Grand Theft Auto IV
The final mission pissed me off a little - in part six (of seven), the game told me to fly my helicopter low and shoot at the target, which only got me killed. In fact, I just had to stay alive long enough for the next part of the mission to start. But whereas this kind of shit was commonplace in earlier GTAs, it's the exception, here. So I'm not terribly put out by it.
It's been a while since a game kept me up all night playing, and GTA4 did it twice. Of my 30 hours with this guy's story missions, I'd say at least 28 of them were an absolute blast.
This is the engine - and caliber of storytelling - that GTA3 deserved.
Better than: all previous Grand Theft Auto games
Not as good as: in some ways, Red Faction: Guerrilla, but mostly it's better
I'm more curious than ever about: GTA4 on a horse
Progress: Finished with 67.58% completion