Rockstars have made a lot of great games, with their GTA Series being one of the best open-world RPG franchises ever. Amongst the games, the two latest titles, GTA 4 and 5, are considered the best ones, with the most robust stories and features.

However, there can only be one king. In this article, we are going to list out the top 5 reasons why GTA 4 is better than GTA 5.

Table of Contents

1 - The Police Presence

One thing that always frustrates GTA 5 players is the annoying presence of the police. It is almost like they are constantly out to get you, even if what you have done is just a minor infraction. Fighting and running away from cops have always been a big part of "the GTA experience", but it definitely needs to be more balanced. In GTA 5, annoying witnesses could call the police at a moment's notice.
Police in GTA 4 is not nearly as annoying like in GTA 5

In GTA 4, on the other hand, the police are much fairer. There is a "busted" mechanics for NPCs as well. Should the player lure an aggressive NPC towards one or more police officers, there is a decent chance the police will get the attacker off the player's back by arresting them. In GTA 5, the police won't attempt to arrest at all, they would just shoot to kill. That's why the latter fails in the GTA 4 vs GTA 5 comparison.

2 - More single-player content

Back in the day, companies usually make extra single-player content for a game and call them expansions. GTA 4 is the only GTA game with expansions... and it has two, in fact. While GTA 5 has its Online section, they are not really story-based missions and therefore are usually very simple and linear. This is in no way comparable to an actual story-based campaign.
GTA IV DLC 1: The ballad of Gay Tony

The existence of GTA Online is also the reason why Rockstar has been delaying GTA 6 for years now. As long as they still print infinite money via Shark Cards, they would never make the next GTA game.

GTA 4 DLC 2: The Lost and Damned

3 - Better car physics

While GTA 5 has GTA 4 beat in the number of cars and what they can do, GTA 4's cars respond to player input much better. The reason behind this is that all cars in GTA 4 are much heavier. Therefore, players feel like they are actually driving a vehicle and not just gliding on the road with an ultra-fast surfboard. The controls are a little bit too fast in GTA 5.

Combine this with realistic physics makes crashes in GTA 4 look much more impactful. The object that you hit actually cracked, unlike GTA 5's lighter, less durable cars. Controlling vehicles through the streets of Liberty City definitely takes more skill.

>>> Read more: Top 5 Best Ways To Show Off Your Wealth In GTA Online

4 - A better story

Even the quality of the single-player portion in GTA 5 is not nearly as good as its predecessor and it's also one of the major reasons why GTA 4 is better than GTA 5.

The main story of GTA 5 was divided between three different characters, which means there are fewer chances to develop their individual storylines. You see how all three characters acquired a lot of money, but there's no personal growth. The story then ends abruptly without the player getting to see how their empire truly impacts the world.

Niko Bellic has a much more intense story than the trio in GTA V.

On the other hand, GTA 4 follows Niko Bellic's journey from rags to riches, which has a dark tone and very hard-hitting. It then gets taken even further with the two expansions The Ballad of Gay Tony and the Lost And Damned as well. It is just exciting to see Niko getting richer and more powerful as time goes on. GTA 4's story then concludes with a very emotional choice to kill somebody or spare their life. It was perfectly presented to make the players feel that their choice really mattered.

5 - Players can actually Role-playing

Niko Belic starts as an almost blank slate for the players to self insert themselves into his shoes. This is very different from all the protagonists of GTA 5, who are established characters with preset backgrounds and personalities, who only behave in a certain way.

In GTA 4, you can even pursue a love interest and get a girlfriend. While the romance option does not go too far, it is still way better than what GTA 5 has. Despite being a more explicit game, the most amount of romantic interaction you can get in GTA V is in the back rooms of the Vanilla Unicorn.

While the Romance options in GTA 4 do not go too far, it still adds some extra side story for you to engage with and a few bonuses. These extras including health bonuses, wanted level removal... and store discounts.

This is the end of our guide for the Top 5 Reasons Why GTA 4 Is Better Than GTA 5. Interested in more of our articles related to the GTA series? Please check this post for more information about the expected release date of GTA 6.