A nice addition to the series.
1. The cell phone calls - they're annoying and having to constantly babysit characters on dates is boring and tedious. There's nothing like being on the other side of town when one of these loudmouths gives you a ring. You have to speed all the way across town (usually within a minute) to pick them up just for them to whine and complain about you being late. FAIL!
2. The story only has a few memorable characters. Most of them are annoying. Also the betrayals, plot twists, and story conventions of the GTA universe have become very cliche over the years.
3. The game has a bunch of glitches. AI companions that do the stupidest possible maneuvers, mission objectives that get hung up for little apparent reason, and the occasional GPS system screw-up can all be frustrating in heated moments of the game.
As for what they did right, well... they got most of it right! Don't expect anything radically new or exciting from the genre. The driving is slower, the cops are easily evaded, and the missions are the same old drek that Rockstar has been dragging around since the PS2 GTA3. But it's still fun! If you're like me, and you play the game for the missions alone, then there's a lot in store for you here.
Thankfully gone are the Sim-like elements of San Andreas. The graphics look amazing compared to prior installments. This game is like the last franchise on earth to adopt ragdoll physics which is always a laugh. Optional story elements are a welcome addition. In some cases, you decide the outcome of the characters.
If you liked GTA before, you will enjoy this, but I can't help but wonder if Next Gen is dumbing everything down.