Grand Theft Auto IV

So this game was probably one of the most hyped in recent years, and on playing the game I could immediately see why. Rockstar obviously did their research on this one - this is a truly accurate depiction of a real city and even on first glance it looks fantastic. I would have to say that this is possibly the best game I have played on the PlayStation 3.

When I first put this game into my console and loaded, I was eagerly awaiting the game, as I had been discussing it in the forum since pretty much day one and when I got my hands on it, it really didn't disappoint. The graphics are truly stunning, the physics are some of the best I have seen, and are oh so fun for playing around with.

The storyline of the game, without revealing any major spoilers, is truly addictive, as is typical in the GTA series, and I love the way you can choose your own path and I even went back to see exactly what the other path would do. I couldn't be more happy with the gameplay at all, except maybe the annoying phone calls from Roman and Brucie asking me to go out all the time.

I think the engines which keep this game running are a magnificent piece of artwork which help to make what is pretty much a masterpiece in all rights. There are some really fun glitches you can exploit, and even if you've finished the storyline there's still a lot more to do. However, the game does have one or two down points.

The first main concern was the controls. Whilst it isn't so bad now, they do take a lot of getting used to, especially for a GTA addict such as myself. I would have to say that if you get this game, I highly discourage completing everything 100% - I did everything in the game in 3 weeks and very quickly found myself just running over peds, blowing up cars and seeing what I could do with the ragdoll physics, as I did with all the other games. It's the only problem in the GTA series - once everything is done, there's nothing you can do but start the game again.

Online is a bit nothingy - perhaps I'm being picky because I've never really gotten into multiplayer games on the PS3 and I find myself just going around killing people like I do in single player - the only difference being that once in a while they'll shoot back at me.

Finally, the issue of trophies. By playing the game through, you can get PS3 trophies for doing particular things, and whilst I haven't done it myself I would guess it's kinda like Xbox 360 achievements. The thing is, you had to do these tasks after the trophies had been released, and I really didn't want to have to do the game again from scratch to get them and I wish they could be awarded to me since I have completed the game and done what I need to do for most of them. Nothing enticed me to come back and do it again to get the trophies, and it's not like me to have that attitude towards a GTA game. Normally I'd get them all and tell the community that I'd done it, but I really didn't see the point, and to be honest it doesn't bother me. I just didn't want to have to do it all again.

Anyway, that's enough repeating myself. It's a game worth getting - just don't do everything too fast.