What does the American dream mean today? For Niko Bellic fresh off the boat from Europe, it is the hope he can escape from his past. For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, gateway to the land of opportunity. As they slip into debt and get dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them and a living nightmare for those who don't.
Immensely enjoying yet hating the "realistic" physics - they're awesome for sandbox fun, but terrible for missions. Especially when considering that GTA devs still don't seem to understand what "mission checkpoints" are exactly for. (Except the final mission that has an actual checkpoint, a single smallish one.)
So loads of minor flaws such as
- taxis can't be called/phoned (yet cops can, wtf?) except (after final mission spoilers) the Roman cab service - that isn't available after one ending
- no mission checkpoints
- no armour restored when replaying or if there's a mission checkpoint
- "realistic" physics are terrible for missions
- no base jumping / parachuting
- as many players noted, late in the game cash is near to useless
- no real helicopter tutorial/training before learning piloting the heli the hard way (except for the Brucie one that can be... accidentally skipped)
- yeah it's grand Theft auto yet "ordering" cars should be possible, without being forced to cheats to just get a specific one pronto
+++++ everything else is simply awesome, including "realistic" physics and realistic gameplay (as long as you are out of important missions lol)
PS A few of these above were corrected in the Episodes From Liberty City which features a few improvements and activities (ie real action such as base jumping).
PPS And yeah there's not much fun after the game is completed - except watching for Unidentified Flying Bikers (UFBs) mysteriously appearing in the sky.