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GTA 4 and GTA 5 are among the best games in the Grand Theft Auto franchise. They belong to the HD era and have successfully delivered some of the best stories. They offer excellent gameplay that makes them extremely memorable. However, Grand Theft Auto 4 does several things better, leading many fans to consider it the GOAT.
This article lists five reasons that make the game better than GTA 5.
Note: The article is subjective and solely based on the writer's opinion.
5 things that make GTA 4 better than GTA 5
1) The story is down-to-earth and feels realistic
The plot plays a crucial part in making or breaking a game. While GTA 5's story has various ups and downs, it fails to deliver the same punch as GTA 4.
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While Grand Theft Auto 5 is a humorous satire on American consumerism, its predecessor's story is dark and gritty, dealing with issues like corruption. While it does have uplifting parts and various comical scenes, the overall theme remains serious. The game follows the struggles of a man trying to leave his violent life behind. However, the circumstances drag him back to the filth of the underworld.
2) Niko Bellic is a much better protagonist than the trio
Rockstar Games decided to have a protagonist trio in GTA 5, allowing it to tell a broader story and span out the game. However, this also led the title to lose focus as it never stayed completely on Michael, Trevor, or Franklin.
On the other hand, Niko had the full focus of GTA 4 as the plot never strayed from him. On top of that, he had much better depth to his character, and the reasons behind his actions were obvious. His circumstances felt realistic, which is in contrast to how abruptly things started abruptly for the protagonist trio in GTA 5.
3) The vehicle handling is less arcadey
Even though GTA 5 rolled out after GTA 4, it made the vehicle handling very arcadey. The challenge of navigating your car in traffic from the previous game was gone, and so was the realistic damage display on the vehicles.
Most players considered this change a huge downgrade, which is why they still consider Grand Theft Auto 4 the GOAT in the franchise. Rockstar Games put a lot of effort into crafting the game and implemented small details that are somewhat missing from the latest title. Hopefully, these features will return in GTA 6.
4) The NPC AI feels much more realistic
Despite being older, GTA 4's NPCs leave a better impression than GTA 5's. In both games, these characters range from regular daily workers to the police.
While the Grand Theft Auto 5 cops start blasting players for simply looking their way, the police in the older title are more sophisticated. They don't attack unprovoked and even when they do, they give Niko a chance to surrender. On top of that, they arrest NPCs who try to harass or hurt the protagonist in front of them.
5) The attention to detail in GTA 4 is much greater
While GTA 5 has considerably better graphics, texture, and other features, GTA 4 showcases more attention to detail compared to its successor.
These details mostly lie in small instances, like the phone giving a static buzz when you're in a car or you leaving behind bloody footprints after running into blood. Such attention to detail makes the game memorable, even years after its release.
