GTA IV, an observers opinion.

I bought this game, along with Dragon Age: Origins, a few weeks back; £30 for the both, which I thought was a good price for 2 xbox 360 classics.

Since buying the games I have started playing a little Dragon Age and I am enjoying it, but have been hooked on Rage! as you all well know. As for GTA 4, I have been resisting playing this so that I can concentrate on Rage! and will definitly play it in a future sometime when I want some singleplayer open world genius, because from what I have seen of my girlfriend's campaign on it, it is brilliant!

Classic GTA easy gameplay, funny dialogue, great car chases and gun fights. BUT, the thing that has deeply struck me about this game is the depth of detail put into the environment. It is absolutly staggering!

The graphics are now 4 years old, but still look fantastic. You can really get a sense of where Red Dead Redemption came from after Rockstar made GTA 4. Red Dead has some of the best open world graphics I've seen to date. Also, in Liberty City you can get a cab, but only if one is available, you can take the tube, when you walk through a park you'll see people working in it's grounds, as you walk around the city you'll see other criminals stealing cars and cops chasing them. All of this with a logical, real world feel to it. Awe-inspiring.

The story line, as much as I know from my observations, I won't give away, but it has gripped my girlfriend and she's played hours and it seems to get better as it goes, she meets new people, makes new friends, new enemies, moves to different parts of the city. I'm not sure it has the same depth and emotion as Red Dead, but as it's predecessor it's nice to see that their games only seem to get better.

I should state that I have played a little of GTA IV. My girlfriend has kindly let me take part in some races and do a few missions and the controls are wonderful, but suffer from the same irritating turning problem as seen in Red Dead also. Please note this is the ONLY thing I have found bad about the game to date. I don't understand why these games have this problem - when you move around with a weapon you can't seem to turn on the spot?! Once you get used to it you almost completely forget about it though.

When you look back through Rockstars list of games, I am not aware that they've slipped up at all! The original GTA was an instant hit, GTA 2 was wonderful and one of my favourites, a friend of mine was hooked on GTA 3 and vice city for a long time, but I didn't know those games so well, GTA San Andreas was, I believe, Rockstar's best selling game ever. It's staggering that they've not slipped up. Even the games on the side, LA Noir and Red Dead Redemption, are phenomenal - Red Dead being one of my favourite games of all time.

I'm writing this "review" so many years too late, but if anyone reading this hasn't played this game it's an absolute steal at between £10-£15 now. It is essential gaming for anyone who is vaguely serious about their games.

However, and this is a big one for me, Rockstar are moving into territory I hold quite sacred with Max Payne. I'm not sure their style suits the Max Payne title and I'll be intrigued to see if this is the first Rockstar game that goes tits up. I'll be keeping an eye out to see if they can make another gem.