Niko Bellic is a man frozen in place. When he arrives in Liberty City, he’s alone, destitute, and alienated, but hopeful for a brighter future that seems, if only for this moment, attainable. When the credits roll on Grand Theft Auto IV, though, he’s the same—sans the hope. He might have earned some money, doing things he’d rather not discuss, and a few houses to his name off the backs of those he’s killed. But he’s gained no status and no real place to call his own, just a ledger of ugly acts and the untimely deaths of people he’s cared about. Niko Bellic’s story is a cynical one, Rockstar’s blatant evisceration of the American dream from the perspective of an outsider for whom that dream has no place.

I'm a defender of GTAIV. I think it's criticized overly harshly for not being as ridiculous as its predecessors when its more grounded characters and story (relative to the other games) is one of the aspects that sucked me in.

While I enjoyed GTAV, I didn't care for the characters nor their stories. Nico's story made me want to keep playing the missions, and the game's ending stayed with me.