GTA who?
May 29th, 2008If you thought the GTA IV Hyperbole was great, you haven’t seen anything yet. Now that it’s been about a month since GTA IV’s release, we can safely put that game in the rear view mirror. The hot new ticket is here in the form of Metal Gear Solid 4. Are you ready to be blown away?
First out of the gate, and therefore the most important review ever, is this leaked Gamepro review that says “It is, without a doubt, one of the greatest games of all time” as it awards it a 5/5. It also says, “This is videogame storytelling at its absolute best, and represents a new high watermark for the craft, easily surpassing the superb BioShock and the subversive Grand Theft Auto IV.” It must be those feature-length movies that really must represent the great advance in “interactive” storytelling.
But oh no, we’re not done yet… the game apparently also “…sets new standards for graphics, sound, gameplay, and storytelling, and it may be years before it is equalled, let alone surpassed.” Years, or maybe just months until the next ultra-hyped games come out… I’m looking at you LittleBigPlanet, Killzone 2, Gears of War 2, and Resistance 2!
To conclude, Gamepro says “You will not play a better game this year – maybe even this decade.” Man, and I thought GTA IV had that covered… all the reviews had led me to believe that GTA IV was not just going to be the best game of the year, but that it was apparently the best game of all time! Only a month later and we’re already reconsidering? We already have a contender for, not just game of the year, but game of the DECADE?
And in case you’re wondering where this is all coming from, yes, actually I am interested in the game (more interested than I originally was for GTA IV actually), but I am still feeling a bit burned by the overwhelmingly amazing reviews of GTA IV. I hope MGS4 is as amazing as Gamepro, and potentially everyone else, has been saying. But it’d be nice if these magazines could tamp down on their hyperbole a bit.
Posted in Commentary, Jeff, PS3 |
May 29th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
As someone who is eagerly awaiting MGS4, i have to wonder if some of this doens’t have to do with the fact that its a ps3 exclusive. I mean, people gushed buckets about Uncharted and Ratchet, and while they were both well constructed games neither of them was ground breaking or innovative enough to deserve the scores that they got.
It’s like after 1 year and change they finally get one fo the things the ps3 actually promised and so they heap on all the hype they can.
May 29th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
I feel like I said something about reviews and game journalism before…
May 30th, 2008 at 7:59 am
I wonder if we’ll have a situation like with MGS2 where all the reviews were absolutely fantastic, then when the hype died down, everyone realized the game was pretty mediocre. This even seems to be happening with GTAIV.
May 30th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
I think you’re right, cisco. I don’t understand why the so-called professionals aren’t immune to this effect by now.
May 30th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
I liked MGS2… it just got… weird.
May 30th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
@Rob,
You make a good point. Putting some thought into it, I think the “professionals” might not be immune to it, simply because they’re partially responsible.
Maybe they’re so disillusioned with games due to the constant requirement to play so many of them that they pin their hopes on each new mega iteration. I don’t know, just thinking out loud.