
NaturalMotion’s euphoria engine in action: Niko hangs on for dear life.
Rockstar completely revamped the in-game physics this time around, going with NaturalMotion’s euphoria engine. As some of you may know, the engine takes the real human body into account in its calculations, and all “collisions” and movements are controlled by it. So if you hit someone with your car, what you’ll see is a result of a calculation done by the engine based on your speed, the angle at which you hit the pedestrian, the person’s body type (height, weight, etc.), the part of the car that you hit the person with, etc.
As far as I can tell, this applies to the cars as well, and that’s what I love about the driving in GTA IV. Rockstar strived to make the driving much more realistic this time around, and while GTA isn’t quite GT all of a sudden, the difference is like night and day. Essentially, Rockstar has “nerfed” the handbrake. You can’t just take a corner at 70 mph by mastering the handbrake anymore, which makes sense. I mean, yeah, it may not be as much quote-unquote fun, but once you figure out the driving, you’ll be doing just fine.
So for those of you who are having trouble with the turns (like doing a 180° instead of a 90°, so to speak), here’s my guide. Again, it’s mostly common sense. It goes through the motions of a right turn when you’re at high speed (and by the way, I have the game on PS3, so just change the buttons accordingly if you’re playing on 360).

With a smashed front end and a blown tire, it would be wise to find a new mode of transportation.
Samit’s GTA IV Driving Guide
1) Slow down, aka “USE THE BLOODY BRAKES”. You know that L2 button? Yeah, well, if you’re flying down the Broker-Dukes Expressway, you might want to press it and hold it — for a while — before you attempt a turn. I really can’t stress this enough: in GTA IV, you will NOT be able to take a turn at high speed by just using the handbrake, unless you want to crash into things. If you’re really close to the turn and you feel like you won’t be able to slow down enough, remember to use the brakes in conjunction with the handbrake (i.e., press L2 and R1); that’ll help a lot. But don’t be too overzealous with the L2 button, or you’ll end up going in reverse.
2) Once you’ve slowed down to a moderate speed, start turning the left analog stick to the right, and TAP the handbrake at the same time. Seriously. DO NOT even think about holding the R1 button for more than a split second, because if you do, you will either spin out or end up facing in the direction you came from (otherwise known as doing a 180°).
But there’s more to it than that. Again, because the physics are more realistic, everything depends on what you’re driving. If you’re in a sports car (e.g., a Turismo or Feltzer), then you have to be very light on the handbrake, lest you go spinning out of control due to oversteer. But if you’re in something bulky (e.g., a bus or a Gruppe Sechs armored car), you’ll generally have much more leeway with the handbrake, because larger vehicles tend to have a lot of understeer. The key is to learn how to use the handbrake judiciously.

These guys have got turning down to a science. By the way, doesn’t that look just like an old Buick Century?
3) As soon as you've begun drifting, quickly turn the wheels in the opposite (left) direction to correct yourself. I say this because you will usually have turned too far to the right anyway (but that’s also how drifting works — your vehicle slides for a while, and then you get it back under control with corrective steering).
If you didn’t slow down enough in step 1, you’ll probably notice that your car is sliding uncontrollably towards oncoming traffic, instead of into the proper direction of the cross street that you’re trying to turn onto. In this case, use the brakes, and the brakes only (that’s L2, NOT the R1 handbrake) to help get your automobile back on track.
4) Hit the gas once you're facing in the correct direction; that should iron out any remaining directional kinks in your turn. And of course, you’ll have to use that in conjunction with the left analog stick to help orient yourself in a straight direction.
But here’s a caveat: if you hit the gas and hear the engine revving with a high-pitched whine, and you notice that your car slides around with just a touch of the left analog stick, it means that you’re still skidding (because your wheels have locked). Let go of the R2 button until the engine stops redlining (you should only have to let off the accelerator for a split second), and then immediately hit the gas again to speed up and complete the turn.
5) ???
6) Profit.

Remember, kids: humans and streetlights don’t count as obstacles, but trees do.
I should note that the driving in this game is going to take some getting used to. It took me a good half hour of sliding around and crashing into things before I got it down pat, but now I have absolutely no problems weaving through traffic at high speed (like on the East Borough Bridge) and making turns. Again, the key is to be mindful of the type of vehicle that you’re in, because everything is going to depend upon that (as it should). And remember: if all else fails (i.e., you still suck at turning after reading this guide), rest assured that the cars will get exponentially better once you unlock Algonquin.
Here’s an example of the differences in handling. I got in an ice cream truck, and it felt top-heavy — the truck was tilting, almost to the point of being on two wheels, when I tried to take sharp turns. I hopped in a Banshee (the convertible sports car from the prior games), and that thing spins out like crazy if you floor it — that's what happens when you have all that power under the hood along with rear-wheel steering. Every single vehicle feels different. Something else that’s going to take some time to get accustomed to is the camera change while turning. When you use the handbrake, the camera does this weird thing where it won’t turn with your car for a bit — you’ll see your car from the side — and then it’ll swing around. It’s strange, but like everything else, I got used to it after a while.
Someone else asked about how to do barrel rolls, and while I don’t have any specific tips for that — after all, it’s not like I’ll get an achievement for doing a few — I’d suggest doing what you’d do in a game like Burnout Paradise. That is, find a ramp — but when you drive off of it, only put half your car on it. Don’t aim for the middle of the ramp, as you usually would; aim for one side of it. The idea is to make the jump with the left or right half of your car on the ramp, and the other half on the street. That should allow you to do a barrel roll or two. Oh, and using a sports car will probably help, since they’re light.
I hope that this guide was of some use to you. I know that many of you will just yell things like “This was a letdown!” and “Pssh, I could’ve told you that” in the comments, but hopefully, some people will be helped out by it. And finally, if you’re looking for a TON of more general hints and tips on the rest of the game, head on over to Professor Pew’s excellent “GTA IV protips” blog. With his helpful hints and my driving guide, you can’t fail!
05/04/2008 16:38
05/04/2008 16:46
maybe people will stop bitching and learn this. Seeing you'd need some type of drifting experience to really understand it...or somethin.
05/04/2008 16:47
Drive like your mom
You see how the R2 has a limit at the end. Yeah? Well, never get there. Just press slightly, when the car starts moving stop pressing. And keep it that way.
Don´t accelerate! It makes things worst. Wrong turn and there was a cop car? Well there goes a star and street wrecking bringing down all the street lights you find in the way.
05/04/2008 16:49
05/04/2008 16:53
05/04/2008 16:56
05/04/2008 16:58
The worst cars to control have got to be the muscle cars. good luck turning in the rain.
05/04/2008 16:59
Cut me some slack, man. I'm still getting over the Tokyo Drift™. I thought I couldn't get it anymore because I already the Tokyo Drift™ when I was little. I guess it's a new strain...
05/04/2008 17:38
05/04/2008 17:52
After about ten minutes i realized: "Oh i see what they've done, they've made cars handle realistically and not be able to go around corners at 120 mph!"
05/04/2008 17:53
05/04/2008 17:57
05/04/2008 18:05
[img]http://mfrost.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/05/29/the_more_you_know2.jpg[/url]
05/04/2008 18:05
05/04/2008 18:27
05/04/2008 18:33
The driving definitely takes some getting used to. Overall, I think it was a good change.
05/04/2008 18:34
Hm... Maybe I will put the time into making that guide.
05/04/2008 18:58
05/04/2008 19:55
But for cereal, epic driving guide! I try to do it like that too, but most of the time I use walls and cars to adjust the steering instead of going the smooth way :)
@Holyetheline: I think driving a Patriot at full speed and then crashing into something at a 90 degree angle works pretty well. If you can crash over a ledge or a rail and fall a lot, that helps with the rolling.
05/04/2008 20:10
also, nice banner
05/04/2008 20:30
05/04/2008 21:17
05/05/2008 02:05
I don't think that is it right for everyone though, take me for example:
This write up wouldn't work for me as I fucking hate lamp posts, street signs and mailboxes and GTA is the only game that lets me release that pent up inner rage that I build up in the RL when I drive down town.
05/05/2008 08:58
I've just made it over the bridge onto Algonquin, so I'm finally getting into better handling cars.
05/05/2008 09:09
05/05/2008 13:17
05/05/2008 13:37
"Next step: ????
Next step: PROFIT!" joke.
Well done, Mr. Sarkar. Well done.
05/05/2008 13:37
05/05/2008 13:43
05/05/2008 13:44
05/05/2008 13:45
05/05/2008 13:48
05/05/2008 13:49
More realistic driving? When does a car ever feel like an icecube on a glass table?
05/05/2008 14:02
05/05/2008 14:02
Also I've been mastering the right analog stick when I've been driving around corners so I can see around them better and that helps a ton, especially when you've got a garbadge truck blocking your view around the corner and the cops are chasing you.
05/05/2008 14:06
1. Slow down
2. Handbrake a bit
3. Power out
05/05/2008 14:15
05/05/2008 14:23
05/05/2008 14:29
Done and done. Thanks, Samit! :)
05/05/2008 14:51
It's unfortunate you have to spell it out like this for certain people *COUGH*jim*COUGH*, but I guess it's necessary.
@bloodylip
How is it that other people haven't figured that out? It's just common sense.
05/05/2008 14:59
05/05/2008 15:02
05/05/2008 15:05
05/05/2008 15:15
I'll read this when I get GTA, whenever that is
05/05/2008 15:26
05/05/2008 15:40
Plus, once you have a Turismo dealer around the corner from your safehouse it's almost impossible to be stuck in a crappy vehicle (except on missions).
05/05/2008 15:47
05/05/2008 15:59
keep cranking out the good stuff!
05/05/2008 16:04
What's the trick? For fuck's sake, choose the hood-mounted camera angle! There's no way I could drive properly in the third-person view. You can always see in front of you that way, and if you want to look around, you can still do that with the right-stick. I would think anyone who's ever been serious about a racing game will feel right at home immediately, and for the rest of you, trust me, try it out for a few days, and I can almost guarantee you'll be a much better driver. You'll have a much better "feel" of the car. My friends all tell me to fuck off when I recommend they switch views, but they all suck at driving in the game, so don't listen to them.
Motorcycles are different . . . I don't blame anyone for using the third-person view for them. Also, there is one car I've driven (a muscle car) which has the engine sticking up out of the hood and you really can't drive that with the hood cam because your whole view is blocked.
05/05/2008 16:07
Yeah, it's lining the camera up with Niko instead of the car. Oddly enough, in the hood-mounted cam (which I always use), it's centered on the car, not Niko. They got it all totally backwards.
05/05/2008 16:17
05/05/2008 16:22
05/05/2008 16:24
The car is only handling like that because you are going far too fast. If you are driving at a sensible speed then the it is easy as anything to handle the car.
Try going 100 MPH down your street and make a turn, you will see what I mean.
05/05/2008 16:26
First person view.
05/05/2008 16:30
05/05/2008 16:34
Haha, sorry, I had to. I agree with you, though, it just takes some common sense and a little bit of time to get accustomed to everything. After that, you should be golden.
05/05/2008 17:24
One thing I don't think you mentioned though - don't slam the accelerator trigger the whole way down in lower gears, especially while turning - you'll skid everywhere. Just give it slightly less than full juice and you won't wheel spin.
05/05/2008 17:46
A more conservative driving style will definitely carry you through the single player campaign. However, in multiplayer you need to be both on point [u]and[/u] fast to really make it happen.
05/05/2008 18:52
05/05/2008 19:48
I'm used to it now, and pwn face in da race. Word to ya muva.
Also, what Dexter said.
05/05/2008 19:59
So even if you do brake effectively going into the corner, remember that your trigger buttons aren't just on-and-off, they have degrees of motion. Just like a real car's pedals.
05/05/2008 20:03
05/05/2008 21:00
05/05/2008 22:16
As for Holytheline; take a fast car (I prefer the comet that brucie gave me) and go to the airport. On the runways, stay on the right side so that you dont have the red things by your side in the grass. Hold down the right trigger and fly down the the runway and then turn into the grass and hit the VERY LAST yellow jump-like spacer. HOWEVER, make sure to hit it at an angle so that your car starts to flip out of control. Achievement Unlocked!
05/06/2008 00:16
05/06/2008 05:53
05/06/2008 13:47
2) Accelerate at the apex, through the turn.
3) Profit.
05/06/2008 21:36
05/06/2008 22:51
05/07/2008 08:27
Thats a good guide though. The most important thing is 'slow down', at least until you get the hang of it.
Also, id recommend going out and driving for real, in particular in a high speed area. Itll give a feel of what you expect the average car to do, which in turn will give you an idea of what to expect in gta IV.
05/07/2008 09:40
Nice write up though.
05/07/2008 19:17
Once again, I will sing my praises for the Blista Compact, and it's godly turning skills. Sure it runs like a lawnmower, but it turns great!!!
05/08/2008 01:27