Tue, Jul 01, 2008 | 20:27 BST
GTA IV “ain’t the revolution,” says Pulitzer prize winner
Speaking on the Wall Street Journal’s site, Pulitzer Prize fiction winner Junot Díaz has said that while GTA IV is art, in his opinion, it doesn’t live up to the reviews.
“I love GTA IV and I have no doubt that it is art, but an equal to The Sopranos or The Godfather? Narrative art of that caliber is distinguished by its ability to re-organize our preconceptions, to shift us into a world that’s always been there but that we’ve been afraid to acknowledge, and I’m not convinced that GTA IV pulls off that miracle,” said the writer.
“GTA IV is brilliant, but despite what virtually all the reviews claim, it ain’t the revolution.”
You could be burnt for heresy, Junot. You’re saying an entire generation of reviewers suffered from lemming syndrome and got it completely wrong. Unthinkable.
More through the link.
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Posted in: Action, PS3, Rockstar, Xbox 360
Tags: grand theft auto iv, gta iv, Junot Díaz
4 comments
#1
Quiiick
01/07/08, 2:11 pm
IMHO Junot Díaz is dead right about this!
GTA4 lacks the narrative quality of some movies.
But will games ever be there …?
And:
Does MGS4 have the quality Mr. Díaz is taking about, considering it is a very japanese and not a western game?
#2
klanger13
01/07/08, 2:40 pm
Not really. I don’t think any game has the narrative quality of a movie. I think games have there own narrative quality that isn’t really that comparable to movies, or are at least starting to. There are elements of movie like narrative in there but I would say that games contain types of user generated narrative not possible in films. I think Will Wright touched on it in a lecture he did. I think that needs to grow to the point where the user generates the story of their game. But the range of emotions a player experiences during a game is still incredibly limted in comparison to other media.
#3
Whizzo
01/07/08, 2:42 pm
Reading that article is pretty painful, while I wouldn’t say GTA IV’s narrative is comparable to some of the stuff some reviewers said that’s really poorly written rubbish.
And there’s a very good reason why Niko gets a girlfriend so easily, which is one of his complaints, something that anyone who’s played the game a fair amount would know.
#4
mightyhokie
01/07/08, 9:00 pm
The gaming industry already achieved that….it’s called BioShock! If the movie is done exactly like the game it will win an Oscar.
Don’t get me wrong, GTA 4 is awesome and I love it (like 90 hours on it now) but BioShock is the greatest video game ever, and the story is better than almost anything out of Hollywood in 10 years or more.
JMHO, of course! hehe