So, I’ve only had around two hours with it so far, but it already seems genuinely great. If I was being asked to sum up my experience in one sentence it would be this:
“I watched a hilariously bizarre French-Italian arthouse film, then drove to the top of Mount Chilliad and kicked a tourist of a cliff.”
As for other impressions, being barely into the game, these are safely in non-spoiler territory
– Firstly, it looks incredible. It has absolutely no right to look so good on 8-year-old software. Frankly, it’s verging on witchcraft.
– Cutscenes flow into gameplay much better than in previous GTAs. I assume this is a legacy from Max Payne 3, which disguised loading sequences beautifully.
– Music switching off as soon as you get out of a car is jarring. I get that the game has its own soundtrack now, but it’s a little weird, especially when I’ve recently been playing GTA IV again.
– The damage your car can take has – for me, at least – been reduced too far. I had a number of smashes that would have written off cars in GTA IV. I want car bonnets flying off again.
– The driving itself is pretty great, though and Franklin’s special skill is a godsend for weaving in and out of traffic.
– Police attention has been balanced, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I like the new “cone of vision” that police have, allowing me to play hide and seek, but it seems to take an overly long amount of time to shake them off.
– Mount Chilliad is fucking huge. I drove up as far as I could, and still had to walk/run for a further 6-7 minutes.
– I assume its a temporary problem, but the Rockstar photo upload service being down when I tried to use it at the top of Mount Chilliad was highly frustrating.
– The movie I watched at the cinema was hilarious and bizarre and unsettling all at once. $20 well spent.
– I hope Lamar dies. He’s already infinitely more irritating than Roman Bellic ever was. Besides, I want his dog, Chop.
– The radio stations are pretty fantastic, and the new radial selection system is intuitive and informative (you now know what you’ll be listening to when you switch).
It probably doesn’t seem like it from some of the points above, but I’m genuinely enjoying the game and I’m fairly certain that it’s only going to get better from here. It’s a technical masterpiece with solid mechanics and excellent, natural writing.