So I've had a few days to play GTA IV after getting it at Midnight Launch. Overall I'm pretty satisfied so far and I'm really enjoying every aspect of the game, from the driving, exploring, dating, furthering character relationships and the main story line. However the experience does pale in comparison in a few ways.

I have to say I'm very underwhelmed by the soundtrack. I almost feel like all the money in GTA went towards the graphics engine development, voice acting and promotion while skimping out on the song-licensing. This isn't a bad thing of course, I'm glad that all those components of the game are as good as they've come out to be. To be fair though I seriously and honestly don't think ANY GTA will ever top Vice City in terms of an amazing soundtrack. There are a few "winner tracks" in the game, (I literally LOL'd when I heard Mystikal's Shake Ya Ass during a lapdance), but overall I feel like they tried to have too many radio stations and not enough good content per station. I can literally remember NOT finishing a mission because I had to hear the end of Rock With You by MJ, or I've Been Waiting For A Girl Like You.

I was pretty excited for the soundtrack myself and was anxious when nothing was really announced right along, and it feels a bit like a letdown. Rock Radio has only a few songs most people know. The public radio is awesome as always as well as the Bob Marley stations and the Russian station is pretty funny too. Liken it to Espantoso (which I wish made a comeback) However I think Rockstar could have REALLY done a much better job getting more popular songs that would actually get radio airtime in the real world. They made a huge deal about striving for the GTA IV to feel "current" and I don't get that impression as much. It feels like a lot of indie music half the time and songs that aren't particularly memorable.

It wouldn't take much arm-twisting to get bands to license their music out either. It's totally an *amazing* way to market songs in my opinion. Foo Fighters? Why not give us the Pretender? Fall Out Boy, sure throw a song or two in. Maybe a Billy Joel or Bruce Springsteen song...I mean we ARE Tri-State area! Could you imagine if Stairway To Heaven was on there on some sort of classic rock station? GTA is arguably a bigger franchise than Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and I know artists are clamoring to have their songs featured in those games. As the music-game series have proven it can rocket a new band's popularity by leaps and bounds. One thing that surprised me is that they didn't work custom soundtracks in too well. On the 360 you can play your own MP3s but it would have been really awesome if you could turn your playlist into a radio station that stopped during cutscenes or kept playing when you left a car. Maybe even make up a DJ whose voice track talks at the beginning end of your songs. Not a bad idea...and totally doable.

Everything else about the game so far is great. The city really feels alive and while it took me a few days to get used to the car handling I drive much more carefully than ever. The simple fact a high speed collision could send me through the windshield makes me much more mindful of how erratically I drive and adds a newfound sense of danger and urgency during getaways. I also LOVE the new "escape the cops" method, where there's actually some skill involved in lowering your wanted level. The story is very well fleshed out and I like that there's an underlying morality for all of the characters, especially Niko. I tend to find his personality and "take no shit" attitude much different than our previous protagonists. Rockstar definitely got the "feel" of the environment down pat, and with the amount of research they did of neighborhoods, traffic patterns, dress and stores you'd expect so.

The level of reality in this game is unsurpassed for me. The little "additives" Rockstar has put in the game, such as people helping you when you get attacked and other random activities really flesh out the experience. My brother, in an excited phone call in which he was eager to share all the little things he's been noticing so far, said something that really drove the point home for me the other day:

[i]"You know this game almost makes me uncomfortable playing sometimes. In the older Grand Theft Autos when things blew up or you threw explosives people would just crumple and die instantly. Now they catch on fire and burn to death and bystanders try to help them, it actually makes you feel bad for collateral damage."[i]

I completely agree, your actions feel like they much more affect everything going on in Liberty City and it's been a long time since I've been this eager to get off of work every day to go play. Multiplayer is an absolute blast and I foresee some VERY fun Friday Night Fights with the Community. The [Dtoid] Venga Bus Is Coming! The sheer amount of game modes I've thought up already is pretty insane. I want to try a 5/6 Star Race To Escape The City where you all rack up that wanted level and try to be the first one to live and get to a destination within LC. Cops and Crooks is a ton of fun as is Mafiya and the team who plans things out and communicates does so much better. I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing my body fly for 300 feet when one of you suckers plows me over though.

So tell me what things are you happy with in GTA IV? Anything you absolutely love or hate? Any little "nuances" that really drive the games reality level home for you? Drop it in the comments below.