Writing for Nintendo Wii Fanboy gives me a chance to step up on my little soap box once in awhile. So brace yourselves; I'm making my way up. Grand Theft Auto IV has been praised as a perfect game from numerous sources. This sounds a bit over-hyped. Indeed, my eyebrows raised a bit upon hearing that the title had been given a perfect score in a "world-exclusive first review" from a site that rarely gives out such honors. The reviewer clarified by saying that while a 100% rating does not indicate a perfect game (then what does?), it instead refers to excellence in innovation and superiority. While both of those qualities are largely present in GTA 4, I feel as though there are many titles that excel past Rockstar's effort in those categories. Some of those titles received nowhere near as close an aggregate score.
Making my way back down, let me make things clear: Grand Theft Auto IV is amazingly fun. The graphics are greatly improved, the story is fun and very well done, and the gameplay is tight and enjoyable as always. Additionally, the online is priceless. Ever since I made my way through GTA III, I've pined for an online experience full of crazy gamers wrecking havoc not on mindless AI pedestrians, but each other. Despite the cheaters online, the game pulls this off exceptionally well. Once again Rockstar nails that perfect compromise between "I want to do a mission and progress the story" and "I just want to run around and shoot things." It's perfect for the casual-hardcore gamer: the person who loves to game but often doesn't have the time to sit down and complete full missions. If the GTA series does make its way to the Wii, I foresee something along the lines of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Stories," though apparently The Reggie wants it "bottoms-up." Time will tell on this one.
