It's an awesome game, deserved all the awards it received two years ago. Graphics, physics, ai, soundtrack, voice acting, script, mocap were a notch or two above the previous games, and the new "realistic" touch kept it from being stale. Euphoria certainly helped in keeping the game immersive throughout its running time of 60+ hours. Sixaxis controls were a blast, but I ended up using analog controls once again after a few days.:P

Liberty City never seemed so alive. Every street is littered with details you wouldn't normally find in a previous game. Niko Bellic's character, dialogue and attitude made sense, and his abilities were exceptional. Niko was certainly one of the best videogame characters I've ever played as. The controls took me a bit of getting used to, but overall, they were better than previous games by a long mile. The new cover, targeting and fighting systems, as well as Niko's agility helped the game's accessibility. The story and supporting characters were clever and unpredictable.

And on top of that, Rockstar also icluded a 16-player online multiplayer component that's better than what many had expected. GTA4 is that good, and based on my experience, it just tied MGS4 for last last year's GOTY. It may not be revolutionary, but all-in-all, Grand Theft Auto IV was a big leap forward for the entire franchise. Congrats Rockstar, the switch from the state of San Andreas to Liberty City just made me realize that sometimes, less is more.