Okay, I’ve decided that a brief comment on this game is probably sufficient. The game is great, plain and simple. It doesn’t make enormous strides for the series, however everything it does comes with such polish and depth that it is really tough to find any flaws. It doesn’t follow the same path as San Andreas in that “bigger is better”, however the world is by no means small, and it is more detailed than anything you are likely to see in a videogame. I found myself constantly being impressed by all of the little things GTA 4 does right, and the extent to which Rockstar made a “living world” is amazing. My only complaint with the game is the fact that the relationship system that made a debut in San Andreas still feels pretty canned. It is fun to see the first few times, but going to play darts with Little Jacob gets pretty old, pretty fast.

I haven’t actually finished the main story yet, nor have I gotten a chance to sit down much with the multiplayer, but even an awful ending and shoddy online play wouldn’t be enough to keep me away from this game.