Now Playing: Grand Theft Auto V

Although there may be a few things previous games in the series did better to one degree or another, as a complete package, I think I’d rate GTA V as the best overall GTA experience yet. But does that mean its perfect? Well, no, but I’d say its missteps are far outweighed by all the things it does right.

Let’s begin with a short note about technical matters. I’ve already covered this in my First Impressions post, but it’s one aspect of GTA V I’m very impressed by. In terms of performance, GTA V far exceeded my expectations. The amount of control and display options is remarkable. Could there be further optimisation? Sure. But, overall, GTA V is a finely tuned beast of a game (it took me over 20 hours to download the bloody thing). Oh, and it looks fantastic.

GTA V is without a doubt one of the best looking games I’ve played. The attention to detail is incredible. Character models, car models, damage, texturing, lighting, animations – it all combines to create an exceptional open world – one which is even more enjoyable to explore and appreciate in the new first person mode.

And this is a world with a lot to see and do. If there’s one thing a GTA game typically delivers above all else, it’s the open sandbox environment – and GTA V is probably the best yet. The map of GTA V is extensive, although in terms of structure, it’s really one big circle split into two primary areas – city and rural. It’s a rewarding world to explore, one with an impressive amount of side events and activities.

The random events are a neat touch and I’ve rarely seen the same one twice. These events exist separately to the core and side missions, which I’ll talk about later. In addition to these, you also have various activities to enjoy – from playing tennis or golf, to practising yoga, to various forms of racing (land/sea/air), to watching television or going hunting – it’s an extensive selection, to say the least, although I must admit I do miss the bowling and pool of GTA IV and I would have loved the inclusion of some card games, especially for the Online.

 

Beyond these activities, the sandbox itself is simply fun to explore and screw about in. With cars, motorcycles, bikes, helicopters, planes, boats and even a submarine – the GTA V sandbox isn’t short on diverse and enjoyable distractions. It’s content rich, varied in locales and by far the real star of the show.

If I had one criticism of the world aside from the lack of a few preferred side activities, it’s that some of the map, particularly the rural half, feels somewhat empty. In fact, very little core or side missions take you beyond the city and out into the wilderness and when they do, it’s usually just for a lengthy drive between A and B.

So, where are we up to? Performance? Check. Graphics and animations? Check. Sandbox and Activities? Check. So far, so good. Let’s continue focusing on single player and talk about the story based missions, because this is the one area I am a little disappointed by.

But before I start to complain, let’s cover the good stuff. I really liked the three character switch mechanic. I liked each character, and also how each (Trevor in particular) represented a different style of play, each with their own story and special ability. I also, overall, really liked the side ‘Strangers and Freaks’ missions, which offered a varied selection of mission types for each of the three main characters.

I’m also pleased to say I enjoyed the core story missions far more than in GTA IV. They are more enjoyable, more diverse and allow a far greater degree of player freedom – although still not quite to the extent that I’d like. The way the game opens and slowly introduces us to these characters in turn is fantastic. These early missions build to your first heist – a jewellery store robbery.

And it’s brilliant. You get to choose a plan of approach, hire a professional crew and perform a series of small missions to acquire the gear you need. All of this culminates in the heist which is exciting to play and extremely satisfying when completed. I was hoping it would be the start of a series of increasingly complex and challenging heists.

Oh dear. And this is where, for me, GTA V drops the ball a little. No other mission in the game quite lives up to that first heist, and although there are more heist style missions, they simply aren’t as interesting, or don’t allow you any great choice of approach or crew. Instead, I found that following the initial heist and the introduction of Trevor, the story really began to drag in places, and this feeling persisted right up until the end. Hell, at times I felt I was just grinding my way through a mission to get it out of the way.

GTA V offers some excellent core missions, but it also feels weighed down by quite a few needless and forgettable ones which drag the whole experience down. In terms of the mission content, I was hoping for more involved and complex heists. I really think the game peaks way too soon with that initial heist, and a lot of what follows just doesn’t really compare.

And I hate to say it, but I kind of lost interest in the story the longer it dragged on. Fortunately, I liked the characters and wanted to see what would happen to them, and that’s what pushed me on. I was hoping that by the end, the story would weave all these loose threads together and provide a satisfying conclusion.

Oh dear. What GTA V really lacks when it comes to its story is focus. Balancing three main characters was always going to be tricky and I’d say they pull it off more often than not, but the story does suffer for it, struggling to establish any strong narrative thread as it frays into multiple strands. It lacks direction, and for long periods it feels like the story just isn’t going anywhere. Although I enjoyed the final heist, the following final mission feels rushed, almost tacked on without any great thought and very little build up.

So the single player of GTA V is impressive, even though it left me a little disappointed by its core missions and story. But the single player is really only half of the GTA V experience. The online multiplayer of GTA V is almost an entire game in its own right. It’s also an impressive and extensive experience, but like the single player – a flawed experience, perhaps more so. Let’s start with the good stuff.

There’s a neat character creator which begins your life in GTA Online. From here, you’ll be dropped into the open world of GTA V, free (after a terrible and short tutorial) to go about as you please. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t do a great job of guiding the player through these early stages. A lot of stuff you’ll just have to work out on your own.

GTA Online offers various ways to play – in your own private session, alone or with friends, or in a public free roam, in which you can toggle ‘passive’ (non-pvp) mode on and off. You have structured missions you can undertake either solo or as part of a small group, the most elaborate of these being the heist missions. You also have an extensive selection of activities such as races, deathmatch modes, team based versus modes and co-operative survival battles. Oh, and a lot of the single player side stuff too, such as golf and tennis.

You won’t unlock all of this stuff straight away, but as you level up. The higher your level, the more you’ll unlock – and this includes the various weapons. Completing missions and taking part in activities doesn’t just net you experience, but money – which you can then use to purchase and mod vehicles, clothes, tattoos, apartments, weapons and ammo. There’s a lot to see and do, even if you play solo, although it’s certainly a far more enjoyable and rewarding experience if you play with friends.

 

I’m quite impressed with GTA Online, but like I said, I do think it’s a flawed experience. As I’ve already mentioned, the game doesn’t do a great job at explaining things. This isn’t a major issue because you can figure out most things on your own, but it’s worth mentioning. I didn’t know what the hell was going on or what I was supposed to be doing when I was first dropped into GTA Online. The long and frequent loading between the initial run of ‘tutorial’ missions certainly didn’t help.

Because whilst game performance is good, loading in the Online mode is rather lengthy, especially when switching between missions. It has an annoying habit of timing out and kicking you back to the free roam, making playing through a playlist of modes a frustrating experience. And there’s some weird choices made (or bugs?) with regards to how you can ‘group’ with other players.

The game will automatically try to place you in a free roam with friends, which is nice (when it works), but if you then complete a mission together and attempt to return to the same world map, even if you’re in a closed friend session, the game can kick you both into your own separate free roams. I don’t know if it’s a bug or working as intended, but I do know its bloody irritating.

So the friend/group aspect could certainly use some work. But what else bothers me? Well, although I’m not against the level up system, I do think they pushed it way too far. Even when I’d only hit level 20 or so, I was getting a bit tired of repeating the structured missions time and time again. But currently, this is the only real way to level up or earn cash at any significant rate. I found myself running missions repeatedly, not because I particularly enjoyed them (certainly not on the ninth or tenth go) but simply to grind them for experience and money.

Oh right, money. Everything costs money in GTA Online, and it can be rather pricey – even ammo. So once again, you’ll be grinding missions just to save up for stuff, be it cars or weapons. And I really didn’t want this – World of Grind Theft Auto. I don’t want to have to grind through another 10 bloody levels just to unlock a different type of assault rifle. I really wish the game had a separate ‘everything unlocked for free’ mode you could just piss about in without worrying about how much stuff costs, or if you are the right ‘level’ to use it.

The level system is also pretty badly balanced in terms of free roam pvp. Higher level players get access to far better weapons and armour which I think discourages pvp to a degree, because lower level players simply can’t compete against a guy with heavy armour, a mini-gun and rocket launcher. As a result, a lot of people just remain in passive mode.

In addition to this tedious money/experience grinding and level requirements resulting in a competitive imbalance, you also have this ridiculous ‘insurance’ system for personal vehicles. I really don’t understand the thought or intention behind this system. You have ‘personal’ cars you can insure for a one-off cost and if destroyed, they will simply respawn with a quick phone call. It makes sense given how extensive the car modification system is – you don’t want to lose the money you’ve invested in that vehicle.

However, this system extends to the pvp aspect, whereby if another player destroys your personal vehicle, they then have to pay the insurance cost. Admittedly, the cost is somewhat negligible compared to what you can earn running a few missions, but I really don’t understand the need for such a penalty at all. These are virtual cars which can respawn. Is this system intended to discourage destroying personal vehicles because it’s considered ‘rude’? Let me say it again – virtual cars.

I really don’t understand the need or point of this system. If people don’t want to engage in pvp there’s the passive mode or the private/closed session options. And if people want to use armoured vehicles or heavy weapons (which the game allows) they should be free to do so without fear of being penalised.

The funny thing is, that whenever I go out in the public free roam now, looking for some pvp action, I never take my personal vehicles. Why? Because if someone blows me up in retaliation, I don’t want them to get penalised for it. That must sound weird, but to me, this system runs contrary to what GTA Online public sessions should really be about – carnage and mayhem! Let us use tanks and rocket launchers and sticky bombs and blow shit up without dumb penalties and ‘punishments’! Why put this stuff in the game if you then discourage using it?

One last thing to mention about the Online is that sadly, we’re already starting to see people using hacks pop up more regularly. I really hope they don’t let GTA Online end up like Red Dead Redemption. I loved playing that online, but it got to the point where it was unplayable on public sessions as pretty much every one I joined had someone using hacks, either to make themselves invulnerable, or to snipe you through the scenery from beneath the bloody map.

Okay, I’d better wrap this up. GTA V is an excellent title. It’s well worth your time, and you’ll find a lot of quality, rewarding and enjoyable content both online and off. It has its flaws, primarily with regards to its story and its Online modes, but not enough to damage the overall experience. As a complete package, I think I’d rate GTA V as the best in the series yet. And it’s something that, thanks to its extensive Online options, I suspect I’ll be playing for many months to come.

I must admit, however, that if I had the choice, I’d still have preferred an updated PC version of Red Dead Redemption. Hey, a man can dream, right?

8/10