"After finishing the storyline, it gets really boring."

Introduction:
This is the 8th installment for the legendary GTA franchise. You play as Toni Cipriani. You may know him from GTA III. The game is set in Liberty City. The same city as the one in GTA III. Also, the game is set in 1998. Three years before the events in GTA III.

Graphics-9/10
Very good graphics. The best graphics ever for GTA. Crisp and clean. Still, you don't play GTA for graphics.

Gameplay-7.5/10
After playing VC and SA, I didn't enjoy this game very much. I can't believe they took out flying vehicles. It was a pleasure going to other parts of the city with helis. And why did they take out crouching and climbing? They were very useful in missions. And this game had very few cars for a GTA game. But still, this is GTA so gameplay is good (compared to awesome gameplay in SA). The city is so small that after finishing the storyline, it got very old.

Story-6.5/10
Set three years before GTA III. Very few things have changed. They could have at least set it 10-20 years behind for new and exciting things to explore. Or better yet, they could have set it in a brand-new city. When I watched the opening cutscene in SA, I was so pumped up because of the excitement of exploring a different world.

The story is the worst yet for a GTA game. The story is very, very short. You could finish it in 10-20 hours compared to 40-50 hours in SA. They could have made a new character who is at the bottom of the food chain, not in the middle. And the Mafia theme is getting extremely old. The missions are so short and boring. SA's was satisfying and exciting. They didn't include weird characters like the truth, a hippie in SA, or the porn director from VC.

After killing a made man, you were forced into hiding. You were once a trusted wise guy in the Leone crime family. Now your back and you are putting the city under Leone control. Rival gangs, the Liberty City Police Department, traitors and even your own mother stand in your way.

Sound-9/10
The best sound effects ever in a GTA game. The soundtrack is good but they didn't include rock stations. I loved V-ROCK and K-DST.

Lasting Appeal & Replay Value-7/10
Gets very, very old after finishing the storyline. Not worth replaying for. I repeated SA three times because of the excitement it brings. I have never even replayed this game. Don't even bother going for 100% because of its corny rewards.

Rent or Buy-
Buy if you're a hardcore GTA fan. Rent if you like any game. If you have a PSP, you should either rent or buy this one. If not, it's not worth getting one for.

Conclusion-
In my opinion this is the third best GTA that I've played. I've never played GTA III. This game is lacking something. Something very important. It took out most othe fun in this game

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/19/05