The action is non stop, the place has a look of reality and GTA 4 is getting raves.
"The level of detail, the rich environments. I just was amazed by how big this world really was," says Sam Kennedy from the 1up Network.
Sam Kennedy is editorial and site director for 1up Network. His reviewers have given the game an 'A'.
"By far, it exceeded our expectations," says Kennedy.
It's virtually the only game being sold at most stores right now.
"I preordered the game four months ago," says one shopper.
If the line at a San Francisco Game Stop store is an indication, sales could reach $360 million for the first week, exceeding predictions and that would be a new record.
Big biz? You bet. Grand Theft Auto producer Take 2 Games has a $2 billion takeover offer from Electronics Arts of Redwood City. EA tells us that bid is unaffected by today's sales.
Both Sony and Microsoft are promoting the new release to boost sales of their consoles.
The game is violent and it's rated "M' for players 17 and older, like an 'R' rated movie.
"I don't think that's the point of the game. I think because it has a system of collecting stuff and making the characters stronger," says one gamer.
"I personally have never seen an issue with violence. It's video games versus reality," says game player Aaron Seligman.
But San Francisco based Common Sense Media is asking parents to keep the game out of the hands of kids.
"This is sort of the poster boy for the violent sexual bad language video game set. It's not a kids game. It's totally an adult game," says Jim Steyer of Common Sense Media.
But what we have here, according the experts, may be a defining moment in video games. One of the gamers we spoke to says Grand Theft Auto 4 "just takes things to a whole new level."
