A game that is worth playing and definitely is an achievement of an amazing caliber... flawed but excellent. You have to try Base Jumping out of a Helicopter ^_-

Storyline:
Deep and engaging while still allowing you to play around... Quintessential GTA gameplay. Can't go wrong with it. Play it!

Graphics:
Almost nextgen - a significant improvement over the previous editions but not as good as the top or even the middle of the next gen graphics heap. It is somewhat surprising considering how much time they took developing the title... Maybe next time they will try ProFX

Sound:
Near perfect, voice acting is top notch and sound effects while still not perfect recreations of the real items are very close. Both the X360 and the PS3 version should get a prize for best sound this year

Technical Build:
Somewhat disappointing on many levels, with next gen hardware pop-in should be minimized even more then it is, AA was top notch mostly for the PS3 with some startling exceptions where AA appeared to drop out entirely. Overall an improvement over the X version but still not great.

Controls:
moderate control issues with basic controllers (x360 and PS3) but nothing that can't be compensated for.
I have serious reservations about the Motion Controls on the PS3 for all vehicles but the motorbike and boat... use it for em. Helicopter has a huge learning curve but if you can master it the heli is actually more manuverable using sixaxis - otoh learning it is like dining in hell - something you never want to do.

Map/Playground:
Immense - that is the only word for it. Still not the biggest map ever (but with expansions...). You will not run out of places to visit for a very long time and the feel is very metro.

AI:
weak for the most part and can be beaten by judicious planning.

Online:
If you can get on and if 8 ball is fixed it's great.