2. Don't Be Afraid To Experiment
The thing with GTA IV wasn't that it was an out n' out bad idea on paper - in fact a more serious take on the mythos would be welcomed with open arms if it was done right, Saints Row is already killing it on the ludicrous side in spades anyway. The problem with IV was the car handling, the boring protagonist, the annoying phone calls, proliferation of fairly pointless minigames and the colour palette that had the whole thing dossed in a sea of grey. At almost no point was it very 'fun' to play or look at in a conventional sense - and that could've been spectacular if all the components around it came together more strongly. People absolutely love shows that revel in darker tones and stunning revelations like Daredevil, Breaking Bad and True Detective, and even though it's fun to be "Good ol' crazy GTA" again, V felt like Rockstar bowing to peer pressure and throwing their hands up screaming "We don't know!" rather than going to the extra mile down the road GTA IV started.