I hate Grand Theft auto...
However; when I got a PS3; I made sure to pick up this title mainly because of the hype revolving around it.
Visually the game had me in awe; being the first PS3 game I played, it'd do that to anyone really. The improved physics and use of the rag-doll system really does put a good improvement on the previous installments of the game; who always used scripted deaths and falling. The dings, dents; and destruction of cars also finally got a much needed improvement; ranging from blood smeared from people run down, to tires popping from burn outs.
The lightning and environment textures and details are excellent; giving Liberty City a Next-Gen face lift; winding roads and freeways make it fun to drive around the well made city.
Now story wise; Niko immigrating for abroad and almost instantly taking up a new life of crime after trying to leave an old life of crime, was a bit......stupid? I'm probably the only one who thinks that, but still; he left his homeland for two reasons, leave bad things behind and to find someone..to kill them.
Missions like before will help the story progress and reveal more of the other character's stories, and loyalties, but some things could've been left out, while other things not included, should've been.
The revamped combat/shooting system is a decent improvement from the past games, but it fails horribly due to the automatic targeting needing to be relied upon. If you're in a crowded area and being shot by a single person; it's sometimes hard to zero in on that person, though you can always dive for cover and try to target them from that position. And yes you can manually target people, but the game obviously isn't made for that.
Car selection is the same as always, with new cars appearing as you progress through the game; and the usual glitches of seeing a lot of the same car you're driving.
In the end, GTA4 should be in everyone's PS3 library; everyone should try it, but not everyone will love it.