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If you've wanted one of the most in-depth and detailed looks at Grand Theft Auto IV so far, you absolutely must check out the official site, which now offers previews of the first five missions!

To remind all of you what GTAIV is all about, the intro should interest you greatly-

"The mission structure of Grand Theft Auto IV is considerably different from previous games in the series. Rockstar North are aiming to give players more freedom, more choice, and a greater sense of control over their character's destiny. The game still follows a narrative path, but it's quite different in the sense that the story can be told in a number of different ways, depending on the player's actions.

Rockstar are trying to blur the line between on- and off-mission. In previous titles, once you started a mission, you were given an objective which had to be completed before you were able to do anything else. In GTA4, you can start a mission, then do another mission which is completely unrelated, before finishing the other mission some time later. We are used to the story progressing linearly, but in GTA 4 you have the ability to shape it yourself. It won't necessarily affect the outcomes of the story, but it will affect the way we arrive at those outcomes.

GTA IV also gives you the ability to arrange missions by yourself, instead of acting like a slave and taking orders from other people. To a certain degree, you call the shots now. In addition to being able to receive phone calls, Niko can actually make them. Yellow markers represent missions, and walking into these will trigger a cutscene."

We've heard a great deal about the added freedom in the game, which is clearly a major aspect of Rockstar's latest effort. But it goes well beyond simple player freedom; GTAIV also boasts a chance for you to expand on the game's structure itself. Think about it: not only can you approach missions any way you see fit - as you could in previous entries in the franchise - but you can also organize those very missions. As it says right here, shaping things yourself will be a key component. As for the rest...well, you can read, can't ya? Check it out!