N is for Niko Bellic from GTA IV

GTA IV is a great game. I appreciated the more serious direction Rockstar took the series in, the cutscenes are brilliant and the story of an immigrant out for revenge and The American Dream is a cut above the usual video game fare.

However one thing about the game didn’t sit well with me — apart from the usual complaint that there was too much driving from A to B: the character of Niko Bellic. I didn’t mind too much that he was a miserable git, or that he lacked style, or that he put up with that annoying brother of his. But there’s something wrong about playing as a guy with principles in GTA. No longer did I feel comfortable going on killing sprees or hit-and-run rampages when the character I was supposed to be playing as was supposed to have a conscience.

The game’s more serious tone made for a more compelling story but Niko’s path through the game was more linear than I had hoped it to be. There was the usual myriad of side-missions to complete alongside the main story, but your actions outside of the core missions had no bearing on the main story or Niko’s development as a character. If I choose to go run down pedestrians or snipe at innocent civilians I want my psychopathic behaviour reflected in my character. Equally, if I want to take the moral high ground and only fight in the name of honour or self-defence I want that option too. 

It’s hard to reconcile a good narrative and 3-dimensional characters with the open-world gameplay that is the series’ hallmark, but that’s the next step Rockstar have to take if they want to keep the series moving forward and not be seen to be simply milking a cash cow. Gamers want choice, which Rockstar delivered. But gamers also want the power to make choices that are actually significant, a demand Rockstar has yet to fulfill.