Nearly everyone who owns a PS3 or Xbox 360 will also more than likely own a copy of GTA IV, so this article should be relevant to most people, in turn most of you should also know what a big and daunting place that Liberty City can be, so enter Brady Games who have published the Official Strategy Guide for GTA IV to help out us poor newcomers to the big city.
The GTA IV Strategy guide comes packed with information, right through its 288 pages, included in the guide are all the missions you will come across in the game, maps (including a huge pull out at the back of the book), the games secrets and a guide to the huge multiplayer modes.
The guide starts out by introducing you to the world and the ways to get around, of course anyone who has played the game should know this already, however this is quite good information for beginners. Also at the start of the guide is a rundown of the equipment you will come across in the game including weapons and armour, this should get a few people salivating over what they can get their hands on later in the game. Before getting onto the main missions the guide also provides a brief rundown of police wanted levels and what they mean, as well as an Xbox 360 achievement guide.
The main bulk of the book is basically a main story walkthrough, this basically takes you step by step through each mission, telling you what the mission requires and also giving you a few tips along the way. Now most people may think that using a strategy guide is a bit of a cop out, however if used correctly this guide can actually be the perfect companion to GTA IV. When playing GTA IV myself there have been a few times where I have failed to understand what the mission objective was, therefore a quick flick through the book put me right, which was great. One of the things I like most about the way the main story walkthrough is written is that you still need to win the missions you are taking part in, the guide offers no easy way out, it just points you in the right direction, therefore at no point does it provide a guaranteed way to win your way through your current mission.
Within the main story walkthrough there is a wealth of information which not only cover the main missions but also provide you with a walkthrough of all the side missions, such as the one’s with Brian (a random character that you may or may not have come across) or the procedural missions such as the vigilante missions or car jacking missions involving Brucie. You are also give some hints and tips on dating, not that I needed them but hey.
Also included in the guide is a comprehensive range of Liberty City maps which allow you to see all of the landmarks as well as all breakdown of where you can find weapons, armour, health, the elusive flying rats and the unique stunt jumps which are spread throughout each island. I personally found these maps very handy as I found it quite easy to get lost in the streets of Liberty.
Once you are ready to conquer the online modes of GTA IV, the strategy guide is still your friend, within the pages you will find a breakdown of all the multiplayer features as well as general hints and tips to help you on your way.
Not everyone will want to use a guide to help them through GTA IV, some would rather just pick up the game and find their own way around, however if you ever need a reference guide to a city as big as Liberty there is certainly none better out there.
