Pros: Excellent aiming, fun multiplayer, an enormous world, lots of vehicles, and a long story.
Cons: Extremely mature. Driving physics can be irritating, but can be mastered.
The bottom line: Very fun and worth the money if you are old enough. Do not buy if you are under 17 or shopping for someone under 17.
We all remember the good old days of Grand Theft Auto III. It was fun, violent, and mature. But does Grand Theft Auto IV deliver the same fun? Depends on who you ask.
First the "good stuff." The aiming works well, although there is auto-aim. When you hold left trigger to aim, you will automatically target something, but it may not be what you want. Once locked on, you move the right thumb stick to aim more precisely, such as if you wanted to hit a certain part of the body. If you want to target something else, you hold in left trigger only slightly, and then there is no auto-aim. It is tricky and not always extremely accurate, but it works well in single player. The multiplayer is also a huge addition. There are many unique game modes such as cops and crooks and car jack city which you can not find anywhere else. The multiplayer is addicting and extremely fun.
And with the good comes the bad. The braking is one annoyance. The handbrake (a button) makes you slide out of control, while the emergency brake (L trigger) makes you screech to an immediate halt. I can control the car well enough to get by, but I still occasionally spin out of control for no reason. Some people can control it well. I am not one of those people. Another "bad" thing, which might be good to some people, is the maturity. It is ridiculous. The violence, nudity, drug references, and "other" mature stuff contribute to the R rating, which should actually be AO (adult only) in my opinion.
My personal verdict: An excellent game if you are over 17. Certainly worth the buy. If you are under 17, or a parent shopping for a child, stay away from this game until you are old enough.