Grand Theft Auto V

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What is Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V lets players use melee, firearms and explosives to its fullest potential. The game is an intelligent, wickedly comical, and bitingly relevant game with great documentation on the post-economic crisis of America. The game comes dripping with venomous satire that ruthlessly tears into the Millennial generation, the far left, the far right, the middle class, and the media. Rockstar Games has always been known for their sharp tongue and attention to detail that brings this world into full being.

GTA V: New and Wild Adventures

As always, Rockstar Games pushes the boundaries of what's possible with their games, and they add a new level of realism with many new experiments. In this game, you will ride along the tops of trains on dirtbikes, hijack military aircraft, and engage in insane shootouts with throngs of police officers. Once again, Rockstar Games brings us the novel with not just one but three main characters to keep the game interesting throughout. The scripts were well-written, and you have some moments full of laughter. The way the relationships with the characters change throughout the game is part of what gives it so much power and potential. You feel like you are playing real people, even if they are people with some extreme problems.

Meet Michael, Franklin, and Trevor

Michael retired in his 40s from the art of conning people, and he's gaining some weight as he drinks beside the pool at his Vinewood mansion. He has an airhead daughter, a layabout son, and a notoriously unfaithful wife. Oh, he also has an outrageously expensive therapist — not to mention, everyone hates him. Next, you have Franklin, and he's a young gang banger from Los Santos who faces the prospect of fighting with bigger scores. Finally, there is Trevor. Trevor has lived a volatile career as a criminal who sells drugs in the desert and murders rednecks. He's a sociopath with bloodthirsty tendencies that often get fueled by a messed-up childhood and methamphetamine.

Following Individual Stories

Never done before, you follow the lives of these three characters, which actually makes for some excellent gameplay. In addition, each character shows off Rockstar's personality in different ways. A lot of the missions with Michael revolve around his history and family life. Meanwhile, Franklin's missions usually call for vehicular homicide and drive-bys. Finally, Trevor takes you on the more bloodthirsty missions, but each character has a special ability to suit their individual skills. For example, Franklin can slow time when driving. Meanwhile, Michael can slow time down in shootouts, which gives him the advantage. This feature is similar to Jack Marston's Dead Eye ability. Finally, Trevor's special skill is invulnerability. It lets him take more damage and cause more damage when he goes into this mode. In all three of the characters' special abilities, you will move more slowly. However, with Trevor, it's a little less pronounced.

Switching between Characters

The act of switching between characters is quite interesting, and it provides you with a unique look into their lives to add more backstory. For example, you might pick Michael who's at home watching TV on his big screen. He could also be speeding down the highway or having a cigarette on the golf course. Franklin, on the other hand, could be arguing with his ex-girlfriend, exiting a strip club, or eating snacks. Trevor is highly unpredictable. You could encounter him passed out and half naked on a beach surrounded by dead bodies, or he could be drunk while flying a police helicopter that he stole five minutes prior.

Open Map from the Start

Rockstar Games does a phenomenal job of introducing gamers to the world of San Andreas. It never feels artificial, and you get the feeling you're playing in a real place. The most noteworthy jump in quality from Grand Theft Auto VI to Grand Theft Auto V is the beautiful character animation. You exist in an expansive and populous world that is rich with detail. You only pay for it with the occasional framerate dip or a texture, but compared to the quality you receive, it's a small price to pay.

Story Mode

In total, the story mode can take a whopping 35 hours to play! That's exceptional considering a lot of games struggle to even give you 10 to 15 hours of gameplay. You have so much going on in this masterfully crafted story, and it's heightened by the fact that San Andreas has a story of its own. You can chase down criminals who randomly grab purses, find a man tied to a telephone pole in women's underwear, or run across police caught in a vicious gun battle. It adds an element of the world unfolding on its own.

GTA V takes full advantage of the variety of shooting and driving places, and you see everything rolled into one while playing the story. In one example, you're racing Michael's boulder blob of a son across Vespucci Beach in yet again, another misguided attempt at father-son bonding. You could also be using the helicopter to search for someone across the city or perhaps you're towing cars for Franklin's crackhead cousin. The missions in GTA V never grow stale with something new to look forward to at every mission.

GTA V shines most with its climactic, multi-stage heists that happen on a grand scale. It's one of Grand Theft Auto's most ambitious and accomplished goals of all time, and you usually can choose from stealth to taking the all-out explosive approach that grabs every cops' attention. The bottom line is that this is a great game with an expansive world to explore.

Pros

• Explosively alive and realistic characters
• Massive replayability factor
• Missions are rich and varied
• Story mode with up to 35 hours of gameplay
• The world in itself feels real

Cons

• The framerate occasionally dips because of how big the world is
• Characters are sometimes hard to connect with emotionally