well based on my impressions with some press copy of the game, it's a pretty damn fun title that is worth purchasing, maybe not at full price but if you're longing for some good old mindless, black and white shooting fun like so many games offered to you in the mid-nineties you'll like it-- it doesn't take itself seriously and feels closer to how the first two GTAs played, compared to the 3D sequels where Rockstar really brought a cinematic spin to the series
the city in which you play is huge, and it's fun to power up the game every now and then to simply jump around and try to reach various ability orbs that augment your athletic faculties, or discover new hidden criminal bases to attack
your various abilities (shooting, physical, athetics and the like) improve when you play the game like they do in an RPG, and it's a good system since it prevents the repetitive missions from getting stale
there are a few negatives though, the game is pretty short, the narrator that constantly gives you redundant advice is lame and his voice his totally off, the character designs are awful, one of the city's gang (Los Muertos) has its members constantly screaming and laughing like distinguished mentally-challenged fellows and it's pretty damn irritating, the combat is fast and frantic but sometimes the auto-aiming feature accidentaly targets enemy corpses, and the boss fights are lame and without any surprises
still worth playing, I recommend it