* First of all, let me just say that my review has very little if anything to do with SecuROM. SecuROM is the least of the issues that piece of trash has to offer.

This game is simply terrible. You have to sign up and log into the Rockstar Social Club and Windows Live just to play online, which doesn’t even work. Yeah, I got randomly banned from servers for disconnecting from them and now I can’t get into those servers. Who cares, you can’t play the game anyway.

This game is impossible to play smoothly unless you have a holy PC that is absolutely up to date with everything. Even then, you can’t run it at full settings because they DESIGNED THE GAME TO NOT WORK WITH CURRENT HARDWARE at full settings. Yes, they state in their guide that high settings are reserved for future hardware.

I’ll just get to the bottom line: DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. Rockstar has done nothing but port a terrible version of the console greatness to PC and slapped every customer in the face during the process. I want to see them go out of business, and I am in the processes of getting my refund.

* My specs pretty much allow me to play anything at 1920×1200..Crysis (with shadows off), COD4, Left for Dead, Fallout 3..but GTA IV brings my dual core 3ghz to its knees and then some. I thought Rockstar was taking the extra time to properly optimize the code for PC users, but it is woefully evident that any one of us with ati cards in the 3850 range and up are in for an eyesore. Never mind the clearly unstable Games for Windows program or the Rockstar Social program you have to install (mandatory) alongside GTA IV. Wasn’t SecuROM online authentication enough for Dan Houser’s sadistic needs? What is next, a microchip in our right hand’s to “authenticate” our purchase?! Puleeze!

I won’t delve into the DRM too terribly much..save to say that you know its here in all its devilish glory, but also be aware that other programs are installed as well automatically. They are not optional, unless you do not want to save your game. A curse on Dan Houser of Rockstar Games for outright LYING to PC gamers, promising a “beautiful” experience. He went on and on how PC users were in for a royal treat, with spectacular eye candy coupled with excellent framerates and a customizable graphics tool. And did we get saddled with? Poor performance with state of the art video cards (ati 4870HD) and NO SLI support. People with top of the line rigs can barely ekk out 30fps. It also does not support the Logitech line of gamepads.

As for the gameplay itself (provided you dont mind a slideshow), it is certainly up to par with previous entries in the gta franchise, although there does seem to be a serious lack of..airplanes. A.I is decent, but nothing ingenious. Voicework is adequate and the story is detailed, if uninspiring. Yes, the grand detail is there but it lacks a..whats the word…soul? Like a Ridley Scott film re-directed by Uwe Boll. It lacks staying power. The voice actor who played Niko (game’s main character) was reportedly quite upset when he had heard of the game’s stellar following, from which his work was paid in pennies next to that of Houser. Surprise surprise.

Lastly, this product needs XP SP3 (service pack 3). Be careful about installing/updating up your pc. I have heard more than one pc user report a hellish experience with it. You really have to ask yourself if GTA IV for pc is worth the 30% chance that SP3 will trash your system. Go to GTA IV forums (google it) and search therein for the details on other’s experiences. It ain’t pretty, and it does seem akin to playing russian roulette.