Okay. So I’ve been playing the game now for around 10 hours. I’m only 15% into completion, but I have spent a lot of time, exploring – driving around and generally having a good time. After finishing that sentence, it hits home how good this game really is. You can get lost in it for hours, there’s so much to see and do.
After my first few hours of playing this game, I must admit I was hugely disappointed. The hype had over done itself – I expected to much. The controls were over complicated, the combat system appeared awful, the handling of the cars terrible and the city too dark and dingy. I went to work that day, reading Internet forums of similar experiences. I thought – has this game gone from the most anticipated title in years to the biggest let down in years? I can now, however answer that question. Its an Emphatic NO.
The game is like an ugly new-born. The horror and surprise, that after 9 months wait your child is in fact an ugly beast. Well fear not, after the first initial disappointment you will learn to love your child. You will grow to love your child very very much.
So what did I miss in the first 3 hours of gameplay? Well first of all, the sheer depth of this monster. The peds are fantastic. I have witnessed them under the bonnet of their broken cars, reading newspapers, smoking, putting up an umbrella in the rain, in-fighting with each other, being chased and then arrested by the love-able LCPD, and that’s just the start.
The cut-scenes look fantastic in HD, and the dialogue is typical Rockstar brilliance. The way Niko nods and smiles every time he has a conversation with Little Jacob when he hasn’t a clue what he is saying is just one example from many fantastic little touches.
Two major gripes I had when I first picked up the game, was the driving and the combat system. Before I start, let me say that I now fully appreciate and more importantly fully operate both!!!! The driving simply takes time to get used to. The over-steer at times is infuriating, as is the suspension on nearly allthe cars being ridiculously high and springy! But over time you will become used to the handling of the vehicles in GTA4. It becomes incredibly rewarding when you finally get to grips with it and successfully evade a 3-star wanted level.
The combat system is very similar IMO to that of Drakes Fortune. The emphasis being to find cover and pick off your enemies one by one. At first (again like most people) I struggled to used the new system. I now put this down to excessive hours of gameplay on Infinity Ward’s highly addictive COD4. In call of Duty the R1 shoulder button is used to fire your weapon. In GTA4 the R1 button is used to take cover. In one of the first LJ missions I found myself ducking in and out from behind a sofa instead of firing as my brain got used to the controls!! Once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature. Using the right analogue stick to destroy someones leg or blow off their head can be highly entertaining!!
The missions I have done so far have been fun, but not that exciting. They are, however still being very tutorial based. For example, teaching you how to climb ladders, perform executions, using the radar and using your mobile phone etc. I have no doubt that as the story progresses, the more complex and entertaining the missions become.
Please feel free to check back for a more in-depth review after I have completed 30 hours of gamplay.
aka The Grapevine 
