You may not like this type of game, fine, you may prefer FPS like Call of Duty, fine...but giving a game this deep, this submersive, this unbelievably epic less than a perfect rating is just silly. There is one problem with this game, no doubt, that being that when you play it you lose HOURS and HOURS of time. It has to be the most addicting game ever made. I have a friend who has never played this game. Lending it too him asap. If you are one of the few that have not tried GTA you owe it to yourself to give it a legit chance. It is awe inspiringly awesome.

Deciding between getting a PS3 and X-Box was pretty much a hard one for me to make. I was used to PlayStation, but was not impressed with the game selection. XBox had the same games and then some, but I was not used to that system. I ended up with a PS3 because I got a good deal on it and it came with the very much hyped GTA IV.

I have heard mixed reviews on the game itself; some love it, some hate it. Personally, I am lukewarm about it. I love GTA games in general with San Andreas being my all time favorite. The worst one in my opinion was Liberty City Stories. GTA IV ranks on the low end between the two.

The storyline/characters: Fair. The main hero has a chip on his shoulder looking for someone to kill and bunks with his cousin who is a heavy gambler in love and eventually plans on marrying her. A really tight family connection is touching, but does not necessarily make for a good storyline. Niko works through many people to get to his target, like all GTA games, and in the end there really is no satisfaction in how it plays out. The support characters are a random bunch of thugs, none of them are really likeable, to the degree if I felt I was about to fail a mission, I was more than tempted to shoot them. One character, Dwayne, I guess they meant to make him sort of likeable, but all I could think is either get the dude some Prozac or shoot him out of his misery along with his backstabbing best friend. The random people seem more of a pesky problem to get out the way without a real purpose to further the game.

The missions: When Niko is fresh off the boat, he stays with his cousin who had bragged how good the American life could be and Niko is disappointed to find the living quarters in a cockroach infested tenament. He has to work with Albanian, Russian, Italian, and so-called street gangs (more interested in fronting than gang-banging). He also works with crooked cops and politicians, one girlfriend used him to further her mission. All of this brings you towards the end, most of them pay, but not much else.

The side-missions: As the missions, it brings you closer to the 100%, some give you money, but you don't get much else. This is the absolutely worse part of the game in general, all that work...for what??? Shoot 200 pigeons for a helicopter is the most impressive one, but soooooooo many pigeons?? Too boring!!! Of course there are the stunt jumps again! If you want 100%, you have to play darts, pool, bowling, and a different version of Tetris in first place - it doesn't give you money for first place. There are chances to assassinate people and steal cars for two characters where you get paid and unlock a trophy.

The music/sound-effects/graphics: Not bad. The only thing I really liked was the variety of radio stations and the sound effects. When you hit the ground from a roof of the building, run over a body, or shoot off a combat shotgun, the sound effects are awesome. This is about as close to a realistic effect as the GTA series has come. Unfortunately, this game seems to put too much of its focus in making it a visual/audio awesome game to be too bothered with the actual game itself.

What I liked about San Andreas (and a handful of GTA games) is something they could have done with the newer GTA game - make your efforts count towards something. If you drive a car/motorcycle/plane/boat, after a certain time it handles better. If you are collecting something (tags, balloons, packages) you get a stash of handy weapons in a safehouse. In GTA IV, there are no safehouse weapons, but you do get to change your clothes (which won't help if you are wanted). There are no garages to keep your vehicles, just street parking near your safehouse (you have to earn them, not buy them). The side missions are so fruitless and unfulfilling I don't ever intend on striving for 100% like the other GTA games.

I am now sorry I got the PS3 over the XBox because of this game. I hope this is not their most impressive game for the system. Bring back GTA San Andreas for the PS3 so I can forget this game.

My kids really enjoy the game. I am happy with buying and receiving this product. Thank you.

The storyline and the development of characters made this game very enjoyable. I thought the progression of Niko Belic was cool. Voice acting was great. Game looks great as well. I know some of the newer games out now have better graphics (i.e. GOW3) but for the largness that Liberty City is I think there was just an astounding amount of good work put into this game.

Likes:
Characters, Niko is especially awesome, storyline, details (tons of cars, people on street are different,etc.),ability to free roam.

Dislikes:
Having to drive all the way through town to replay the mission (guess that makes you not want to screw up). Could have had more things to spend money on.

Overall, I thought the game was awesome. Well worth the money.

Wow, this game is top notch on SO many levels. Let me start off with the cons..

ACTING, Come on, you gotta admit, some of the people Nikko encounter on missions are just f** stupid, like Manny for example. Glad he gets shot. And the mafia, you just cant take them too serious they seem all out of WHACK and untidy. UNLIKE in gta 3, where they are more intimidating and serious. Those are the only acting flaws.

Thats it for cons.. Now for the GOODIES

It's a straight rpg, You do the missions and roam around. The city......gorgeous.. Breathtaking scenery, every where you go. I sometimes like to walk around and just look around, or stand there and soak in the view as it rains. Graphically, its just beautiful, For a game where you can just about go anywhere and explore, and do anything, including DATE, I find myself asking the question, "how the f*** did they PULL THAT OFF. Only gta.

The missions...Like I said, they are fun and VERY addicting, And the side missions, are cool. Just dont like the phony, overhyped characters you gotta do missions for. Only dislike a few though. Brucie is some steroid pumped guy you can do missions for, he is awesome, the personality in this game besides a few characters are pure gold.

The radio,tv,internet.....OMG, I have never laughed so hard in my life. There are LITERALLY more interesting shows on the tv in game, than on real life tv itself. The radio , I find myself parking and listening to them talk, and I dont know Where they get the ideas, or the scripts, but its the freaking funniest thing I have heard in my life..:) I was almost choking laughing at the ranting going on on the radio stations. The internet, OMG, Alot of those websites should be on comedy movies. I love them, this game doesn't stop. Those small things are what make an awesome game an awesome game.



Free play/Roam.... After you complete the missions, a sigh of relief will come over you, and you get the feel of the ending. I was glad there were 2 endings. (sorry to spoil it for anyone) But You can do whatever you want. Im not gonna go into details, but NO GAME comes close to this one, xept maby the elder scrolls (talking about rpgs). But it might get a litle boring, but thats ok, there are plenty of crazy sh** you can do to hold you over that other games STILL dont have. But its GTA so what do you expect. It's fun to explore as well, besides shooting up mass raids with cops, blowing things up, and killing/fighting random people, you can also see the sights. That alone is worth the price of the game. And one of the main reasons I like gta series.
This game will hold you off for a while, theres alot more great things about it, but too much to type.
My overall rating.....BUY THIS GAME, I give this game a 5..........out of 5