Grand Theft Auto IV [Download] |
| List Price: | $19.99 |
| Price: | $15.99 |
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Ships from and sold by Amazon Digital Services Inc
Average customer review:
(29 customer reviews)
Product Description
What does the American Dream mean today? For Niko Bellic, fresh off the boat from Europe, it is the hope he can escape his past. For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, gateway to the land of opportunity. As they slip into debt and are dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them and a living nightmare for those who don't.Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #53 in Digital Video Games
- Brand: Rockstar Games
- Model: 40501 Theft Auto IV
- Released on: 2008-12-02
- ESRB Rating: Mature
- Platform: Windows XP
- Format: Download
Features
- Carry on the Grand Theft Auto tradition playing through the single player campaign as Niko Bellic
- Get cars and other modes of transportation anyway you can
- Interact with various colorful characters who give you various missions to engage in
- Engage in multiplayer challenges ranging from cover matches to shoot-outs
Editorial Reviews
From the Manufacturer
What does the American Dream mean today?
For Niko Bellic, fresh off the boat from Europe, it is the hope he can escape his past. For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, gateway to the land of opportunity. As they slip into debt and are dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them and a living nightmare for those who don’t.
Beginning with the 1997 release of the original Grand Theft Auto, the GTA series has been one of the most prolific, controversial and down right entertaining franchises in video games history. This pedigree of success guarantees that the highly anticipated eleventh game in the series, Grand Theft Auto IV, will garner at least as much attention if not more.
The Plot
Grand Theft Auto IV is a brand new adventure in the GTA universe following the experiences of Nikolai "Niko" Bellic, a new immigrant from an undisclosed eastern European country whose troubled pa st and the persuasion of his cousin Roman have brought him to the fictional Liberty City. Unfortunately, Niko’s search for the American Dream and a much needed fresh start, hits an immediate snag when the rags to riches story Roman spun to pique Niko's interest is exposed as not only a complete fabrication, but a ploy to enlist Niko’s well-known skills as a tough guy against the ample list of enemies clamoring for Roman’s debt-ridden blood.
Because Roman is the only person Niko knows in Liberty City he begrudgingly accepts his role as Roman’s protector despite the deception. But as time goes on Niko comes into his own, and his experience on the wrong side of the tracks proves more valuable than he could have ever imagined as he fights for survival and later supremacy on the crime ridden streets of Liberty City.
Game Environments
Based on several of the boroughs of New York City and parts of New Jersey, Liberty City, familiar to players of previous games in the series, has been entirely redesigned for GTA IV. Players can expect visible detail down to the weeds growing in the cracks in the sidewalk, cars and buildings of visibly different ages and a much greater level if verticality in the buildings and bridges that they are able to explore as Niko moves through the city streets. In addition, pedestrians in GTA IV are much more realistic. No longer simply moving cardboard cutouts, these NPCs are intelligent, modern, human representations that laugh, cry, eat, drink, use cell phones and ATMs, and talking amongst themselves regardless of Niko’s interaction with them.
Gameplay
Historically GTA games have focused heavily on mission-based play, requiring successful completion of fixed tasks in order for players to progress through the game, but this has changed to a great extent in GTA IV. Players will experience an entirely new and exciting emphasis centered on the blending of on-mission and off-mission play, resulting not only in an increased sense of realism, but more interesting and unrestricted gameplay.
Features
Aside from the car jacking and a detailed city environment here are the new features for GTA IV:
Give Niko a rest and create your own multiplayer "hero." GTA has added multiplayer modes allowing you to take your creation out to play online in competitive, co-op, and free form modes. Competitive mode has you fighting against the cops, jacking cars, or racing to finish odd jobs. Co-op challenges you and your friends with various tasks including Hangman's NOOSE where you are responsible for escorting a wanted kingpin to a safe extraction point. Freeform lets you and 15 others lose on Liberty City. Use this mode to hit up the bar and play virtual darts versus each other or head out to the streets and set up your own drag races. If you can dream it, you can do it in Freeform mode.
ZiT: We'll Spot The Song For You
When playing Grand Theft Auto IV, if you hear a song that you are interested in buying as an MP3, all you have to do is dial ZiT-555-0100 on your in-game mobile phone and a text message will be sent to you with the name of the artist and the title of the track. The next time you log in at the Rockstar Games Social Club, you will find 30-second previews of all the songs you have ZiT'ed while playing the game. You can add them to your basket there and click to purchase at Amazon MP3, or you can find them all at www.amazon.com/gtamusic.
What does the American Dream mean today?
For Niko Bellic, fresh off the boat from Europe, it is the hope he can escape his past. For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, gateway to the land of opportunity. As they slip into debt and are dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them and a living nightmare for those who don’t.
Beginning with the 1997 release of the original Grand Theft Auto, the GTA series has been one of the most prolific, controversial and down right entertaining franchises in video games history. This pedigree of success guarantees that the highly anticipated eleventh game in the series, Grand Theft Auto IV, will garner at least as much attention if not more.
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The Plot
Grand Theft Auto IV is a brand new adventure in the GTA universe following the experiences of Nikolai "Niko" Bellic, a new immigrant from an undisclosed eastern European country whose troubled pa st and the persuasion of his cousin Roman have brought him to the fictional Liberty City. Unfortunately, Niko’s search for the American Dream and a much needed fresh start, hits an immediate snag when the rags to riches story Roman spun to pique Niko's interest is exposed as not only a complete fabrication, but a ploy to enlist Niko’s well-known skills as a tough guy against the ample list of enemies clamoring for Roman’s debt-ridden blood.
Because Roman is the only person Niko knows in Liberty City he begrudgingly accepts his role as Roman’s protector despite the deception. But as time goes on Niko comes into his own, and his experience on the wrong side of the tracks proves more valuable than he could have ever imagined as he fights for survival and later supremacy on the crime ridden streets of Liberty City.
Game Environments
Based on several of the boroughs of New York City and parts of New Jersey, Liberty City, familiar to players of previous games in the series, has been entirely redesigned for GTA IV. Players can expect visible detail down to the weeds growing in the cracks in the sidewalk, cars and buildings of visibly different ages and a much greater level if verticality in the buildings and bridges that they are able to explore as Niko moves through the city streets. In addition, pedestrians in GTA IV are much more realistic. No longer simply moving cardboard cutouts, these NPCs are intelligent, modern, human representations that laugh, cry, eat, drink, use cell phones and ATMs, and talking amongst themselves regardless of Niko’s interaction with them.
Gameplay
Historically GTA games have focused heavily on mission-based play, requiring successful completion of fixed tasks in order for players to progress through the game, but this has changed to a great extent in GTA IV. Players will experience an entirely new and exciting emphasis centered on the blending of on-mission and off-mission play, resulting not only in an increased sense of realism, but more interesting and unrestricted gameplay.
Features
Aside from the car jacking and a detailed city environment here are the new features for GTA IV:
- Improved combat system - Now you can use cover and also a target lock system, which allows you to take out targets with greater ease and accuracy. Plus, you can engage in some hand-to-hand combat if you can't get your hands on a piece quick enough.
- Cell phone - Not just for basic phone calls anymore. Use your in-game cell phone to receive missions via SMS, snap photos, and ZiT (tag) songs that can be downloaded exclusively on Amazon.com/mp3.
- Free time - In between missions you can take advantage of "me" time. There are gentleman's clubs, comedy clubs, bowling alleys, and bars, which all house unique activities.
- Take a break from the storyline - A variety of side missions allow you to help run a car service, "borrow" cop cars, assassinate targets, help solve problems for those on the street, or take to the air with stunt jumps that are scattered all over the city.
- Control your own fate - Throughout the game choice moments will arrive causing you to make a decision that will affect relationships and money.
Give Niko a rest and create your own multiplayer "hero." GTA has added multiplayer modes allowing you to take your creation out to play online in competitive, co-op, and free form modes. Competitive mode has you fighting against the cops, jacking cars, or racing to finish odd jobs. Co-op challenges you and your friends with various tasks including Hangman's NOOSE where you are responsible for escorting a wanted kingpin to a safe extraction point. Freeform lets you and 15 others lose on Liberty City. Use this mode to hit up the bar and play virtual darts versus each other or head out to the streets and set up your own drag races. If you can dream it, you can do it in Freeform mode.
ZiT: We'll Spot The Song For You
When playing Grand Theft Auto IV, if you hear a song that you are interested in buying as an MP3, all you have to do is dial ZiT-555-0100 on your in-game mobile phone and a text message will be sent to you with the name of the artist and the title of the track. The next time you log in at the Rockstar Games Social Club, you will find 30-second previews of all the songs you have ZiT'ed while playing the game. You can add them to your basket there and click to purchase at Amazon MP3, or you can find them all at www.amazon.com/gtamusic.
System Requirements
| Minimum Specifications: | ||
| OS: | Windows XP SP 3 / Windows Vista SP 1 | |
| Processor: | Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz, AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4GHz | |
| RAM: | 1.5GB XP / 1.5GB Vista | |
| Hard Drive: | 16 GB | |
| Video Card: | 256MB Nvidia 7900 / 256MB ATI X1900 | |
| Additional Info: | Initial activation requires internet connection; Online play requires log-in to Games For Windows - Live and Rockstar Games Social Club (13+ to register); software installations required including Adobe Flash, DirectX, Microsoft's .NET Framework 3.0, Games For Windows - LIVE, and Internet Explorer. | |
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews30 of 36 people found the following review helpful.
By Kewl Guy
I posted the below as a reply to someone and thought many others were probably having the same issue so I reposted it here:
Hi,
I would consider changing my star rating after you try what I am about to suggest :-)
I had the same exact problem and was super upset because I have a top of the line gaming laptop (i7, gtx 460, 8 gigs ram, etc)
I found that the issue is with the 64 bit nature of windows 7. If you find the installation .exe file that you run to install the game and instead of double clicking it, you right click on the file and click on "troubleshoot compatibility", windows will then suggest running it in Windows XP SP2 mode or somtthing like that, and VIOALA! It will work. I could not find this simple fix anywhere on the internet and forgot that my win 7 was running in 64 bit mode so I figured that must be the problem (almost all programs are the older 32 bit versions and have to be run in compatibility mode). If you still have trouble, just try running it in compatibility mode for Windows XP. Hope this helps. The game is AWESOME by the way, I like it way better on my pc than on my xbox. amazing graphics. Good luck.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
By Jim C
First of all, it works fine in Windows 7, even 64-bit. Run the setup.exe located in the GTAIV directory instead of the autorun.exe in the root download directory, if you do it this way, it does not install the Rockstar Social Club. When you run setup.exe, it will tell you "Your system is not compatible with Grand Theft Auto IV. Please follow the link below for more information. If you click the link, it takes you to a Microsoft support article on how to download and install Windows XP Service Pack 3. It shouldn't take a genius to figure out that you need to run the setup in Windows XP Service Pack 3 mode. Right click on the setup.exe, go to the compatibility tab, check the "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and select Windows XP (Service Pack 3) from the drop down list. Run setup.exe again and it will install.
As for the other complaints about having to install or sign up with the Rockstar Social club and Games for Windows Live, if you read the directions right in front of you, it tells you that the Rockstar Social Club is optional, and you can create an offline GFWL account and never have to be online to play the game. You only have to create those accounts if you want to play multiplayer over the internet.
I bought the game on disk when it was released, but my DVD drive malfunctioned and ejected the disk while it was spinning full speed. I checked the disk and it would not read data2.cab. I would not be able to use it to re-install the game, but it would still recognize it and let me launch the game. I figured I would just have to buy it again when the time came to re-install, and hoped that when that time came the price would come down.
I built a new gaming computer earlier this year. By then the Episode From Liberty City came out on PC, so I bought that and forgot all about GTA: IV while I was busy playing EFLC.
Recently I was itching to go back and play the original GTA: IV, but I couldn't re-install with my bad disk. Lucky for me Amazon had a 75% off end of the year sale, so I decided to give the $5 digital download version a try rather than pay $20 for another disk version. It downloads the contents of what is on the retail DVDs, it installs and runs just like it's a retail disk version, but without the need for a disk.
You still have to activate with SecuROM (I forgot about that part), but after that it runs without the need to find and put in a disk or connect to a digital service. As long as all Amazon Digital Download games work this way, I will be buying games this way from now on.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
By RichCI
After FINALLY getting the Amazon software to download the file (why do I need to install software to download a file?), I was able to install the game only to have it throw errors each time I tried to run it. On the bright side, Amazon customer support was helpful and is giving me a refund.
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