You'd think that the auto-lock is just a system to help less skilled players, but seeing as how Niko is a veteran of the Balkan wars who's spent most of his post-service life as a hired muscle for various gangs, it makes sense that he'd have above-average aiming skills.
Why are all of the cops fat and out of shape? Because all of the fit cops were promoted to N.O.O.S.E or the FIB thanks to the rising panic of terrorists!
If N.O.O.S.E is what most people think it is, that would typically be seen as a demotion.
Every borough has a different naming scheme for their streets. (Bohan-prisons and break-dancing moves, Algonquin-minerals and state capitals) At first, I thought this was just a small yet amusing side touch. Then I did Stevie's first two car theft missions and easily found the cars due to the directions given. I later realized that the street naming convention had a practical use: to narrow down the locations given in directions.
Why is Niko unable to date Kate again if the Deal path is taken? Because he just lost his cousin, a family member. He is going to need time to mourn.
Trying to enter the Civilization Committee (the GTA equivalent of Real life United Nations) gives Niko a wanted level. In Chinatown Wars it doesn't. That's because Niko is a war criminal, so he will be wanted by the CC.
At the end of the game, protagonist Niko's cousin or girlfriend (depending on your choices) got shot, he's unemployed having left a life of crime behind him, in an unfamiliar place. All you can do is drive around aimlessly doing the odd little thing here and there, but after that there's nothing else. That's PRECISELY what Niko's life would be like in the same situation; empty, pointless.
In a subtle case of Foreshadowing, the cathedral in Algonquin is one of the locations that is emphasized during the quickfire montage at the end of the first teaser trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV. This is the location where either Roman or Kate are murdered depending on Niko's choices at the climax of the game.
A fairly minor example, but the hot dog vendors shout, among other things, "Who wants one? They're not gray when they're cooked!" While this probably implies they use questionable meat, there is a brand of hot dogs called "Snappy Grillers" that are a grayish-white until grilled, and the company that makes them is based out of Syracuse, New York. It could be the vendors simply use an unusual-looking but entirely safe brand of hot dog, which may look off-putting to those not familiar with them.
Why do named characters from TLAD and TBOGT look like generic NPCs in IV? Because to Niko, they are just another person in Liberty City utterly indistinguishable from any other person even if they are an important somebody i.e Gay Tony for example.
Niko says he wants to help Dwayne he remind him of himself. But who would Dwayne also remind Niko of? Mikhail Faustin, a formerly sane man who fell victim to a False Friend Dimitri and decayed because of drugs (though in his case it's using them, not distributing them), to the point where had to kill the man himself and let the traitorous Dimitri take over. Observing a similar The Farmer and the Viper dynamic between Playboy and Dwayne, Niko felt the need to protect Dwayne so that he doesn't succumb to the same Toxic Friend Influence as Faustin did.
The song "New York Groove" plays on the radio, even though Liberty City is an obvious Expy for New York. Said song also contains the lyrics "In the back of a Cadillac" even though this game introduced a Fictional Counterpart to the Cadillac brand called Albany.
Kind of a reverse version as you think Niko is talking about sexual slavery when discussing the fact he sold people. Later, he speaks about it as transferring illegal immigrants.
Niko's description of a bunch of children mutilated during war never clarifies whether his unit did it or not.
Mikhail Faustin may be a coke-snorting sociopath but his daughter's boyfriend is a pimp and Dmitri is laying the groundwork for his takeover. It's possible he was a Functional Addict all along and this was all a set-up.
During Jeff's first random mission, its mentioned that he and his wife had a son together. By the end of their storyline, Jeff murdered his wife in a fit of jealousy and gets ran over by a car, leaving their son orphaned who will never know the truth...
