Grand Theft Auto IV Setting

When it comes to establishing a solid atmosphere for a Grand Theft Auto title, location is everything. It's not enough to simply throw players into a splotchy suburb of some anonymous metropolis - the city needs to be alive, teaming with civilians and traffic. It needs to have an identity, a social structure, some evidence of reality buried beneath the layers of cynicism and dry humour. Through the years, Rockstar has excelled at maintaining this illusion. The missions and storylines that play out through the duration of the game tie into the cities themselves, along with the characters (and innocent bystanders) that populate it. Although the concept of "free roam" gameplay is nothing new, the Grand Theft Auto franchise, through its use of vast cityscapes that mirror and mock major American locations, push the envelope on exactly what gamers consider to be true immersion.