towards oversripted missions. [Jan 2009]
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  29. PC Format
    89
    The most grown-up GTA and the best realised, but it doesn't respect the PC much. Enjoy the multiplayer madness if you can. [Christmas 2008, p.96]
    All this publication's reviews
  30. NZGamer
    86
    Grand Theft Auto IV is very much a console-friendly game, and the PC port brings enough problems – albeit ones that won’t apply to everyone – to make me hesitate to recommend it over the original.
  31. Gameplayer
    85
    If you’ve already conquered Liberty City on PS3 or Xbox 360, there really isn’t enough extra stuff to demand that you fork out more money for the PC version. But if you have yet to savour the GTA IV experience, this is a must have because of the unforgettable single-player experience and frantically fun multiplayer as well as the extra PC features.
  32. Absolute Games
    85
    It's basically a remake of GTA 3 with a bigger budget, a new cast of characters and solid storytelling. And it's still incredibly captivating.
  33. Gamer 2.0
    84
    As it stands, Grand Theft Auto IV is a rather poor port, but a fantastic game all the same.
  34. PC PowerPlay
    80
    GTA4 is what it was always going to be: an expertly fashioned port. If you've clocked up 100 hours on the 360, there's not much point picking it up now. But if the idea of the video editor intrigues you, or somehow incredibly you HAVEN'T played the game yet, GTA4 is a must-buy. [January 2009, p.45]
    All this publication's reviews
  35. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    80
    Splendid but old-fashioned. Excellent characters, video editing tools, and multiplayer are the greatest pluses of this new arrival to the GTA franchise. Now focus on story and intelligence of friendly NPCs. [Issue#173]
    All this publication's reviews
  36. Game Over Online
    80
    At the core, GTA 4 is a pretty good game in the GTA series, hindered by the “bromances” and bloated by 15GB of television shows I’ll never watch, joke Internet sites I have no interest in surfing, extensive and lengthy cutscenes, a mediocre bowling game, a downright poor darts game, and a middling pool game.
  37. Play (Poland)
    80
    This game is like a beautiful girl who stutters terribly and often wanders off topic - you want to be with her and talk to her, but sometimes the way she speaks drives you crazy. And even leaving the frame rate fiasco aside, the compulsory Windows Live and Rockstar Social Club login just to save your progress is an enormous nuisance. [Feb 2009]
    All this publication's reviews
  38. AtomicGamer
    79
    It's kind of a lose-lose for Rockstar at this point, and it's too bad, because GTAIV is a wonderful game that doesn't deserve the problems this PC port has.
  39. 1UP
    75
    The game design is often thoughtless and shortsighted. Rockstar treats Liberty City as a backdrop...when it should have been the stage itself.

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best PC Game of 2008
3
#3 Most Discussed PC Game of 2008
2
#2 Most Shared PC Game of 2008

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 3559 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,151 out of 3559
  2. Mixed: 739 out of 3559
  3. Negative: 669 out of 3559
  1. Modern_Reviews
    Feb 28, 2022
    10
    Tagline: "Phenomenal open-world, modern-city masterpiece that is still more detailed than any open world game as of February 2022"

    What    Tagline: "Phenomenal open-world, modern-city masterpiece that is still more detailed than any open world game as of February 2022"

    What specs you need to run it 60fps - 1080p or 4K, without stutter or lag?
    - Let's make one thing clear, you should never max out "View Distance", "Detail Distance" and "Vehicle Density". But good news is that you don't need to max out either of these, because game looks already perfect when you set all these settings to 50%. Everything after 50% is very minor and not necessary, but takes away huge amount of fps, so it's not worth it and with 50% it will already look miles better than Console versions. So for conclusion, yes, this is the best looking version of that game.

    Now, to run it in 4K, High Settings, you need minimum "RTX 2060" or "RX 6600 XT" for graphics card, For CPU Ryzen 3600 or I7 7700.

    Now let's make one thing clear, this game was extremely ahead of time. More than any game ever. "Resident Evil 4" (2005) was revolutionary in it's own ways and is still amazing game, no doubt, but what GTA 4 did, changed open world games forever.

    Let's start with physics. You wont find this good physics from any open world game. None. Keep in mind this was 2008.

    New York truly feels alive, more alive than modern open world games like Just Cause 3/4 or Cyberpunk 2077. Whole city is extremely detailed, especially by 2008 standards and all of that looks absolutely phenomenal, if you play this game in 4K.

    You can go inside hospitals (fully detailed), inside apartment buildings, inside police station, abanoned places, etc. There's so much to explore and find in this incredibly crafter open world. Every inch of that map shows how much passion and talent was put into making this incredible game.

    Story is fun, long and rich, full of loads of memorable characters, missions and locations.

    GTA IV is timeless masterpiece, that truly showed what is possible in gaming, most detailed open world game to date and one of the best games of all time.    … Full Review »
  2. erei
    Jan 4, 2010
    3
    This GTA is a real GTA, no problems with it. The characters we meet and the hero are fun, and are still the GTA spirit. But the port is This GTA is a real GTA, no problems with it. The characters we meet and the hero are fun, and are still the GTA spirit. But the port is probably the worst never seen, we have lots of inexplicable FPS drop, crashes, various bugs,... Even capcom did better port. You need a high end Graphic card to play the game, with low settings. The game is very long, probably too much, there is a long beginning, and many "useless" missions. The friends, and social thing we have ingame are quite fun and new, but sometimes get boring. You want to call friends NPC all day, and have dinner with them, and enjoy sending mail ? Buy sims3, we are in GTA... Conclusion : Pro : -NPC and hero are cool, as usual with GTA -story is interesting enough -the awesome amount of extra content is really cool (from cinema to tv show and internet) -graphism are not too bad, but not specially good con : -FPS drops on most graphic card (i have a nvidia 275GTX and i need to play on very low to keep my fps above 20) -bugs, bugs, and sometimes, bugs -the "friends" system become more and more boring further you go in the game. Expect to do something with one of them at least once by half an hour to keep them friendly. Spending about 10m to do so. So it make 1/3 of the game involving social things with IA. -many repetitive missions, slow beginning -all the copy protection there is, rockstar social club + windows media live,... Honestly, i guess there is far less trouble if you hack it. Advice : buy it, and download an illegal copy for installation purpose. I guess on console i should have note 6 or more, but im PC user, and your port is total garbage.… Full Review »
  3. EyjoK.
    May 18, 2010
    10
    Best game ever! Clueless punks giving this game a 0 when they should jsut play it on console then. For real PC gamers that understand the Best game ever! Clueless punks giving this game a 0 when they should jsut play it on console then. For real PC gamers that understand the hardware and know how to configure their systems this game is a 10 all the way. I have been playing it since it came out and i will probably still be playing it after 3 years or so when GTA 5 comes out. The DLC pack even finally came out for PC so i hopefully will be experianceing Liberty City again. This game is a technological marvel on all accounts so OFCOURSE you will need a PC capable of running it. This is not the same game as on the consoles! The PC version looks MUCH better even on low settings( i play all high with everything MAXED OUT at HD resolutions) and the CPU power needed is immense. At least a quad is required as this game is higly multithreaded and a decent GPU (video memory is important). My only complain is the lack of Multi-GPU scaling but maybe with a better cpu the scaling would be better. Maybe a x64 bit version of the game could help boost things but perhaps it would just double the memory requirement. Anyways thank you ROCKSTAR for bringing GTA4 to the PC and doing it so that its much much better then the console version.… Full Review »
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