Yeah, so I was going to go to the midnight launch of GTA 4, but honestly, at the time I wasn’t as hyped as the rest of the world and was bloody tired. Anyway, I’d already started to make some progress with Rockstar's latest incarnation of the popular and predominantly controversial title, so that was commitment enough. Considering the “Race through the game in 30 hours” achievement you can get on the 360 I figured I’d guaranteed spending quite some time with the game just by picking it up.

As a proud member of the UK it was good to see another franchise coming out the country and doing so well ($500 million in the first week!). With all the latest game bashing that occurs in the press for anything that shows material that might be considered in any way offensive by anyone, I breathe a ragged sigh of relief at the prospect of a title bypassing a royal banning. Sure, there are plenty of titles that also deserve to be permanently shelved, but at the end of the day it’s usually for violence or sexual references that are put in for the point of being put in.

Grand Theft Auto IV may do everything in what some could construe as being rude and obnoxious, but it does it with such a well and cleverly placed tongue-in-cheek that it doesn’t “get away with it” it simply “does”. Perhaps even more so with us Brits being a bunch of sarcastic bastards and practical inventors of satire, parody and subtle wit making them all the more welcome and embellished in our gameplay experience. Still, GTA 4 effs and blinds to the extreme as well in case any of that subtlety is lost on you.

You play the part of Niko Bellic, a soldier from the Bosnian war, now immigrant that has come to Liberty City to pursue the “American Dream”. This all thanks to his cousin Roman who frequently sent emails detailing how fabulous his life is living in a mansion filled with women, hot tubs and more women. The reality is made that much worse when Niko travels all the way to America only to find him a failure; running a small taxi firm and getting into debt left right and center to fund his gambling habit. Niko soon finds his niche as a Gun for Hire, of which there are plenty of jobs to go around.

GTA 4 is a 3rd-person shooter allowing the player to make dynamic choices and explore the free-roaming environment of Liberty City. Progression comes when traversing the storyline-based missions, but additionally, there are numerous side missions to complete and relationships to build upon. We’re talking about a good 30 hours to complete the game without doing any of that side stuff and purely focusing on the main missions. So, value for money’s certainly a strong point, and with all the recent 8-10 hour gameplay titles there have been I’m sure that’ll make your wallet a little happier.

As before, you can make your way around the city visiting locations such as diners, comedy clubs, strip clubs, clothes stores, Spray & Pay etc, and can make your way there by a variety of cars, trains, taxis, helicopters and by foot. One of the main advantages you’ll find is the new way Niko can make his way around the environment. Being able to climb over fences, jump from crate to crate or even utilising cover has all been tweaked to the point of being extremely easy to use and is frankly blissful when you’re being chased by a handful of cops. Another fine point is the taxi system which allows you to jump to any location in game for a small fee or getting to know Roman well enough allows you to call these up for free. So if you want to storm on through missions with out all that go-between, you can.

Each mission is shown to you on your map and radar and has been made easy to get to by way of colouring the roads when you get into a car; yellow for missions and green for your own set waypoint. You can additionally take advantage of the SATNAV in some cars, directing you in a real-life fashion. So in needing to get from one place to another, your again presented with a streamlined process. When you get to your mission location, you can more often than not, wander over to the local gun store to pick up supplies before heading out to blat whoever’s asked for it, or maybe grab yourself a bite to eat or steal a car. How you take out your target could be using a sniper rifle, running him over, inviting some mates for a drive-by, up-close and personal, chasing him down and driving him off the road – you name it, you got it.

Got bored? Sit down and watch T.V. for stand-up comedy, silly adverts, cartoons and more, or visit a strip club and get a private dance. You could go to the comedy club and see a live performance (Ricky Gervais taking the spot light amongst others), or cabaret for a variety of acts. Maybe you could go on a date, or browse the Internet, or steal a helicopter and fly it into a bus. Further yet, why not get those tubby cops to burn a few pounds chasing you across Middle Garden for giggles - you nut!

I’m always about immersion in games and GTA 4 takes the cookie and the damn jar too. Everything from your regular mission trees to wandering around the city, the banter, the music, and the cutscenes have enough flavour and variety to keep everything interesting. The weather effects, particularly the rain help give those first few mission that dismal edge to hit home the storyline, but the sunsets are equally lovely. All the small things (not Blink 182) they’ve designed better this time around, how you rob a car, to seeing them hang off the door, trying to get back in as you drive away. How the city looks from a helicopter, flying it under and over bridges. Even how you make Niko look is up to you. Not to mention the radio stations allowing you to choose which music you want to run someone off the road to or outrun the cops.

Of course you’ll be happy to see all your fave weapons added to the game, with a couple of variants acting as equivalent power upgrades i.e. the Desert Eagle replacing your standard pistol. These can all be picked up in missions or from dealers, there’s even a guy you can bond with by taking him out for drinks and he’ll provide some guns in the back of his trunk for a cheaper deal. See, that’s one of the advantages of making the effort with the people you meet with in the game and even the dates you go on with the girls you pick up through missions or by going on the internet (you’re a Serbian immigrant, you’re aloud to get away with Internet Dating) – they’ll start offering you incentives. You can date a nurse and get a health boost, or a lawyer and get the cops off your tail, all within a single phone call. Neat.

Talking of cops, that system has been tweaked now where you’ll get a flashing circle on your radar which you have to try and get out of in order to lower your wanted level. You can also see the police on the map and the direction they’re going in order to try and avoid crossing paths. It’s a really nice improvement that gives you a chance to evade even the higher levels of wanted level. After all, if you get caught it costs you some cash and all your weapons, which can really sting like hell if you’ve got quite the stash. Although you can break out of being arrested, getting shot in the back also stings, so make sure you have plenty of health. Me? I personally favour dieing as at least that way you only loose some cash and likely have fun in the process!

The mobile phone system’s actually a really nice one, being able to call up your buddies for a game of darts, to arrange missions, go on dates, plan your day; it’s all really useful and always with you. Receiving calls that you can answer or reject depending on who’s calling or whether you’re in the mood to do a mission or go on a date. Even the way Niko will respond if he’s currently on a mission and shooting some gangsters. It’s great to see their attention to details as the phone causes feedback if you’re playing your radio in the car.

Granted, there’s a couple of points I could whinge about. The way cars and terrain can suddenly appear, or even enemies for that matter. It seems some things are still being loaded depending on where you’re looking which can be a bit of a nightmare if you’ve backed yourself into a corner during a mission. It seems, after talking to Matt, that the PS3 also suffers from more graphical laggy moments than the 360, but it hasn’t been obvious enough to spoil gameplay. But really people, the game’s bound to have a few issues, it’s so freakin’ big!

While there is a really decent multiplayer aspect to the game, and one of the big reasons to buy this title for some of you, the PS3 servers suffered some downtime and so you’ll have to wait for Matt’s take on that. Boo.

I may well have been slow to jump onboard the Grand Theft Auto 4 Hype Wagon, but I’m glad I finally hitched a ride. It’s certainly hit my must-buy list with the combined passion of a cranked up drive-by crew!