I've made no secret of the fact that I was disappointed by GTA 4.  However, I stuck with it and beat it.  I haven't touched the game in more than 6 months, but after participating in some discussions about it recently, I started it up again.  I guess it never occurred to me the first time through to turn off the auto-aim.  I'm having so much more fun with this game now that I've turned it off.  I feel a newfound sense of freedom.  No more fighting with the computer targeting me on 1 enemy while another nearby one keeps shooting me.  No more feeling like the only thing I was doing to participate in the gunfights was pushing a button while the computer did most of the work.  In other words, it's actually exciting.  I'm sure it will make the game harder in the long run, but I don't care.  I'm finally truly enjoying GTA 4 instead of forcing myself through it like last time.

Anybody else ever revisit a game and find one small thing that completely changed your perspective on that game?

Thats great good for you, enjoy.

I don't know which version of the game you have, but on my Dual Shock 3 I get the free aiming if I just slightly press the L2 button. Best of both worlds, even though I was disappointed with the game as well.

All those scores through the roof and beyond must have been a collective gaming industry fever. It's good, just not memorable or even great fun.