At the time of its release, Grand Theft Auto IV was a technical marvel. I mean, there are still things that this entry in the long-running franchise does better than its more recent releases. It also just so happens to be a game I’ve bought over and over since its original Xbox 360 and PS3 release to try and finally reach the end. I still haven’t made that happen, even after all these years.
‘Grand Theft Auto IV’ Is the Bane of My Gaming Existence
I was about 16 years old when Grand Theft Auto IV hit store shelves, and I remember the hype was through the roof. I was eager to see what Rockstar could do with all the new tech under the hood, and what kind of world was going to unfold before me. And still, to this day, I think the only world that Rockstar has made that rivals what was going on in GTA IV would be Red Dead Redemption.
So, why can’t I bring myself to finish this game?
I remember the first time I stopped playing was on my original copy of Grand Theft Auto IV on the Xbox 360, playing the mission ‘Luck of the Irish’. After perching Niko Bellic on top of the roof, I tried to deliver the killing blow with a sniper rifle. For whatever reason, I couldn’t make it happen. Was my game glitching? Or was I just… bad? No matter the reason, I was frustrated and put it off to the side, eventually trading it in for a different game months later.
I longed to play it again. So, I made the journey and picked up a pre-owned copy for the same console so I wouldn’t have to restart my save. My stupid younger self had cleared out my hard drive, so I had to start at the beginning once again. I had just played through this section, why would I want to do it again?
So it sat on my shelf, waiting to be traded in once more. I tried getting back into it again later, but the spark just wasn’t there. Back to Gamestop it went once more, getting less than half of what I paid for it back on a card to get something new.
Why Can’t I Play Though the Main Story of ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’, What Is Wrong With Me
This vicious cycle repeated more times than I’d like to admit. Buying it again for GTA Online, only to trade it back in at a later point for something else. And then finally, I bought the Complete Edition with all of the DLC.
I beat The Ballad of Gay Tony and The Lost & The Damned. No problem. Main story? Still haven’t beaten it.
I was recently gifted a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV, this time on PC. It can’t go anywhere if it’s in my Steam library, right? I booted it up, cruising around Liberty City in a much higher visual fidelity than I was used to in the past. I completed the basic missions once again. Got Niko a girlfriend, and went bowling with my cousin, Roman. And I put it back down again.
According to my Steam account, the last time I played Grand Theft Auto IV was on March 19, 2023. Over a full year ago, and I haven’t touched it since. It’s stayed installed this whole time, but for the life of me, I can’t bring myself to play it. Am I still frustrated by that sniper mission, or what is the mental roadblock that is causing me not to complete a game that I genuinely enjoyed playing?
It’s Time to Finally Finish This Chapter of My Life Off
I genuinely feel like Niko Bellic is one of the best protagonists that Rockstar has ever imagined. The world of Liberty City, still all these years later, feels as fresh as a daisy. There’s just something in my brain that is stopping me from coming back to finally finish Grand Theft Auto IV, the white whale of my gaming career.
The same thing happened with me but with Resident Evil 4. I played it, almost beat it, put it on the shelf, and let it rot. Until I finally went through the remake and finished it all off. Maybe I’m afraid that one of my favorite games in my personal top 10 will be dethroned when I finally roll the credits on this one. Or maybe I’m scared of what will happen during the ending. I’ve somehow kept myself as spoiler-free as possible, even this far after it’s original release.
I still don’t know exactly what it is, but I’m making a promise to myself. Now that my backlog has diminished a bit, I need to finally see this one through. Before I welcome 2025 with one of the biggest hits from the last generation, I need to finally bring this chapter to a close.
The post An Ode To ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’: The Game I’ve Bought So Many Times But Still Haven’t Beaten appeared first on VICE.
The post An Ode To ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’: The Game I’ve Bought So Many Times But Still Haven’t Beaten appeared first on VICE.
