It's the level of detail that first hits home when cruising around Liberty City, the freewheeling outside of mission constraints allowing GTA IV to fully stretch its legs and prove that this will be a sandbox without compare. We see a man raking a motorway embankment, while driving through more suburban areas someone tends to their lawn - little flourishes that engender the world with life beyond that seen in other similar titles. Police eye Niko suspiciously when he runs across the road, despite the Wanted status being at zero, their heads following his path down the street as they peer from inside their stationary car.
At one point, while taking a midnight stroll through Liberty City's quite breathtaking spin on Times Square, we spot a man hunched over the open bonnet of his car, quizzically looking at the broken motor. Being the helpful citizens that we are, we push him to one side and try to hotfoot it with his automobile, but naturally his concerns weren't just a superfluous animation as the car fails to start and we climb out with rose-blushed cheeks.
*drools*