I think we might have been here be-four...

GTA IV (2008)

I'm not really sure where to start with this. Maybe I'll just start by saying that I've been playing this game ever since it arrived which, coincidently, arrived just after I reviewed The Godfather. So that is a fair wee while I've been playing it. The game is highly addictive, but I'm guessing most of you know that because at this moment your staring at porn and looking up cheats so you can become the most kickass Niko Bellic to ever exist. The story starts with our protagonist, Niko Bellic, arriving in Liberty City, from God-knows-where, on a really crappy boat. He came to this glorious city to get a new start and because his fat asshole cousin said he was incredibly rich. If you know anything about the GTA series, or any game for that matter, you never start out rich, so that is a dead giveaway as to your wealth at the start of the game. As usual you have the missions that you must do for several billion people, but also you have social skills now which putting it simply is a phone which can chose to use or not use depending on your hatred for other members of humanity. You go on dates with the Liberty City whores, you hang out with your friends, you browse the internet...wait a minute. I think I've seen this before. Yeah, it's called REAL LIFE! Everything you do in the game is stuff that you probably do in real life, and now I'm hoping that doesn't entail killing all foreign people. Now to say that these additions to the game are bad, it's just it seems like we're just playing a game based on our lives. It's like playing Nintendogs instead of actually buying a dog. Maybe they'll add that in to the next game: buy yourself a pet.

Lets get back to the good parts. The AI is amazing, the graphics are amazing, the story is amazing, the combat is amazing and the driving is...erm...realistic, which is a step in another direction for GTA. It was usually simple handling, turn left, turn right, that sort of thing. Now it's take care otherwise you shall total your car. And the whole thing where you must escape your capsized car before it explodes has been removed, thank God, but now that it's gone there is less urgency to escape the vehicle. Why, I'm sure you could just sit there and listen to the radio for a few hours or more.

8.9/10