1. Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)
When Grand Theft Auto IV first arrived back in 2008, the level of hype was immense: Grand Theft Auto III (worthy of all its acclaim, in my opinion) set the bar incredibly high and changed the face of gaming forever. Grand Theft Auto IV had a lot to live up to, and though it seemed to have pulled it all off at first, it was only after the initial reviews had been established and everyone was able to spend a lot more time with the game that the world began to collectively realise that it wasn't quite as awesome as they'd originally thought. At least, that seems to be something of a popular opinion now, given that we're able to look back at the game with a fresh pair of eyes (especially since GTA V has arrived). Thing is, Grand Theft Auto IV - presumably as a result of the ecstatic and near-perfect reviews it was given upon release - is ranked on Metacritic as the third highest-rated game of all-time, right after The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Tony Hawks' Pro Skater 2 (hey, it's a good game). Maybe you can begin to see why I'm so desperate to associate it the word "overrated." There's no denying there are good (and even great) things about GTA IV. The characters and the storyline were - at the time, at least - above and beyond what gamers might have expected to find in a sandbox game. But for all the manic fun you can have with GTA IV, driving around, assaulting pedestrians, and finding amusing ways to commit suicide, there are far too many issues to have it placed anywhere near "the "greatest games of all time." The best way to describe GTA IV is as a sandbox without the sand. On the surface, what you're looking at is great - the visuals were dark and dingy and detailed in a surprising appealing way, but the map itself was unresponsive. The world felt cold. The driving was difficult and hard to master. The shooting was horrible. The missions were mostly boring and began to feel samey after you'd tackled three or four. Did you even bother to finish the game? I eventually did, but it took a long, long time for me to gather up the right levels of enthusiasm. GTA IV was hailed as being landmark for its time, but it only took a day or two spent in the game's company to realise that most of its good points are suffered through lots of increasingly noticeable flaws: a bad video game, then? No: not even close. It's an experience worth having under your belt, but does it deserve to rub shoulders with the likes of Ocarina of Time, or its vastly superior predecessor? Sorry, Niko: no dice, pal.
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