Video gamers have been gearing up for today's launch of Grand Theft Auto IV, as early reviews hailed the criminal action title as a brutal and satirical "masterpiece" equal to films like The Godfather.
Judging from early reviews, Grand Theft Auto IV - made by Take-Two's Rockstar studio - appears on track to be the best-
rated video game ever and one that could cement video games as a serious art form.
"Grand Theft Auto IV is a violent, intelligent, profane, endearing, obnoxious, sly, richly textured and thoroughly compelling work of cultural satire disguised as fun," the New York Times said.
Based on reviews compiled by Metacritic, a widely tracked aggregator of gaming reviews, the version of GTA IV for Sony's PlayStation 3 console has scored a perfect 100, while the one for Microsoft's Xbox 360 has achieved a 99.
"Rockstar's magnum opus is a modern-day masterpiece that could change the way the world views video games," gaming news and reviews website GameSpy wrote, awarding a perfect five-star rating. "You'll quickly come to realize that the nuanced storytelling and presentation is on par with the finest films by directors like Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola."
Today's launch of Grand Theft Auto IV is expected to be among the biggest entertainment events of the year, with first-week sales forecast to be up to $400 million, beating those of 2007's Halo 3.
Grand Theft Auto IV casts players as an Eastern European immigrant who delivers drugs, shoots cops and beats up prostitutes after falling in with a crime syndicate - stuff that has drawn fire from family groups and politicians.
Entertainment website IGN praised Grand Theft Auto IV for showing the effects of depravity on the main character.
"GTA IV gives us characters and a world with a level of depth previously unseen in gaming and elevates its story from a mere shoot-'em-up to an Oscar-calibre drama," IGN said.
Some reviewers said the game was not without its faults, with many pointing out graphical glitches and difficulty completing some of the nearly 150 missions.
"Flawless? No. But it's about as close as a game can come to being perfect," popular gaming blog Kotaku.com said.
Source-
The Gazette (Montreal) 2008
Judging from early reviews, Grand Theft Auto IV - made by Take-Two's Rockstar studio - appears on track to be the best-
rated video game ever and one that could cement video games as a serious art form.
"Grand Theft Auto IV is a violent, intelligent, profane, endearing, obnoxious, sly, richly textured and thoroughly compelling work of cultural satire disguised as fun," the New York Times said.
Based on reviews compiled by Metacritic, a widely tracked aggregator of gaming reviews, the version of GTA IV for Sony's PlayStation 3 console has scored a perfect 100, while the one for Microsoft's Xbox 360 has achieved a 99.
"Rockstar's magnum opus is a modern-day masterpiece that could change the way the world views video games," gaming news and reviews website GameSpy wrote, awarding a perfect five-star rating. "You'll quickly come to realize that the nuanced storytelling and presentation is on par with the finest films by directors like Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola."
Today's launch of Grand Theft Auto IV is expected to be among the biggest entertainment events of the year, with first-week sales forecast to be up to $400 million, beating those of 2007's Halo 3.
Grand Theft Auto IV casts players as an Eastern European immigrant who delivers drugs, shoots cops and beats up prostitutes after falling in with a crime syndicate - stuff that has drawn fire from family groups and politicians.
Entertainment website IGN praised Grand Theft Auto IV for showing the effects of depravity on the main character.
"GTA IV gives us characters and a world with a level of depth previously unseen in gaming and elevates its story from a mere shoot-'em-up to an Oscar-calibre drama," IGN said.
Some reviewers said the game was not without its faults, with many pointing out graphical glitches and difficulty completing some of the nearly 150 missions.
"Flawless? No. But it's about as close as a game can come to being perfect," popular gaming blog Kotaku.com said.
Source-
The Gazette (Montreal) 2008
