So, it’s been a shade under a week since the game has been available to the general public.

Of course, I bought a copy. It’s GTA, how could I not? I bought the 360 version, what with having a 360, just so there’s no confusion as to what version I’m basing my opinions on (Though, as you will find out, they’re platform independent, for the most part).

First things first, the visuals. I know when it comes to GTA, the series has always been somewhat cartoony. The visuals have never been on the same level of gritty realism as other titles, and have always had this lack of reality around them. It’s been no bad thing, don’t get me wrong. However, with GTA IV, as you’ve seen, Rockstar have taken the trip into ‘gritty realism’. Obviously a lot of work has gone into it, and I must say, I think they pulled it off. I don’t have any problem with the appearance of the game, it’s certainly dragged me in. There’s not much else you can say about the visuals, they’re either a hit or a miss, it all depends on the user.

The controls are pretty unusual at first, though, with some play time down, they're reined in pretty quickly, and become familiar. However, the layout options (Of which there are two) are severely limited by the lack of analogue buttons on the 360 controller. If you want to vary your speed with any accuracy, you're pretty much stuck with the Standard control layout, which makes puts the handbrake on the the right shoulder button and the A button. The A button, however, is mapped as something else too(I forget what at the moment), which can make it a bit of an exercise to remember when to use which set. Other than that, it's pretty acceptable.

The ‘story’ is where I start to take serious issue with the game. It’s not like I’m expecting anything mind shattering, GTA is hardly known for its story-telling. Infact, if you play GTA for the story, I’m disappointed in you. You always play a mute white guy, or in the case of San Andreas, a black guy. You’re always from the ‘wrong side of the tracks’, dragged slowly into a pile of drug, murder and theft related missions. There’s no storytelling genius there, infact, I’d suggest that the main story for most GTA games is copy/pasted from time to time, with some name changes and some locale changes. I don’t love the characters in GTA IV, and that’s purely because of their accents. If I have to hear Niko apologise for running someone over again, I think Niko is going to get run over. The story is not phenomenal, but then, what GTA has had brilliant story?

The City around you is probably the most insane thing I’ve ever experienced. It’s not just better than the previous GTA series, it makes them look like they were put together by a team of wasted mice. The pedestrians are great, the other drivers are hilarious, the cars are fun (The driving is a real pain at first, though), and the buildings are brilliant. Especially the crash damage on them when you hit them. Totally not required, but a really nice little extra bit of shine. Speaking of crash damage, the car damage is amongst the best I’ve ever encountered on a free-roaming game such as this. Yes Burnout: Paradise has nice crash damage, but it is pretty limited, and more often than not, looks like the collision detection on some cars has been copy/pasted onto other cars, even with different styles of car.

So far, the only difference between this and the last GTA game I played a lot of, Vice City, is the visuals and some better world interaction with the player. The police are still lazy as sin, and don’t chase you unless you break a law directly in front of them, or crash into them. So, speeding is still legal apparently, while being run over is apparently totally illegal. It’s one way to cut down on driver/pedestrian kills, I suppose. They don’t chase other people, either. Well, aside from the predetermined things like the occasional mugging where you have one foot unit chasing said mugger.

There’s nothing wrong with it, per-say, but it’s not the mind blowing experience everyone, and apparently, their dog has been chalking it up as (10/10? I think not, reviewers). I normally don’t write my opinion on games, because I honestly don’t see the need, but when a game comes out with perfect scores off the bat, with pretty much every reviewer claiming it’s a shining gem that was gifted to us by whichever God makes you happy, I get irate. The game has glaring flaws (In that it’s basically the same thing that’s been released for the last few years in the GTA scene), the story is really.. Mediocre. It’s nothing that hasn’t been seen before, and it really doesn’t do that much different to any GTA game that’s been released in the last decade. Great, it looks different, and the characters are Eastern European, but it’s the same bloody game. Oh, and this time round (Despite what every reviewer has been saying), the radio stations are absolutely abysmal. It’s the first GTA game I’ve turned the music volume off on, it’s just that bad.

It feels to me that, as much effort as they put into this game, they've become complacent. Expecting that nothing will top their efforts. Maybe I've just become old and bitter, but I remember when the GTA games would usually mean hours of hilarious gameplay, but now, it just feels like I'm playing the same goddamn game over again, and I just cannot be bothered. At least you can still beat up hookers, though..

Also, where the fuck are the hidden packages? Why are they out on their arse for no good reason!?