GTA - Still Theiving, Crashing and Shooting after all these years.
Here, Rockstar have not just upped the visuals for HD gaming, but added a bit more depth and scale to the city as well. Now, besides the usual stuff, you can play mini-games with friends (associates in the game who you impress enough for them to give you their phone number). Mini-games include darts, pool and bowls. Also, you can take girlfriends out on dates and try to get lucky with them afterwards. All of this and more serves to increase the depth of the game and help make it feel worthwhile forking out your hard earned cash for a game franchise that's starting to look long in the tooth. What really makes the game enjoyable, though, are the strong storyline and characters in it. It feels like you're working for, with and against real people.
All of this said, GTA IV still shares some negative characteristics of its predecessors. Controls have been improved, with cover movements a la Gears of War making a welcome addition, but still they could be better. Also, the game's frequently dark, shadowy environment might provide atmosphere, but visibility is often a problem. In some missions you can find yourself drenched in pitch darkness with no torch. Other bugs and oversights are evident too, like problems with your associates' AI. Frequently, these problems are frustrating, but also straightforward and obvious enough that you really wonder how they survived into the released version of the game. Sadly, this is why GTA IV is merely a good, but not a great game.
Still, plenty of fun to be had, though.