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- Carry on the Grand Theft Auto tradition playing through the single player campaign as Niko Bellic
- Get cars and other modes of transportation anyway you can
- Interact with various colorful characters who give you various missions to engage in
- Engage in multiplayer challenges ranging from cover matches to shoot-outs
- Game Rated 'M' due to Intense Violence, Blood, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Partial Nudity, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
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Average Rating : 
Rating :  - Evolutionary with room for improvement
Ok all the hype has died down. How good is this game for real?
Well for starters, its fun but it takes a while to get to that point. The story line is fantastic. Who doesn't like Niko Bellic? The visuals are good and there are tons and tons of laughs, big ones, all throughout the game. Rockstar has gone to lengths to immerse you into a real living city. From the new radio stations and good weather effects, to the seemingly endless parade of street characters, GTA 4 has a true unique feeling. But its not without some clear faults.
GTA 4 takes awhile to get rolling. The first chunk of the game is slooooow going. The early pieces of the game are really a snooze, many times feeling like a SIMS rehash until you can start doing some real damage with larger crime. I would have hoped they could have started the storyline and gameplay with a lot more of a bang.
The helicopter, cars, boats and stuff are nice to have around but while the controls are improved in someways, you still feel as if your thumbs are treading up hill through mashed potatoes. The cover system is welcomed, but doesn't work very well sometimes. Definitely not as well as the cover system in the GTA rip-off, and now ancient, Godfather game. Seriously, it can't be that hard to get a smoother and more responsive set of controls in this game. Is it really necessary to make crappy controls part of the necessary game experience? Some of the vehicle controls in particular, with or without SIXAXIS, can be incredibly frustrating.
Sure the game can be a blast in places. And Niko's story is one you just keep wanting to see unfold. But despite the traditional fun of running errands for crime bosses and smashing into people on the sidewalk with your car or motorcycle, Grand Theft Auto 4 still could use some work. Its fun, but feels unfinished and is by no means a masterpiece.
There is some real value and replayablilty in the sheer amount of things to do, and on that basis, I recommend the purchase. However, if you are looking and some stunning piece of polished work. Forget it. The best reason to pick up Grand Theft Auto 4, is simply to hang out with Niko Bellic. He's a bad dude but he's also funny and surprisingly sympathetic.
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