Grand Theft Auto IV [PS3]

''Matt Wales' UK Take''Hello there, loyal IGN reader. I have a shocking secret I wish to impart on your visual ears: I don't particularly like the Grand Theft Auto series. Call me funny, but I've never yearned to be a scheming crime lord. Cars are merely a convenient means of getting from place to place in my world and endlessly bouncing around a juddering, blurry shoebox style city never really screamed fun. Likewise, my capacity for entirely broken fighting mechanics is limited at best. Sure, I can appreciate Rockstar's searing sense of humour that positively crackles through the GTA series - and I've always wanted to run someone over with a golf cart - but beyond that, well, I've always found the whole thing a bit tedious.

So, imagine my surprise when Rockstar unveiled its first Philip Glass underscored GTA IV trailer and the sheer majesty of its revitalized Liberty City absolutely blew me away. Here's a series I've managed to muster up something approximating casual disinterest for over the last couple of years and, suddenly, I'd quite happily beat my grandmother to death if someone told me there was a finished copy of the game hidden in her colostomy bag. Of course, a cannily edited slideshow of pretty vistas only takes you so far so, it was with some degree of trepidation that I attended Rockstar's most recent GTA IV gameplay demo.

How to say: first impressions weren't exactly stellar. But that's because I'm both cynical and entirely superficial. Let's get this out of the way now because it's the least fair criticism I have to make. Visually, GTA IV's a shocker at the moment - sluggish, spasmodic frame rates, horrendous pop-up and bland interiors all brought back uncomfortable memories of Rockstar's previous insistence on pushing its PS2 engine much harder than it should feasibly be pushed. That said, when stationary, the game looks absolutely beautiful, with massive amounts of detail, impeccable modeling and some simply gorgeous lighting effects and texturing - all amounting to degrees of life we've yet seen in a videogame. Admittedly though, any technical complaints are pretty mute at this point in development - the demo build we saw is weeks old by now and Rockstar is adamant that engine wrinkles will be completely ironed out come release.

Trouble is, there's such promise instilled in GTA IV that you simply don't want to consider the possibility that presentation flaws might serve to bring you out of the experience. For instance, Rockstar's refined combat engine looks to lay the more awkward aspects of previous titles to rest for good - which is no bad thing considering how crucial fighting's always been to the GTA universe. Not only does the use and abuse of cover make its long-overdue debut, but neat touches like the ability to duck behind a desk, firing blindly over the top with your pistol, finally seem to be bringing the action element of GTA into the realms of the sort of Hollywood spectacle the series has always strived for.

Similarly, the refined Wanted system makes for a far more sensible, and strategic, form of retribution for your crimes. No longer are police chases a ridiculous lunge for the nearest paintshop - instead, observation is key as you play a dangerous game of cat and mouse, listening out for police officers announcing their whereabouts on the city streets and staying firmly out of their line of sight, lest your new position is radioed ahead, placing you right back in the fray.

That said, these are all much-needed refinements for perennially wonky aspects of the series and we're hardly going to congratulate Rockstar on achieving something that should have been fixed a long time ago. Instead, what've really made me stand up and take notice of GTA IV are the features Rockstar is only hinting at right now, but which have the potential to make for a completely new experience. We know that relationships will play a big role in the game and simple touches like when you choose to answer your phone will make all the difference - for instance, when it comes to the jobs your given and your standing in people's eyes. Likewise, with a much more freeform missions structure - enabling you to participate in numerous jobs at once - it's possible your choices will have a genuine impact on the world. For instance, what happens if you choose to skip your interview appointment in favour of something else? Where does the story go if you let McReary's blackmailer off the hook instead of shooting him in the face?

Part of my general GTA malaise comes from the nagging sense that Rockstar has been too happy resting on its laurels when it came to its colossus franchise behemoth. However, for all the questions still left unanswered, the sheer ambition and potential embodied in Grand Theft Auto IV has gotten me more excited about the series than I've been since it exchanged sprites for polygons. Here's hoping it can deliver.

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