By Brad Sewell on September 25, 2013 at 4:00pm
Rockstar’s $265 million juggernaut launched last week, signaling the end of this console generation with a massive map, immersive story, and stunning gameplay to make open-world game developers rethink their methods for years to come. The numbers alone showed the anticipation from the gamer community, with “Grand Theft Auto V” recouping its sales before launch day, making $800 million globally on the first day and climbing over the $1 billion mark by the second. Rockstar made huge promises about this game over the past year and cashed in on them all.
This installment revolves around three crooks: Michael, Franklin, and Trevor. The game begins in 2004 with Michael, Trevor, and two other accomplices on a bank heist that turns sour. The two others die, and Trevor believes that he left Michael for dead as well, even standing witness as his teammate is buried. Fast forward to 2013 to meet Franklin Clinton, a repo man with a penchant for recovering delinquent cars. He crosses paths with Michael--still very much alive and well--who takes him under his wing and shows him the tricks of the thieves’ trade, acting as mentor to help the streetwise gangbanger make something of himself. Don’t worry, I’ll stop with the plotline here, spoilers still being a sensitive subject and all. I will say that the story is one of the finest that you’ll find in the video game industry, although I wish that that the final sequences could have played out over a handful of extra missions. Even with the abrupt ending, it’s still a wild ride the whole way through. “GTA V” does an excellent job of showing how a person can act in the face of opportunity. Some risk losing it all, some can’t see that they’re willingly throwing their past away, and some never had anything to lose in the first place.
When you’re able to swap between characters, you’ll see that each one has initial strengths and weaknesses. Franklin is an excellent driver but has poor aim; Michael can shoot but is easily winded; Trevor can fly like a pro and is brutally strong, but he suffers when driving on the ground. These are correctable over time, but raising stats can take some dedication. Each character also has special activated abilities. Michael can go into bullet time while fighting, and Franklin can go into a similar slower time while driving with superhuman control, while Trevor has the ability to take reduced damage while dealing extra damage of his own.
“GTA V” uses a cover system much more heavily than in “GTA IV;” using cover is critical to the game and will be the deciding factor between life and death nearly every time. You can survive without cover briefly, but don’t expect to get very far with nothing but body armor and a Leeroy Jenkins mindset. Firing weapons from cover is smooth and satisfying, and the game will give you aiming options that include classic “GTA” (targeted aiming), assisted aiming, and free aim. I left it with the default classic aiming and enjoyed it immensely (besides a few times when the game insisted on an unlikely target and the frustratingly small targeting reticule), though I found myself lacking the headshots that the game’s mission rating system seems to crave.
The graphics pushed the limits of current-gen consoles, from the large to small scales. Facial movement was mostly spot-on, even when the characters were talking outside of cutscenes. I expected large amounts of “Just Cause”-style terrain copy-pasting when I saw the large expanses of wilderness on the map, but I was surprised to see such attention to detail even in the middle of nowhere. I think I nearly cried when I saw the ocean.
The game’s soundtrack was vast but often underwhelming. From the massive array of radio stations, I found two that I could listen to (Los Santos Rock Radio and Channel X), and that was pushing it. Even with radio formats that I enjoyed, I only liked a handful of the tracks. Radio news has shown massive evolution over previous games, staying current through most of the game with only a few minor delays, and those only where I’d gone several days without turning the radio on. Without the stellar performance of the news feature, I most likely would have opted to leave the radio off throughout most of the game.
Police presence is much more terrifying than previous games (with the possible exception of “GTA IV”). Early on, it was nearly impossible for me to lose even a single star, but time will teach you to become more inventive in your evasion. This does lead to daring escapes that would make John Bunnell proud as opposed to casually driving over floating police bribes.
“GTA V” lasted longer than I expected, as well. Even knowing that other titles in the series took a while to get through, it was comforting to see the level of dedication Rockstar committed over such a long time. Playing with a moderate amount of tunnel vision with regard to main story missions, it took me around 37 hours to complete the game. I still have many side quests to do and have barely touched sports at all (and there are a lot: golf, tennis, yoga, and triathlons to name a few), but 37 hours saw credits rolling. The missions were a blast, especially the complicated heists and the preparation leading up to each one of them. Missions are difficult enough to keep you interested, but not so much that they leave you frustrated. There is even an option to skip missions for those less challenge-inclined, but you do have to fail the mission several times before the option appears (similar to unlocking Very Easy mode in the “Silent Hill” games). Whether this is an improvement or an appeasement, I’ll let you decide. I’m proud to say that I completed without skipping, though.
One mission that stood out for me (and will certainly garner a lot of media attention) is the one that puts you in control of Trevor as a torturer. “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” made you affirm several times that you wanted to participate in the airport shooting level, but this mission in “GTA V” comes out of the blue and is easily as unsettling if you’re not prepared for that sort of thing. Yes, the scene lends to Trevor’s nature as a psychopath and even yields character development (and, okay, the mechanics of it all were interesting), but I say this so you know what you’re getting into.
There is no real female presence in the game, and those you would expect to be major players are absent through most of the story. It wasn’t something I paid attention to while playing, but I think it’s worth pointing out in retrospect.
I point out a few flaws in the game, but these are mostly nitpicky issues. You’ll find positive reviews everywhere (this one included), so it’s easier to point out the blemishes. Any of these are minor and forgivable (though I do hope they add more music selection in future DLCs), and “GTA V” is easily worth tightening your budget for. What else is there to say? Lots, but I’m not going to gush. If you think this is your kind of game at all, definitely check it out.
