GTA IV is certainly a fantastic game and one of the best games of this generation thus far but...

I have so many grand expeirences and awesome memories from GTA San Andreas. Things like getting a push bike, pedaling of the mountain and enjoying the blur and subsequent crash, driving as fast as possible through the desert in the monster truck or grabbing a combine harvestor and causing chaos in the countryside. However with GTA IV that has been lost, I got it at launch and 4 weeks after I got it i stopped playing it but 4 years after San Andreas came out I still play it on a regualr basis (over 5000 hours on it now). GTA IV is an excellent game but in the name of 'realism' I feel too much has been lost, that riduclous sense of fun, the creativity for the player to do nearly anything (like grabbing a plane, giving yourself a 5* wanted level and seeing how long you last) and the sheer amount of things to do (oysters, photos, tags, car modding, character customsation, territory etc). It was this sense of crazyness and freedom that gave GTA its charactor, its soul if you will and with GTA IV I found none of these thats why in terms of lifespan, creativity for the player and, most importantly fun, GTA IV is a huge step backwards, a better looking GTA III and ultimately a dissapointment. Rant over, what do guys think?

I would agree that GTA4 has lost alot of the fun and freedom of San Andreas. Still a good game though.

You know if GTA4 had remained a Playstation exclusive it could have tapped into the extra Blu-ray storage and had much more content, but MS likes to ruin everything.

Thats like saying "if Sony had a better online service Rockstar could have expanded and enhanced multiplayer and DLC beyond two exclusive episodes, but Sony likes to ruin everything."

@Nintendo Man

Your second paragraph reflects my thoughts perfectly....

I feel that "fun" I used to get in San Andreas has been stolen & snatched away from me as a gamer....its very difficult to come to terms with the huge loss.

TBH...I just want my planes back!!

Your anti-Sony rhetoric annoys everyone. seriously if your 360 is so amazing go and play it.

BTW: You should be thanking Sony for bringing the great  Final Fantasy games  and Grand Theft Auto games to the world.

On topic both GTA: Sandreas and GTA IV are two excellent games in their own right. PS3 FTW.

¬¬

I will.  Right now I'm just stroking it, and whispering romantic things to it.

And by it, I of course mean "she."

What the heck are you talking about? He said nothing unacceptable here! As a matter of fact, he did, in a perfectly good way, prove the other guy's assessment wrong. I'm guessing you were too bussy defending your console to even read it.

I feel its a great shame that it doesnt have a countryside or desert area like previous ones, they were the most fun places to drive ever!

It's amazing how many sony fanboys belieive this.

Why blame MS? Blame your beloved Rockstar because they chose to put in on the 360 and it has worked out well for them.