my favorite entry in the series, the setting and atmosphere are phenomenal, the city is incredibly alive both in character and NPCs doing things around it, the writing and characters are sharp and compelling and I love the grounded feel this game has.

unfortunely there is not much to do in the actual open-world, you will earn lots of cash throughout the game and there is nothing substantial to spend, it's pretty much all style and design but zero substance to it.

the gameplay does have some quibbles here and there (the way Niko moves and the clunky cover system comes to mind) but the way vehicles behave here is really satisfying, it feels great to master each car's handling and the city's design so you can traverse it more easily, the shooting is also something that I also enjoy, the guns feel heavy and impactful to shoot, the way NPCs react to being shoot and pushed is incredible to this day.

overall an fantastic game and it should be appreciated more, the amount of love and attention that Rockstar put in every aspect of it is pretty clear, going to replay the story expansions now.