Grand Theft Auto games are known for their variable game systems. Released in 2008 on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and later PC, Grand Theft Auto 4 pushed the gaming medium to new heights at its time of release. Set in Liberty City, a fictionalized version of New York, Rockstar Games’ sprawling crime drama featured a massive, living game world and highly advanced physics.
Modern Grand Theft Auto games run on Rockstar’s impressive RAGE engine, one of the few game engines to use the highly realistic Euphoria physics middleware which makes collisions and ragdolls very distinctive. Given the open nature of the title, the advanced physics system, and the reactiveness of the NPCs inhabiting Liberty City, Grand Theft Auto 4 is a highly dynamic game where missions can play out in a variety of ways. Sometimes, even cutscenes can play out in strange ways depending on the game world’s state.
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Reddit user Alexisonxanax posted a video of Grand Theft Auto 4’s “Rigged to Blow'' mission, in which protagonist Niko Bellic is tasked with driving a truck rigged with a bomb to a garage before detonating it. Normally, the mission ends with a cutscene where Niko runs away from the bomb before safely diving away as it explodes in the distance. In Alexisonxanax’s version, things play out a little differently.
Rather than having Niko safely run away from the blast radius, Alexisonxanax’s clip has Niko get hit by a passing car, throwing him into the street. The hilarity continues when a second car then narrowly misses him before skidding to a stop. Finally, the bomb detonates and Niko dives away from the explosion after a significant delay. The post has become a hit on Reddit, earning over one thousand upvotes from GTA 4 fans as of writing.
The RAGE engine that Grand Theft Auto 4 was built on was considerably ahead of its time, particularly when it came to its physics simulation. RAGE is still being used today, albeit in an upgraded state, in other Rockstar Games’ titles like Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2. These titles have also been praised for their dynamic, living worlds and advanced physics systems, which in a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, can lead to characters getting caught in a horse’s stirrups.
Of course, other game engines can provide realistic physics systems as well, but NaturalMotion’s Euphoria technology is one of the best. It’s expected that the much anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 will use the same RAGE engine with further upgrades. With that game being so far off, players will have to settle for the upcoming next-gen release of Grand Theft Auto 5, which is expected this fall.
Grand Theft Auto 4 is available on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.