Remember how GTA4 was praised as a masterpiece?  It looked like there was a hype bandwagon behind it.  I wouldn't say it was that Rock Star targeting marketing that resulted in it, because I find a review like this on YouTube, and it is a 10/10:

This was common for reviews of the game early.  Now, you go out and talk to people, it would be HUH?  So, what happened here that caused the game to get into a 10/10 and that be the belief for the game?  Why early, and why not seen as that later on?  Ok, maybe I am wrong, and people do still feel it is a 10/10 game.  If it isn't true, GTA4 being 10/10, the above review looks like someone caught in a trance, and a form of groupthink.

Can anyone explain?

I thought it was a great game.

A lot of people wanted it to fail. Liek everything popular there always going to be a lot of people who hate it because of that very reason in all walks of life.

Expectation from a lot of fans was really high, some people thought it was the second coming of Christ and understandably it didn't live up to the expectation for that very reason.

Oh yeah and a number of PS fanboys are still secretly pissed that it was on the 360 saying that it would have had a million times more content if it was exclusive.

It was just hype.. it kibda like wgen you first get a game you really wanted, when you start everything is 10/10 but the more you play the more that score decreases. I believe that happened with everybody.

Well it deserves 10/10 so I don't know what to tell you.

Alot of games this generation are over rated critically. The best thing to do is judge yourself. Don't let someone else think for you.

$$$

big name means lots of clicks means $$$

and 10/10 reviews will be read by most everyone as you want to know why it's so exceptionally good.

when it was released, it was one of the best games.

So, because of the money, and attention the game generates, GTA4 forced reviewers to feel compelled to give the game a 10/10 review?  Is there something about GTA4 as a game, that caused people to rate it highly early, but then sour on it later?

It's opinion's critics loved it not so much in some people.

Simple as that i guess.

The point of reviews is to have someone else walk through the game, and tell me if it worth my time and money.  That is what I trust reviewers for.

As far as the game went, I found it ehh on the fun scale, but thought they did trying to do high production quality.  It just wasn't fun for me.  I can't give it a 10/10.  Nico and his brother didn't seem to have fun lives.  They seemed to have lives that were a mess to me, and it didn't feel like fun, to me... I actually got it because I thought multiplayer would be fun on it.