Well this is easily one of the most hyped and eagerly anticipated games to be released this year – and on first impressions, this is a deeply detailed and polished continuation of one of the most ambitious and daring videogame franchises ever made.
Once again you’re a morally dubious thug free to rob, steal and kill at will in a huge living, breathing city taking on various missions, building friendships, going on dates, shagging hookers, robbing cars – u know, the usual. Yet this time with a much more real Police force on your back, you’ll be bagged & tagged more times than you expect, although shoot-outs are now even more of a joy down to a Gears Of War-like cover system. Sweet.
As a fan of the game series, this is both familiar and an evolution – the small things, like breaking a window & hot wiring a car all add much more realism than before, and the genius implementation of a mobile phone to keep track of missions, contacts and your love life add a whole new vibe and control over your adventures like never before.
Also Liberty City (pretty much New York in all but name) is so well realised that even several hours of exploration can’t hope to touch anything but the surface of the secrets and intricate details on offer. It did remind me very much of Driver: Parallel Lines which also re-created New York, and despite the detail I couldn’t see it as particularly better graphically (at least from first play). It’s certainly no Unreal Engine 3. On the 360 too (I can’t vouch for the PS3), the frame rate seems a little sluggish – but this is soon gotten used to.
Little niggles aside (such as the rather sluggish hand-to-hand combat), this is still very much GTA – and for that alone, I love it.
Further reading:
Craig's Movie Report 