Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360)

The short answer to this question is no. Whilst there is always room for improvement in a game, you just can't fault R* for their choices in developing this game no matter how hard you try. The lead character Niko Belic is arguably the greatest protagonist a computer game's ever had. People naturally point to the actual character himself as a way of justifying this type of praise, but equal credit for this fantastic character goes to the actual depth of the game itself. Niko has been - as with EVERYTHING else in this game - generously fleshed out. Its not just that he's such a cool guy, which he is, its that he says so much, he does so much, he's involved in so much. Everyone knows the main thing wrong in previous GTA games was some aspects of the gameplay which were incredibly simple and outdated. Its all very well flying a harrier,mowing cops down with a combine harvester or owning a scarface type mansion. But the simple things like shooting and driving in the previous GTA games were, well, a little lacking to say the least. Half the time there was no rhyme nor reason to your death, other than bad luck because of the aiming system. With GTAIV however, both the driving and the shooting has had a complete overhaul - you are in complete control. The cars are alot more realistic which will put off some of the lesser skilled gamers - go play tetris for the rest of your life if you can't adapt to it I say! The shooting in the game has taken heed from titles such as Gears of War in that it employs a cover system so that you can judge when to shoot the enemy depending on a number of factors. Both these areas of development improve the game immersurably & add some much needed substance to the franchise.Also, you now have a customisable mobile phone which you are free to use to contact anyone you've phoned throughout the game, this is useful in so many ways, mostly for arranging leisure activities such as shooting pool, bowling, going to a strip club or taking one of your many girlfriends out for a meal. Taking your friends and associates out gifts Niko with different assets depending on the NPC, these range from a colleague who'll meet you anywhere at anytime to sell you guns, to a girlfriend who will help get the cops off your back in those more lairy GTA moments. The leisure side of things is a welcome relief from the constant slog of doing missions, its nice to inwind & go watch a comedy show or play some pool from time to time - or why not go home and watch tv in your safehouse? Thats right - you can watch tv too!The missions are generally the same as the GTA games before, although they do seem more original than they actually are due to the new shooting/driving system. Lastly i'll mention the quality of the other characters in the game. I've never seen a cast of characters like this in a game, or anywhere close. Almost as commendable as the improved gameplay is the dialogue & characterisation. You will really feel like you're taking part in a (top quality) hollywood picture on more than one occasion, due in no small part to the superb scriptwriting.The only negative thoughts i've dared conjour up during my GTAIV experience so far has been, "what have I done to deserve this fantastic game" & "I almost don't want to play anymore as it will make the game end sooner". It really is just too much, and too good.

There are several reviews here that highlight an underlying disappointment that resonates throughout the game. No one has been able to put their finger on it but somehow they all seem to be playing the game with a serious face and not a massive grin. On some levels I would have to say that I agree with them.If looked at as an individual game it's nothing short of epic. The theatrics of the cut scenes, the graphics, the scale of detail throughout the city, the revised handling of cars, the ability to crouch behind walls and pull off various `rainbow six-esque' moves. Its all there and all of it fantastic, you are never lost for things to do in the new liberty city.So, on the whole it all seems brilliant, so good in fact that the disk hasn't left my xbox since the 29th of April, all of which is hooked up to a HD television making the game look even more spectacular. And yet still, I can't find anything wrong with it, but the disappointment still looms there.But then I realised that it doesn't really remind me that much Grand Theft Auto. Sure enough you can still pull people from their cars, beat the hell out of pedestrians and then with same sadomasochistic joy you can run them over, don't forget then being able to shoot a policeman...just because you can. Once again all of it is brilliant, the rag-doll physics when you run people over is disturbingly realistic and so is the damage cars obtain when you crash. But it's all seems very `un-GTA' if you will.Finally I've realised what it is that has left me disappointed with this game, it defies the very thing GTA set out to be in the first place, making crime funny. No question the game is fantastic and I will continue to keep it inside my 360 until I have completed it and play it day in day out. But the reason you bought the previous GTA's in the first place was to enjoy the hybrid of coke dealing, murdering, theft and prostitution with comedy game play and comedy car handling, and GTA IV simply isn't funny. The blood is too realistically coloured and so is the way its spurts from peoples heads when you shoot them. They've brought GTA too close to reality and that was the opposite of what its original purpose was, to be able to shoot someone and run someone-else over and find it funny. GTA seems to have lost its way.This is only in terms of the game play however, the radio stations are exactly how GTA should be, and seeing as Laslow has his own radio station, the game has been prevented from becoming a massive disappointment and just an underlying niggle.