I’ll be honest with you – initially I wasn’t that blown away with GTA V. During the start it seemed like a vast improvement on many of GTA IV’s issues but little more than that.. boy was I wrong.
Games like the Last Of Us have set the bar pretty high for attention to detail and immersion in gaming recently, and for GTA V to come pretty close to matching it – and in a fully open world at that, is a truly amazing achievement. You can switch camera angles at will, and will often see some cinematic occurrences as your three protagonists respond organically to the world around them. For example, while driving to a mission with everyone’s favourite maniac, Trevor, he was displeased with my hip hop radio choice, so decided to switch the station to some mosh worthy US Hardcore. After completing a mission as Michael, I switched over to Franklin to find him far away from where I had left him, and engaged in a lengthy phone conversation with his friend.
These are but a few examples of Rockstar’s commitment to making GTA V’s map feel like a living and breathing metropolis, and this commitment is consistently shown throughout the game. When you begrudgingly put down your controller to acknowledge the real world, other characters will berate you for standing around– and not just by repeating the same set lines over and over like in most video games, but with the same level of witty and relevant dialogue shown in full blown cut scenes.
Speaking of dialogue, the writing here is incredible. Rockstar have yet again managed to make a compelling and intelligent narrative that somehow still manages to raise serious questions about American society while keeping their tongue firmly placed in cheek.
GTA V easily sports the best visuals I have seen on the 360, and makes you completely forget that you are playing on hardware that is fast approaching its 8th birthday.
It’s easy to dismiss this game because of the ridiculous hype surrounding it and people constantly boring you about it on social media, but regardless of your opinions on the franchise, I urge anyone with a love of gaming to play this game. I would write more about the amazing experiences I’ve had so far in the game, but I need to get back to playing it…
I mean I wouldn’t wish to spoil any of its surprises.