In GTA you have to do so many objectives before it will usually allow you to access more of the world. Regardless, I don't see anything lazy about a game design that has you achieving multiple objects before moving on to the next level or world in the game. Jak and Daxter Precursor Legacy is IMO probably the best platformer on PS2 and it plays the same way minus transitions, having you to run around finding orbs and giving them to people in order to get a power cell and move on to the next area. But it's PS2, so the worlds are more animated, more enemies and more things to explore.
I can think of a lot of games and platformers that have this set-up, and I don't see it as a problem.
Mario 64 just sucked IMO. I don't have a problem fetching items and actually quite enjoyed Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie. But Mario 64 was the same, small levels that you just had to keep repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating ad nauseum to find a stupid star. It was baren. Power-ups were basically non-existent. The camera was a chore to control and drove me insane trying to do flips & jumps.
I don't view Nintendo and their games with rose colored glasses. They have made some great stuff, but for me some of it is crap. I don't give them a free pass.
I don't either. Virtual Boy was a joke. Game Boy was the worst handheld of the generation. GameCube was disappointing. Nowadays they are too dependent on gimmicks and refuse to make solid hardware. I think they're running the current side-scrolling formula into the ground at this point. I won't hesitate to be critical of Nintendo. But I really don't feel Mario 64 was in any way lazy, or half-hearted. It was a different game from the previous because the new hardware allowed for a much different experience. A lot of platformers followed this basic formula.
It really is a matter of preference, otherwise I wouldn't have played through the game as many times as I have just because I enjoy it that much. I don't replay these kind of games just because I live with a delusion that they are good because they're Nintendo. It's because they really are fun to me.
