SolidSnakex said:
They really aren't handling GTA4 any differently than any other game when it comes to reviews though. Magazines always get the jump on them and then a few days before the games release you see website reviews. There's nothing to really suggest that they're doing anything dirty in order to get these high scores.
The only scores I've seen was in OXM where the review was so gushing that it was less a review and more a preview. They sounded almost apologetic at the end to mention some "minor grumbles". Then OPM did a similar soft treatment.
Other than that nothing but some softball reviews from bloggers like AICN who appear to have received VIP trips to Rockstar for their trouble. Hardly trustworthy.
Anyway the hype mostly reminds me of Assassins Creed. Remember too that AC got wall to wall coverage and gushing reviews from its first "exclusive" reviews. It didn't do too hot after that.
While I think GTA will be much better than AC, I see nothing controversial about wanting some independent reviews prior to launch to say how good the game is before spending money on it.