Despite GTA IV receiving more plaudits than you can shake a stick at, there's one journalist who doesn't follow the sheep mentality and has devised his own opinion and critique of Rockstar's latest opus.
The journo's name is Junot Diaz writing for the Wall Street journal, obviously an expert on the subject matter, and had the following to say,
"OK, let me be clear: I love GTA IV and I have no doubt that it is art, but an equal to "The Sopranos" or "The Godfather"? Narrative art of that caliber is distinguished by its ability to re-organize our preconceptions, to shift us into a world that's always been there but that we've been afraid to acknowledge, and I'm not convinced that GTA IV pulls off that miracle."
Ok...that's fair enough, what else does he have to say...
"GTA IV is brilliant, but despite what virtually all the reviews claim, it ain't the revolution. If you played GTA III or higher, GTA IV won't exactly catapult you to higher plane of existence or induce metanoia. GTA III was the revolution, and established the grammar for the franchise."
Now while I'm no GTA fanboy, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience that was GTA IV. I disagree with Mr. Diaz's comments that the latest chapter doesn't propel or catapult the series any further that it has already come. Having said that I don't think it's in the same area as The Godfather but more somewhere in between.