5 best mods for GTA IV

GTA IV, at the time of its release, was one of the most divisive games in the franchise. It saw Rockstar take the series into a completely different direction than its predecessors, with a much darker and grounded tone.

Gone were the over-the-top action set pieces of the previous GTA games, replaced with a much more subtle tone that told a mature story. Niko Belic soon became an icon of the franchise and one of its best-realized characters.

GTA IV not only differed in tone and narrative but also in terms of gameplay. The cars felt more realistic with more weight to them, and the environment looked desaturated and decidedly grim.

This was done on purpose to reflect the oppressive nature of Liberty City, which was not necessarily received too well at first, but players have come to appreciate it now. Several mods look to tinker with the game and its various elements, and here we look at some of the best ones.

Five best mods for GTA IV

5) Ghost Rider Script Mod

While there are superhero mods available for GTA IV such as Hulk, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and more, we feel Ghost Rider suits that much better in Liberty City. A flaming spectre looking to burn out souls of the corrupt, what better place to start with than Liberty City?

Stalk the streets of the wretched metropolis as Ghost Rider on your insanely cool bike and punish the souls of the dammed. There might be more powerful heroes in the Marvel Universe, but only a few are as cool as Ghost Rider.

4) GTA IV Prison Break Mod

There is always something undeniably cool about adding an actual prison in a GTA game. While the threat of police is still there, rarely ever does it materialize in something concrete rather than a momentary pause.

The Prison Break mod puts Niko in the state prison after being busted by the police, and having to break his way out of the prison. This adds some real consequences to the player's action, and that is always a plus in the eyes of the player.

3) First-Person Mod

Before it became an actual mechanic in the next game, players had long been demanding a first-person mod for GTA IV. The answer came from the modding community with a fantastic first-person mod that helped players truly immerse themselves in the game.

This is more of a personal favourite rather than an objectively great mod, but it certainly adds a whole new dimension to the GTA experience. It might not be as robust as the one developed by Rockstar for the next game, but is functional.

2) GTA IV IceEnhancer- Graphical Mod

While the CryENB V3 enhances the general aesthetics of the game in terms of saturation and brightness, the IceEnhancer blasts the textures into orbit. There are several videos of the mod on YouTube comparing the graphics of IV to GTA V after using the IceEnhancer, and frankly, there's not too much of a difference.

The IceEnhancer adds a ridiculous level of texture to each asset and model of the game, and the car reflections have been upped to an insane degree.

1) Graphical Enhancer: CryENB V3

There are several graphics enhancer mods for the game on the internet, but the community swears by CryENB V3 as the best mod for graphics in GTA IV. The mod adds significantly more colour to the desaturated palette of the game as well as upscale a lot of textures and shadows in the game.

It truly changes the game in a big way, and fans who felt irked by the grim visual aesthetics of the game will find it infinitely better to play using CryENB V3. The mod might take away from the decidedly gloomy tone of the game, but it certainly works in favour of making the city feel more inviting.

The CryENB V3 is perhaps the most popular mod in the community, and it is easy to see why.