A Downside to the Story-Based Sandbox?

Grand Theft Auto 4 solidifies Rockstar North as the reigning champion of the story-based sandbox action game. No other title in this genre can boast a more impressive story (in content and execution) or present players with more ways to screw around aimlessly if they so please. With that said, I wonder sometimes if the two halves of their formula - this flexible open world combined with engrossing, story-based missions - can be at odds with itself.

More on this after the jump...


There's an embarrasment of activities to engage in outside of the central story missions. Your in-game cellphone typically rings off the hook as Niko is deluged with requests from friends and contacts to go "hang out". Spending quality time can mean anything from going out for a beer with a cohort you helped rob a bank with the day before or taking a date out to see a cabaret show, followed by a suitably PG-rated night cap sequence.

Your Niko may be more of a loner, so simply wandering the city searching for those trademark easter eggs provides enough respite from the grind of pursuing the main storyline. From shooting "flying rodents" to sniffing out stunt ramps or browsing through the hundreds of fictitious websites, you're rarely in need of company if all you're aiming to do is kiill some time unproductivtely. For a more productive time sink, more justice-minded Nikos may commandeer a cop car and go on a solo crusade against Liberty City's most unsavory, wanted fugitives.

These distractions contribute to the creation of a much richer, varied world in GTA4. They also make for a fantastic "failure cushion". That is, when I find myself stuck on a particular story mission, I don't feel compelled to quit the game in frustration. There's so much to do in Liberty City, I simply cleanse my palate (and cool my jets) with a taxi ride or a round of ten-pin before taking another crack at that crucial mission. It's also to the game's credit that there is rarely only one story mission marker pinned to your map. Find yourself tiring of running errands for the Italian mob, well, try your hand at doing some dirty jobs for the Irish gangster down the block. The game rewards persistence but it also encourages players to go at their own pace and to explore the world as thoroughly as possible.

Of course the downside to this rather freeform structure is that the story missions themselves can lose a lot of momentum. When attacked head-on, one after another, these missions really do connect well with each other and form a cohesive, logical story arc that is quite engaging. I've sunk in about 35 hours into the game now and started out just playing the story missions. As these missions became more difficult, I started to branch out into the optional activities some more, which has really helped me to keep my sanity but has also removed my involvement in the plot. It's ironic then that the more I play, the more I have to make a concerted effort to get myself engaged in the story again.

What will eventually happen is my need to complete every drug run or street race will dry up and the siren's call of wrapping up the story will bring me back in line with the story. I almost wish the Rockstar North developers had implemented a clever way of keeping you locked in the story, yet also allowing you to do a lot of exploration and optional side quests.