Beautiful and immersing game with a compelling story, and exciting and entertaining gameplay. Fantastic!
Well it did,and more than that, I think it exceeded them. From the moment you switch the game on it blows you away graphically, with exciting gameplay and with a deeply compelling story. I think that more so than any other GTA game, the protagonist Niko is such a likeable character, you actually want to play through the game to see him succeed. The supporting characters are similarly colourful, from the mildly amusing steroid junkie Brucie to the melancholy ex-con Dwayne. But they are all interesting characters, that you might actually find yourself growing attached to!
The mobile phone is a brilliant way to coordinate all the different parts of the game together too. You can contact all of your mission contacts via your phone, and set up social activities with your contacts, activating some of the minigames (bowling is fun, getting drunk is... interesting!). By spending time with some of the NPCs and doing things that they enjoy, your standing with them will increase and you can unlock additional abilities, for example if you are good friends with Little Jacob he will come see you with a carload of discount weapons, and your cousin Roman will offer you a free taxi service around the city.
The city itself feels so alive, the sheer number of different pedestrians you can meet is incredible. You'll spend at least some time just walking about the city taking in the sights, it actually feels like the city is always moving around you as you watch LCPD officers chasing down minor crooks and listen to random conversations. You can even just jump in the back of a cab and cruise about!
The combat feels more streamlined than before, the new cover mechanic is a nice addition and the autoaim never becomes too much of a hindrance, the choice is always thereto free-aim anyhow. In particular vehicle combat is better, rather than having to look to the left or right, now you just press L1 and Niko will smash out the window and shoot wherever the reticule is aiming, making it much easier than before.
There's so much to see and do in this game, it is without a doubt one of the must-own titles out there!