NIKO BELLIC

Niko Bellic is the main protagonist and playable character in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. He is a 30-year-old former soldier who moved to Liberty City to escape his troubled past and pursue the "American Dream". Niko was persuaded to move by his cousin Roman, who claimed to be living a life of luxury, with beautiful women, sports cars and lots of money. It soon becomes apparent, however, that he runs a failing taxi business, has mounting debts and various criminals from Liberty City's underworld have put a price on his head. Aware of Niko's violent past, Roman had lied to convince his cousin to move to the city, knowing that Niko would fight against his pursuers, and eventually be the one to turn his lies into a reality. (It is also stated that Roman is motivated partially by desire to see his cousin again.) Niko, however, also has other, underlying motivations for moving to Liberty City, which are revealed as the story unfolds.

GTA IV OVERVIEW

Grand Theft Auto IV is a sandbox-style action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North, and released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles in Europe, North America and Oceania, on 29 April 2008, and in Japan on 30 October 2008. A Windows version of the game was released in North America on 2 December 2008 and in Europe on 3 December. It was made available on Steam on 4 January 2009. It is the sixth 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto series.

Two episodic packs have since been released for the Xbox 360, the first entitled The Lost and Damned, released on 17 February 2009. The second is entitled The Ballad of Gay Tony, released on 29 October 2009. Both episodes were released for PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows on 13 April 2010 in North America and on 16 April 2010 in Europe.

The game is set in a redesigned rendition of Liberty City, a fictional city based heavily on modern day New York City. It follows Niko Bellic, a war veteran from Serbia. He comes to the United States in search of the American Dream, but quickly becomes entangled in a world of gangs, crime, and corruption. Like other games in the series, GTA IV is composed of elements from driving games and third-person shooters, and features "open-world" gameplay that gives players more control over their playing experience. It is the first console game in the series to feature an online multiplayer mode.

As the first game of the critically acclaimed series to appear on seventh generation consoles, Grand Theft Auto IV was widely anticipated. A major commercial and critical success, it broke industry records with sales of around 3.7 million units on its first day of release and grossing more than $500 million in revenue in the first week, selling an estimated 6 million units worldwide. As of 9 June 2010, the game had sold over 17 million copies.

GTA IV REVIEW

GTA IV TRAILER