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Potential is there, but game did not pull through. Seems rushed.
Let me say first off that I had alot of hope for this game, and expected it to be a lot more then what I was given.




If you've played games like Elder Scrolls Oblivion, or similar, you can understand how nice it is to be able to go into every building, interact with every NPC, and pretty much make the game your own.

Grand Theft Auto IV is like a big city, that is there just for show. It's a fake city, the people are useless, and you can only do stuff in designated areas along designated paths.

Where there could easily be implementation of strategic, role playing and adventure elements, there exists none at all.

Grand Theft Auto is a thriving city that has no purpose. Your money can only buy guns and clothes, which ends up being a useless commodity. I can understand if this was a game that came out last generation, and was not such a money maker, but for what it is, they could of made it sooo much better.

Imagine being able to go into EVERY building, interacting with NPCs and having a purpose to the game. I understand it's an action game, but to stick with only action when there is so much more potential at stake, I cannot understand.

You can only enter about 40 buildings in the whole game. Most of them are uselss, like eating to improve health or buying a gun, etc.

The game is fun and has its moments, but it could have been so much more and that's where the major disappointment lies.

Bethesda is making fallout 3, which will smoke this game. This game is all show and no substance. And the graphics aren't that good either.

Same Old with a Plus!
GTA IV is a great installment in the GTA franchise. Defiantly worth the wait, GTA IV brings a brand new story to the next-gen consoles. But I don't think that it's worth all of the hype. It could have been more customizable, with better weapons (I mean come on, they've basically have been the same since Vice), and better vehicles (A car being the coolest vehicle in the game? Pretty sad). It is a good game, but it feels like I've played it already compared to Vice City and San Andreas.

Personally, I think they should have just used the same engine as San Andreas (with all of the customizable glory) and added new features that were in this game.

But there is one good thing out of this GTA game, MULTIPLAYER! The Xbox Live on this game is amazing, but does get boring at times. But still, the Multiplayer gave this review another star.

Graphics & Story are great! Needs serious work on the controls!
I'm not real happy with the controls and on foot shooting/hitting mechanics, it's almost a real chore to play. However the graphics and satirical humor are at their best! Is it just me or does it seem that the GTA IV engine punishes (ie. police catch you more easily and kick the crap out of you one-on-one) more harshly for deviant behavior then past in GTA games.

fun game-not for kids!
I got this for my husband's birthday and he can't stop playing it. He loves it. It's filthy as far as content, but that's why it's rated R. It's certainly not for kids, but the kid in my husband is amused by it.

Worth the wait!
This is a great game that hasn't lived up to some folk's expectations, and how could it after so much hype. I was down on the game myself when I first got it due to it's very slow start. In the beginning, when only one island is accessible, the game is very light on action, in fact, I felt like I was playing the Sims and not a GTA game. When you start out, the main objective is to become friends with other characters. You'll pick up your cousin, a date or a friend and try to do activities with them that they'll enjoy, which will boost your friendship with the character - this becomes important later in the game. However, once the second island is unlocked, the action and storyline really get interesting, and by the time you've unlocked the entire map, the action and storyline becomes so intense that I couldn't put the controller down!

One of the things I loved about the game is it's amazing size and scope. Liberty City is highly detailed and there's tons of character audio in the game. I have no idea how Rockstar managed to cram so many texture maps and audio files onto a single DVD9. Plus, not to mention the cut scenes, radio station audio and tv video clips. It's a stunning achievement.
The missions are some of the best I've ever played in any GTA game. One mission is a bank robbery that was clearly inspired by the bank robbery scene in the movie Heat (Two-Disc Special Edition)! If you've seen that movie, then you know how intense this mission must be. Also, there is a mission inspired by the classic chase scene from the movie The French Connection (Two-Disc Collector's Edition). Overall, the missions are fun (once the game gets going) and there's so much to do and get involved in that unless you're playing this 10 hours a day, you've got a game that will take months to complete 100%. Plus, the alternate endings will keep you playing more than once to see the different endings.

My favorite thing about the game is the biting satire. RockStar has always had lots of satire and social commentary in the GTA series, but they've really went all out for this release. If you think it's just a casual choice to have the Hummers in the game have the American flag painted on their sides... then think again! They name their news channel Fox News... oops, I mean "Weasel News". They rip on our love of fast food with places like "Burger Shot" that have employees who are vocal about how they would never eat the food there. They have a channel that airs degrading and materialistic shows, and the network is called "CNT"... hmmm, place a "U" in that abbreviation and you'll get the joke. Plus, just listen to the radio to hear America get ripped on for the choices we've made in the last 8 years of Bush... and we deserve every bit of it. It's smart, biting and funny as hell because it's all true!

My only complaint is that the music selection, which has always been one of the coolest things about GTA games, is the worst ever. There's nothing special about the music this time. If you're a huge hip-hop fan, then maybe you'll find something to like, but the rock selection is pretty poor. Otherwise, it's an amazing game that is so rich and deep, that you'll have plenty of reasons to visit Liberty City again, and again, and again...