First Grand Theft Auto IV review, perfect 10
by Christopher Grant 
{ Apr 14th 2008 at 6:58PM }
Of course, he doesn't really mean "every" respect, as there are a couple minor detractions including a temperamental cover system, an "over-enthusiastic" lock-on, and some immersion-killing pop-up, though he prefaces those quibbles by reminding us he was playing a not-quite-finished version. Either way, if the myriad previews haven't convinced you of this game's depth, news that the Xbox 360-exclusive DLC – scheduled to be released in August – will "be at least 10 hours long" should help give you some sense of perspective. Has the hype train reached your station yet?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
MarkHawk @ Apr 14th 2008 7:04PM
Well that's not to shocking for an exclusive first review to give it a perfect score...
Here's hoping the game is amazing.
The Artist formally known as Jesus @ Apr 14th 2008 7:06PM
According to Official Xbox Magazine UK, it is indeed amazing.
Schmobu @ Apr 14th 2008 7:37PM
Yah but OXM thought alot of 360 games were amazing, Gears of war Halo Mass effect None of them are 10 9.3 at best and that goes to gears, Halo is a 9 Mass effect an 7, why cause games need gameplay.
JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ Apr 14th 2008 7:38PM
If it's perfect, what about all the bugs?
Hype Alert.Maybe not Halo 3 levels but very,very close.
KarlW @ Apr 14th 2008 7:54PM
Why is it all these massively hyped games always get 10/10?
GoW, Halo 2 and 3, MGS4, GT...etc
You wouldn't buy the magazine otherwise
ScottG13 @ Apr 14th 2008 7:58PM
I really hate the "perfect 10" concept. No game is perfect. A 10 is an absolutely spectacular game that will be remembered positively for generations.
jmood88 @ Apr 14th 2008 8:00PM
Mass Effect a 7? You have lost your mind.
embassy @ Apr 14th 2008 8:25PM
Schmobu,
too bad all of those games you mentioned recieved similar praise from most major publications.
try again.
rv @ Apr 14th 2008 8:54PM
In truth, though, game revies are severely inflated. Go to metacritic. You will rarely find a 90+ movie, however, if you dont get 80+ on a game its mediocre. I think that a function should be used when trying to compare game scores - approximately (x/10)^(8/3) if its from 1-10 or (x/100)^(8/3) if its out of 100. an 8 becomes about a 60, a 9 about an 80. This makes the difference in the upper echelon more apparent, and I believe its the right thing to do because if a game gets below a 6 its absolutely horrible. That means we are utilizing about 40% of the scale for games that aren't horrible, this formula allows us to use all 100% of it.
upz @ Apr 15th 2008 4:58AM
The reason game scores are so inflated compared to movies scores is because for movies, 2/4 stars usually represents what the reviewer considers average, whereas for games, 75/100 or so is considered average. So we're basically looking at one grading scale where the arithmetic mean is average, versus another, school-like scale where a C is average. I absolutely agree with rv, though. Why bother with a 100 point scale when half of it is rarely even used?
Manvir (El Homer) @ Apr 14th 2008 7:06PM
what is love? that is baby
KarlW @ Apr 14th 2008 7:55PM
I'd love EchoChrome to win. And it's microscopic budget.
Would be a great twist.
KarlW @ Apr 14th 2008 7:55PM
I'd love EchoChrome to win. And it's microscopic budget.
Would be a great twist.
upz @ Apr 15th 2008 4:43AM
Baby don't hurt me...no more.
John McPoop @ Apr 14th 2008 7:07PM
No surprise there ... This has possible GOTY written all over it ... Just a guess by me but I think some of the GOTY contenders are as follows ...
Super Smash Brother Brawl
Grand Theft Auto IV
Metal Gear Solid 4
Gears Of War II
Other Dark Horse candidates are ...
Mario Kart Wii
Resistance Fall Of Man II
Fable 2
Little Big Planet (I said Dark Horse)
Killzone II
Too Human
I do not think Final Fantasy & Resident Evil 5 will release in 2008 so thats why those are omitted ... So many quality games in 2008 make it appear to be the best year in gaming history ...
John McPoop @ Apr 14th 2008 7:08PM
Whoops Ninja Gaiden II should be in that GOTY list as well
J.O.N.T @ Apr 14th 2008 7:17PM
Dude! Fallout 3!
MarkHawk @ Apr 14th 2008 7:19PM
Mind if I tack on Band of Brothers Hell's Highway?
Love this tactical shooter. The first two were very well polished and good AI especially considering it was all last gen.
I was very disappointed with the lack of life and polish in Vegas 2.
Mr Khan @ Apr 14th 2008 7:22PM
Seems like a fair list
It feels like its missing something, but i can't quite put my finger on it
Disaster: Day of Crisis could be another Dark Horse candidate, but there's still something else missing, a PC game i think...
ronald.raygun @ Apr 14th 2008 7:26PM
From the looks of it i would add alone in the dark to that list either side.
Raikage (LDF CRAB BATTLE!!!) @ Apr 14th 2008 7:31PM
Super Smash Brother Brawl - Maybe
Grand Theft Auto IV - More of a maybe
Metal Gear Solid 4 - I just beat MGS3 ten minutes ago, I want 4 NOW
Gears Of War II - Hopefully it's not more of the same
Other Dark Horse candidates are ...
Mario Kart Wii - I really, really doubt it
Resistance Fall Of Man II - Hopefully it looses it's tag as being mediocre
Fable 2 - I loved Fable, hopefully it will be all the first one was said to be and more, could be GOTY
Little Big Planet - I loves me some creative games, hope this is good
Killzone II - Killzone was better than Halo, but Halo was fun >.> I hope this is a Halo-killer the first was branded to be
Too Human - No comment
Obvious @ Apr 14th 2008 7:34PM
Spore.
Raikage (LDF CRAB BATTLE!!!) @ Apr 14th 2008 7:34PM
If we are putting Disaster: Day of Crisis up there, we might as well put Duke Nukem on the list too.
Kid, that game isn't coming out. But I feel your pain, I would really love to play Sadness...
Mr Khan @ Apr 14th 2008 7:38PM
Raikage, Disaster was dated for Japan, July 3rd
http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2008/04/09/disaster-day-of-release/
JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ Apr 14th 2008 7:45PM
Metal Gear Solid 4
It's not about quality it's about teh hype.The list of awards CoD4 got only proves my point.
Awards
GameCritics: Best Action Game
GameSpot: Best Graphics, Best Shooter, Best Xbox 360 Game, Best PlayStation 3 Game
GameTrailers: Best Graphics, Best PS3 Game
GamePro: Best Overall Game of the Year
IGN: Best Xbox 360 Game, Best Shooter of 2007
GameSpy: Best PS3 Game, Best Xbox 360 Game, Best PC Game, Game of the Year
X-Play: Best Shooter, Best Sound Design
Spike Video Game Awards: Best Shooter, Best Military Game
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences: Action Game of the Year, Console Game of the Year, Overall Game of the Year
Honestly am I the only one who thinks there's something wrong about that list?
Einhanderkiller @ Apr 14th 2008 7:56PM
StarCraft 2.
(While unlikely, there is a possibility that it may release this year.)
samfish @ Apr 14th 2008 8:10PM
I don't think LBP will be a dark horse candidate unless maybe the single player mode is completely lacking.
Otherwise, even though I'm personally beginning to sour on it, I think it's probably the strongest contender for overall GotY. The media can't seem to say enough good things about it.
I don't think it'll be GTA4. It'll be a huge game,, but like Halo 3, it's hype will work against it more than anything...especially after 9 or so months on the market.
I'd say Wii Fit is a strong dark horse contender for GotY, too. I notice the narrative on it seems to be "I think it'll suck" and they reviewer comes back and says, "After playing it, it's really awesome".
It'll certainly get a few nods, if only because it'll rile up fanboys so bad that it's guaranteed hits to their site.
embassy @ Apr 14th 2008 8:30PM
disaster: day of crisis GOTY candidate?
Killzone better than halo?
wtf is going on today?
John McPoop @ Apr 14th 2008 8:47PM
Absolutely Fallout 4 needs to be there ... Maybe battlefield bad company ... Spore is another one ... So many how is a guy going to remember them all!!?!?!
John McPoop @ Apr 14th 2008 8:49PM
Fallout 3 ... Not 4,5 or 6 ...
Eh @ Apr 14th 2008 9:22PM
Little Big Planet will win GOTY with zero effort. People are underestimating this game. GTA4 will be amazing but LBP is going to shake up the whole industry and redefine whats possible with online games.
Blazur @ Apr 14th 2008 9:23PM
Let us not forget Spore and hopefully StarCraft II if it releases this year. 2008 is gonna be an all-star year for games.
Exo @ Apr 14th 2008 11:31PM
i dont think fallout 3 will make it, its being made by bethesda, their games areok at best all the stuff in their games looks ugly and coated in plastic wrap
upz @ Apr 15th 2008 5:12AM
I love CoD4, but I really don't understand how its graphics received as much praise as it did. The resolution was sub-par; models were noticeably geometric; animations were stiff; self shadowing was limited; other shadows were often spoofed and not real-time; skin, metal, and blood textures had no luminosity; foliage models were just textures with no depth, and low res ones at that... I would go on, but I've probably pissed off too many people already. From a technical standpoint, it ran buttery smooth, but compared to graphical benchmarks like Uncharted, Assassin's Creed and even Dirt, there's no way CoD4 should've taken home the number of awards that it did.
haritori @ Apr 20th 2008 10:36AM
Alan Wake, Banjo 360 the list will keep going.
JohnMazz @ Apr 14th 2008 7:08PM
No airplanes.... I'm sure they know what they're doing but I know I'll miss those airplanes...
ScottyGEE32 @ Apr 14th 2008 7:35PM
I won't.
I sucked so hard at them :P
JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ Apr 14th 2008 7:47PM
I miss flying my hydra while listening to Freebird.
But I DON'T miss all those missions that involved driving across the whole state.I've played GTA with Hydra,Jetpacks and Health cheats just so I could avoid this bullshit.
Cesaria (SSBB: 3136-6466-5083) @ Apr 14th 2008 7:10PM
That's not much of a surprise really. Gamers and mags alike tend to ignore the bugs and glitches in this series. I'm not saying the game is bad, just that it most likely isn't a 10. More like 9.
jynxycat @ Apr 14th 2008 7:22PM
Clearly there were dozens of bugs in the game, but they gave it a 10 anyways.
Markez @ Apr 14th 2008 7:13PM
No airplanes, really? I'm assuming that goes for helicopters? I suppose I can see some PC reasons for them taking them out, what with the realism of the graphics and all, but that kind of sucks.
What else has been removed/omitted in GTAIV that was in previous iterations?
I know you can't customize cars anymore, which a lot of people don't seem to care about, but the no airplane bit is news to me. I think just the overwhelming amount of coverage on this game has really kind of driven me away from digging into and reading it...
Zeus.:God @ Apr 14th 2008 7:17PM
There are helicopters, just no planes.
Luka M. @ Apr 14th 2008 7:21PM
Liberty City being New York and all, they don't want trouble with you being able to fly your airplane into buildings.
tmacairjordan87 @ Apr 14th 2008 7:26PM
who flies a plane to get from one point in NYC to another?
jynxycat @ Apr 14th 2008 7:28PM
Where are you going to fly to from NYC ? Down the road ?
vectorelement @ Apr 14th 2008 7:37PM
Well, you try shooting at each other at 500MPH in airplanes in GTA Race and see how easy that is!
Marrvia @ Apr 14th 2008 7:17PM
I love how this review gives the game a PERFECT 10, yet he has some minor complaints...
Mr Khan @ Apr 14th 2008 7:26PM
oh ffs, we've been over this before. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "PERFECT" 10, but the rating is like a limit in Calculus, it is impossible to get to perfect, but you can infinitely approach it
I swear, this topic comes up every time high-rated games are discussed
finnith @ Apr 14th 2008 8:14PM
You know it's inevitable
samfish @ Apr 14th 2008 8:16PM
I think if a game is going to get a perfect score it has to be the best game that can possibly be made on that console, given it's limitations.
If your game has bugs and glitches and lousy graphics for a PS3 game, it's not deserving of a perfect score. But if a port of that same game is on the Wii or PS2 and the graphics are awesome for those consoles and there are no bugs or glitches, it's worthy of a perfect score.