Score: 5 out of 5

The latest release in Rockstar's gem takes a turn for a little more maturity and realism and they've done a great job at it. Don't let that scare you, the core gameplay elements have remained if not improved with many new features introduced.

The main character this time around is Niko Bellic, an ex-military man from eastern Europe, that illegally immigrates to USA at the start of the game. Similar to previous games you start by doing missions for the small players, in this case your cousin, before moving up the ladder and working for the big bosses. Unlike past characters, Niko likes to talk a lot and express his views. Most of his views are expressed while driving whether it be in missions or taking friends out. His character is more mature than past characters. Often real problems of the world are talked about: The credibility of the American dream, people's attraction to fault beauty to name a few. My personal favorite is when he equates the fact that everyone being in debt these days is similar to owing money to the mob. He also tends to apologize when you run over pedestrians.

The gameplay also remains relatively unchanged. In that you go get a mission, take a car and drive to point A, kill some people and get to point B. Although it may sound mundane the missions vary widely. In addition there are a few missions that have an epic feel, they are longer and harder than others and also reward you with a larger amount of money. Of course you can always just roam about and do completely random things. These are often the source of the most memorable moments.

A lot of time is spent driving cars, and it seems that Rockstar has put a lot of effort in to them. The cars all have their own distinct feel. Although the names are not representative of their real life counter parts, the graphics allow you to easily recognize the brands. Due to the fact that they have tried to make the game feel more realistic, it does feel a little slower. The cars seem to take a little while longer before picking up serious speed. The cars are also now more sensitive to the application of breaks. But you need not worry, as the driving like most other aspects of the game have been done well. It will only take a little bit of time to get used to it. My only beef with the driving is that for some wierd reason you can not turn while applying regular breaks. A minor issue.

Perhaps one of the most welcoming new feature is the auto-aim in gun fights. This makes gun combat more accessible and less frustrating as with previous editions in the series. By no means is it perfect. It is a cause for frustration as many times as the auto aim will not always aim at the enemy that is the greatest threat. In addition when fighting in crowded areas Niko tends to target civilians instead of the people shooting at him. Auto aim was something this game could not have done without though, as good as the graphics are, the game has a problem showing people at a distance. This means when fighting against a lot of enemies it will be hard to see those a little further away. Even if you can make out that there is a person at a distance, it is hard to tell whether it is a civilian or an enemy combatant. This makes a difference as police are alerted faster when civilians are killed. Fortunately most of the gun fights are done without civilian presence. In addition AI is implemented well such that civilians run away from the sound of gun shots. Shooting has always been and still is the greatest weakness in the GTA series, but it still feels improved in this edition. 

One of the major new additions is the cell phone system. You use the cell phone to call friends, arrange missions and can even start multiplayer matchups from it. I was skeptical at first when I heard about this. But that was all gone when I started playing, it is well applied and it is something that aids the player to be connected to the world of GTA. To boot you can customize the cell phone wall paper and ring tones. You can even set the cell phone on only vibrate. Calls to 911 can also be made via cell phone  These are some of the numerous small neat little things in GTA 4 that I feel help make the game really good.

Unfortunately there is one major new feature that feels more annoying than fun. As you complete missions you will make more friends and girl friends. These people offer different services that can be very beneficial while being most wanted in Liberty City. These services become available once you get your friends to like you above a certain level. (You can check how much a person likes you in the options menu) Reaching that level does not take a lot of time, but the problem is that you have to maintain it. If you decide not to take your friends out for large periods of time, your status for them will decrease. With the amount of friends you will make, this would mean there will always be one of your friend you will need to take out after every mission. Although I like the idea of different friends giving different services, I don't like the fact that I had to take them out for dinner or for bowling. Why would anyone want to play darts, bowl or play pool when they play GTA 4 anyway?

One feature I missed is owning businesses after completing the business specific missions. I miss it because I found those missions to be the most unique and different from the rest. At times the missions can feel one dimensional.

That being said the flaws are minor. This game is huge. You can pretty much do whatever you want in Liberty City. It is guaranteed to keep you occupied for many hours. Other points worth mentioning: (1) Great Voice acting (2) Great wide music selection (3) the new physics engine is great. The physics engine particularly stands out when a driving car comes into contact with pedestrians. (4) there is in game internet (5) the story line is good and engaging (6) rocket launchers are heck of fun, its a pity you get them late in the single player campaign and can carry only a handful of ammo for them at a time.

Final Word: If you like GTA you absolutely must play this game. If you have never tried GTA before, you should definitely give this one a try. Saying that you can do a lot in this game is a bit of an understatement.There are a lot of details placed on small little things. Odds are you will not discover all these small things in the first playthrough that lasts between 25 to 30 hours.

I personally feel that Vice City was the most fun GTA. That is mainly because GTA 4 has taken a turn for realism and has a slower pace. This is just a personal preference and GTA 4 does a really good job for what it's meant to be.

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