Nice review, I agree with all of it.

For someone who trolled GTA threads before the release im glad you enjoyed a game the series is known to deliver.

Here we go, another Wii Fanboy ... Another "review", another 9.5...

Oh wait. He actually goes into detail? He actually played the game? He actually acknowledges that it does many things right, whilst still having it's shortcomings? He actually made an assessment, whilst putting his fanboy aside?

*appluase*

Well Done Zen. Well done. For actually playing the game, then scoring it, and being fair? You are awesome.

I agree with your 9.5, you my friend, have too much win.

Just to be a contrarian prick, I'll go ahead and say your score is too high, Zen.

Still, nice writeup.

I agree the reviewers must have had a gun to their heads when they gave this game a perfect score.

DMeisterJ said: Here we go, another Wii Fanboy ... Another "review", another 9.5... Oh wait. He actually goes into detail? He actually played the game? He actually acknowledges that it does many things right, whilst still having it's shortcomings? He actually made an assessment, whilst putting his fanboy aside? *appluase* Well Done Zen. Well done. For actually playing the game, then scoring it, and being fair? You are awesome. I agree with your 9.5, you my friend, have too much win.

That pretty much sums up my feelings. That was the best review of GTAIV I have read so far. It actually got me interested in the game!

Thanks for reading it guys. I was passionate about writing this review, in fact, writing that review for this forum was the reason I even bought that game, and again, I woulda been the one missing out if I had never played it.

I love this review.

Everybody has a bias -- Zen admits his up front so we can all keep his perspective in mind. That's much better than those reviewers who pretend to be "objective," and usually are far from it.

This is the first detailed review I've read of this game that doesn't feel like someone is trying to sell me on something.

I've suspected that Zen is one of the voices here I can trust, and this review seems to confirm that. Nice write-up!

I posted those scores to show you how I review games, and how I rate this game amongst some of the best ever. I didn't post those scores to directly compare the games. I'm sure this has been said before, but I thought I'd respond a little late.

@jpain333

Nobody under 21 should play this game. Based on violence and language, I would rate it NC-17, and I wouldn't recommend any impressionable minds, or anyone who is still in highschool to play it. Even I got ideas to go pull some jobs, and I'm 26 and a very stable individual who consistantly cusses like a sailor.

@Shameless

As a retro gamer who recently beat OOT again, I can say that in my opinion, it's still a timeless gem.

@Psymatiq

Sure there are some good games, but no, this is the first really good excuse to own a HD console, with Mass Effect, Bioshock, and Gears on PC. That's my opinion, and I feel it's unbiased. I own a PS3, and recently I have been playing an Xbox 360 as well.

To be fair, the only great excuse to own a Wii is Mario Galaxy, and maybe Brawl, but that's neither here nor there. If you are happy with your system, then don't bother listening to my opinion, because I am a Wii-fanboy afterall.

That said, I feel that right now, all systems have a reasonable excuse to own them, with GTAIV. That means, it's worth paying almost 500 dollars to play them, so I do set my standards quite high, and yes, my standard scales with price. 

@donathos and many others

Thank you for your kind words.

Good review Zen. From the (quite enjoyable) 6-8 hours I've spent on the game I'd probably give it in the low 9s. I like to reserve 10s for games that actually revolutionize something, and mid to low 9s are for games in the top of their genres.

GTAIV is definitely the top of its genre. I'm not that big of a fan of the genre, but it is a fun game to play, and it's by far the best sandbox game out.