GTA 4 vs GTA 5: Which Grand Theft Auto Game is Better?

GTA IV and V are two of the most successful titles in the Grand Theft Auto series. Numerous gamers worldwide debate over which game is the better. Both the games were critically and commercially super successful worldwide. Today we will be comparing GTA 4 with GTA 5 to find out which game is better than the other.

If you are a Grand Theft Auto fan then you must be curious about which game is better. If you wanna know the complete comparison between GTA 4 and GTA 5 then you have landed on the best page. We want you to sit back, enjoy and without further delay let’s just jump straight onto the comparison.

GTA 4 vs GTA 5 Storyline

So, the storyline of the legendary GTA 4 starts off with the protagonist Niko Bellic (an Eastern European Ex-Soldier) moving from Europe to his cousin (Roman Bellic) in Liberty City who used to send him letters bragging about how he is a big hotshot making millions and owns a mansion, a sports car and is living the American Dream.

Niko had a rough childhood with traumatic experiences, he wanted to move and settle down in Liberty City for good and live a normal life with his cousin. Upon disembarking, he meets his cousin who then takes him back to his cheap, old, and dusty apartment. Niko then realizes that all those things that his cousin was bragging about in those letters were all nothing but just lies and that his cousin is no big time but a failed cab business owner living in a dirty old apartment. Later Niko and Roman get themselves into some trouble with some powerful people which leads to them laying low in a different city.

GTA 4’s storyline is addictive and captures the feel of an action crime movie in an exquisite manner. The game’s story might be one of the best storylines in all of the Grand Theft Auto franchise as Niko’s character learns a lot more about life throughout the game.

The storyline of Staggering GTA 5 features 3 different characters that go around performing heists in Los Santos. The game starts off with a group of criminals performing a heist which later goes down south. Then few years pass and we are introduced to the first character named Franklin who steals cars with his homie Lamar and takes them back to a car dealer named Simeon.

Franklin then later meets Michael (The second Character) as he was stealing a car from his house and this was also a start of a beautiful friendship between Michael and Franklin. They both later start performing heists together. The third playable character gets introduced halfway later in the game and is named Trevor who is an old buddy of Michael. All 3 of the playable characters in the game start performing heists.

The storyline of GTA 5 is not as intriguing as compared to the storyline of GTA 4. GTA4’s storyline was a masterpiece and had players hooked. The storyline of GTA 4 was more diverse and had more quality and criminal vibes to it than GTA 5. It felt like the writers gave their all while writing the storyline for GTA 4. Alright, this was it for GTA4 vs GTA 5 storyline next up we will compare the characters in both the legendary games.

Must Read: All GTA Games In Order

Characters

GTA 4 Protagonist

If you guys have played the fabled GTA 4, then you all must be aware that there is only one Protagonist in the game named Niko Bellic who is an Eastern European Ex-soldier. Niko had a traumatic and terrible past as he had to see his friends die in front of him, making him cold and harsh. Niko is a really talented character in GTA 4 who knows how to handle any situation the right way.

He is not harsh towards women and can be seen as one of the most mature characters in the whole GTA franchise. Niko is a really skilled driver and really impressive in hand-to-hand combat fights. He moved to Liberty City to just live a normal life but the consequences made it difficult for him to do that as his cousin Roman lied to him about living a luxurious life and making millions. He is also one of our most loved characters in the GTA franchise. You guys can comment down below your favorite character from the GTA franchise.

GTA 4 Main Characters

The Main characters in GTA 4 are not bad instead they are pretty impressive with staggering personalities. We will list down a few of the Main characters in GTA 4

Roman Bellic – He is the cousin of Niko who moved to Liberty City from SRF Yugoslavia in 1998. He encourages Niko to move to Liberty City with his lies. Roman is a character that easily gets scared and gets overshadowed by people but overall he was a good side character in GTA 4.

Little Jacob – He is a Jamaican arms and drug dealer who meets Niko in the middle of the game and helps him a lot. Little Jacob is a strong and fierce Main character.

Kate McReary – Kate McReary is one of Niko’s love interests throughout the game. She belongs to a powerful family and is a good person overall.

These were a few of the Main characters in GTA 4 now let us move on to GTA 5

GTA 5 Protagonists

GTA 5 has 3 Main, playable characters each with different abilities. The first main character is Franklin Clinton who grew up in street gangs and is tired of it and wants to be a big-time and make money for himself. He thinks that he is better than the people around him.

The second main character is Michael De Santa, a man in his mid-40s living with his wife and kids. Michael seems to miss his old life where he used to rob and do a lot of stuff that he is not able to do now.

The third main character is Trevor Philips who is a violent drug addict psychopath and an old buddy of Michael De Santa. Trevor knew Micheal before the game’s storyline took place and was his good friend.

Main Characters in GTA 5

The main characters in GTA 5 are really impressive and fun. There are a lot of side characters in GTA 5 and we will list a few of them

Lamar David – Lamar is one of Franklin’s best friends. Lamar has opposing ideals with Franklin, often leading to arguments between the two. He is a member of the Families Street gang. He is a good character overall.

Amanda De Santa – She is the wife of Michael De Santa and the mother of Tracey and Jimmy. She was once very close with her husband but their relationship became shaky, and Amanda started to waste most of their money.

Ronald Jakowski – Ronald Jakowski is a friend of Trevor who is a redneck living in a trailer in Sandy Shores.

Gameplay

There is no doubt that the gameplay in both GTA 4 and 5 is just sublime but let’s dive deep into some elements and compare them.

Driving Mechanics

Driving is one of the most important gameplay elements in Grand Theft Auto. GTA 4‘s driving mechanics might be the best driving mechanics in any GTA game ever made. Players get the vibe of driving an actual vehicle while driving vehicles in this game. The vehicles in the game are not easy to control as the vehicles are inspired by real-life and have great mechanics, so players need to think twice before making a sharp turn. Players really loved the driving mechanics in the game when it launched as it was something never seen in any GTA game before.

The driving mechanics in the exquisite GTA 5 are pretty impressive as the vehicles are smooth and easy to drive but it feels like it’s missing something. The vehicles in GTA 5 are super easy to control which feels a bit boring as players can drive any vehicle easily without any problem. There is not much to tell you about GTA 5’s driving mechanics, overall the driving mechanics are pretty good in GTA 5.

If we compare the driving mechanics in both games then, it is no doubt that GTA 4 comes on top as the driving in GTA 4 is challenging, fun, and feels more alive.

Physics

While both the games share the same engine, the physics seems a bit different in both games. GTA 4‘s physics are just sublime in many ways. Every player that played the great GTA 4 must be impressed by its physics as they are just too good.

The player physics the driving physics just feels so much alive. When you drive your vehicle and smash it on a wall too hard you will notice Niko flying out of the window and it feels so realistic and fun. Even when you try to drive your car over NPCs then they will try to stop the car with their hands, it is one of the small but great details added by the developers which made the game amazing.

The physics in the OG GTA 5 are sublime as well. They aren’t as impressive as in GTA 4 but surely live up to the expectations. The player and driving physics both are really good. The player will only fly out of the window of the car when the car is smashed too hard into the wall. Overall the physics in GTA 5 is really good as well but if we compare the physics in both the games then GTA 4 takes the win again.

Graphics

Every GTA game had exquisite graphics for the time it was released. But let us dive deep further and compare the Graphics in both GTA 4 and GTA 5 .

Without any doubt, we can say that the graphics in GTA 5 are just sublime and people still are mesmerized by the amount of beauty the game provides the players when they max out all the graphics settings. PC and PS 5 players are able to fully enjoy the exquisite graphics of GTA 5. The environment, textures, grass, post effects quality all are just sublime. If you have played GTA 5 on any console then you must be impressed by its stunning graphics.

The graphics in GTA 4 are quite good as well. The game was released back in 2008 and we can say that the graphics looked stunning at that time. But there is no way it can beat the beauty of graphics that GTA 5 provides. GTA 5 takes the win here for best graphics. Now we will compare GTA 4 vs GTA 5 Features.

Features

Both games have a ton of features but let us compare a few of them down below.

Eating

There are many accessible Restaurants available in GTA 4 where Niko can enjoy food and replenish his health. Niko can enjoy food from various different restaurants in Liberty City and can also eat from food stalls on the streets. There are tons of street food stalls across Liberty City that serve mouth-watering tacos and hot dogs.

Players can’t enjoy food in the restaurant in GTA 5 as not even one restaurant is accessible in the whole game. This was such a severe disappointment for the gamers as players were not able to access restaurants or even buy from the vendors on the street. There are a few grocery stores that are accessible in that game but players can’t buy food or even a can of soda. Rockstar Games really took a step behind with this feature.

Picking Objects

There are many small objects that can be picked up in GTA 4 like dropped mobile phones, soda cans, bricks, etc. All these objects can be picked up and used as a weapon to throw over enemies or pedestrians. Players can break windows using bricks or even throw a soda can at someone walking down the street if they are getting bored.

Players can’t pick up objects in GTA 5 and by that, we mean not even a single object. There are tons of soda cans and bricks laying around Los Santos but the players are not able to interact with them in any manner. This thing really disappointed the gaming community as this was a feature that they used in the previous game.

If we talk about features then, GTA 4 has more features as compared to GTA 5. GTA 4 is older than GTA 5 but still manages to impress gamers today because of its features, gameplay, and storyline.

Platforms

GTA 4 was launched on platforms like PS3, Xbox 360/One, and PC. All these consoles are really capable of running the game flawlessly. Now GTA 5 was released in 2013 for consoles like PC, Xbox 360/One/SeriesX S, and PS3/4/5. There are a lot of consoles that GTA 5 was released on.

However, when it comes to the game’s optimization GTAV gets the upper hand as it is optimized way better than GTAIV where gamers experience constant frame drops and stutter when they’re running the game on PC. But both the games can be played on a mid-range PC flawlessly.

Frequently Asked Questions

GTA 4 vs GTA 5 Conclusion

Alright, now it’s time for Conclusion, and drawing from our experience it is GTA 4 that takes the win here by a small difference as GTA 5 is not bad compared to GTA 4 but lacks the vibes in the storyline and some features as well. GTA 5 is no doubt a masterpiece but GTA 4 has got the upper hand here due to its gameplay, storyline, and features.

If you guys have any doubts regarding the information that we provided then feel free to let your heart out in the comments.