Almost a week has past since the biggest video game launch in history. It wasn’t clear if my initial impression was aligned with the rest of the world, but before you freak out, a single mission made all of difference and ultimately won me over.
Grand Theft Auto IV was released five years ago, but a sequel to GTA IV this is not. While GTA IV focused on a gritty Liberty City and Niko Bellik looking to get out of the game, GTA V shows a vibrant Los Santos and a group of shady characters looking to get back in it. Based on location and gameplay this is more of a sequel to 2004’s San Andreas, with more to do and greater freedom to do it.
As I jumped into the newest GTA I was greeted with familiarity. Yes the graphics look good for a console at the end of it’s generation. Yes the driving and the shooting has been refined to an acceptable level. Everything I expected to be improved is, but it really just felt like the GTA games of old. Don’t get me wrong, Los Santos is an incredible city in both the way it looks and the way characters react to situations. You can see buildings for an unbelievable distance. Characters fight back when you steal their car, and run you over instead of stopping when you aim your weapon at them. Little touches like these kept me hooked.
There are only a few minor annoyances I have with the game. The change in physics has resulted in slightly less entertaining moments when getting hit by a car for example. It’s a little more realistic yes, but less “Meet Joe Black” and far less fun. Also just jumping as Mike or Franklin seems to result in falling over. You can’t jump off of a ledge without falling like an awkward sack of potatoes. Finally, while the shooting has been improved and locking on is great, trying to shoot freely is still behind other third-person shooters. But as I said these issues are minor and pretty easily overlooked.
It wasn’t until I gained access to the third playable character that I truly understood how amazing this game is. When you are thrust into the shoes of Trevor you find yourself in the mountainous region of the game. This is when I realized how visually stunning and how huge the world really is. Without getting into spoilers this is where you fly a plane for the first time (unless you go steal one yourself that is). While you may not be getting the graphical quality of linear games like Last of Us or Halo, the shadows, reflections, number of objects on screen, and distance at which you can see is clearly putting the console through it’s paces. You can see where the 265 million dollar budget went to.
Open world games often have trouble with mission variety. GTA V’s missions are not only varied, but also seem to go in completely different directions than expected. The most popular mission of GTA IV was the heist and GTA V expands on this. I’ve only completed one heist, but it was definitely one of the best missions I’ve played. During the planning phases of the heist you get to choose your crew. The skill level of the crew can affect the outcome of the heist. In my jewelry store robbery my “gunman” apparently didn’t know how to ride a motorcycle and crashed during the escape. Thankfully I had the opportunity to stop and grab his jewels on my way by, saving the money and actually increasing my cut. There are also pre-heist missions depending on how you choose to complete the heist. I chose the smart way vs guns blazing which meant I had to steal some gas to knock out the people inside, and a van to disguise my team as pest control employees.
As it stands GTA V is worth every penny. $800 Million in the first 24 hours and $1 billion dollars in three days shows that everyone else seems to agree. The ability to replay missions with extra goals at anytime gives the game an enormous amount of replayability.
The story is engaging and the characters are dynamic. Trevor is a functioning psychopath on the
same level as Kreig from Borderlands 2, yet somehow comes off as extremely likeable when he’s
not flying off the rails. All of this and I haven’t even gotten to what excites me most about GTA V --
GTA Online. I’m looking forward to collecting cars and buying properties, but the potential of the
online experience is what excites me most. This 16-player online multiplayer mode releases on
October 1 as a free download to those that have purchased the game. Sporting a custom race and
deathmatch editor, fully voiced story missions that take place before the single-player campaign,
and the same open world experience. Create your own character, form a crew with it’s own
hierarchy, watch your friends on a television from the comfort of your own apartment. This is truly
the most complete Grand Theft Auto experience to date.
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