AnOffbeatAussie

When I first decided to write a review for GTA 4 (albeit about 9 years after the games release) I was originally going to make the summary something like "the discerning gamers GTA" or "prime steak not hot dogs" but I'd hate to fall into the trap of tyring to make gaming like other forms of entertainment where there is the mainstream and then there's the classy. The attitude that someone can be an entertainment connoisseur and have an opinion more valid than the masses is something that is often seen in film and books but in the video game world things are thankfully much less pretentious. A game that's well received by critics is probably also going to have caused wide spread hype and made a crap load of money as well and this is certainly the case with the GTA series. As much as though GTA 4 polarised fans it was certainly an amazing commercial success. The toning down of the silly sandbox fun of the series as well as the increase in difficulty may have rubbed some players up the wrong way but most of us learned to love GTA 4's newfound focus on realism. It may not be as good as some of the other GTA's or other sandbox series such as Saints Row and Prototype if your only priority is causing a high death toll but GTA 4 manages to make up for the difficulty it injects into surviving a gunfight by making every kill so much more satisfying than in any other game. It is certainly easier to mow down mobs of opponents on GTA 5 but the relatively quiet guns sounds paired with the general combat mechanics somehow make it feel so much more anticlimactic than its more challenging predecessor. GTA 4's key words are intensity and immersion. It may have less somewhat less NPC dialogue and micro detail than its sequel but even today its fictionalised version of New York, despite being quite a grim location has a unique sense of authenticity that fans adore. Back to my point about snobbery and mainstream entertainment, someone playing the game may perfectly reasonably assume that this is a game that is going to be loved by hardcore gamers camping in their basements spending the bulk of their life perfecting their skills and mainstream audiences would toss it aside. This however isn't what happened at all. GTA 4 may be a difficult game to get into for a while but you don't have to be a nerd to realise that its a game that's worth putting in the effort for. The average mission is at most double as hard (probably less) than GTA 5 and knowing that death will lead to a restart of the entire mission makes its combat feel so much more immersive than in other games. One of my only genuine criticisms of the game is the fact that its lack of checkpoints, although being a feature I like, probably should have been implemented slightly differently. Having to restart a mission is one thing but having to drive to the location the mission takes place at seems like a step too far. Other than this its an absolute classic and still may favourite GTA title available. For anyone that still has this game, I recommend dusting off your old copy and having another play through, especially if you found the realistic gameplay too much of a shock to the system to enjoy the first time round.

Live shows based on sitcoms often tend to do nothing more than pick the best lines of dialogue from popular episodes and attempt to squeeze them all into one strange and messy plot. The lives shows of Bottom on the other hand, despite the jokes all being fairly similar in the first place, never take anything directly from the series without it being changed enough to effectively be a new gag. Its still just Eddie thinking Richie is 'queering him up', the pair kicking each other in the balls constantly and pervy remarks being made about Sue Carpenter but Rik and Ade never failed to come up with a new innuendo or a new weapon for testicular assault.

As with the first Bottom Live the plot is minimal and the only major difference is the inclusion of two sets (the flat and the prison cell). As any fan of the series knows however, Bottom, whether it be in the form of a TV show, live performance or even a feature film, shines the most when it is kept simple. Plot heavy comedy can be great but there's nothing wrong with two of the funniest comic actors of the 80s and 90s just doing what they do best - a relentless string of nob jokes, over the top violence and improvised forth wall breaks.

I encourage anyone who enjoyed Bottom when it was new to invest in a box set of DVDs including those of the live shows. Its timeless humour that you'll have ready to brighten your day for decades to come