What does the American dream mean today? For Niko Bellic fresh off the boat from Europe, it is the hope he can escape from his past. For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, gateway to the land of opportunity. As they slip into debt and get dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them and a living nightmare for those who don't.
Grand Theft Auto 4 is a game that shows the reality of our world. Hidden beneath the various different life-risking jobs you are forced to do in order to make a living,is the meaning of a struggle in today's world. Grand theft auto also shows players moral values such as being in position to kill someone for money or kill the damn employer yourself. Liberty City also closely resembles New York - from Brooklyn,to queens to the various landmark and company resemblences. Whoever says,Grand Theft Auto is just about shooting and running from cops has no sense whatsoever.