GT Video Review - 9.2/10 cant wait picking up the retail version this wkend.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-hd-gta-iv...

It's great. Base jumping in multiplayer is a lot of fun and the new weapons are insane.

i hope this is the next game i get from lovefilm. not that i'd get it for ages anyway since theres a damn postal strike every freaking week.

Just picked up my copy!!! my friend got it last night and he is loving it :D

Getting my copy tonight also.

Played a bit over the wkend and loving it so far :)

Yeah, the game is fantastic - but coming from me, I think no one is surprised that I would say that.

That stated, in many ways, The Ballad of Gay Tony, is probably what GTA IV should have been in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I love Niko and his tale, and I love the more realistic, gritty angle Rockstar was going with the GTA IV saga to date, even so, TBOGT re-introduces a lot of the over-the-top spills from the previous games in the series. It's got a very Vice City vibe to it (especially so if you buy the game on disc, as the disc comes with extra content not found in the download), and is very likely the closest we are going to get to a Vice City sequel this gen.

Fast cars and faster women, tons of new weapons, tons of new vehicles are really only the icing on the cake for this final chapter in the GTA IV saga. But despite all the added bonuses, the most compelling reason to buy TBOGT has to be how well the story ties into the rest of the saga, and ties up what is looking to be all of the lose ends left on the table by GTA IV and The Lost and Damned. If you've played through the first two chapters in the GTA IV saga, then huge chunks of TBOGT feel a lot like Pulp Fiction not only in terms of how the stories are layered upon and cross each other, but also in the ultimate pay off for sticking around for the entire experience. In many ways, TBOGT is a better experience than either GTA IV or TLAD, and so far (I have not completed the game yet) how the story is coming together, plays a large role in making it a better game.

To recap, in many ways I think The Ballad of Gay Tony is the best GTA yet. If you are a fan of classics like Vice City and San Andreas, then this is the 'next-gen' GTA that you have been waiting for. All the insane plot twists and larger-than-life action that you fell in love with last-gen is present and accounted for, but now in a 'next-gen' wrapper complete with better graphics, physics, a city that honestly feels alive, and even better written story than anyone could have ever imagined possible in a video game, a few years ago. Meanwhile, if you are honestly a fan of GTA IV, not only knowing how the many story wraps itself up, but seeing just how truly twisted and convoluted the entire GTA IV story is, is truly amazing. It's definitely a first for video games, and hopefully it will not be the last. Of course in order to pull it off, you really have to write good story, filled with believable characters and acted by a very competent troupe of voice actors. Which only means the everyone else in the business is going to have to raise their standards of storytelling all the higher if they expect to pull off something similar.

TBOGT is by no means perfect or anything - I do not wish to give off that impression. If you had a problem with some issue in game play with GTA IV (like car physics, for example), do not expect TBOGT to fix any of those. And the game could certainly use longer free fall times and more base jump points, as skydiving in this game is much more fun than I ever thought it could be, and the one emotion that mini-game leaves you with is, always wanting more - lots more. However, multi-player is a riot, and there is so much new stuff added to the game, that it almost constitutes a proper sequel . . . almost. However, I think the most disappointing facet to TBOGT, is the fact that unless Rockstar decides to port (including upgrades) Chinatown Wars to XBLA, PSN and WiiWare sometime next year, then TBOGT likely represents the very last GTA anything for the remainder of this generation as Rockstar North gears up their development muscles towards GTA V. Considering there was a four year gap between San Andreas (the final episode in the GTA III saga) and GTA IV, then it is probably going to be a pretty looong wait for GTA V. And when I think about how much fun that I have had with this series this gen, it kinda makes me feel very sad inside to know that every mission I complete, brings me that much closer to the end

:heavy sigh:

agree with everything you said, it's an amazing game

I could bet my money that we'll see GTA5 by the end of 2011 (that's what Pachter predicts and I think he's right in this case).

8 to 10hrs