Review: Grand Theft Auto V
There has been yet another release of Grand Theft Auto V and I have bought it again making this the fifth time I have bought the same game. I know I’m part of the problem. n
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Reviewed on PlayStation 5
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When I’m asked what my favorite game of all time is it’s often a hard question and depending on my mood my answer differs. I may say Contra on the NES or I may say The Last of Us on PlayStation 3. GTAV is on the list of my favorite games but I don’t think it ever was number 1. I think that needs to change. This is currently my favorite game of all time. (until I replay The Last of Us and I remember just how great that game is)n
The only negative I can say is we now have yet another release of this game and it did not change much. To me, the game always looked good and played well. With the updated version there is a slight improvement to the visuals but it’s nothing groundbreaking or even noticeable. The gameplay is also untouched and is identical to the original. Releasing this game and not making it a free upgrade for those who already own the game just had me annoyed at how much of a cash grab it is. I guess I’m part of the problem though.
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I have always been somewhat into GTA Online but never got fully invested. I can now say I’m fully invested. Jumping into a race, a cooperative mission, a team deathmatch mode, a heist, and so much more is a lot of fun. The variety of activities is huge and is always growing. I don’t like playing games with other people but GTA forced me to try and I loved it.
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What I spent most of my time online with was actually played solo, and that mainly was the contract story. The contract has you working with Franklin from the single player story and Dr. Dre. Growing up a fan of Dre’s music playing missions alongside him was such a surreal experience. Some of Dre’s performance was perfect others felt phoned in, quite literally. Some of his voice recordings sounded like they were just recorded over a sub par mic which was a little jarring but it did not take away from the experience. n
When the contract storyline was over I felt free to continue roaming around the online world and I found myself teaming up for a heist and then another new obsession was born. Heists are cooperative missions that have several stages to make it to the big payoff. Everyone has their own job to do and the same heist will play out very differently depending on what job you are given. I can’t say enough about how great and varied the online is.
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As for the single player story, this is possibly the most fun I had in a story. It’s not the best story from a storytelling or writing perspective but the things you do, the choices you make, along with all the different mission types make it a lot of fun. There are three main characters; Franklin, Michael, and Trevor. All three are masterfully voice acted and extremely believable.
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The story takes you all over Los Santos and has you doing everything from playing golf, to crazy car chases, and well being a janitor.
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It’s hard to pick a favorite because all three characters are just perfect but I usually find myself using Trevor the least. Trevor is a loose cannon and is not very likable and the fact that you have those feelings just goes to show you how well he is acted. n
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Now this is almost a 10 year old game but most of it didn’t show its age. The driving feels great and the cover based shooting rivals any third person shooter but where it really shows its age is in your character movement. It’s hard to explain because I said the shooting feels great and it does, but the run and gun is where you feel the game’s age. Moving from point A to B while having to shoot definitely feels dated. I found myself running into walls and getting caught outside of cover many times in these scenarios. This was not enough for me to say this game is not a masterpiece.
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GTA V is my ultimate escape game. I can take a drive, I can play a sport, or I can go on a rampage. It’s the perfect game if you have hours or just a few minutes to drive around and have some fun.
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Verdict
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While the newest rerelease does not add anything major Grand Theft Auto V was already a masterpiece. This game has everything I’m looking for and it does it all well. This is and I think will always be one of my favorite games of all time.
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10/10
