Grand Theft Auto III changed the landscape of gaming for years to come. Although many other open-world games such as Sega's Shenmue predated its release, the game inspired the term "GTA clone," the previous term for open-world sandbox games to release in its wake. Needless to say, the next numerical installment had its work cut out.
Released seven years later, Grand Theft Auto IV received massive commercial and critical acclaim while bringing players back to the metropolis of Liberty City in HD for the first time. For this grand return, players would find that several things had changed in that long span of time.
10 GTA IV's Liberty City Included The Vendors From San Andreas
Adding to the New York City atmosphere and providing weakened players a means to regain their health, food vendors returned from GTA San Andreas. Niko could munch down on some hotdogs, hamburgers, and peanuts or even guzzle down a soft drink.
Like in San Andreas, vendors could get hostile should players attack them or damage their stand. Vendors also have distinct looks and personalities depending on where they are in Liberty City.
9 GTA IV's Liberty City Is More Closely Follows New York City
The Liberty City in GTA IV benefited from the more advanced hardware of the HD generation systems. While III felt more like a generic amalgamation of many real-life metropolises, IV's Liberty City more closely followed New York City with distinct landmarks and more realistic geometry.
Players could go to Happiness Island and check out the eponymous Statue of Happiness- an obvious parody of the Statue of Liberty. While not an entire 1 to 1 recreation, many of the other real-life landmarks and locations are represented in some way in IV's depiction of Liberty City.
8 The Inhabitants In GTA III Felt Less Organic
Pedestrians in GTA IV acted more like real people than the more robotic inhabitants found in III. Niko could go on dates or other social outings with characters he befriended in the game. Activities included bowling, billiards, going to the comedy clubs, and many more.
Should Niko attack any of the pedestrians in the game, some other civilians might come to their aid. In addition, new pedestrians such as soapboxers were introduced in IV. As the name implies, these pedestrians would preach their religious ideologies or wild conspiracy theories to anyone passing by.
7 GTA IV's Map Was Three Times Bigger
While not as big as the map in San Andreas, the size of Liberty City in GTA IV was considerably larger than in III. Since players would no longer immediately drown when hitting water, Niko could explore all of Liberty City in land, sea, and air. It's estimated that GTA IV's map takes 1 hour and 15 minutes to fully explore by car.
With an acreage as huge as this, one would assume that the number of activities to partake in would be lesser than GTA III. However, nothing could be further than the truth.
6 GTA IV's Liberty City Had Random Encounters
To further emphasize Niko Bellic's fish out of water narrative, random encounters were introduced in GTA IV. In certain parts of the map, Niko could come across a selection of oddballs and familiar faces. Some of these strangers were friendly and even gave Niko some nice rewards such as cash.
However, this being GTA, it should come as no surprise that many of these strangers have less than altruistic intentions. These encounters could lead to a mission, a quick gunfight, or even a combination of the two. Depending on how Niko solved missions, certain random encounters could be circumvented completely.
5 The LCPD Underwent Some Changes In IV
Shortly after the tragic events of 9/11, Rockstar changed some aspects of GTA III that could be considered insensitive or in poor taste. One of these changes involved altering the Liberty City Police District's patrol cars from a New York-style design to a more cartoonish black and white look.
In GTA IV, not only were the patrol cars altered to be more grounded, the number of vehicles for the LCPD was bumped up. In addition to patrols and cruisers, Police could give chase with bikes, mavericks, predators, and many more.
4 GTA IV's Liberty City Introduced The FIB
Adding to GTA IV's more gritty and grounded tone was the introduction of a government agency known as the Federal Investigation Bureau or FIB. While the FBI did make appearances in GTA III and San Andreas, they didn't really play a role in the game's narrative and only showed up when the player was at a 5-star level.
In GTA IV and V, they were renamed to the FIB and play a much larger part in the main characters' story. Niko Bellic gets the agency's attention and is blackmailed into performing certain tasks for them. They replay him by finding the man who ruined Niko's life.
3 GTA IV's Liberty City Had Safe Houses With Interiors
In GTA III, safe houses didn't really have explore-able interiors. When Claude entered a safe house, players didn't get to see inside or interact with anything. With the power of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, players could enjoy the interiors of the buildings much more in GTA IV.
In the many apartments, safe houses, and penthouses that Niko could procure, he could take a break from all the carnage and mayhem by surfing the web, decorating, or even watching some original programs on TV. Parodies of tabloid news shows and cartoons could be enjoyed if players were so inclined.
2 GTA IV's Liberty City Had More Detail
With more polygons and higher definition to work around with, Liberty City underwent a graphical re-haul in GTA IV. For the first time the franchise, players could truly lose themselves in the crime-filled world that Niko Bellic would try to navigate. The draw distance-masking fog of previous games returned to this installment, but it was much less intrusive.
Character animations were more detailed and realistic, making it more visually satisfying when characters were knocked over or hit. Whether players decided to stick to the story or just go on a rampage, the immersion was considerably greater in IV.
1 Factions Like The Yakuza Disappeared From Liberty City In IV
In what seemed to be an effort to make GTA IV feel more grounded and focused, factions such as the Columbians and the Yakuza were excised completely. In Niko Bellic's quest for revenge, he brushed paths with several factions, such as the Eastern European and Italian crime families. It makes sense for Niko's story to eschew the more fantastical and exaggerated depictions of organized crime found in GTA III or Vice City.
Being parodies of films such as Scarface and Rising Sun, the Columbian cartel and Japanese Yakuza were portrayed in a much more cartoonish manner than the more grim and gritty Liberty City from IV would allow.