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Stealing a car and driving yourself is always an option, as is the more immersive element of actually riding in the cab's backseat the whole time, staring out the windows at the passing lights. Getting across the gargantuan metropolis is made easier by hailing cabs that take you to waypoints on your map. If Niko fails a mission, a message asking to retry it pops up as soon as you respawn, and when you die you don't lose your entire arsenal. The game's infrastructure has been made more convenient, though there's still space to improve. Despite the kind of senselessly violent tendencies many may associate with GTA characters, Niko represents an exception in many respects, as he has a code by which he operates. He may perform a number of ruthless acts (which you, by the way, instruct him to), but there are points during the story where you can ease your finger off the trigger or make a choice as to how things proceed. He's looking for something, and the missions he undertakes are really the only way for him to find it. Unlike GTA characters of the past, though, Niko isn't trying to prove himself as some sort of badass for the ages, driven to rule the city no matter what. Starting from dealing with your cousin Roman, a small time operator prone to gross exaggeration, you'll move your way up through criminal rings until you get what you want.
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Instead, the focus is on realism, a more mature sensibility, and bringing GTA into the present day. You won't be doing any remote control helicopter missions or lowrider matching challenges here. This is a game that strips down a lot of the more zany challenges from games past. Since then we've seen slight alterations and tweaks to the core formula with Vice City and San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto IV represents another step forward. Game Description The Grand Theft Auto franchise rocketed to mass popularity after Grand Theft AutoIII's release and the ground rules were set for a different style of game.
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