Niko Bellic

Niko Bellic is a fictional character and the playable protagonist of Rockstar North's 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV, the sixth main installment in Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto series. He also makes non-playable appearances in the game's episodic content The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, both released in 2009. Michael Hollick provided the character's voice and motion capture.

For the rapper, see Niko B.

Niko Bellic
Grand Theft Auto character
Promotional artwork from Grand Theft Auto IV depicting Niko Bellic
First appearanceGrand Theft Auto IV (2008)
Last appearanceGrand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009)
Created byRockstar North
Voiced byMichael Hollick
Motion capture
In-universe information
GenderMale
OccupationSoldier (formerly)
Taxi driver
Gun-for-hire (formerly)
Fighting styleKrav Maga[1]
FamilyMilica Bellic (mother)
Roman Bellic (cousin)
Mallorie Bardas-Bellic (cousin-in-law)
Significant others
  • Karen Daniels / Michelle (ex-girlfriend)
  • Kate McReary (ex-girlfriend)
OriginEastern Europe

Niko is a war veteran from Eastern Europe, where he witnessed some of the worst atrocities humans are capable of, causing him to develop a very cynical, unrealistic view on life. After becoming involved with a Russian crime syndicate and discovering that his unit was sold out to enemy forces, he decides to move to Liberty City to pursue the American Dream, inspired by the tales of luxury and riches of his cousin Roman, who had been living there for several years. Upon arrival, however, he discovers that those stories were large exaggerations, and attempts to improve his and Roman's financial situation, quickly becoming involved with the local criminal underworld. As the game's story progresses, Niko works for various prominent crime figures to this ends, as well as in hopes of finding the traitor who betrayed his unit in the war, while slowly learning to let go of his past and quest for revenge, and that attempting to leave the criminal life comes with major risks.

The character was well received, with many critics citing his maturity and moral ambiguity as elements that enhance the emotional aspects of the game's storyline. For his role, Hollick won Best Performance by a Human Male at the Spike Video Game Awards.

Nationality

Niko's nationality is never specified in the game, and has been a subject of some debate.[2] Prior to the game's launch, it was believed by some that he was Russian, Serbian or Croatian.[3][4][5] Executive producer Sam Houser spoke on the matter saying that Niko is "from that grey part of broken-down Eastern Europe", suggesting that Niko's nationality was left intentionally vague or to the interpretation of the player.[6]

Biography

Early life

Niko was born in 1978 to Milica Bellic and an unnamed father. Milica, who possesses a maternal and caring nature, regrets that her sons have been forced to endure such hardships as children, including their abusive, alcoholic father. Niko participated in an unnamed war as an infantryman, tank operator, and helicopter pilot, during which he witnessed numerous atrocities which traumatised him, leading to his cynical view on life. After his unit of fifteen men from his village were ambushed by the enemy, Niko escaped and concluded that the unit has been betrayed by one of their own soldiers. He learned that there are two other survivors, Florian Cravic and Darko Brevic, and vows to search for the traitor. After the war, Niko experienced difficulty leading a normal life, and his elder brother was killed in action. Knowing only violence, Niko turned to the Balkanic criminal underworld. Niko joined a smuggling and trafficking ring run by Russian criminal Ray Bulgarin. During one smuggling run into Italy, the boat that Niko was working on sank in the Adriatic Sea.[7] Niko swam to safety, but Bulgarin accused him of escaping with the money. Niko later joined the merchant navy to flee from Bulgarin, befriended the crew of the Platypus cargo ship, and contemplated his cousin Roman's requests for him to come to Liberty City in the United States.[8]

Arrival in Liberty City

Once in Liberty City in 2008, Niko quickly realises that Roman's stories of success were exaggerated: he lives in a small, decrepit apartment[9] and owes gambling debts across the city.[10][11][12][13] Niko's military skills give him an advantage over the street thugs of Liberty City.[14][15] Niko protects Roman from loan sharks, and soon begins making money and contacts that can help him locate Florian within the city.[16] His professional and personal relationships expand over the course of the game.[17]

While working for Roman's taxi company and protecting him from loan sharks, Niko meets and befriends several Broker residents, including Yardie underboss Little Jacob and car entrepreneur Brucie Kibbutz, for whom he carries out a few jobs. He is also forced to work for Vlad Glebov, Roman's Russian loan shark, in order to pay off Roman's debts, but eventually kills him after learning he slept with Roman's girlfriend Mallorie. In retaliation, Niko and Roman are kidnapped by Russian mobsters on the orders of Mikhail Faustin and Dimitri Rascalov, but the former, not bothered by Vlad's murder, releases them and employs Niko as a hitman. Niko quickly discovers Faustin's true nature after being ordered to kill the son of Kenny Petrović, the most powerful Russian mobster in Liberty City. When Petrović threatens retaliation, Dimitri convinces Niko to assassinate Faustin to make amends, but soon betrays him and brings him before Ray Bulgarin, who demands what he is owed. In the ensuing shootout, Dimitri and Bulgarin escape, while Niko kills the Russian mobsters with Little Jacob's help. However, he and Roman later witness their apartment and taxi company being burned down by Dimitri's men.

Search for the traitor and a better life

Forced to move to the Bohan district and lay low for a while, Niko begins making new criminal contacts, including several drug dealears and the Irish mob, for whom he begins working for in an attempt to secure a better lifestyle for himself and Roman and locate Florian. In the process, he befriends Irish mobster Patrick McReary after helping him carry out a bank robbery, and discovers that his girlfriend Michelle is an undercover government agent actually named Karen, who entraps Niko into working for her agency, known only by its cover: the United Liberty Paper. Niko assassinates several known or suspected terrorists for the agency in exchange for clearing his criminal record and assistance in finding the man who betrayed his unit.

With most of his employers eventually killed or arrested, Niko also works for Ray Boccino, a caporegime in the Pegorino Crime Family, whom he assists him with a major diamond deal that goes awry. Nontheless, Boccino helps Niko locate Florian, now the homosexual Bernie Crane, only to discover he is not the traitor. Afterwards, Niko carries out jobs for the Gambetti family in exchange for their help in tracking down Darko, the real traitor, and for the Pegorino family, ultimately earning the respect of Don Jimmy Pegorino, who orders Niko to kill Boccino under the suspicion that he was a police informant. He also helps Patrick kidnap the daughter of the Ancelotti family's Don to ransom her for the diamonds, but they are lost due to Bulgarin's unexpected interference.

During this time, Niko continues his conflict with Dimitri; he rescues Roman after he is kidnapped by Dimitri's men, thwarts his plot to blackmail Liberty City's vice-mayor (who is secretly dating Bernie), and disrupts his drug operations during his work for the Mafia. He and Roman ultimately secure the lifestyle they sought after the latter rebuilds his taxi company and buys a new apartment in Algonquin using the insurance money from his formerly destroyed business. Roman also proposes to Mallorie, who accepts.

Tying up loose ends

Eventually, the United Liberty Paper tracks down Darko and brings him into Liberty City for Niko to decide his fate. Having achieved closure on his past, Niko is summoned by Pegorino for one final favour: to help with an extremely lucrative deal on heroin in collusion with Dimitri. Niko must either strike the deal with Dimitri, or exact revenge on him.[18]

Should Niko go through with the deal, Dimitri again betrays him and takes the heroin for himself, forcing Niko to kill the buyers and retrieve the money.[19] At Roman's wedding, an assassin sent by Dimitri unintentionally kills Roman with a stray bullet.[20] Aided by Little Jacob, a devastated and vengeful Niko kills Dimitri, who in turn killed Pegorino.[21] Later, Niko is informed by Mallorie that she is pregnant with Roman's child, whom he vows to protect.

Should Niko choose to exact revenge, he storms the Platypus and fights his way through Dimitri's men, ultimately killing him.[22] At Roman's wedding, Pegorino, furious after Niko's betrayal, targets him in a drive-by shooting, but ends up accidentally killing Niko's new girlfriend, Patrick's sister Kate.[20] Aided by Little Jacob and Roman, Niko kills Pegorino, who had been targeted by the Liberty City underworld.[23] Later, Roman informs Niko that Mallorie is pregnant, and that if the baby is a girl, they will name her in Kate's memory.

With all loose ends in his life tied up, Niko muses on the American Dream and concludes that it is a hollow promise, which no one can truly achieve.

Later life

In Grand Theft Auto V, set in 2013, Lester Crest briefly refers to "an Eastern European making moves in Liberty City" who "went quiet", implying Niko left his life of crime behind. If selected as a crew member for a heist, Patrick will also mention Niko by name, claiming that he has not heard of him since 2008 and that he is "probably dead". An easter egg in the game reveals that Niko still works for Roman's taxi company, and an in-game social media post indicates that the latter is alive.[24]

Characteristics

Niko is portrayed as a very down-to-business, yet quick to anger person. He has a dry, sarcastic sense of humour, and often makes acerbic remarks. Though he regrets his past crimes, he feels that his soul is permanently tainted, and that killing is all he can do. Niko appears to be a more mature, empathetic, and sensible person than many of his acquaintances. His female acquaintances often point out that Niko has sophisticated manners and appears to be a very decent person. Many times he attempts to resolve conflicts between two parties without the use of violence.

The most significant aspect of Niko's personality is his cynicism, which he gained in the war.[25][26] Although generally he is a caring individual, Niko's realistic view of life allows him the ability to manipulate people. Niko's biggest weakness is his inability to let go of the past, and the desire for revenge is a driving force in many of his decisions. Despite his long involvement with criminal activity, Niko holds a somewhat sympathetic view of law enforcement, stating that cops are just people trying to survive. Near the end of the game, Niko expresses a desire to move on from his criminal past and get a fresh start. Niko has a distaste for drugs despite his frequent involvement in the drugs trade and regularly refuses offers of marijuana by Little Jacob.

Portrayal
Michael Hollick, voice of Niko Bellic, won a Spike TV award for "Best Performance by a Human Male"

Niko Bellic is voiced by Michael Hollick.[27] Hollick was paid about $100,000 for his voice acting and motion-capture work over the course of about 15 months from 2006 to 2007. Hollick was paid about $1,050 a day for his work on the game, about 50% more than the standard Screen Actors Guild-negotiated rate for actors, although he claimed it was still a fraction of the income he would get from a film or TV-show performance, and that he was upset about not getting residuals from game sales, putting the blame on the union for not securing such agreements.[28] Hollick told The New York Times that while he was a theater student at Carnegie Mellon University he developed a talent for dialects.[28][29][30][31]

Russian actor Vladimir Mashkov claims he was in discussions with Rockstar Games to voice the character and that the character's appearance is based on him, specifically from his role of the Tracker, Sasha Ivanic, in the 2001 movie Behind Enemy Lines, but he ultimately turned down the offer.[32] Rockstar Games have not commented on Mashkov's claims.

Other appearances

Niko plays a minor role in both of Grand Theft Auto IV's expansion packs, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony (both 2009), which take place simultaneously with the storyline of the base game, from the perspective of Johnny Klebitz and Luis Lopez, respectively.[33] He appears as an NPC in the missions that cross over with the base game.

Niko is mentioned several times in Grand Theft Auto V (2013), indirectly by Lester Crest, who, when planning a jewelry store robbery alongside protagonist Michael De Santa, considers "an Eastern European guy making moves in Liberty City" as a possible accomplice, before dismissing the idea, claiming that he "went quiet". If selected as a crew member for "The Paleto Score", Patrick McReary, who has relocated to Los Santos at some point after Grand Theft Auto IV, will talk about the bank heist he, Niko, his brother Derrick, and accomplice Michael Keane carried out, mentioning how the latter two are dead and that Niko is probably dead as well, as he hasn't heard from him in the past five years. As an easter egg in the game, players can view Niko's Lifeinvader profile, which reveals that he is still working for Roman's taxi company. Niko's latest message to his cousin is wishing him a happy birthday; since Lifeinvader wasn't created until after the events of Grand Theft Auto IV, this implies that Roman survived the game's events.

In the "Collector's Edition" of Grand Theft Auto Online, players can choose what their character is to look like by selecting between different parents; Niko is one of the special parents available, meaning that players can select Niko so that their character has a level of resemblance to him.[34][35]

Reception

Niko's character has been well received by both critics and fans. He was voted as the 14th top character of the 2000s decade by readers of Game Informer.[36] In 2008, The Age ranked Niko as the second greatest Xbox character of all time, as "few characters in video game history have provided us with such a spectrum of emotions. Niko's tale is such a roller coaster ride that by the climax you'd be forgiven for feeling exhausted and perhaps even a little numb."[37] IGN's Hilary Goldstein commented "Niko's struggles with his ruthless nature never inhibit the gameplay, but instead enhance the emotional gravity of a brilliant storyline. The more absurd the action becomes, the greater we feel the very real pathos of Niko Bellic."[38] Tom Bramwell of Eurogamer opined Niko "himself is quickly sympathetic - his moral latitude is rooted in horrible war stories, but he's warm-hearted - and imposing."[39] GameDaily included him in a top 25 list of video game anti-heroes, stating that he has a heart-of-gold beneath his rough exterior.[40] In another article, GameDaily listed the "scary foreigner" as one of their top 25 video game archetypes, using Niko as an example of this due to his "European thug" appearance.[41] They also used him as an example for the "walking stereotype" archetype.[42] In 2011, readers of Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition voted Niko as the 13th-top video game character of all time.[43]

See also

References
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  2. Cowen, Nick (28 April 2008). "Grand Theft Auto IV: the biggest and the best". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  3. Workman, Robert (16 October 2007). "Grand Theft Auto IV". Businessweek.com. Retrieved 30 July 2010. He's a Russian immigrant with a life of crime and several problems at home.
  4. Schiesel, Seth (21 May 2008). "A Video Game Star and His Less-Than-Stellar Pay". The New York Times. Niko is a war-scarred Serbian...
  5. "Top 10 Video Games of 2008". New York: Nydailynews.com. 2 January 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2010. An ex-soldier comes to America from Croatia, seeking revenge for a wartime betrayal.
  6. Crispin Boyer (27 April 1008). "Sweet Land of Liberty". Electronic Gaming Monthly: 44–56. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2008. He's from that gray part of broken-down Eastern Europe, a war-torn area -Sam Houser
  7. Schiesel, Seth (28 April 2008). "Grand Theft Auto Takes on New York". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. p. 1. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  8. Stuart, Keith (29 April 2008). "How Grand Theft Auto smashed the system". Guardian. London: Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  9. "Grand Theft Auto IV". Ur magazine. Rogers Publishing. p. 64.
  10. Boyer, Crispin (27 April 2008). "Grand Theft Auto IV Review". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  11. Kendall, Nigel (26 April 2008). "Grand Theft Auto IV the drive of your life". Times Online. London: Times Newspapers Ltd. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  12. Taves, Scott (28 April 2008). "'Grand Theft Auto' will blow you away". NBC News. Microsoft. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  13. "Grand Theft Auto IV Review for Xbox 360". gamespot.com. CBS Interactive Inc. 29 April 2008. Archived from the original on 23 April 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  14. "Grand Theft Auto IV". Rockstar Games. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  15. Thompson, Clive (2 May 2008). "Games Without Frontiers: 'Grand Theft Auto IV' Delivers Deft Satire of Street Life". Wired.com. Condé Nast Digital. Archived from the original on 28 October 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  16. Gray, Sadie (4 May 2008). "Grand Theft Auto IV Making a killing is the name of the game". Times Online. London: Times Newspapers Ltd. Archived from the original on 10 May 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
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  19. Rockstar North (29 April 2008). Grand Theft Auto IV (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) (1.0 ed.). Rockstar Games. Level/area: "If the Price is Right".
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  24. "Grand Theft Auto IV: 10 things you didn't know about Niko Bellic". Game Rant. 12 July 2020. In Grand Theft Auto V, players can find Jimmy de Santa looking at Niko's LifeInvader page. While being an Easter egg, it shows that Niko is alive by 2013. [...] Posts on his account can be seen, such as wishing Roman a happy birthday and a picture of Chinatown.
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  32. Posner, Vladimir (27 September 2010). "Vladimir Mashkov's interview". Posner (TV show). Episode 61 (in Russian). Event occurs at 32:30. Channel One Russia. Retrieved 30 July 2018. Нет, таких слов в моём лексиконе, „не мой уровень“, не было никогда в жизни. Мне, прям, сейчас аж стыдно. Дело в том, что это была странная такая, полуаферистическая вещь. Я очень рад, что эта игра собрала за месяц полмиллиарда долларов – это идёт разговор о GTA IV. То есть это самая продаваемая игра в мире. И они использовали мой образ из картины Джона Мура под названием „В тылу врага“. Вот, им понравилось такое. Я очень старался, собирал по кусочкам этот бомжеватый вид. И мне не сказали тогда, что это такое. Может быть, я озвучил бы. Не знаю. Ну, это интересно, часть профессии, но не особенно меня это увлекает. <…> Я даже не знал, что это, я не принял это всерьёз.
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  43. Marchiafava, Jeff (16 February 2011). "Guinness Names Top 50 Video Game Characters of All Time". Game Informer. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
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