It is not an exclusive, so fanboys of either console have no reason to defend it.

Here's what I didn't like about the previous GTA's

1 & 2 top down perspective. random.

III -- poor graphics. It felt like it had a tacked on story. The central character has little to no personality.

VC -- Didn't play

SA -- didn't like the characters. Don't care enough about hip hop to play a long game with those types of characters.

IV -- realistic story, great graphics, strong central character I could identify with.

I played it through and was distinctly underwhelmed, sadly. I waited a couple of months to get my hands on it, too, because I had to wait for my 360 to be repaired.
It's a good game, in my opinion, but definitely not one of the best games of this generation. The city was techinically impressive, but I didn't find it particularly immersive and the whole game just didn't amaze me in the same way GTAIII did.

One of the top two games of the gen? You'd be right about that judging by Metacritc, but your other best game would be Mario Galaxy, on that scale. Like someone else pointed out, Galaxy has been claimed to be over-rated, but in my opinion Galaxy is the best game of this generation so far. It's all very subjective, so just chill and enjoy whatever your best game of the generation happens to be.

I didn't like the game cause it was the same crapt from the previous games. Saints Row is way better imo.

Perhaps becouse it is boring crap made on same repetitive pointless scheme as all previous GTAs ?

       I don't know, man.  I think Nico Bellic is a strong enough character and that the level of spot on social criticism and satire in GTA IV is high enough that it really sets it above any other game.  Then the nuclear terror situations depicted by MGS 4.  The only other games that I think comes as close in their dicussions of serious themes after them are Fallout 3, Bioshock, and Half-Life 2 / The Orange Box.

     Then I guess games like Mario Galaxy, Zelda, Halo 3, and Gears can be fit in.

Whoa, I can't believe you summarized the whole situation with just this one sentence. It reminds me of a certain game called Star Ocean something...! =P

GTA4's gameplay is shit.
That's why I don't like it.

Because it wasn't as good a game as SA nor as funny as vice.

      I thought GTA's gameplay was great.  I like the fact that its easier to outrun the cops than in previous versions.  The cars handled exactly as I wanted them to.  Combat was handled much better than in previous GTA's in my opinion.  The cover system, I found it to be as good as the one in Gears and it was certainly much better than in Bullet Witch.  And, I felt the mini-games were adequate, so I have a hard time thinking the reason people didn't like it was the gameplay.