Since I saw the previews for this game I was pretty excited to play it. Now that I've played it, I'm glad to say it was worth the time. There are certainly a lot of play elements that feel like GTA but it is refreshing to be in a new location with a new culture. That along with a more traditional game play length make it a nicely done adventure.
There are some things that this game does a bit better than GTA. First off, it is nice to have such a wide variety of fighting situations. You do a lot of martial arts but you do a fair amount of gun fighting too. What's more, with the added option to take baddies down via things in the environment breaks up what could feel a bit like a button masher. You get to control how you want to fight through each guy and each guy has some unique skills ala Batman Arkham Asylum.
Admittedly, one of the things I was quite pleased with was the driving portions. Unlike GTA, you didn't feel like you were driving on ice all the time and driving segments weren't a frustration as they sometimes can be in GTA. You went into these portions of the game knowing that you had a fair chance and if you worked hard you could make things happen. This isn't always the case in GTA in my opinion where you sometimes just feel like the odds are stacked against you.
The storyline is fairly well developed along with the beauty of Hong Kong. It is alive and there is plenty to do. Importantly though, this game does not try to be GTA by providing 5,000 hours worth of things to do. That makes it a nice option to fit in within any span of time you have to play a game. For example, with a GTA title, it can take me a long time to wrap things up as I don't have as much time to play and because of the overall length of the game. Things can start to get a bit tiring in some cases but not with this game.
One thing that this game is not quite as polished as GTA would be the over the top and exciting missions. They have all the pieces in place but they just don't take you as crazy as GTA. While this is OK for a first entry, hopefully if they do a sequel they will ratchet up the adventure.
Definitely worth the play through especially if you're waiting around for the newest GTA to reach PC.