Grand Theft Auto IV, the new iteration of the wildly successful series, has hit retailers and Internet communities everywhere with 10's across the board. As it stands, in fact, GTAIV is at the time of this writing, the #1 game of all time, with a full .85% lead over The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; and considering OoT is rated at 97.688%, and that it has retained its #1 status for over 10 years, a .85% difference is a lot. Coupling this with the absurd amount of incredible games that have been released since 2007, it's pretty obvious we're sitting in a post-modern golden age of videogames. There's definitely not a better time to be a gamer than right now.

Naturally, however, GTAIV will inevitably be accompanied with controversy. Different from the other GTA this time around, is precisely the fact that GTAIV has received such critical acclaim. Will this really make such a difference this time around?

Just imagine it: "You want proof of how appealing violent videgames are to our children? Look for no further proof than the fact the 'greatest game of all time' is neither Mario or Pokémon, but Grand Theft Auto IV, the very game that has consistently pushed the limits of what is acceptable both in violence and in sexual content; the very game that gives our children the power to behave socially and morally irresponsible with no consequences whatsoever; the very game that turns our children into gangsters and killers, and rewards them extensively for it.

"This is the game that is loved and acclaimed by the so-called 'gaming community'; this is the game that sells millions upon millions of copies, and finds its way into our children's hands as merely another plaything; this is the game that defines the gaming community.

"I ask you, who listens to me, is this not a horrible foreboding of our society's future? Is this not a reflection of the sorry state of our youth? Is this not sufficient proof of the horror that our government's inaction on the matter of violence in videogames is spreading into our society?

"It is knowing this that I propose that videogames...".

Whether a lame-brain politician will actually use GTAIV's acclaim in such a fanatical way remains to be seen, but either way we should be ready to face the cost of GTAIV's awesomeness, should it ever be billed to us.

Perhaps Grand Theft Auto IV marks the peak of the new golden age, or perhaps it is only the halfway point, and yet more awesome games will be released in the coming months, though the latter seems highly unlikely (though Metal Gear Solid 4 could prove me wrong; not that I'd mind). All rises to glory are inevitably followed by equally glorious falls; it is our world's nature. And whether it will be caused by GTAIV or not, it is obvious it is near, since it is highly unlikely GTAIV will be surpassed for the next 10 years, should it remain at #1.

I don't intend to be pessimistic, I just want to say that we should continue to enjoy this golden age of games, and even the time after it, just knowing full well that there will come a time of drought where games that achieve this level of awesomeness will only be seen after quite a few years. So, let's make it a point now, not to say things like "videogames are dead to me; ever since GTAIV, everything's been crap," come the year 2015, or something like that. After the first golden age of arcades and Atari, the "silver age" of Nintendo, the "silver age" of FFVII/Ocarina of Time, the "silver age" of PS2, and now the new golden age of... awesomeness, we should know better.

Just have fun with whatever comes our way in the coming years, whether it reaches the level of awesomeness of this golden age or not, and don't bother other gamers with the "videogames will never be the same" idea. Patience; a new age will come.