In a nutshell,GTA4 keeps everything good about the previous games, while dramatically improving most of the annoyances. The driving is slightly more challenging — if only because it’s actually difficult to drive at a reasonable speed that won’t result in you flying through the windshield in a head-on collision — but when you pull it off, it succeeds in capturing the feel of speed in a way I haven’t seen since outside theBurnout series. The shooting and fighting engines have been completely redone, and actually work this time. The annoying micromanagement aspects ofSan Andreas, where you had to grind at the gym to keep in shape are gone, and the constant courting required to keep your girlfriends happy have been simplified, so that now your friends will call you every now and then to suggest going out to a variety of in-game entertainment, including magic shows, bowling, darts, and of course, strip clubs. More important than any of those, though, is the story. There’s a real narrative attached to the characters in this game. You have the sense that they existed before you came along, and they’ll still exist after you leave — well, the ones that are still alive, anyway. The story just feels better, and the world feels more alive. It’s compelling to the degree that I find myself thinking about it at odd moments during the day, in the same way that the story in a good book will capture me. Long story short: if you enjoyed the previous games at all, you’ll love it.