May 2, 2008 - I warn you, don't buy GTA IV. Trust me when I say this, just don't buy it. I think its injecting heroin or something of similar addictive content through my eyeballs and directly into my bloodstream. You buy this, and you're going to lose a lot of sleep, your significant other (or parents) will start to hate you, your dog will crap on the floor for negation, and you'll be scratching a massive amount of itchy hobo beard that will have seemed to have Houdini'd its way onto your face.

Okay maybe that was a little excessive, but it really is difficult to step away from the true marvel that is Grand Theft Auto IV. There's an achievement on the Xbox 360 version in which you have to finish all of the story missions within thirty hours. I'm disappointed to report that I have miserably failed to attain said achievement. With that said, thirty plus hours in and I'm still into it just as much as when I was just starting.

You're controlling Niko Bellic, a badass illegal immigrant from an un-disclosed country (most will say Russia or Poland). Niko has come to meet up with his cousin Roman in Liberty City to experience the American dream of mansions, sports cars, and large breasted women. He soon discovers things aren't as peachy as Roman's letters led family back home to believe. The tasks themselves will never change, including grand theft auto (of course), murder, assassinations, and drug runs. But the memorable characters, immersive city, and intertwined story backing these tried, tested, and true tasks is what makes GTA IV fun from the point you put in the disc, to the time you take it out to put in GTA V.

The story is non-linear to allows you to roam and explore the city and all that it offers. There are plenty of side missions that I would normally skip until the end when I wanted to continue playing the game further. The way the side missions are all incorporated during play, mostly through the use of a cell phone, is quite ingenious. You'll simply want to take your girlfriend out to play some pool, or go get drunk off your gourd with Brucie the steroid junkie. Why not? The conversation on the drive to the location of choice is relevant to recent events in the story, the games are fun, and when you get drunk you'll actually feel drunk on your couch. The screen goes blurry as you stumble uncontrollably out of the bar with your friend. They'll start slurring "I love you man" or other random but very funny dialogue, meanwhile tripping over your own feet (watch out for those curbs), or crashing your way home if you dare.

It's hard to even summarize the incredible detail within Liberty City. Cops will pull you over if you are drinking and driving. Pedestrians will have a conversation over their cell phone, smoke, and pull out an umbrella if it rains. People do their cardio and jogging in the park. You'll almost never notice the same person twice unless you're looking way too hard. Each car is a different model and colour. One will have a stripe or be a convertible model, the other will not. You and your guest will both put on custom coloured helmets if you hop on a motorcycle (specific to your outfit of course). You can pick up every little object like a ketchup bottle on a hotdog stand. There are plenty of buildings you can enter and explore. You can sit down and watch TV at your apartment for over an hour without repeating material (as far as I'm aware, could be more). Liberty City is host to multiple "TW@" internet café's too. Order a baby, look up some classifieds, check and reply to your email, buy some ringtones, get a lawyer, get a date, read up on cars or soft drinks, or read the news, all 'online.' You can go to the strippers (genuinely hot), a comedy act (genuinely funny), or a cabaret show (genuinely grade 'B' material). You even have options with the prostitutes this time around, and the animations go further than just a bouncing car.

Niko is by far the most developed and believable GTA character to date, starting the story off by helping out his cousin Roman with his gambling debts. Niko has a military background, making him a prime candidate for freelance firearms work. He's reluctant at first, and still carries a smidgen of conscience when asked someone to rub out their brother or past best friend. You'll see him get a feel for the job and begin to like it, smirking during dialogue from time to time. This smirk is generally followed by the same reply, in which he'll state "you know my price." Although he does what he's told, Niko is no puppet. Several missions throughout the game allow you to make a decision as to who you'd rather rub out. There are really no repercussions for the decision, but this will change the story for who you will see or hang out with later on. The game allows you to weigh whether or not that person would be better off dead (thus not getting you into trouble for not following orders) or allowing them to live to offer up something back to you later on, like a bonus mission. This kind of addition in GTA IV adds a huge amount of replay value.