GTA (Hero) IV

Yes I'm doing it. I'm going to talk about the oh so ever hyped up ultra game that is, GTA4.

Just to get the main point out of the way:

The game is good. Great, in fact. One of the better games of this generation, and of 2008.

But best game ever? Hell fucking no. Deserving of a perfect score? Yeah, on a cold day in hell.

The only other game I can recall getting a perfect 10 from something like IGN.com would have to be The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and I'd say that game is more deserving of that score.

Why, you say? That game showed how a franchise could evolve from the real of 2D into 3D and do it well. Obscenely well. Other games that, while they may not have gotten perfect scores, also made that change very well. Like the Super Mario franchise, Metal Gear Solid and Ninja Gaiden among others. All these franchises are fairly old, but their re-inventions were superb.

GTA4 doesn't bring anything new to the table. It doesn't even really refine elements that were in past games. Its controls are decent, albeit clunky at times. The AI of NPCs is dodgy, very dodgy, and that's a shame when you consider that this is the first game to utilise the Euphoria engine. Citizens of Liberty City make little to no effort to run away from you as your car hurtles toward them. Compare this to Crackdown, where mowing down pedestrians is hard, and doing the same to enemies is a chore (those mo'fo's know how to duck and weave).

The only things that GTA4 brings that set it apart from other games are its superb voice acting, and cinematic presentation. Mass Effect had a go at doing a similar thing, and whilst it was good, GTA blows it out of the water. From the opening movie, complete with credits, to every bloody cut scene in the game. They're all well animated, scripted and voiced. It is awesome, without a doubt. That isn't to say that there are flaws in the graphics, but for all artistic intents and purposes, GTA is a 5/5 in that department. However with a bunch of graphical flaws that plague most of the game, I feel as though the technical aspect of the graphics is lowly rated in my books. From clipping issues, visibly loading textures, very visible pop-in, and so on. I just can't see how the graphics, rated as a WHOLE, would get a 10/10. A 7 or 8, sure, but 10 is exaggeration at its best.

In short, I now feel as though most review sites are corrupt, with their review scores based on either video game hype, pressure from readers, or pressure from sponsors. I would blame them if they were struggling to make ends meet in their everyday lives. But given their success, no one should have to bow down to any pressure.

This is why I haven't cared about review scores in such a long time.