How can a pro-reviewer say in one breath its "not without its flaws", and then give it a 10.
Story: 8.5/10
The player plays Niko Bellic, an immigrant from Europe travels to Liberty City to see his cousin Roman living the high life, but that was all changed when the words from Roman were all lies and in fact he lives in a crappy apartment, working for a cab company and soaked in gambling bets, So Niko goes and tries to build up and live in the high life of Liberty City while a few hidden plot holes come up to turn the story.
A Decent story, nothing too spectacular (certainly not as inspiring as previous GTA games in were the foundation of the game was mostly based on the era that was set) but great enough for a GTA game, but the best thing in some missions, it's non-linear, but not sure about the ending though.
Graphics: 8.5/10
Not the best graphics in on the PS3 (neither the Xbox 360), but gets the job done and a nice upgrade from the PS2 era GTA titles. Liberty City has been given a face lift, so forget everything if you played GTA III. The visuals and the rendering are very similar to previous franchise games.
Controls: 6.5/10
The weakest point of the game, the control scheme at first on the PS3 is more of a Xbox 360 control scheme than the usual PS2 controls, what bothers me is that they swapped the buttons, R2 is shoot and L2 to aim, WHY THE HELL CHANGE WHAT WE'VE GREW UP WITH?! But luckily you can change it to a "Classic" control scheme, it's still tough but adaptable.
The Controls in the game is a little wonky, the walking at real time is so super slow that you always have to tap"A" in order to feel like your going anywhere at a decent speed, and when driving but when shooting, it can piss you off. You use the Right analog stick and the Left to steer but that's hard with driving and shooting. What the hell is this? Saint's Row? (No, Saint's Row is a good game, I ain't bashing it!). So, in the end, the controls are frustrating but adaptable.
Gameplay: 9/10
Everything you know and love about GTA is still here, with a lot more variety, less load times when going in and out of places and cities. You can use a phone to call people, go on the Internet to buy things and check e-mails, go on dates, go at places to play pool, bowling, darts, Strip clubs, get wasted, etc. So, even though the gameplay is pretty much the same, but it's improved with alot more variety of things to do. But may taken out one or two things.
And since when did GTA turn into Gran Turismo? The cars handle like Niko is driving with his butt. Are you in a chase mission and you want to drift into a 90 degree turn? Too bad. Using the handbrake has only one possible outcome; a complete 180 degree turn followed by a stop. When going around corners, you have to slow down and ease the car in the direction you want to go, otherwise you are going to slam into the wall, get stuck on a handrail, and then lose the mission.
The online mode is quite fun too. As I've tried playing Deathmatch, but it does have online flaws such as lagging and delayed kills, but it's still fun to play online and go against each other..
Sound: 8.5/10
The music in the game is quite solid, haven't heard much but quite intriguing, always a mixed variety and so on. I really can't complain.
Sound effects in the game is a mixed bag with the pistols sounding more crisp and weird in someways, but it really doesn't matter.
Voice acting in the game is pretty solid and quite awesome with the dialogue as they act serious and funny at the same time. Like a real crime movie.
Total: 9/10
While it may not be the Perfect Game that everyone is expecting, GTA IV will blast you away once again with it's awe and empowering gameplay, story and dialogue. It may lack on what the past GTA's had but it's adaptable and still a great game to own, but I do have to say once again...How can a pro-reviewer say in one breath its "not without its flaws", and then give it a 10. I thought 10 meant perfect?