Strong voice performances
Great animation for cutscenes...
Variety of missions
Niko is well rounded and complete
Strong supporting cast
Great story
Gunplay is tight and versatile
Lots of cars to drive around in, with them behaving mostly like they should
Niko actually questions what's being asked of him...
The detail of the world and dialogue
Plenty of references
Detail of world - being able to skip tolls if you are in an ambulance with sirens on
Weak Points:
...Even with the occasional glitch or pop-in
Seems confused as to whether Niko is the main character or just a vehicle for the player to see the city
...Although doesn't necessarily do anything about it
Dark and gritty city fits the mood but isn't particularly fun to drive around
Constantly jumping between islands can get repetitive
The chronology of the game doesn't necessarily fit with the amount of time you play it for
Constant phone calls
No checkpoints in missions
No quicksave option
Tolls and bottlenecked traffic slow travel down
Some interesting physics with the cars
Some spoilers ahead:
