Game Revolution writes: "Grand Theft Auto IV steps onto the current console scene with all the swagger and confidence of a gunslinger in an Old West saloon. Men run in fear; women swoon. It packs more heat than an NRA member at an anti-war demonstration. In the eyes of many, the GTA series is a veritable pantheon of god-like game after god-like game. They say that a GTA game can swallow children whole, give birth to fully armored women from its skull, and make the earth crumble into insignificant specks of dust with just a glance. Where it treads, glorious destruction follows. But because it has such an awe-inspiring and intimidating presence, no one wants to be the first to say that GTA IV isn't wearing any clothes.
As a game critic, I often feel like the kid who sits on Santa's lap and pulls at Santa's beard to show everyone that he's a fake. But I do that because I want so badly to believe that Santa is real and that a game is capable of perfection. But neither one ever is. I also should point out that very rarely is a game criticized for not being perfect. Only a game with the stature of Grand Theft Auto IV could ever be judged harshly for not being flawless."
+ Genre-defining action sequences
+ Best GTA story yet
+ Contnuous indoor/outdoor environments
+/- Multiplayer is great when it works
- All too familiar
- Nagging friends
- Jarring graphical glitches
- Antiquated movement and camera controls
- Takes 15-20 hours to get to the good stuff