Does "Kiddie" Mario Deserve to Outscore the GTA Games?

If you look at the highest rated video games of all time, two franchises dominate the list, and one just barely ekes out a statistical victory based on review scores.

[PSNintyGamer]

I don't see what the problem is here. They both Sold extremely well, and both were received well by gamers.

[Beastforlifenoob]

Each to their own, I bought watchdogs yesterday and thought it blasted GTA out of the water even though it got much lower review scores(although i can understand why some people dislike it). I haven't played many mario games (I know it's hard to imagine) but to me they look like solid experiences for their own audience.

[Locknuts]

Being a fan of quality platformers and open world games, I would say that Nintendo has the edge in terms of polish and fun factor. Rockstar are more ambitious in terms of scope, but have fallen flat a couple of times with the fun factor (GTAIV being the prime example).

[pedrof93]

Beastforlifenoob@

You bought WD yesterday ? And you're already throwing that statement ? How naive.

You'll see.

[Enigma_2099]

The "problem" is that another game outscores HIS favorite game, and his panties are in a bunch over it.

[3-4-5]

GTA 5 was extremely disappointing considering how fun GTA 4 was.

* Worse Physics, POS characters, Lots of Filler that was mediocre at best.

* There was a lot there, but not a lot of fun stuff to do with the stuff that was there.

It was just kind of there....it just kind of happened, but in no way, shape or form could I ever consider GTA 5 a memorable or classic game.

THAT is what we got for $350 Million dollars.

Rockstar knows how to really waste $250 million dollars or at least pocket that much.

* Mario Kart 8 on the other hand was a highly polished game FULL of small details that people are still just finding out about.

10 years from now, which game still plays well, Mario Kart 8 or GTA5 ?

MK8 all the way

[iamnsuperman]

It isn't as black and white as that especially with the hypocrisy with media outlets for the exact issue you raised with Super Mario Galaxy 2 (They would mark games down for that exact reason but not others)

Personally, I think (now this is a sweeping statement) both reviewed much higher scores than they should be (in GTA's case apart from 3 I struggle to find reason to warrant such a high score)

[YodaCracker]

GTA IV scored higher than any Mario game with a 98 on Metacritic. As far as I'm aware, only Ocarina of Time has scored higher with a 99, but with far fewer reviews.

[TheDevKit]

It's a shame the actual game is above average at best.

[elhebbo16]

GTA 4 was also bland as f*ck, so I'm not really sure how that receieved a perfect score. 100% sure it was because it was one of the most anticipated games of all time, has nothing to do with how good the game was.

[WeAreLegion]

I honestly don't like that reviewers give scores. I'd prefer just to read impressions and go from there. Mario deserves praise though. So does Grand Theft Auto. They're attempting to accomplish different things.

[Alinea]

just because it doesnt contain guns and blood, it doesnt mean that its going to be better.

but the 2 cant even be compared, they both aim for different things.

[Ozmoses]

I never really understood the number rating system and how people compare the most ridiculous things..

because a game gets a 6 or whatever doesn't make it bad.. and a 8 or whatever isn't necessarily better.

in all honesty it's the person playing the games...

for example someone might like The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct over the Telltale Walking Dead games.. one scored low and one scored high... someone might like the style of the FPS better and not like the point and click adventure type of game..

(just an example, this does not represent my personal feeling towards either game I mentioned)

But yeah, any gamer that has been gaming long enough should know what type of games they will like...

So honestly by the numbers you can't call any game better than another.. It all really boils down to the personal preference of the gamer.

[dafegamer]

I would take any Mario game(even mediocre ones in that sense)
over GTA IV personally.
I cant believe how a barren world, with repetitive mission, broken driving physics, annoying phone call mechanics,wonky battle controls and imprecise shooting get a 98 on metacritic

[Mr Marvel]

GTA IV was a terrible game. Soooo boring!

Lucky GTA V was a return to form.
I still regard Vice City as the most fun GTA game though.

IMO none of the GTA games can compete with Super Mario World.

[HeavenlySnipes]

You guys are heavily overexaggerating

In 2008 there was nothing as big or ambitious as GTAIV on consoles. Games have since then improved on what GTAIV started and spawned the Red Dead, Just Cause 2, etc

If GTAIV is your bar for "terrible" than I don't think you've had much fun during last gen

[helghast102]

@Heavenly
I had a ton of fun last gen, I got GTA4 near release, that game is awful.

[dafegamer]

yeah GTA V is a great game in comparison.
Seriously, If I look back at all the GOTY Awards GTA IV got,I continuesly bang my head on the table.
This game has had so many flaws,I cant overlook :(

Its like the Reviewers played a completely different game than me :/

[roadkillers]

It doesn't make sense to argue with this because it is all opinion based. For the most part they are similar on how they are setup. Put out a break through title and then expand upon it until you put out another break through and expand on that.

GTA: GTA London, GTA2
GTA3: GTAVC GTASA
GTALCS: GTAVCS
GTAIV: GTAV

You could easily argue that IV and V are still expanding from IV and V.

Mario 64: Mario Sunshine
Mario Galaxy: Galaxy 2
New Super Mario Bros: New 2, Wii, WiiU, 3D World

I do not know much about the early Mario's sadly, they were before my time. Same can be said for the dozens of Spin-offs.

Not trying to make a point, just something to think about. If anyone is really wondering where this came from I was thinking of groundbreaking games this morning and how they changed the way I played.

[higgins78]

The Mario games are generally far, far more innovative, polished and honed than the GTA games could ever wish to be. My example is you can revisit older Mario games and get something fresh and different than you can with the latest incarnation - each playing just as tight. With GTA however the newest is always the best, yet feeling incredibly similar to the previous.

[HeavenlySnipes]

So you're saying that Mario games are all completely different experiences? I heavily disagree

GTA V is different from GTA San Andreas while retaining signature features of a GTA game.

[higgins78]

No, not "completely" different - obviously, but different, yes. I also believe GTA games - while I have enjoyed many, played all - to have not innovated enough in gameplay terms, taking (if any) very few gambles. Mario games in my estimation have done this all whilst being some of the best games off all time...no mean feat.

[Mr Marvel]

"Does "Kiddie" Mario Deserve to Outscore the GTA Games?"

Only a stupid, boof-headed, red-necked, "dude-bro" would even consider asking such a half-witted question.

Several Mario games are worthy of outscoring pretty much any game.

[Software_Lover]

I would rate "kiddie" Mario Galaxy over GTA IV. Over Call of Duty. Over Killzone.

[Spotie]

Over Halo? Over Gears?

[Software_Lover]

I would rate it over Gears. Depends on which Halo you mention.

sidenote: You guys are so sensitive. I mention one exclusive and you can't take it?

[ShaunCameron]

And what exactly is so mature about Grand Theft Auto?

[higgins78]

Absolutely nada.

[Kos-Mos]

Glad someone understands it. Bubbles up!

[IonDestroy]

What tripe. A game could be called "Bert and Ernie go to the Grocery Store" and score higher than GTA. Games are games, no matter how "kiddy" they are. It's like saying that all comedy or children's animated movies shouldn't be rated as high as a suspense thriller or action films of the exact same level of quality. If a game is good, a game is good.

The article tried to remain neutral as hard as it could (even with a clickbait headline like that), but something irks me about how they discard Galaxy as a game with no story or gameplay mechanics aside from platforming, and praise GTAIV for it's diverse multitude of gameplay mechanics. It sounds to me like the author wanted to start an argument in favour of GTA but chickened out and remained neutral for the rest of the article.

[Chrono]

Mario is same old **** every year.
He was cool, 20 years ago.

[helghast102]

In case you haven't noticed, so is GTA. Except with GTA it's the same shit every few years.

[Alinea]

that being said GTA never had anything new at all.

[modesign]

what new characters are in mario again, mario has been saving princess peach for 20yrs do something new mario.

[sloth3395]

Mario was a doctor, racing karts, party games, he was a ref for punch out, fights others in smash brothers so Mario has been busy doing a lot of things over 20 years

[deafdani]

My favorite genres of gaming are sandbox games and platformers. Because of this, I love both Mario and GTA games.

That being said: talk about apples and oranges!

Here's the thing. You can't give a score to a GTA game comparing it with a Mario game, nor viceversa. It doesn't work like that.

If you review a sandbox game, do it comparing it with oyther games in the same genre. Same logic goes with Mario.

You can't just mix goomba-jumping with pedestrian-running. Those games can't be tallied side by side directly. They're different beasts, and in the end, it's acceptable for the reviewer to say if one game entertained him more than the other based on his personal tastes... but you can't objectively claim one to be better than the other.

That's like comparing a good car with a good motorcycle: they're similar, but not the same.

[Kos-Mos]

The writer is obviously a person with a kid mind. And not to disrepsect kids, but they are not able to see the whole picture like this "child" who wrote the article.

[SkullBlade169]

Mario is overrated. Link from LoZ should be Nintendo's mascot.