Grand Theft Auto IV | PS3 Review

Platforms: PS3 (Xbox 360, PC)
Genre: Third Person Action
US Release Date: April 29, 2008
ESRB Rating: M (Intense Violence, Blood, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Partial Nudity, Drugs and Alcohol)
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Number of Players: 1 (Up to 16 Online)
Trophy Support: Yes. View Trophy List
Hard Drive Space Needed: At least 3.5 GB

The Good

• The story is great, engaging, and deep. You play as illegal immigrant Niko Bellic whom has come to Liberty City (A pseudo New York) with hopes to pursue the American Dream. You perform criminal acts for various acquaintances and move up the social ladder. Throughout the game Niko is confronted with moral issues, and his character often comes into question. Very unique story.
• As per normal with the Grand Theft Auto series, number IV has fantastic voice acting, as well as cinematics for each mission. Dialogue is well written, and hilarious. Radio DJs, in particular, are my favorite.
• Comparatively, the game's graphics are great. With it being a free-roaming game, you expect sub-par visuals, but GTA4 does not disappoint. Liberty City itself is beautiful. Buildings are crisp, city inhabitants are all unique - no repeats, and cars look awesome.
• Gameplay is essentially the same as previous GTA's, but drastically improved in the arena of realism. Cars drive better, running is more realistic, a cover system was implemented, and the killings of people are more visually pleasing.
• Finally Rockstar added multiplayer in this iteration. With 15 game modes, a ranking system, and up to 16 players, it is quite fun. 
• Music, as always, was superb in this GTA, with over 18 radio stations. 
• Relationships were a welcome addition. You could schedule meetings with friends, or girlfriends, to play games, or go see a comedy show.
• The game has amazing replay value, with a 30-40 hour campaign, multiplayer, and the sheer open-ness of the world.

The Bad

• Some missions in the game can get quite frustrating, and are often drastically unbalanced when compared to other missions in the game.
• There is no checkpoint system. If you fail to complete a mission, or die during a mission, you have to start at the very beginning of that mission. Very annoying when performing lengthy tasks.
• There is significantly less content when compared to the previous game in the series, San Andreas. This isn't too much of a big deal, but more character customization options, vehicles, weapons and activities (like arcade games) would have been nice.
• The cover system was often an issue, with difficulty finding a cover point, or moving from that point.
• PS3 users unfortunately do not get the DLC expansion packs that Xbox 360 users get. Which is quite ridiculous.

The Verdict - MUST BUY. Often considered as the best game of this generation of consoles, Grand Theft Auto IV is the epitome of the gaming medium.