Alas, Mr. Bellic, I thought I knew you well

GTA 4 could easily be called "Grand Theft Auto 4: More of the Same" as the title is just that. The spit and polish garnered by having it on the 360 doesn't change the fact that you've done all of this before. You shoot people, you drive people around, you steal cars, it's everything you've done a half dozen times before. The "open world" game once again proves it isn't by limiting your actions to one of the three islands that makes up Liberty City until you've jumped through the appropriate hoops. The addition of the online component doesn't really add that much either in that you get to do more of the same with a friend.

The only redeeming quality of the GTA series in general is the moral depravity. There is something strangely satisfying about doing things in this game that one could never do in real life. But isn't that the allure of video games anyway? However, it's this same depravity that critics of gaming point to and blame our societies ills on. As a gamer, and a father, I'll say this, if your kid plays this game and then goes out in the real world and does something stupid, it isn't Rockstar's fault, it's yours. Do your job as a parent, and your child won't end up in handcuffs on CNN.

This obviously isn't a title for kids, so parents, do your job and check it out for yourself.

In all honesty, this game is getting traded in on a Wii Fit as soon as I get the call that mine is in. If I feel a need to finish the game, I'll get it via Gamefly and I suggest you save your money and do the same.