User blog:Raziel Reaper/Grand Theft Auto V: Review Roundup

So, guys, after a couple of days,all reviewers voiced their opnion on, and gave scores to, GTA V (well, at least the reviewers I give a fuck to).

GTA V currently holds a score of 97-98 on MetaCritic (previously 99, thanks again, Escapist), and 96+ on GameRankings.

Loved it
"No other world in video games comes close to this in size or scope, and there is sharp intelligence behind its sense of humour and gift for mayhem."

- IGN, 10/10.

"No one makes worlds like Rockstar, but at last it has produced one without compromise. Everything works. It has mechanics good enough to anchor games of their own, and a story that is not only what GTA has always wanted to tell but also fits the way people have always played it. It’s a remarkable achievement, a peerless marriage of world design, storytelling and mechanics that pushes these ageing consoles to the limit and makes it all look easy."

- Edge, 10/10.

"Unless you play it for yourself, it's near impossible to grasp how big GTA 5 is. It's not just the world. It's the gargantuan story, the sheer amount of missions and the variety introduced with them, the activities to take part in, or the secrets waiting to be unveiled. It's a highlight of the generation."

- VideoGamer, 10/10.

"Sam Houser compared the making of Rockstar’s epic to the troubled production of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, and in some ways the same result has been met: a product that represents the peak of the blockbuster triple-A form, that realises grand ambition without visible compromise - Masterful open world design from the pioneers of the genre."

- Games(TM), 10/10

"The world is massive and detailed, the gameplay is damn near perfect, and though there are some lackluster side missions, the actual story is filled with memorable personalities that feel more fully-realized than even the best of GTA's previous characters."

- GamesRadar, 5/5.

"Getting through the main story in a timely manner was a challenge in itself, but in that time I found that GTA V was possibly the most well-paced open world game I have ever played. I never felt like I didn’t have something to do and as of right now, I’m going right back in to do it all over again. I’ve been with GTA since the beginning way back in ‘97, and it feels like GTA V is the culmination of everything we love about the series: It’s big, it’s pretty, and most importantly it’s just nonstop fun."

- Machinima, 10/10.

"Grand Theft Auto V is the pinnacle of open-world video game design and a colossal feat of technical engineering. It takes a template laid down by its predecessors and expands upon it, improving on and streamlining some of its rougher aspects. It doesn’t break out of that template and can be brash, nasty and nihilistic. But for all its more unsavoury aspects, this is a game built with skilled mechanical expertise and creative artistry."

- Telegraph, 5/5.

"The genius of GTA V is in the sheer seductive force of its vision. The visuals are astonishing – just astonishing. Surely pushing this ageing hardware to the limits, we get the dense downtown with its soaring skyscrapers and murky, rubbish-strewn back alleys. But then out into the country, we have rolling grasslands and desert stretches, coyotes roaming, the shadows of eagles swooping overhead...The world drags you in. It begs you to explore – and then it rewards you."

- Guardian, 5/5.

"The writing associated with those main characters and their stories is the best part of Grand Theft Auto V."

- Giant Bomb, 5/5.

"There’s simply more here than in any game before, and yet quality is never sacrificed for quantity. Personal favourites will persist, but it’s hard to put anything else on top of the pile. Everything you’ve ever wanted a GTA game to be, and a whole lot more. Consistently hilarious, constantly compelling and combining never-before-seen scale and ambition. This is going to make next-gen look bad for a long time to come."

- Playstation Official Magazine UK, 10/10.

"GTA V is funny, genuinely laugh out loud funny – and not in a ’shoving a ten-inch purple dildo up your arse’ funny – the humour is told through situation, through incredibly clever writing and wonderful sense of place. Really, that says everything you need to know about GTA V. Rockstar has spent five years, and an insane amount of money, building a game that is not only bold enough to step away from expectation, but brave enough to revel in its combined history as well."

- X360 Magazine, 10/10.

"For the anarchist, GTA5 is quite a playground. The entire map is available once you get through an hour or so of the story, and the tools of destruction are numerous and hugely enjoyable, although some of them might need to be unlocked first. The Gatling gun returns and a gas canister spills a solid line of flammable justice waiting to be set off. Guns can be painted up and modded with flashlights, grips, scopes, and suppressors."

- GameTrailers, 9.8/10.

"Rockstar Games deserves credit for pushing the boundaries of its flagship franchise yet again with improved controls, great mission variety, and the most jam-packed open world I've ever visited."

- Game Informer, 9.75/10.

"Rockstar has expanded and improved upon so much of what's special about video games as mainstream spectacles, from the playful use of characters to the refined take on world design. The developer's progress makes the aspects of the game left in cultural stasis — the poorly drawn women, the empty cynicism, the unnecessarily excessive cruelty — especially agitating."

- Polygon, 9.5/10.

"GTA5 may not be the Hollywood-beating crime story it wants to be, then, but it's the best video game it's ever been, and I'll take that."

- Eurogamer, 9/10.

"GTA V is an imperfect yet astounding game that has great characters and an innovative and exciting narrative structure, even if the story it uses that structure to tell is hobbled at times by inconsistent character behavior, muddled political messages and rampant misogyny. It also raises the bar for open-world mission design in a big way and has one of the most beautiful, lively, diverse and stimulating worlds ever seen in a game."

- Game Spot, 9/10.

"An ambitious game, attempting to meld three very different characters together to tell one encompassing story of survival in what amounts to the worst place in America. That story stumbles, but the open-ended gameplay remains a showpiece for the vast amount of content that can be poured into a virtual world."

- Joystiq, 4.5/5.

"All three characters, in their respective ways, feel representative of the Grand Theft Auto series as a whole, and contribute to making GTA V what it is -- the ultimate culmination of Rockstar's beloved and despised series."

- Destructoid, 9/10.

Liked it
"It is the difference between The Godfather Part 1 and Part 2, between Inglorious Basterds and Triumph of the Will, and between Just Cause 2 and JFK Reloaded. In the former examples, the audience can get behind the anti-heroes depicted for whatever reason and condone their admittedly awful actions, but in the latter group, the subject matter or the protagonist's morals are skewed too far from the norm to be comfortably witnessed. That's what it's like to play Grand Theft Auto V. The three men you take control of throughout the game aren't even anti-heroes. They're just scumbags."

- Escapist, 3.5/5.

Polls
Do you think GTA V deserve the critical acclaim it gets? Yes No I only care about my own opinion

Have you got GTA V? Yes No I'm a PC gamer

Do you think GTA V tops the previous games in the series? Yes No I'm not sure...