GTA 4 vs GTA 4 Complete Edition: What are the differences?

GTA 4 is one of the most iconic games ever made by Rockstar. It came out in 2008 and broke multiple records with its superb storytelling and stunning visuals. It was followed by two standalone expansions, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony.

A special version called Episodes from Liberty City came out soon after, including both the expansion packs, but missing the base game. GTA 4 Complete Edition is the final product that included all three games combined.

Upon starting up, players are given the choice of playing either GTA 4 or GTA: EFLC. The games play as usual, with no discernible differences from the earlier editions. Fans may still ask whether there are any differences at all.

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Are there any differences between GTA 4 and GTA 4 Complete Edition?

GTA 4 Complete Edition has a few small differences from the base game:

Lack of multiplayer:

In this edition, the Games for Windows Live system, which was required to play GTA 4 Online, has been removed. This also means that multiplayer access to the game is no longer possible.

Added all the radio stations:

The EFLC expansions had some unique radio stations and new songs in existing stations. The digital version of the Complete Edition combines all of them, giving players access to all radio stations and songs in each game.

Removed a few tracks:

Although the radio stations and expansion exclusive tracks are now available in the base game, a few songs have been removed. These were removed due to expired music licenses. Rockstar has done something similar to the GTA games on mobile devices.

When players got in a vehicle for the first time in the original GTA Vice City, the iconic track, Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, was the first song that would play. This does not happen in the mobile versions since the track was removed.

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What features haven't been altered?

Game select screen in GTA 4 Complete Edition (Image via Rockstar Games)

It seems unclear if the game has been optimized for modern hardware. GTA 4 on PC was an unoptimized port. The game had plenty of bugs when it came out. A lot of these have been fixed through subsequent patches, but the core issues remain.

The game was quite difficult to run on most PCs at the time. Unfortunately, it still suffers from some stuttering issues, especially while loading distant details. A decent modern system that meets the requirements can easily run the game over 60 FPS.

However, players shouldn't expect above 120 FPS for this game. Maintaining a constant framerate may also be difficult due to the stuttering.