[Yoshi648]

Alright, now that I've spent a few hours playing here are my thoughts:

First off the world. Holy Arceus this place is huge! Rockstar wasn't kidding when they said this was their largest map ever, larger then GTA IV, San Andreas, and maps from their other games combined. Lots and lots of places to explore, from the glamorous Vinewood, the run-down urban areas and the vast desert land there are plenty of places to get lost (I have the maps for San Andreas and IV memorized pretty well, but this is definitely going to take a while).

Rockstar certainly upheld keeping all the tiny details everywhere. Cracks in roads, motherboards in empty computer cases on a shelf, dim yellow headlights on older cars, it all really helps the world come to life. The world itself is also more colorful and vibrant than the dark gloomy feeling from Liberty City in GTA IV.

Gameplay is still nice and solid. Controls are kept from GTA IV, with the addition of some of the new features such as switching between characters. Cars have a more "arcade" style to them like they did in previous gen GTA games, not like the large boat-like driving from GTA IV. Outrunning the cops is both easier and difficult. While you now have to actually be in sight of the cops to be noticed (unlike IV where if you were just within a radius of a cop you were noticed), they have to completely lose sight of you for a few seconds (so parking up in an alley for a little bit is best bet to avoid being noticed).

Having to play as three characters might at first seem overwhelming thinking you are going to miss out on stuff, but it's nothing to worry about. When doing a mission as one character you aren't missing mission opportunities for another character, they will still be there when you switch over. Switching over is pretty simple, just takes a few seconds of loading to transition over. It's amusing to see what the character is in the middle of when you join them (anything from watching TV, out for a drive, or arguing with a cop about the cigarette you just threw on the ground). During missions where multiple protagonists are involved the game automatically switches to the prominent role to keep you in the action. While on that, missions are more action-packed so expect more explosions and stuff. Mission ratings are back from Ballad of Gay Tony, along with the new ability to replay missions (no longer have to have multiple save files for replaying favorite missions).

I've only played the game for 6 hours so far due to work, but I'm certainly enjoying my experience so far and look forward to many more hours of fun. I can probably safely say this is the best GTA yet.