Upon replaying the game multiple times, I've increased my rating of it. This is one of the most touching videogame experiences of all time. I'd argue the game has one of the greatest stories in any game, as it's still dissectable and discussable in many areas. Character studies, moral questions, the lot.
The gameplay is so much more open ended and fluid than I remember. Sure, there's some slow animations but I take it less as "over-realism" and more as a gameplay mechanic. You're meant to take great care and consideration into every move, as it will have reprocussions.
The game has some amazing NPC AI, characters who directly react to you based on things that are normalised in most games: staring, stealing, not having clean clothes, even wearing a warm coat in the summertime.
Obviously the game falls into many rockstar pitfalls; confining mission design, horrible online, etc. But if you ever get a chance to play this masterpiece, do.
The gameplay is so much more open ended and fluid than I remember. Sure, there's some slow animations but I take it less as "over-realism" and more as a gameplay mechanic. You're meant to take great care and consideration into every move, as it will have reprocussions.
The game has some amazing NPC AI, characters who directly react to you based on things that are normalised in most games: staring, stealing, not having clean clothes, even wearing a warm coat in the summertime.
Obviously the game falls into many rockstar pitfalls; confining mission design, horrible online, etc. But if you ever get a chance to play this masterpiece, do.