It may have not been the greatest of all mods, but maybe useful to some early cubers who don't have good 4x4s. And hey, we were all newbs (some even noobs) at one time.
My Rubik's 4x4 is my first and only 4x4, I cant even solve parities on it. So, from the unmodded Rubik's 4x4, I can't tell a difference.
If you learn to solve the 4x4 cube, you start to notice the differences between cubes a lot more. And by that, I mean you stay away from Rubik's brands, because they can't cut corners, they lock up like crazy and they pop. Alot.