Grand Theft Auto IV for PlayStation 3 Reviews by Gamers

What makes GTA4 such a great game are all of the various things that it does good. Sure, it doesn't have the handling or crash physics of Burnout Paradise, but it comes close. GTA doesn't have the excellent shooting control of a Rainbow 6 Vegas, but it comes pretty close. GTA doesn't have the robust online that Call of Duty 4 has, but it comes close. Mass Effect may have a better story and the Sims 2 has better social interaction with the AI, but GTA comes very close to matching both blow for blow. GTA may not be the best in any one category, but it is very good in many of them. When one game can be compared to 5 upper echelon games, that's saying something. GTA, however, still has much more to offer; mini games, puzzle games, an unseen physics engine (Euphoria), and unparalleled AI make GTA4 one of the deepest games to ever come out. Judged on just one category, GTA4 is not a perfect game, but the fact that it has so many different types of game play options all of which comparable to the best games in each genre makes GTA4 simply the best game you can ever play hands down.

This game has been dramatically overhyped. Is it a very good game? Yes. Is it the best game that's been released for a console in the past decade as IGN (among others) would have you believe? Not even remotely close.

First, let me say that I am ONLY reviewing the single player portion of the game. I can't play the multi-player because Rockstar screwed up -- the only way I can get the game to load instead of freezing is if I have the Internet turned off to my PS3. That alone is a major problem, but I'm ignoring it for the sake of this review.

The game looks good. The player models aren't the best, and the overall graphical quality isn't on the same level as something like Assassin's Creed, but it certainly looks like a next-gen title.

The story is mediocre. It starts off great, and has a very good ending, but most of the middle of the game is filler that doesn't do much to advance the story and introduces you to characters that have little depth. This game had the potential to have a fantastic storyline, but as it is it's nowhere near as good as other recent games like Uncharted: Drake's Fortune or Bioshock.

The missions are incredibly disappointing. Nearly all of them involve you going to a building and killing 20 people, or chasing someone down in a car. There's none of the variety we had in San Andreas -- you can't even purchase apartments/businesses like you could in SA and Vice City. One of my friends put it best when he said, "I'm getting sick of going to a warehouse and playing 3D Contra."

Even with all of that, GTA IV is still a good game. But it's not as good as ANY of the major GTA titles on PS2 in my opinion -- it lacks the novel factor of GTA III, because the gameplay is basically the same. The story and characters aren't as interesting as Vice City. And the mission variety falls far behind San Andreas.

GTA IV is a solid title, and certainly worth playing, but it's not even close to what I was expecting from Rockstar.