Open World

Sometimes Even An Umlaut Isn't Enough

HIGH The world is metal.

LOW Almost everything else isn't.

WTF "Everybody thinks I'll betray them someday. Now gasp as I betray you!"

Feels like it's still in development...

HIGH The main character is one of the most powerful gaming has ever seen.

LOW Getting mega-spammed and juggled to death by enemy attacks.

WTF did anyone bother to quality-check the story before the game shipped?

It will be inFamous... for beating Prototype to shelves

HIGH Knocking waves of enemies for a loop with giant shock blasts.

LOW The story and characters are the weakest the studio's ever turned out.

WTF Some of the goofy, unnatural climbing animations.

Liberty City is so dense with culture, from its varied architecture to its faux-internet websites and range of satirical television and radio programs, that it is easy to forget the boundaries the game has set and easier to get lost within it. The improvements on graphics, sound and design were always going to be a given though it is significant that the game controls are now adequate enough to foster a sense of empowerment in every shootout or cop chase.

Some of GTA4's problems can be attributed to the developers' desire to hold features over from previous incarnations, and the rest seem to be caused by the understandable lack of focus that results from attempting to create a truly epic game world. All of these problems are outweighed by what the game gets right, both in the superlative story it tells and the unprecedented freedom the multiplayer mode offers.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Intense Violence, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol, Partial Nudity, Strong Language