GTAIV is a really good game. It's just that some stupid design decisions bring it down a lot for no reason other than "realism". It has a lot of great new features for the GTA series. The GPS is great, the dynamic cover system is really impressive, the shooting is better than ever, the characters are as always Rockstar-quality amazing, and the story is actually quite good. I felt really attached to the story through to the end. There are also plot decisions that are really well done. Still, some elements of the gameplay, particularly the driving, keep it from being as fun as San Andreas.