As the entire planet awaits the arrival of the next instalment of Grand Theft Auto (honestly, never have so many clocks been watched--our review is live at 7am PST, 3pm UK time today) the modding community glance nonchalantly over and shrug their shoulders, uttering a single solitary Meh. The reason for their indifference is simple--you cant play as Iron Man in GTA V; an oversight by the developers maybe, but thats just how it is.
The scope and attention to detail of the modders has increased exponentially with the quality of the games they choose to alter, and Grand Theft Auto IV has certainly proved to be ripe for the picking. It is slightly difficult to keep track of all the advancements these talented (and on more than one occasion slightly bizarre) individuals have unleashed on the world, so weve come up with a list of the most impressive, awesome and ridiculous of the lot. If Rockstar ever needed a reason to release GTA V on PC, the answer can probably be found somewhere on these pages.
Play the game as Iron Man
Mod: Iron Man IV v1.2 by H1Vltg3, JulioNIB, wapeddell and Quechus13
Yes, I want to play the game as Iron Man. Everyone wants to play the game as Iron Man. Its Iron Man for crying out loud, not some angsty teenager who doesnt understand the changes going on with his body, or some over developed flying rodent with parenting issues--this is Iron Man. The Iron Man IV mod allows players to fly around the city throwing rockets and shoulder darts at transients and generally being made of iron. Pretty cool. If you get sick of being Iron Man (which totally wont happen), you can play as Tony Stark and swan around in a posh car and laugh at your girlfriends ridiculous name, which is also fun.
First-person shooter
Mod: First Person Mod v1.1 by C06alt
Ever played GTA IV and thought: 'This game would be perfect if Nico was reduced to a floating gun and a thumb and forefinger'? Well this mod is for you. This is quite a simple mod that changes the shape of GTA IV dramatically by switching its viewpoint from third to first person. It also makes the game feel a bit like Prodigys Smack My Bitch Up video. So if youve grown sick of shooting Russian soldiers in Call of Duty, you can switch it up a bit and shoot bankers and hot dog vendors in GTA IV. Plus, if you really want to muddle things around a bit, you could download the Half-Life 2 weapon pack courtesy of wapeddell which comes bundled with its very own gravity gun. Who needs Half-Life 3? Oh, right, yeah--we do.
Back the Future!
Mod: Back to the Grand Theft Auto Ultimate Mod 1.0 by sersorroza
Time travel wasnt much fun before Marty and Doc rocked up; it was all rules this and Terminator that, no one cracked a smile and the Morlocks ruined everything. Back to the Future changed all that, and this mod gives you the chance to change it again sort of. This mod, if youve not already guessed, gives you the Delorean DC12 from Back to the Future II. As if the inch perfect car skin wasnt enough, it actually travels though time and can fly (insert your own Where were going, we dont need roads joke here). All you need to do is marry it up with a Marty McFly skin patch for Nico and youre ready to go make out with your Mum.
Visual realism
Mod: A touch of reality ENB V1.0 by Serrano30600
When it first came out, GTA IV was a pretty game but--as these things do--it began to age quickly, and the once breath-taking streets of Liberty City began to look blocky and poorly lit. Thankfully, the modding community saw fit to give it a spring clean and there are plenty of graphics buffs, lighting enhancers and texture packs to return the game back to its glorious best. One of the best looking graphics enhancers is the A touch of reality ENB V1.0 by Serrano30600, which makes light shimmer off surfaces and car models, almost making it indistinguishable from the real thing. If you want your misdeeds to look their best, this is the way to go.
A city full of cars
Mod: Carmageddon! by RainCloud
No, its not a 2001: A Space Odyssey mod, that would be rubbish. Its the Carmageddon! mod by RainCloud which, oddly enough, is not a Carmageddon mod either. In fact, its rather difficult to explain what the point of the Carmageddon! mod actually is. Imagine for a second if all the vehicles in GTA IV were made out of Flubber, and walking down the street was like being in a speeded up version of Destruction Derby and you're pretty much there. The best part of the Carmageddon! mod is watching pedestrians cower in horror as a Karin Dilettante spirals towards them, only for it to change trajectory at the last second and turn you into a crimson smear on the pavement. Is it useful? No, but its certainly fun.
Play as the cops
Mod: LCPD First Response v0.95 by G17 Media
If you feel the need to repent for the crimes you commit in GTA IV, dont bother, its a game and has no bearing on your real life actions. If you want to play as one of Liberty Citys Finest however, then this is the mod for you. LCPD First Response v0.95 by G17 Media is, in a sense, a further expansion pack for the game which enables you to roam the streets with a partner, catching crims and singing Bad Boys by Inner Circle at the top of your lungs. A wide variety of cop based challenges can be undertaken in this very professional construction. A doughnut eating mod has, unfortunately, yet to materialise.
Zombies!
Mod: Zombie Script by toyota12303
This one was always going to happen. Zombie games are a dime a dozen at the moment and the urban jungle that is Liberty City (and its suburbs) are ripe for the infesting. There is something unsettling watching the denizens of the city we've all called home come shambling towards us, but then strangely familiar when you mow them down in a hail of bullets and swear words. This particular mod adds another level of chaos as the festering hordes have the ability to slow down and damage vehicles, making your escape much more challenging. It also sets the light levels to low and blankets everything in fog, because yknow, zombies like fog.
Won't be long...
There you have it--our list of the best GTA mods ever. Think we missed any? Do let us know in the comments below. We can't wait to see what the modding community does with GTA 5. Well, when the PC version gets announced and released...
