GTA IV a 2008 Media "Moment That Mattered"

The famed director of Pi The Fountain has applauded Grand Theft Auto IV for impacting the media and causing him to think, "I wish they made this game when I was a teenager."

Darren Aronofsky, the director of the upcoming film The Wrestler, gave the videogame medium a nod for delivering some of the best "screen" moments of the year. Apparently a fan of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, Aronofsky recounted some of his favorite memories from the latest installment in the franchise for the New York Times:

Looking over Niko's shoulder up at the virtual parachute jump in Grand Theft Auto IV's version of Coney Island, grabbing a dollar hot dog off the boardwalk to get my health back, then leaping into a bullet-hole-riddled Hummer and smashing through my childhood neighborhood, flying over sand dunes on Manhattan Beach and finally drowning in the sea off Brighton Beach. Thinking, Man, I wish they made this game when I was a teenager.

Additional recommendations from celebrities for the "Moments That Mattered" in the past year were given to James Marsh's documentary Man on Wire, the internet coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention and a video of a Swiss man who built himself a working jet pack.

If you believe strongly about Grand Theft Auto IV's success or failure in living up to media and review hype, it's never too late to offer an opinion in any of the many topics already discussing GTA4's relevance.