Back in 1997, I treated myself to a Nintendo 64 and I think its fair to say that I lost a fair amount of my summer playing Golden Eye.

Now I would like to think that my priorities have matured over the past 11 years, but if this weekend is anything to go by, that sadly appears to be untrue. Even though I managed to find time to wash my car, go for a run (gotta get in shape for my holiday!) and see my sister and nephews, the rest of my time was spent playing Grand Theft Auto IV.

And I've gotta say, Grand Theft Auto IV is a great game – regardless of what the papers say. It's addictive, well designed and no worse than watching Scarface, Casino or Layercake. Now before I go on about how great this game is, I want to get the argument of its content out of the way.

Firstly, this is the 9th game in the series (despite being called GTA IV) and if you don't know what to expect from a Grand Theft Auto game, you have obviously been living in a box, somewhere in the deepest darkest parts of the Amazon rainforest. Now these games, are violent and contain a lot of adult content and are clearly marked with a big, red, 18 certificate.

Secondly, due to the content of these games, I wouldn't dream of showing anyone these games if I felt it wasn't appropriate for them. So I won't be playing this in front of my nephews or my grandmother. In the same way I wouldn't dream of showing them Scarface, Casino or Layercake.

Thirdly, just because I am playing a game where I control the character of a gangster, does not mean I am going to become a gangster myself. In the same way if I play Mario Kart, I'm not gonna wear a red plumbing suit and race around the local borough shouting “Yippee” every time I overtake someone. I'm quite happy with my role in life as a Web Developer, and if playing GTA IV is anything to go by, working for the Russian Mafia has its drawbacks.

Anyway, as I was saying: Grand Theft Auto IV is a great game. So far I have only managed to complete a few missions. However, I have found time to play pool, go bowling and take out this girl called "Michelle" – who didn't butt an eyelid when I car jacked a taxi, but got the hump when I punched a guy back who started on me! Weirdo.

The attention to detail is amazing though. You can walk through Liberty City and pass people who are just going about their business - walking, talking on their phones and drinking coffee.

There are a few things I am not so sure about though. When you fight people in the street, other people get involved and before you know it you have a whole gang after you! Also, people are a lot more protective of their cars. Yesterday I car jacked this SUV, threw the driver out and I was driving along a little later, thinking I had got away with it and this car rammed behind me – IT WAS THE DRIVER I THREW OUT IN A NEW CAR!

All in all, its a great game that I can't praise enough.

Unlike “Uncharted: Drakes Fortune”, I think I will be playing this one for a while, at least through the foreseeable summer.