Squeezing the trigger halfway brought up the manual aiming reticule, but we chose to plump for the full lock-on that’s triggered by fully depressing the trigger. We didn’t want a messy gunfight, so we opted to ‘tweak’ the auto aim with the right stick to point at the first cop’s head. He fell instantly - BA-DONG! - so we quickly switched targets and downed his partner in the same fashion - BA-DOOM! - before he had any real chance to react.

We may have taken them out efficiently but witnesses were already dialing the police. Not wanting to hang around we jumped into the squad car and parked ourselves down a quiet alleyway, well away from the search radius. These few minutes of respite let us complete half of our task: finding Lyle’s address.

Punching his name into the computer yielded one result, and a waypoint immediately popped up on our GPS map. It’s a trick that can be used at any time - you can even upload pictures of people that you’ve snapped on your phone for a full profile and address.

As is the way with GTA, Lyle didn’t come quietly, though. When we pulled up he ducked into his car, and so it only seemed fair to chase him down. Tapping the left shoulder button knocked out the driver’s window, and we were able to shoot forward by aiming with the right analogue stick. The number of buttons required made it a tricky task but we eventually managed to wreck Lyle’s car and then gun him down in the street. Two excellent missions down - and only a few hundred more to go.

Fact is, as a single-player, GTA has always been unmatched. Rockstar’s skill is in developing a game that seems to understand what it means to be a gamer. What happens if I try this? Could I do this? Will I still be able to complete the mission if I go this way? Experiment and reward is the way their games have always been structured - but now, it’s better than ever.

Although there’ll be restaurants, cafes and delis in the game, you no longer have to eat to sustain yourself as you did in San Andreas. Instead, the eating places of Liberty City will be used to conduct business meetings, and socialize with your buddies and (potential) laydees. That said, eating is an obvious way to top up your health, so it’s in your interests to seek out a burger once in a while. Just don’t expect to see Niko packing on pounds.

Be sure to check out part 1 (multiplayer) and part 3 (Easter eggs) of Xbox World 360 UK's in-depth hands-on.

Apr 17, 2008