Here's GTA IV everyone. It's here, yes, I'm sure 99% of the video game playing world blew a blood vessel waiting in line for the game longer than they waited for the 360 or PS3 they're playing it on. And I'm sure that same population of gamers is pleased to see the game being the most critically acclaimed game to come about in years, possibly a generation of consoles. There's that small percentage though. That percentage that said to themselves "It's just GTA." It's just GTA. Guys. Guys. Please. You're just stealing cars.

Or are you? Throughout the years, GTA has been super popular among gamers. I remember how desperately I wanted to play the series after hearing about it from friends. Gory, violent, explicit, and you could do anything anywhere. But after playing Vice City for about a week, I realized something. For one, I hated the controls. When you go and compare them to games like Halo back then, where shooting is natural and precise, you wonder why you can't have the same feel on your city street with that shotgun of yours. Now, there's a difference between a clumsy controlling game and a game that feels unnecessarily clumsy. Said game also received high, high scores from everyone. That sort of thing bugs me.

Another thing I hated was the repetition. I've heard people knock games for being repetative, and GTA is just as bad. You're killing the same thugs, stealing the same cars from the same people, just on different streets with different buildings in the background. What I remember vividly about the experiences with Vice City and other GTA games since was that you had a basic objective, but it boiled down to, "Get a ride, go here, kill these guys, advance story through cutscene, repeat." Dunno about you, but I found myself wanting variety for a game so big. Why be big if the whole content is the same?

The third thing is linked to the second. The series lacks depth. Not to say that some mindless gaming isn't good or welcome now and then, but when websites consistently dole out high nines to a series faithfully, you should think there would be some profound, deep content found on the disc. When scores get that high, it stops becoming about fun and you need to look deeper into the quality of the game, which in my argument later I'll cover. GTA was never really quality for me. Metal Gear Solid with the excellent, superb stories is a prime example of profound, deep content. Yet what I find after popping in GTA games are poorly controlled crime simulators where you can do a lot but not get a lot out of doing it. Steal one car, you've stolen them all. The series loses novelty that way. Seeing things my way yet?

Other than that, the games just got cut and dry. Is it all wrapped up in a story? Yes. Is the story good? Hard to say. But the game, like any game, is all about how it's played, and GTA games just play the same thing over and over again. You're killing, stealing, buying, selling, driving, sprinting, blah blah blah.

So by now, you GTA fans are saying to yourselves, "Dude these games are awesome, and your repetition argument holds true for every game!" Sort of. I say sort of becuz in Metroid, you never solve the same puzzle twice, in Halo, no fire fights are alike, in Metal Gear Solid, nothing can reach you like the plot twists, and in Zelda, nothing's as rewarding as getting the last heart container in the entire game. But what does GTA have to offer? I hear the new one has helicopter rides, more sexuality, a cover system, and finally free aiming where it's five years overdue. So? Want cover? Play Vegas. Play Gears of War. Don't talk about this thing like it's brand new. And don't talk about free roaming, pretty graphics, big guns, explosions, hookers, and carjacking like they're brand new either, becuz they're as old as GTA III, and they just got prettier.

It comes back to depth again. If every game on it's own merit is repetative, it's about the approach, and GTA's approach is one that quickly gets old. Other games have strongsuits, and GTA's strongsuit is the part that never changes from series to series, which is the only thing to save it from becoming mediocrity. Don't change it, don't improve it, and the same thing looks worse and worse.

I'd like to close by saying this. I have no problem with the series. I know I like some pretty bad games that have bad reputations. I'm a sucker for Spiderman, ok? But the point here is that I'd be in the minority there. GTA people are in the majority. The vast, vast majority, and the fact that IV's getting tens around the board, even from the stingy Gamespot itself, leaves me a little confused. Assassin's Creed is new and fresh. Super Mario Galaxy was the rebirth of a venerable franchise and everyone loved it. Super Smash Bros. Brawl is possibly the best thing to happen to Nintendo in years with it's endless content and value, with new changes and additions to the series. Metroid Prime 3 was an innovative thrillride. Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2 were both tightly controlled and addicting games with frantic gunfights and great level design that keeps the multiplayer always interesting. Call of Duty 4 was intense, looked great, and had a great sense of pace. Even Gears of War, of which I am not a huge fan, impresses me with some new gameplay mechanics and ridiculously advanced hardware. And, of course, Halo 3 was the best game I've ever played and a work of art in all meanings of the term. GTA IV?

Well, you all know what I think on the matter.