LogFAQs > #966212097

Rockstar tried to leave the goofyness and make IV more "realistic", which backfired.
It was less fun, the cars felt "too much realistic" compared to earlier games, and while the TV and internet were nice addons, it felt like most humor went into them instead of the rest of the game. And the music wasnt as great.
The two addons were pretty nice however.

V is like taking IV, change everything to the better and add more stuff. It got more goofyness than IV, but not as much as SA, and they managed to find the perfect balance. A shame that they cancelled the singleplayer DLC.

Saints Row is what everybody expected IV to be, but it had problems with the difficulty settings.
2 perfected everything from the first game, and is the best SA clone.
3 decided to turn the dial to 11. I love the goofyness (and the flying bike), but some people think it was too crazy.
4 turned the dial to 11 again, and is probably one of the best superhero games for the last 3 generations.