Is GTA IV being hailed because its not Nintendo

[mike_intellivision]

In reading all of the responses, in reading/watching reviews, and in trying out the game (I don't own either system, so I honestly can't play it), here are my conclusions.

First and foremost, the topic was brought about as much to examine the whole review scoring issue as anything else. The timing of it (after blast-the-Wii-week) and the Gamespot score switch (see previous post for link) certainly give rise to the possibility of a conspiracy. But unlike those who cannot see the proof of how a single shooter felled JFK, I am not going to beat a dead horse and continue to claim that a conspiracy exists where there does not appear to be one.

However, that being said, it is interesting for whatever reasons that critics seem to be more forgiving in their overall assessment of this game than in some other games. For example, reviews and real life have shown me there are graphical issues -- allbeit minor ones. In many cases, such a flaw would have prevented the game from getting a top score, particularly on sites which use a 10 or 100 point system. (My complaint here is not with places that give out four or five stars because they tend to rate more games highly and be more forgiving on average). These sites though are breaking out top scores -- and some of these sites do that so rarely that the games that have received such praise can be counted on one hand.

Perhaps it is the intriguing plot. As I have stated before, this game is not my cup of tea. However, if I were to get an Xbox 360 or PS3, I probably will pick it up because it really looks to be that good.

Where did I want to go with this. Where do I want to go. I'm not sure and I don't know. I know people out there feel the same way that I do -- that this is a great game but perhaps the praise is a bit overblown. And that's really what I was striving at when I started this. But now perhaps it is time to end it and let us all play the games we choose. And for many people, both in this forum and elsewhere, that will be GTA IV.

Mike from Morgantown