Before reading any of this text I’m sure you’ve already scrolled down and seen yet another high score for Rockstar North’s latest entry in one of gaming’s most famous franchises. As with any other big name series, high scores are usually to be expected. It is as if there is some secret code within the gaming press against giving the next Halo or GTA anything below a 9. That said let me be clear that GTA IV deserves every point given to it in this review, and while it may not be fair to call it the greatest videogame of all time, it remains the greatest entry in the series and open world genre to date.

We’ll start off with one of the game’s strongest points, the storyline, which thanks to great voice acting, compelling characters, and better cut scenes is easily the best that the franchise has offered thus far. The game begins with the main character, Niko Bellic, arriving by boat at the docks of Liberty City from an unspecified Eastern European country. Niko is a man with dark past but bright aspirations for a life in the United States, and has been persistently regaled by his cousin Roman of the infinite riches that can be achieved in Liberty City.

However, Niko discovers that life in the USA is not all Roman has built it up to be, and in his short time there Roman has already gotten into some trouble. What follows is a moving storyline of the American dream turned into an urban nightmare as Niko and Roman learn that not only is nothing easily handed to you in this world, but everything can be taken away just as quickly. For obvious reasons we won’t go further into describing the lengthily narrative, but you can take our word for it that the plot is one hell of a ride. Unlike previous main characters, Niko is the most persistent protagonist that the franchise has ever seen and carries a multidimensional personality that was lacking from the character in GTA III, and is not as malleable as CJ in San Andreas. He’s a man that loves his cousin and the American ideal that is constantly preached to him, but is willing to do some shady stuff to achieve it without batting an eye.

Rockstar has ensured that such a story will not get lost in the shuffle of the urban sprawl of Liberty City and its many gameplay possibilities by creating a sort of social life for Niko. In a game that has always been about making the right friends, GTA IV tasks you to cultivate these relationships by not only doing other people’s dirty work, but also spending quality time with them. This includes activities such as eating, playing pool, bowling or going out to the bar. So what’s the point of all this? Well, certain characters will bring helpful abilities once a solid relationship is constructed. One of the first friends you will make is Little Jacob, a Jamaican arms dealer, and salesman of other fine Jamaican products, who will eventually sell you weapons and ammo for much cheaper prices than your regular gun runner.

Other characters will supply you with helicopters, or even let you know about local street races. Heck you can even date various women. The way you go about connecting with these friends is by using something all present day Americans can never get their noses out of, a cell phone. Your phone is used for calling in favors like the ones mentioned, making plans for activities, or getting calls for jobs. It’s a great way to stay organized in the very intricate network of relationships you engage in, and even serves as the menu for finding multiplayer games (more on those later).

I could go on for hours describing the ins and outs of Libery City, but I may as well try to give you an all-encompassing description of its real life counterpart, New York City. Rockstar has once again proven that they are the undisputed kings of the open world genre, and no matter what developer has ever tried their hand at it, we have yet to see someone do it in such a way as GTA. There are a number of events happening in the world outside of your own storyline that can come into play, such as a looming election, that help give the feeling that you’re stuck in something much larger than your own situation. This can create a sense of being overwhelmed when playing the game, and perhaps it’s a similar feeling that real life immigrants face when moving to a metropolis in a foreign country.

The fact that Rockstar has crafted another unbelievably detailed world is not really news; it’s just what they do. What is new is the number of long awaited improvements to the gameplay. Although the people at Rockstar are geniuses at replicating a real city, previous games have usually shown that when it gets down to physically trying to make your way around the world there is a discovery of some twitchy and unpolished core gameplay elements. The first, and most notorious fault of the series is the on-foot controls and targeting system, which has frustrated gamers in the past to a point that one could wish the game was only about driving.

Luckily this has been remedied, as GTA IV repairs a targeting system that was starving for improvement. There is the traditional lock on mechanism, but now by only slightly pulling down on the left trigger the game will enter an over the shoulder free aiming mode, great for when you want to have a little more control when choosing your shots. Niko can take also cover by pressing RB when against any surface, and can then blind fire or quickly peek out to pop off a few shots. This makes for any shootouts during a mission a much less dreaded occurrence, and lets the player have some breathing room to strategize for their next move.

And strategize you must since the game still does not feature any checkpoints during the missions themselves. But since Rockstar has never included them before, and addressed almost all the other problems players have complained about in the past, it’s not likely to ever happen. Fortunately, if you do fail to meet your objective, getting back to the action is made much easier with the addition of a waypoint system and use of cabs. The waypoint, while basic, proves very useful and takes away the stress of finding the right path to your objective by doing it for you with a helpful colored line on the map. Or, if you just don’t feel like taking your regular commute, cabs are another option, and with the ability to skip through the ride they may as well be referred to as a teleportation system.

The on foot controls were not the only aspect of the game to get a few changes, and as you spend plenty of time driving through the city a few tweaks will become apparent. Vehicles do handle more realistically, especially when turning, but the main difference comes from the default camera. In GTA IV it tends to hang back even when going around a corner, shifting to the side of the vehicle so you may not always see what’s coming. It’s not so much a frustrating factor that will deter any enjoyment, but it may take some players a few fender benders to adjust to.