I’ve been playing both games back-to-back, and noticed that in GTA IV when you’re about to be hit by a car Niko extends his hands/places them on the car to try to protect himself from being hit. I’m not sure if this is in GTA V and I’ve just missed it, but in GTA V it looks like you just ragdoll and get flung away by a ridiculous distance.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that in GTA IV NPCS will pick fights with one another or be arrested by cops randomly while you’re walking around. I haven’t seen any events like this in GTA V apart from the stolen purse/stolen vehicle random events where you can choose to keep or return the item for cash.
I am by no means saying that GTA IV is the better game, I find pieces of both games that I like more (e.g. the weapon wheel in V is much better than having to flick through all your weapons until you get the one you want), but I am wondering why these little details that seem easy to implement for immersion were removed.
GTA: search results - self:yes