Let me start by saying that yes, it is violent.

Yes, much of the game is spent shooting at people and exhibiting a blatant disregard for anything resembling safe driving.

But there's more to the game than the stuff that has parents' groups and other mediators mad at it.

For people willing to look beyond the ability to pick up ladies of the evening, there are redeeming qualities to this game.

For one, the design. The game takes place in Liberty City, a stand-in for New York, and the attention to detail is astounding. For example, rather than being a uniform asphalt gray, the streets show the wear and tear of city traffic: oil stains, random grit gathered along the curbs, repair patches that are darker than the rest of the street.

Shadows of bridges and buildings move as time in the game progresses. And each car in the game has its own realistic driving quirk: If you're driving that massively oversized SUV, it doesn't accelerate well, and handles like an elephant. If you're in a sports car, it jumps over hills with very little encouragement. And that long 1970s sedan will fishtail if you take a corner too quickly.

There is humor in the game, as well. Ricky Gervais and Katt Williams do stand-up shows in one bar in the city, and a Russian bar features an acrobatic cowboy show and a lounge act.

The ads and radio programs mock current TV shows and trends, including "America's Next Top Model" and talk radio.

In-game games such as pool, bowling and darts require real skill (the pool game in particular uses real-world physics, letting you make bank shots that will have you standing up with excitement ... OK, maybe that's just me).

The story is thought-provoking for gamers patient enough to sit through the cut scenes. Niko, a former Serbian soldier, comes to the United States to try to make his fortune. But he finds that the fresh start he thought he was getting by moving to America won't come without the violence he thought he was leaving behind.

Some critics have compared the game to the film "The Godfather," and while many people (myself included, at first) balk at the idea that anything about a video game could possibly compare to an American masterpiece of film, it's an idea that has merit.

There's the organized crime that Niko eventually must be part of, but there's also the idea that being successful in America comes at a higher price for some people than for others.

Niko is not happy that he's having to fall back on violence to get the money and power that he equates with success. And that's an important realization to make.

There's something wistful, almost naive, about his idea of America, and it is sad that, like Michael Corleone, he keeps getting pulled back into society's underbelly just when he thinks he's through with it.

One of the biggest statements the game makes is with its Statue of Liberty -- or rather, the Statue of Happiness.

Rather than holding a torch to light the way for immigrants, the Statue of Happiness is carrying a styrofoam coffee cup. In America, commerce equals happiness.

And according to game sites, inside the statue is a chained, beating heart.

Shooting people and stealing cars? No, the game is certainly about more than that.

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