Tech: GTA IV, first impressions

During exam week, there's nothing more satisfying than blowing off some stress with a "Grand Theft Auto" game. The series' nonlinear sandbox gameplay makes it perfect for messing around for a half hour in-between hardcore studying. The most recent entry, "Grand Theft Auto IV," was released to much fanfare this week. Here are my impressions from a quick run-through of the game's beginning.

First off, don't believe all those glowing 10/10 or 100% reviews you see on the web. This is, by and large, the same GTA we've been playing for years now, which might be a good or a bad thing, depending on your perspective. For everyone who got tired with the series around Vice City, you won't find much different here - driving, shooting, short cutscenes that move the story forward, yada yada yada.

At the same time, though, it's obvious that this is the most detailed open world Rockstar's ever delivered. Taking some hints from other sandbox games like "Mafia" and "Saints Row," GTA IV refines the formula to its logical conclusion. Only a couple hours into the game, I can already tell Niko Bellic, the protagonist, is more fully fleshed out than the vast majority of video game characters. He's a former Serbian soldier who presumably did some bad things in the Balkans - is he coming to Liberty City for redemption? For revenge?

While the graphics and sound are no great shakes, the environment is more detailed than ever before. For example, I had Niko punch out an old lady in the middle of a neighborhood. A mob of irate neighbors started chasing Niko in retaliation - they loved that kindly old spinster, I guess. I had Niko carjack a taxi to speed away from them, and one of the neighbors (whose hand had a deathgrip on the door handle) ended up being dragged along the road with the car. I swerved and eventually scraped him off the hard way by sidewiping another car.

Now that's entertainment.