After a loooong install (there are 1.5 gig of mp3's!) you finally get going and it is well worth the wait.
Initial impressions are a little disappointing though. The graphics are only average - the game has a definite console feel and is maybe a little rough round the edges. The cars and objects arn't polygon'd up to the eyeballs as you might expect and lack the polish you see on other new(ish) pc games.
However, an hour later this'll all be irrelevant. The sheer fun this game offers has to be experienced to be believed. It has everything - fast cars (and motorbikes and helicopters), fast women, carjackings, drugs, swearing and you can interact with the world the way you choose and that is the greatest strength of this game.
Though you need to follow the plot sooner of later to progress and open up other islands, the distractions are endless and hugely entertaining. For example, while heading out to meet up with a drug lord to get your next mission you spot something interesting and go and investigate. This could be literally anything - a fast car / bike / boat, a board leaning against a wall that looks suspiciously suitable for a motorbike, a shop you've not spotted before or maybe you just feel like causing a little mayhem. And mayhem is there to be had and then some.
The whole feel and atmosphere of the game builds and builds, from the Miami Vice backdrops to the genuine 80's soundtrack - you will get totally immersed in this game.
The more you play, the more nice touches you'll notice - for example, this time round when the cops are after you in a big way they'll throw spikes in front of you to puncture your tyres. The motorbikes get harder to control in the wet - hit the brakes and you'll be fighting to stay on. When you first get changed into golfing gear a deep mans voice from behind you goes "nice ass baby!" There are a million little touches like this that add hugely to the fun.
If the brief for this game was "make it fantastic fun, funny, atmospheric and totally absorbing" then they've hit the nail right on the head.
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