Where do I begin?
If you've played any GTA game in the past you have always played a less than talkitive main character who has no problems (morally) doing things as long as the price is right. Not so this time around. You play Niko Bellic who has a pretty dark past that eventually finds him in his new home town AND he has no problems speaking about how he feels and how he interacts with the environment around him. As with most GTA games you start with nothing and then work your way into the big leagues.
There are the usual standbys....working for various crime organizations both russian, italian and irish and even the rouge government agency who needs dirty work done but quietly. I dont want to ruin the story but needless to say the voice acting and dialogue make you want to listen to each word prior to moving on in your current mission.
Some good things they have done also in terms of adding and subtracting gameplay elements that were strong in the last GTA. No more needing to lift weights or go to the gun range to increase your skill set, nor do you need to dive underwater to find that one hidden package. So they totally nixed some "sim like" elements from the game allowing you to focus on things that actually interest you in the first place.
With those subtractions they did add in a level of happiness for the friends you make and keeping them happy above a certain percentage point unlocks their special ability. Like one guy will drive out to meet you to sell you weapons at a discounted price, another will send a backup squad to help you weed out the bad guys and another will make you bombs that can be placed on cars for remote detenation...etc. Even the girlfriends have bonuses as well.
Mix it in with car races, assination missions, a list of cars to jack, places to go and cars to hit stunt jumps after and even an online multiplayer (of which I haven't touched yet) and episodic content to download for more missions in the fall.........and you have one of the best games of all time.
Talk you junkies!
