In 2001 Rockstar made a game that revolutionized gaming. The game was called Grand Theft Auto 3. When most game series had a problem going to the third dimension Rockstar was 2 steps ahead the competition. Grand Theft Auto had great control's for the time and gave you a huge world to do whatever you wanted to do in. Then Gta Vice City came and improved the formula. Gta San Andrease improved it even more, and Gta 4 felt like it perfected open world gaming. Well it turns out Gta 4 isn't perfection due to this game actually being better. It has the best open world graphics I have ever seen. Just sitting back and taking in whats around you is just an amazing experience. The writing like all Rockstar games is some of the best writing you'll find in a video game. The characters are all very memorable, side missions have so much depth that they could be considered part of the game, and dialogue is very good. The atmosphere is very strong. Playing the game you feel involved in a great western movie. The voice acing is top notch as usual from Rockstar just like the story. The controls are very good and easy to master, but what's best about the game is how much you have to do. If you get board of gang hideouts try poker. If you get tired of poker hunt. If you get tired of hunting try to unlock outfits. If you are bored of outfits play the story missions. Even if you completed the game you can still go on your menu, go to stats, go to missions, and you can replay a mission without restarting from the beginning of the story. I would say that this is perfection, but what I've learned from Rockstar is to expect more for them for their next big game. Gta 5 here we come.
Update: I recently got Xbox Live and now I can talk about the online gameplay. Just like the singleplayer you will have a massive gaming experience. You can play team deathmatch, grab the bag hold your own, free for all, or you can just go in free roam. The thing that makes the online matches different than normal game online matches is the very clever Mexican standoff. It starts the match out with one team getting a deserved advantage, and it is so satisfying for your team to get flawless victory. Then there is the excellent free roam. You get the same open world as the single player and you have many different ways to level up. You can do gang hideouts, complete challenges, fight the law, hunt down public enemies, or just go crazy and kill any player you see. The fun to be had is pretty much infinite.
Update: I recently got Xbox Live and now I can talk about the online gameplay. Just like the singleplayer you will have a massive gaming experience. You can play team deathmatch, grab the bag hold your own, free for all, or you can just go in free roam. The thing that makes the online matches different than normal game online matches is the very clever Mexican standoff. It starts the match out with one team getting a deserved advantage, and it is so satisfying for your team to get flawless victory. Then there is the excellent free roam. You get the same open world as the single player and you have many different ways to level up. You can do gang hideouts, complete challenges, fight the law, hunt down public enemies, or just go crazy and kill any player you see. The fun to be had is pretty much infinite.