Metareview: Grand Theft Auto IV

by Andrew Yoon { Apr 27th 2008 at 2:10PM }

With Grand Theft Auto IV hitting store shelves this week, the reviews have finally started to pour in. We haven't seen such universal acclaim for a title this generation. From the looks of things, no matter which version you get (PS3 or Xbox 360), you're in for quite a ride:

IGN (100/100) - " For those wanting to know which version looks better, the edge goes to the PS3 ... Grand Theft Auto IV is one of the best games we've ever seen ... The only thing you need to know is that you have to play this game. Period."
1UP (100/100) - "The PS3 version has the slightest visual edge, plus motion-control support ... Liberty City is no longer just a place you explore outdoors, looking for stunt jumps or the thrill of a six-star wanted level after riling up the LCPD during missions. I spent hours of my week-long review session checking out the game's indoor attractions."
GameTrailers (98/100) - "Rockstar always has a knack for choosing just the right songs to set the tone of its games, and once again it's hit a homerun with Grand Theft Auto IV."

So which game are you picking up this week?

Gallery: Grand Theft Auto IV

Tags: grand-theft-auto, grand-theft-auto-iv, gta, gtaiv, metareview

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

sami @ Apr 27th 2008 2:15PM

iron man, duh!

WiiFTW @ Apr 27th 2008 2:17PM

Lord have mercy on me and get me a PS3 and GTA IV while you're at it:P

I'm just playing the waiting game til Christmas with the hope that I'll get a PS3 as a Blu-ray player like we got the PS2 as a DVD player.

Haiddasalami @ Apr 27th 2008 2:50PM

That was my excuse to get the PS2. It can act as a DVD player...

myself @ Apr 27th 2008 2:39PM

its funny that all major games look better on the ps3(oblivion,cod4,burnout,dmc4,gta4)
too bad iron man looks better on the xbox along with sega superstar tennis :(

Dehshizknight @ Apr 27th 2008 2:47PM

Who need Super Stars Tennis when you got Hot Shots Golf?

Rowdehaj @ Apr 27th 2008 2:51PM

Who needs either of those if you've got GTA4?

Eggy @ Apr 27th 2008 4:24PM

Who cares. Just enjoy the game.

Haiddasalami @ Apr 27th 2008 2:51PM

Tuesday cant come faster....

Gunegune @ Apr 27th 2008 3:01PM

Lucky you, I have to wait until Saturday. I have standardized testing Tues.-Fri., and I know I won't get any sleep if I get GTA IV.

frankym @ Apr 27th 2008 2:56PM

Gee..seems like this game might be kinda good

Jakob Henner @ Apr 27th 2008 3:10PM

10/10 from whole Gamereactor in Scandinavia:

Sweden: 10/10
Denmark: 10/10
Norway: 10/10
(Finland: 10/10 - just the Swedish review translated to Finnish)

Kevin @ Apr 27th 2008 3:30PM

If it's THAT good I might get it.

Of course that M rating is probably gonna hold me back.
Remember parent's read the ratings!

Teddy @ Apr 27th 2008 3:36PM

Six long weeks to wait for the gunmetal gray PS3 just got longer. June 12th can't come soon enough for me. By the way, while I know the Japanese gunmetal gray PS3 is 40 gigs with no BC, I find it hard to believe that they would sell a MGS4 PS3 here that couldn't play earlier MGS games. I believe that the gray PS3 will be 80GB just like the black one. In another post, someone "corrected" me and said that the gunmetal gray PS3 will only be 40GB with no BC.

Has Sony released any specs & pre-order info on the gray PS3 ? Please Sony, I would feel a little better if I had a pre-order receipt in my hands as a lot of current PS3 owners get to experience GTA IV.

Tranando @ Apr 27th 2008 3:55PM

Glad I am getting the decent version, not the 360-tard pack.

Look at that 360 popup.. LOL.. this is not a 10/10 game on the 360...

http://xs226.xs.to/xs226/08170/29zbk3d922.gif

Rowdehaj @ Apr 27th 2008 4:07PM

Dude, inflammatory posts like yours are not necessary. That said, I am glad to see that the PS3's hardware is finally showing some of its superiority over the 360.

leiwei @ Apr 27th 2008 7:06PM

Holy crap that's worse than the billboard popins I saw from the early gameplay videos that R* took down. For some reason I feel sad for Ironman. I thought that was a pretty good demo. Poor guy. At least he'll sell well at the box office.

45nm @ Apr 28th 2008 6:25PM

Are you part of Sony defense force by any chance? Are you planning terrorist attacks on Microsoft?? So far, nothing intelligent has come out of your mouth but BLAH BLAH I HAT TEH 360 CUZ IT SUKZZ(Z). Seriously, find something else to do in your spare time then bashing consoles..

catmanmatt @ Apr 28th 2008 12:02PM

ps3 is betterrr!!!! take that xbots!!

Jman1236 @ Apr 27th 2008 7:06PM

With the stimulus checks coming this week, the minimum of $600 is more than enough to buy a PS3/Xbox 360 and a copy of GTA4. Heck I'm debating in my head to get the PS3 version since my brother has the Xbox 360 verison reserved and so I don't have to wait for him to be at work to play it.

Man, will Tuesday ever get here! I WANT TO PLAY THIS NOW!!!!

Haiddasalami @ Apr 27th 2008 7:22PM

You know what would be sad...the apocalypse happens tommorow.

Matt @ Apr 27th 2008 7:39PM

Interesting that your measure of loss in the event of the apocalypse is not being able to play GTAIV.

Can't say I disagree.

tyba @ Apr 27th 2008 8:51PM

Actually the minimum stimulus check is $300 for single individuals, $600 for married couples. I'm getting somewhere in the neighborhood of $350.

AshStampede @ Apr 27th 2008 5:12PM

I played the first two missions on the 360 version, and it looked fine to me, I have to say there wasnt that far a draw distance. Only large skyline objects you could see in the distance. But from the short 30 min play test, The game felt awesome! Not liking anything GTA as I really dont like criminal games/being a criminal. I will pick this up for ps3. Its just that good.

smkalot @ Apr 27th 2008 7:06PM

hey guys! jus wanted to lay some interesting facts out for you...

PS3 version has a mandatory install (less than 10mins), but the load times are almost non existent.

360 frequently has 30 second load times.

As for pop-in, it's supposed to be significantly less on PS3, same with framerate dips, less on PS3.

IGN: "For those wanting to know which version looks better, the edge goes to the PS3. The textures and framerate are comparable, but the PS3 has far less pop-in. The 360 has richer colors, but the PS3 has better anti-aliasing making it look a little cleaner. Because GTA IV can preload onto the PS3 hard drive, the in-game loads are faster. Don't worry Xbox owners, the load times are rarely more than 30 seconds and don't occur very often. The slight visual edge goes to PS3, but the 360 is no slouch."

"Is no Slouch".. is just not as good as the PS3 version.

DLC? Do you really think THE game of the year GTA IV needs any more content??? Its the best thing to come in 10 years (source IGN). Its groundbreaking advancements in gaming. I really doubt it was woth 55,000,000 (might be a LOT more, not sure) that m$ dished out to pay to try to get more people to favor the 360 version, but in the end, what do you think people will want more? An awesome looking game with less hick-ups and no load times or the watered down version with half-@$$3d, paid for "unknown episodic content" which makes you wish you had a PS3 to play it on?

jus leavin my two cents is all.

Darko @ Apr 27th 2008 7:59PM

Funny, both you and numerous reviews contradict one of your blatant lies. Multiple reviews, including the ign review you quote say that the load times really only apply to the initial load and when moving from one large area to the next. No where does it say frequently. None of the reviews state that the PS3 rarely has load times... All I have to say is you are an ignorant fanboy piece of shit.

Aside from your worthless post I will include my 2 cents.

I have been debating which version to get for some time as I have both systems.

Pros:
It appears that the PS3 version has better AA and free online play. The load time thing bothers me a bit because its a piss poor hack workaround for the slow blu ray drive.

The 360 version has a better color range, DLC, and Xbox live (could be a plus or minus). Rumble (dont have a dual shock 3)

Cons:

The PS3 version would lack rumble for me, as I dont have a dual shock 3, and yes it does matter to me. For me the PSN has been flakey and well not as fun (Im sure this varies from person to person, just my experience)

The 360 version has a bit more pop in from what ive heard and some jaggies.... again I have yet to see a comparison video. I am truly interested in what the difference is.

What I would like to know is what the game runs at for both .... a ton of the PS3 games cant run at 1080p.

As it stands I am going with the 360 version, the controller alone is enough to get me to pick that version. I hate the crap ass nub triggers on the ps3 controller and the lack of rumble.

The Sound @ Apr 27th 2008 5:42PM

Anyone actually surprised?

With the amount of money Sony and MS have in this game, and how much is at stake for console supremacy (Wii not included for a reason) that anything lower than a 95, 9.5, A, or any other kind of review score would be blasphemy basically.

Michael K. @ Apr 27th 2008 5:53PM

I was on the fence about GTAIV until recently, I hated vice city and san andreas, so I have a bitter taste in my mouth regarding this series, but then the ridiculously good reviews started pouring out and I remembered all my fond memories with GTAIII so I caved in and preordered the special edition PS3 version at best buy (I'm a sucker for limited and collectors' editions)

jpeg91 @ Apr 27th 2008 7:37PM

i work at HMV in the UK and today we got our delivery of GTA4. i sat playing it for my whole lunch on the ps3 in our staff room and its amazing! cant wait till i can actually buy this and not have to play it on my lunch ours though. XD

Vcize @ Apr 27th 2008 10:49PM

I want your job.

J-MART @ Apr 27th 2008 7:45PM

I own a PS3 and 360, and I am honestly pretty shocked by the way people act around this game. Theres a reason the reviewers say slight edge in graphics to PS3, because alll it is is a slight edge. I dont know, for me personally, the episodic content makes me want the 360 version rather than the slight graphical edge the PS3 gives.

If you have both systems, I recommend getting the 360 version because of the episodic content and XBOX LIVE(which know matter how much fanboys deny it, is miles ahead of the playstation network). Plus I still like getting achievements.

But in all honesty, both systems are getting the probable GOTY, and fighting over which one is better really is just childish on both sides.

matthew_neitzer @ Apr 27th 2008 7:51PM

The phrase is, 'no matter.' =D

tyba @ Apr 27th 2008 9:02PM

I've never really understood why people say Live is so great... I mean I have Live and Halo has a great community and all (if you can ignore the fucktards), but I play Warhawk and COD4 on my PS3 with a ton of people to play and have no issues with lag. I mean, if there are people to play and lag isn't an issue what more do you want?

The friend list integration of Live is pretty great but isn't that what the upcoming friend list update (Summer) and Home (Fall) is for? Is Live considered to be so much better because of the connection you have to your friends list?

Johnny @ Apr 27th 2008 9:52PM

Well for me I do have a lot more friends on my XBOX live, so obviously that is a major buying point for me.

But I really dont find HOME very interesting at all, it kind of just seems like a big waste of time.

I pretty much buy all my multiplatform games for the 360 because of Live functionality, the controller, and achievements.

But I really cant wait for lots of PS3 exclusives such as Socom, Im dying for that. Trust me, I am the opposite of a fanboy. I just find the whole XBOX experience a much more pleasant one.

kevin @ Apr 27th 2008 7:50PM

ah i feel like im in heaven i love you rockstar :D

Tranando @ Apr 27th 2008 8:14PM

Darko, PS3 Blu-ray is faster than 360's DVD, so it's not san ugly hack.

The reason the 360 does not have an install, is because of the Core/Arcade systems. Premium and Elite owners are downgraded to long load times because of the entry level 360's

Proof of drive speeds:

http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?t=42157

DV8ing1 @ Apr 28th 2008 8:50AM

While its true that drive speeds are the same for reading a contiguous piece of data, the ps3 seek times are slower. Its pretty simple really, the blu-ray disc is like a 27x27' sandbox where as the dvd is 8x8'. It would be alot easier to find a toy shovel (same size) in the smaller one.

To combat this, PS3 has mandatory installs (Also because they CAN as the HDD is not optional) with the commonly used data to improve read times. Another thing the ps3 devs are doing now is copying the data onto the bluray disc several times so that the info can be read from several different areas of the disc. I'm no fanboy either way but I must say that this better than the 360 is being blown out of proportion. I'll be picking it up for both systems

Mike918 @ Apr 27th 2008 8:41PM

Now all i need is...money :(

jojo29 @ Apr 27th 2008 10:52PM

I too do not understand Xbots' blind love for LIVE. The servers run the SAME on both LIVE and PSN, which means that some servers suck and some servers are awesome. No i dont have an xbox but my brother does and as soon as he got his PS3, he stopped buying multi-console games on the xbox. Why?

To quote my brother " $50 bucks is not worth in game friends list or in game messaging, especially when PS Internet (

jojo29 @ Apr 27th 2008 10:53PM

To quote my brother " $50 bucks is not worth in game friends list or in game messaging, especially when PS Internet (

jojo29 @ Apr 27th 2008 10:54PM

To quote my brother " $50 bucks is not worth in game friends list or in game messaging, especially when PS Internet (

John @ Apr 28th 2008 9:22PM

welcome to ps3fanboy. where you never know if your comment will make it. It's a joke, the way management has crippled comments because they are wary of group interaction. They're lizards, of course. Eventually, this will change. For now, we have ps3fanboy, and Dick Cheney.

jojo29 @ Apr 27th 2008 10:55PM

this messaging system is stupid

Bishop99999999 @ Apr 27th 2008 11:52PM

So, after GTAIV, is there any particular reason we should be excited about Home?

Ty @ Apr 28th 2008 4:24AM

I hate planet earth... My sister has a PS3 and I don't... Why God, WHY!?!?!

DirtnSky @ Apr 28th 2008 11:19AM

Has anyone even tried the Iron Man demo that came out last week?

I tried different configurations on the controls, but could never get a good feel of it. Even worse, the main (and Often) weapon of use was on the R2 button! It tells me that I can hover -which would of made some targeting easier!- but never could stay put. It truly felt like I was flying a sprite, not an actual person with Mass. Instantly bouncing about with abandon. Or control.

If that's what to be expected in that game, I won't even rent it.

Is it possible to grow out of GTA? I played thru San Andreas to the end.. and just got tired. I even bought the first PSP game to try to capture the feeling of fun and never even got thru 2 or 3 missions before I shelved it. And the only thing I can truly notice in those many trailers where the amazing Lack of detail in regards to the background characters. The guy "holding" a hotdog or cops firing guns are hilarious since their hands are completely flat yet still.. anyway.

I might do a rent to see the beginnings without the $60 Plus Tax regret.

DanMacMan @ Apr 28th 2008 12:25PM

I have both systems and this is a no brainer for me: I'm getting the PS3 version. Better graphics, quicker loads and free multiplayer. I don't give a sh*t about DLC - never have for any game and probably never will. As time progresses, sadly, my 360 collects more and more dust, while my PS3 - with Blu-ray and games like Drake's, GTA IV, forthcoming MGS, etc - gains more and more playtime.