Grand Theft Auto V (GTA Franchise Review, updated 10/5)

[TheDarkKnight]

Hello everyone. This is the first entry into my new franchise review thread. Grand Theft Auto was one of my very first games that I ever played, and naturally I have been a fan of the franchise since then. So I figured it was only natural to begin another thread for yet another franchise, especially one that has captivated my gaming as much as this one has. Literally hundreds of hours, perhaps thousands, have gone into playing these games.

I first wrote this several months ago for the Gamer's Gazette, and it is part of a larger franchise review that I published in that edition. I wrote it for the impending release of GTA V, the newest entry, which I have since bought, played, and reviewed since then. You are more than welcome to peruse those entries as they are now rather than read them here, but I plan on re-working them and posting them here. I am in a period of my review writing where I am trying to offer more analysis of the game rather than just explain the game, and I hope the extra effort will lead to better reviews.

I decided to pair these two together because the game play is nearly identical. What will follow is a general review of the "3D era", which encompasses Grand Theft Auto 3 (2001) through Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (2004). I would do the pair of games known as Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories, but as of today I own them but have NEVER played them. Regardless, I don't believe there would be much to talk about as their maps are identical to their predecessors (GTA III and GTA Vice City, respectfully), and their stories serve only really as prequels to those with new characters. After that, I will revise my review of GTA IV and GTA V, both games of the more recent "HD Era", hoping to again make them better. Those two will also be paired together, at least probably.

For now, enjoy this (short) first review of the pair of games that started it all.

Grand Theft Auto (1997)


Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999)

Grand Theft Auto: The "2D" Era

In 1997, DMA Design published the very first game in a long-running series. Full of controversy and complexity, the series would become a critical success over the years, turning into one of the most profitable game series on the market. DMA Design, now Rockstar North, credits it all to this very first game, simply called Grand Theft Auto. This game would soon spawn two expansions (London 1961 and London 1969) and a direct sequel, Grand Theft Auto 2, in 1999.

The very first Grand Theft Auto was very simplistic in its approach. You take on the role of a common criminal who simply wants to make a name for himself in the world. Taking place in a fictionalized world based on our own, the game takes place in three primary cities, Liberty City (New York), Vice City (Miami) and San Andreas (a mixture of California and Nevada cities). All three suffer from rampant crime and exploitation, with constant feuding between the local criminal organizations, gang violence, and unethical city officials and police officers.

For Grand Theft Auto 2, the game takes place in a generic city simply called “Anywhere City”, and takes place in the future (compared to its release date). Like its predecessor, the game has three levels, making up the different districts of the city. Each district has various problems associated with it, but all three have three gangs as in them. The Zaibatsu organization is the game’s main gang, and is in each district, with the other two gangs in each district being unique. All three gangs have the capability of either helping or hindering the player, by offering advancement in return for services rendered or may simply offer gunfire when the player strolls past.

Gameplay is rather simple and easy to understand in these games as well. Both games take place in 2D, and feature a top-down view of the game. The player must complete various missions scattered around each city offered by different organizations and individuals to give you points/money. These missions are started by answering ringing payphones, where you receive your mission objectives. They can range from simple murder to heists or robberies, and all offer points for the player when completed. In Grand Theft Auto 2, the majority of the missions come from the seven gangs scattered in each district of the city, and they affect your relationship with the gangs. Once enough points have been claimed through the missions/side missions, the player is allowed to move on to the next level.

In both games, the player can utilize a variety of vehicles and weapons at their disposal to complete their objective. Due to the 2D nature of these games, both driving and shooting weapons are rather simple. You cannot see very far in terms of distance, so you have to rely on reflexes and good aim when driving or shooting when the action gets heavy and vehicles, objects, or people (when in combat) suddenly appear on screen. Vehicles can become damaged by weapons or collision, and too much damage will result in explosions. Luckily, as the name of the game implies, you are not meant to only live with one vehicle, and it is rather simple to acquire another one. The vehicles vary from large, lumbering ones to fast sports cars, and everything in between. This variety is a highlight of the franchise, and really makes up a large part of it. A game called "Grand Theft Auto" would be incredibly boring with only a few vehicle types, and thankfully these first games, as well as the games after them, do not suffer from this problem in the slightest.

One aspect that was introduced with the coming of the second game was a system of respect in regards to the gangs. With seven gangs in one city, there are bound to be disputes and conflicts, and the player has the chance to play off these tensions in regards to the missions or even outside of them. When a mission with one gang is completed, the player is reward with money as well respect for that gang. If that mission negatively affected another gang, the player will lose respect with that gang. Each gang has a rival gang that they typically ask the player to target, so it is impossible to be on good terms with all the gangs. This in turn means that while you may be able to freely roam in two sections of the map, the third area will always keep you own your toes. Another way to gain or lose respect is to kill gang members, with the rival gang growing to like you more while the victim gang will grow considerably less fond of you. As you gain more respect you will gain access to more missions with that gang, but you will lose possibilities with others, and if you lose too much respect with one gang, they will grow incredibly hostile to you. The path is yours to make, however, and it adds considerable replayability to Grand Theft Auto 2 as there are multiple mission chains. It is this replayability and degree of freedom that I believe led to such a successful pair of games. This system of respect would also return in varying forms as the franchise evolved.



However, all the murdering and thieving is bound to attract the attention of the local authorities, right? Doing certain things in either of the games will eventually bring various levels of law enforcement down on the player, from simple cops on patrol giving chase (level 1) to eventually getting the Army to chase after the player. Wanted Levels can be lessened or lost by either acquiring cop bribes (scattered as collectibles around the levels) or by visiting the local Pay and Spray shops, which will repaint your vehicle and allow you to lose the attention of the authorities. If arrested or killed, you lose your weapons and armor and some cash and respawn. It is a simple system, yet ingeniously implemented to allow the game to remain difficult in an otherwise easy pair of games.

That really is pretty much it. There is not much in the way of a story with the two games, just good old fashioned advancing through levels. There are no skills or anything to learn, though you will grow considerably more able with driving and shooting (the shooting does take a bit of time to get used to) with play time. The games do try to make as much of the limited scope as possible, with sounds and soundtracks (getting in and out of cars yield appropriate sounds, radio stations, etc) adding a bit of realism to the games. The side missions and activities can be fun, such as selling vehicles for cash to scrappers/vehicle exporters, or going on bloody kill frenzies to rack up points by killing or destroying property. Overall, both games are pretty fun, and did well in establishing a fan base for the large upgrade to the franchise that was to come with the millennium.

Long story short, in terms of story these games are rather thin, and maybe that's a good thing. The lack of story makes the player focus on making their own story as they climb the ranks of the criminal underworld. Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2 are fun introductions into open-world gameplay, and although limited in scope and features, they are not limited in fun.

As always constructive feedback is appreciated. These games are old, and are difficult to score. Instead, I will simply say that if you like open world games, this is a fun jaunt into one of the earliest and arguably the most influential game on the open world franchise.

[Sir Adrian]

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[TheDarkKnight]

Grand Theft Auto III (2001)

Grand Theft Auto III

In Grand Theft Auto III, the player assumes the role of a character named Claude, a criminal who was betrayed by his girlfriend in the middle of a bank robbery and left for dead. Surviving the wounds, Claude is arrested and blamed completely for the robbery. While being transported across the Callahan Bridge to Portland Island, the police convoy is attacked by members of the Colombian Cartel. Surviving along with another prisoner named 8-Ball, Claude is able to escape along with his new friend and hole up in an apartment on Portland. Wanting revenge and in need of work, Claude is introduced to the Leone family, a branch of the Italian mafia in the city. Claude sets out to make a new name for himself in Liberty City, as well as track down the woman he used to love.

Grand Theft Auto III is the first of a new “era” in the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Known as the 3D Universe, the level and detail of the games increase dramatically. This is immediately noticed at the very start of GTA III, and the game makes full use of the advantage in their recreation of Liberty City, a reference to the first level of the original GTA. Based on New York City, the 3D era Liberty City comprises three large islands, all accessible via bridges at various points in the game. The city is quite diverse, with residential neighborhoods, businesses, industrial areas, parks, shorefronts, and more, all reminiscent of its real-life counterpart. Liberty City is often described as the worst city in America, due to its high amounts of crime and violence. The city is also diverse in its people, with pedestrians from all ethnic backgrounds to reflect its counterpart as well as its ethnic-based gangs (e.g. the Triads) or organized crime (the three Italian families). Additionally, the game sees the added bonus of time (represented by a clock with each “hour” being played out in a minute), as well as day/night cycles and even weather patterns. All of this heavily contributes to the newly-established atmosphere for the franchise.

For the third game, Rockstar North (now the developers of the franchise) revamped many of the features of the previous games in order to take advantage of the new engine and the environments and physics possible. Instead of a top-down perspective, the player can now be controlled in a third-person perspective that allows much more versatility and ease in getting around. Carjacking and driving is still an important part of the game, and now the player can see ahead and behind him much more effectively than before, giving the player a greater degree of spatial awareness. The controls for driving are rather simple to learn, and the vehicles now can provide a greater degree of damage to others (running over pedestrians, ramming vehicles) as well as to itself (the cars will catch fire and explode if too much damage is taken or if the vehicle rolls over). Like before, vehicles have a large degree of variety in size, speed, and colors. Picking the right vehicle for missions could be crucial to mission success. The player can also fly a plane, albeit it takes a lot of skill to fly it as Rockstar made it deliberately difficult to do. The player also is able to listen to a variety of things on the radio from music to talk shows, and can hear news based on events in the game.

Combat has been completely revamped, allowing the player a much more exciting degree of possibilities compared to the preceding games. Unlike the previous games where only weapon power and armor affected the outcome of a shootout, the 3D perspective also allows for the possibility of gunshots being more effective based on the location of the impact, just like real life. Wounds to the arms and legs will take much longer to bring down a person, while a single shot to the head will bring down an enemy no matter how armored they are. Weapons themselves are also different in that their power and speed vary considerably, from the slow firing pistol and shotgun to the ultra-fast (and completely unrealistic) M-16 rifle. Magazines and reloading as well as taking cover can be crucial to combat as well, and the AI will make relative use of cover in order to defend themselves. The sniper rifle also makes an appearance, allowing for distanced shots to be accomplished. In addition to all of this, blood and gore finally make an appearance in the game, which people losing limbs (and heads) as a result of gunfire and explosives. Finally, the game allows the player to perform drive by shootings if they have the submachine gun at their disposal.

Gangs make a return to the franchise, but respect does not, at least not overtly. Gangs that you manage to annoy enough will definitely come after you, but this is determined by missions much more rigidly than before. At one point or another you will have a gang that despises you, and will attack you if you are in their territory. Whether with bats, fists, or guns, the player must defend himself against them. Gangs also have their own vehicles, which must be utilized in some missions (such as when you are instructed to start a gang war by performing a drive by in a certain vehicle).

The local authorities also make a return, and once again the level of their response is matched to how much mischief you cause. Whether it’s the local police, SWAT, FBI, or even the Army, the player is capable of surviving these incidents once again by using bribes or Pay and Sprays. However, the military, not surprisingly, is incredibly difficult to survive, as their tanks (yes, they come after you in tanks) can usually ram and destroy a car in one hit, and they have body armor and the ultra-fast firing M-16s to worry about as well.

Additional features of the game are somewhat few, but still worth noting. The missions and side missions have much more variety compared to the previous games, resulting in a lot more to do and a lot less repetition. The city also offers a limited number of easter eggs, as well as a new feature: collectibles. Scattered throughout the city are hidden packages, numbering one hundred. With every ten hidden packages collected, a new weapon will appear at each safe house (where you save you game and can store vehicles), allowing the player to acquire free weapons for use in missions or mayhem. Obviously, the more packages collected, the more powerful the weapons unlocked. Kill Frenzies return, now titled rampages, and reward the player money upon completion (as well as progress towards one-hundred percent completion). New side missions have also been added, involving vehicles such as the police car (and other law enforcement vehicles), fire truck, taxis, and ambulances. Completing the emergency services side missions can reward the player with things such as police bribes at safe houses, unlimited sprint, and a flamethrower delivered to safe houses, while the taxi missions yield a special taxi and cash. The player can also complete various “stunts” around the city in vehicles that will yield cash as a reward. All of these (and other side activities) are required to gain one hundred percent completion of the game.

If one were to comment on what makes this game superior to the first two, it would likely be the addition of a story. Claude (though mute) actually has a purpose in his long fight throughout the city: to get close enough to his former lover, Catalina, who betrayed him. To this end, Claude will do anything from murder to arson to robbery for his various bosses, and will make many enemies and friends along the way. The bosses range from crime bosses to corrupt cops to businessmen, all of whom have personalities unlike the bosses in the previous games. The bosses are also actually seen and physically interacted with, unlike the unseen bosses from 1 and 2, and can betray or be betrayed by Claude in his quest. Though the story is not the greatest of the franchise, it is definitely an improvement over nothing. My only REAL complaint would have to be the fact that Claude cannot swim, and falling into the water is an instant death.

This game was certainly revolutionary when it first came out thirteen years ago. It took the good of the previous games and expanded and improved on them in many ways. Everything has been improved in an attempt to make the game as realistic as possible in its representation as the worst city in America, from the characters to the gameplay to the story. The game further sets itself apart from its predecessors by using well known celebrities to voice many of the side characters, making them feel quite familiar to the average gamer. The move to the 3D world opened up new and exciting opportunities that Rockstar North capitalized on to bring its audience a truly exciting an revolutionary game. There really is nothing major that can be criticized that cannot be explained simply by the limitations of the time, and would really be unfair to note after such a long time. Therefore, I believe that this game deserves a 9/10 for its gameplay, story, atmosphere, and most important of all…how fun it is.

So I let this goal of redoing all of my reviews for the Gamer's Gazette in regards to Grand Theft Auto lapse...a bit...

Okay, a lot.

So since I'm replaying GTA V I will also work on redoing all of these...seriously this time.

Again, these reviews will only cover the main games. I have yet to play any of the spinoffs or the DLC games so those (Liberty City Stories, Vice City Stories, and the two Episodes from Liberty City DLC games) will come when I have time. I simply don't have enough time to sink roughly 50 hours into those at present.

So enjoy this for now.

[TheDarkKnight]

Grand Theft Auto Vice City (2002)

Grand Theft Auto Vice City

Tommy Vercetti is a free man, after fifteen long years. Known as the Harwood Butcher, Vercetti killed eleven people in a brutal massacre while in the service of the Forelli Family, one of the branches of the Mafia in Liberty City. Now free, Tommy’s friend Sonny, head of the family, decides that the family needs to get involved in the drug trade down south, and chooses Tommy as the man for the job. Sent down with two others to make the deal, Tommy is ambushed, and the others killed. Without the drugs or the money, Tommy incurs the wrath of Sonny, who orders him to recoup the losses by any means possible. Tommy sets out to discover who set him and the others up for the ambush, as well as establish an empire of his own on the sunny beaches of Vice City.

Set in 1986 and based on Miami (but likely set in the Florida Keys), Vice City is visually and atmospherically distinct from Liberty City in practically every way imaginable. The drug trade is at a high, the people are carefree, and the city is rampant with crime. Vice City is made up of two large islands and six smaller islands, each of them offering different neighborhoods, people (and gangs), and opportunities. The city has many sites and features, from golf courses to shipwrecks to even a military base.

Much of the gameplay from the previous game remains intact, with some key changes. The vehicles, clothing, weapons, and many other features have been changed to reflect the fact that the game takes place in the eighties as opposed to the early millennium of GTA III. The combat and driving remain the same, if only made a little bit easier and more brutal (chainsaws make an appearance, making for especially brutal kills where blood splatters on the “screen” when used on someone. However, though the combat system has been for the most part retained, there are now varying levels of weapons that can be acquired in all classes, such as the submachine gun class, which has several weapons in it. This is helpful in increasing variety in the game as opposed to the single type of each weapon present in GTA III, as well as making enemies more diverse and challenging depending on their weapons. In addition, the weapons are far more realistic in their appearance and performance compared to the preceding game. Gangs and the police level make a similar return, though the gang problems (related mostly to the drug trade as well as the incredible level of ethnic diversity) have grown compared to GTA III.

Additional changes to the game are also worth noting. One of the major changes is the capability of the player to purchase additional safe houses, as well as businesses that will generate cash for the player every day that can be collected. These businesses can be acquired by various means, but are typically unlocked via the storyline or completing tasks. In addition to the returning vehicle missions (which now offer newer rewards), the player can also do others, yielding brand new and valuable rewards for their completion. Along with the usual fare of side activities, this leaves the player with plenty to do in between main missions, or even once everything has been completed, but the rewards given are well worth the extra time taken to achive them. The player also has access to helicopters, including two that are combat-capable, as well as a sea plane for getting around. Motorcycles are also added to the game, allowing the player to do frontal attacks with submachine guns and weave in and out of traffic, at the cost of no protection against collisions and gunfire. Boats, which were occasionally used in GTA III, now feature much more prominently.

Overall, the game has improved even more over the previous game in leaps and bounds, while still maintaining the good aspects of the predecessor. Everything has been improved upon, leading to a better gaming experience, a better story, and in general a better game. The graphics are...well they are 2002 level graphics, which is fine. Where the game also shines is the audio, featuring the return of celebrity voice acting as well a great eighties-era soundtrack that will provide a level of nostalgia rarely seen in video games. Vice City does not feel like a clone of Liberty City at all, and the addition of various new features and mission types only serve to make a better game. Tommy’s story is a much better one as well, and though Tommy is a bit of a one-dimensional character, he still provides more emotion and complexity compared to Claude, and his drive and mission is much more compelling than the simple revenge plot of GTA III. Tommy has been given a second chance, and is out to make a name for himself on the sunny shores of Florida. However, Tommy, like Claude, apparently never learned how to swim. I would give it a 9.5/10.

[Sir Adrian]

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[TheDarkKnight]

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Set in 1992 in the fictional state of San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas begins with Carl Johnson, five years absent from Los Santos, receiving news that his mother was murdered. Flying out from Liberty City, Carl immediately finds himself in unfamiliar territory as he is practically framed for homicide by a couple corrupt cops, and also discovers that the life he knew in Los Santos was almost gone. His brother Sweet, head of the Grove Street Families gang, now leads a fragmented and weakened gang that is but a shadow of its former self. The streets are filled with drugs, pushed by rival gangs supported by the corrupt cops. Carl, realizing that something must be done, goes on a journey that will span the entire state of San Andreas to drive out the drugs, clean up the streets, and restore the Grove Street Families to its former glory.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas takes place in the state of San Andreas, which is based on portions of California and Nevada. Comprised of three islands, three major cities, five counties, and eight rural towns, the map of San Andreas is currently the largest in the entire franchise, at nearly fourteen square miles. The sheer size of the map as well as its locales offers perhaps the most diverse experience in the franchise. Deserts, mountains, forests, slums, high rises, lakes…you name it, San Andreas has it. A great indicator of the changes compared to the previous game is certainly the diversity of locations, with even the rural towns all looking different to each other, while each of the three islands all offer new and different experiences. Additionally, the location of the state in relation to the real world allows for many cultural or historical references to the real world (e.g., the LA Riots of the early nineties). The three main cities (Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas) are clearly based on real world cities. While the cities are certainly smaller than Liberty City and Vice City, the added variety of three entirely different cities spread out over miles with rural areas in between is definitely an improvement over the previous games. And even without the towns in the rural areas, there is still plenty of things that can be done and sights to see in between the cities is well worth the smaller cities overall.

Almost immediately the player will notice some key changes in the new title. First off, CJ is completely customizable. For example, the player can purchase a large variety of clothing and other accessories to change CJ’s outward appearance. The player can also get haircuts/hair styles and tattoos to change the appearance of CJ’s body, along with hitting the gym to make CJ muscular and lean. Along these lines, the player may now visit fast food joints in order to feed CJ, which is now an additional requirement for keeping him alive. Hunger will certainly begin to take a toll on him if left alone, which is a nice touch but can be frustrating at times.

However, CJ can pack on the pounds if he visits the fast food joints too often without running, biking, or whatever else to increase his stamina and lose fat. Speaking of stamina and fat, the player can also increase their abilities in driving, biking, flying, lung capacity (you can swim now!) and weapons. With more driving and flying and diving, Carl becomes more proficient in their respective skills. These aid the player and also introduce a system that naturally progresses the character throughout the game. When it comes to weapons proficiency it depends on the weapon type, though by the end with some classes Carl will be able to dual wield certain weapons. This customization can also extend to the vehicles that CJ has access to, leading to some rather deep customization options that almost make the game more like an RPG. I found this to be a good change, as it allows the player to in a way build their own character as well as their skills up in the way that they want, and not really have it affect gameplay much aside from the skills.

Combat has been improved on significantly since the previous game, leading the easier aiming and overall easier time engaging with enemies, which is good since they have noticeably improved since Vice City. One other notable addition to the combat is gang warfare and turf. At certain points in the game Carl can assist the Grove Street Families by initiating a battle over a territory with another gang. If Carl succeeds, that territory becomes part of the Grove Street Families. It can be important when continuing the story to have a suitable amount of gang members in territories, due to the fact that players can recruit more and more gang members with each level of respect attained. Yes, respect has returned, only this time you can only get it with Grove Street, and it allows you to recruit members for gang warfare or drive by’s. You can recruit up to eight, but can only take three others along on drive by’s.

Compared to the previous game, San Andreas just adds so much more. Much more diversity in locations, vehicles (including vehicle customization), missions (one particularly memorable one where you have to dive out of an airplane to get on to another airplane) and more make this game superior to others. There is also a plethora of side activities, properties to buy and utilize, collectibles to acquire (each island has different ones, leading to different weapons spawning at the three main safe houses on each island) girlfriends to date (yes, Carl can date now, and you get benefits from some girls), and challenges and many other things to enjoy. The soundtrack is amazing, the voice acting is superb, and the audio and visuals in general are vastly improved on over the previous games. So much has been added that it really is far superior to either GTA III or Vice City. There's also a lot of references to the other games, and it's always fun to see a familiar face. The story is far and away the best of the series, as Carl must battle gangbangers, corrupt cops, and even those he holds close in the quest to bring his family and gang to the top. The characters and their personalities only add to the increased depth and emotion of the game, pushing it far ahead of the others. Everything has been improved on to bring, at least at this point in the franchise, the best game that Rockstar North had yet put out.

With all this in mind, it can only be said that this game deserves a perfect 10/10.

So it's been a while since I updated this. Rewriting them has gone a bit slow but eventually I'd like to finish this.

[Sir Adrian]

Oh man, those flying missions sucked so hard with a keyboard and mouse.

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[TheDarkKnight]

Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)

Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto IV was seen as a reboot to the franchise, and as such we see a movement into what is known as the HD Universe. Taking advantage of the new engines possible with the current generation of consoles and higher-end PCs, Rockstar completely re-did the look and feel of the franchise. Returning once more to Liberty City, the franchise sees its first non-American protagonist: Niko Bellic.


Niko Bellic arrives in Liberty City, intent on starting a brand new life for himself. A former soldier that has seen and done terrible things, Niko believes the stories of his cousin, Roman, that life in America could not be better. When he arrives, however, Niko discovers that his cousin had been deceiving him: Roman, who claimed to be living a life of luxury, with beautiful women, sports cars and lots of money, instead lives in squalor, with a failing taxi business and mounting debts from all sorts of undesirable people. Disappointed and understandably irritated, Niko sets out to turn Roman’s deception into reality, and using his violent and shady past as a means for giving himself a new life in a foreign land.

Grand Theft Auto IV sees the return of Liberty City, and Rockstar really went all out in creating the world in which Niko must assimilate with. Though considerably smaller in size than San Andreas, Liberty City is absolutely packed with an astounding level of detail. The city feels like an actual living, breathing city, complete with accurate weather and its effects on the environment (things swinging in the wind, people using umbrellas, etc), people from all walks of life (including crazy preachers and buskers), construction and road work, older cars polluting more than real cars, and many more things that offer the most realistic portrayal of a city. The map has three main islands, one of them being Alderney (based on New Jersey), and many of New York’s famous locations can be sought out, albeit with different names. The most prominent of these landmarks is the Statue of Liberty, renamed the Statue of Happiness. The city feels incredibly real, one of the most real locations in a video game ever produced, and stands out as a crowning achievement in the game.

With the new engine come changes as well. Driving has received a significant change, with Rockstar attempting to be much more realistic when it comes to driving, particularly at high speeds, and what can happen while driving. No longer will a vehicle burst into flames when overturned or heavily damaged. Instead, the car will become increasingly more difficult to operate when damaged. An example of such would be wheels becoming jammed or damaged, or bullets flattening them and the tires, but not the rims, eventually coming off. You can still drive as long as the car will run (which it won’t with too much damage), but it will be more difficult. Additionally, collisions can harm Niko: crashing headlong into something could cause Niko to go flying through the windshield or over the handlebars, harming and potentially killing Niko. This makes car chases particularly more difficult compared to previous games, but also more exciting in their own way. Additionally, the player can now set waypoints that, when driven to in compatible vehicles, come with GPS telling you what to do. Niko can also fly helicopters, but planes have been taken out of the game. The damage also affects helicopters, making it more difficult to fly. The tail of helicopters can even come off with too much damage, making it nearly impossible to land safely much less fly. Finally, stealing vehicles is much more realistic, with unoccupied vehicles needing to be broken into and hot wired, though the whole action often takes just a few seconds. Still, in a pinch, that extra few seconds can make a difference if you are changing vehicles.

Combat has also received a significant overhaul. Completely free aim now, Niko can precisely aim where he intends to shoot, which can assist greatly with the addition of a cover system. Niko can use the precision free aim to shoot at exposed limbs or heads. Wounding now also does accomplish more than just whitling health. Wounding a person in the legs will cause them to limp (away, sometimes, when it comes to the police), and wounding them in the arms will cause them to temporarily drop their weapons. There are also a fairly significant amount of weapons that Niko can use in his quest, all of them with varying capabilities. In addition, the cover system allows for blind shooting and protection. It is still a third person shooter, and should be seen as such, but the game really does try to make the combat as realistic as possible. It is kind of interesting, as now that enemies can retreat the player can choose not to kill certain people like police officers (or at least not all of them) if the player so wishes. The combat change is an easily welcomed one, and offers exciting new opportunities for players.

A completely changed feature is the cell phone, making a return appearance from the previous game but with more uses and features. Niko can use the phone to call acquaintances and friends, and call emergency services or taxi services. The phone is vital in some missions as well as maintaining friendships (which is where Roman can become quite annoying as he calls Niko to hang out when you are busy). Cell phones are also utilized by pedestrians, who can use them to call the police to report crimes they witness. This frustrating bit of realism can hurt the player as he shoots or steals and then leaves the area, only to have the police be called on him. Which leads into the next changed feature: wanted levels.

In GTA IV, the wanted levels were changed to a different system to make it more difficult yet also a bit easier in getting away. In the past, the only way to get of a wanted level was police bribes or a Pay and Spray. In this game, when a crime is reported and the police get a lock on you, a blue radius appears on your minimap that you, the player, must evade. If you are spotted by the police while trying to get out of the radius, the radius will move and the player will have to drive or run farther to get out. With every star accrued, the radius gets larger, making it more and more difficult to get away. In addition, the military has been removed, being replaced with a branch of government known as NOOSE, based on Homeland Security. Armed with fast cars, assault rifles, and even attack helicopters, NOOSE is quite challenging to escape. Bribes have also been removed, but Pay and Sprays remain. Getting out of the radius or a Pay and Spray isn’t automatic walking away though...your wanted stars will flash briefly, or dim in the case of escaping the radius, indicating that you can be spotted again if you commit another crime or if you manage to attract attention to yourself. Finally, Niko can escape arrest if he is still at one star and cornered and ordered to get down, but by doing so you get an automatic two stars. So, it is a different system than before, but it is in essence the same. The changes are nice, and adds a *bit* more realism in the face of the simple fact that police should not be so easily fooled by a new paint job. The AI is also quite competent as well, so it is absolutely crucial that the player try to lose the stars before they get too many.

There is much more to go over, but I feel as if to go over everything would be dull. Overall, much of the gameplay has been changed in exchange for realism. Rockstar chose to focus on making the game far more realistic, eliminating much of the customization and other features from previous games. Some decry those changes, stating that’s what made the games so much more interesting. I personally like both systems, though some of the customization and other features are missed. But in any case, the story must be mentioned: Niko’s story is one of the more interesting out of the franchise. Without spoiling much, Niko has the opportunity to make several choices throughout the game, namely who lives and who dies. These choices affect the story all the way until the end. While not a huge part of the story, it certainly does make it more fresh than the others. And while many consider the sacrifices made for the story and the realism to be not worth it, I consider it a nice change. The story is one of the best parts of the game, and easily one of the most unique to the franchise.

Overall, I would say GTA IV to be one of the best out of the franchise. I would not call it on the same level as GTA San Andreas in terms of fun and replayability, but it certainly is a worthy addition to the franchise. The new engine, physics, combat, and more certainly expanded the capabilities of gameplay, and provided a new way of playing the game. There are some problems with it, in particular getting used to the new mechanics, but that is in most part a small negative aspect in the scope of the overall product. The only largely negative thing that is a real problem is some of the difficulty problems, the lack of proper save points in missions, and the simple annoyance that your cousin Roman is. But even with those issues, Grand Theft Auto IV shines. It is a beautiful game to look at, an interesting game to explore, and a lot of fun to play. I'd give it a 9.5/10.

[TheDarkKnight]

Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, 2014)

Grand Theft Auto V

Nine years after a botched robbery attempt, Michael de Santa (real name Townsley) lives a relatively quiet life in the city of Los Santos under witness protection with his wife and two children. Though he lives a life of luxury, his life is far from perfect. Also living in Los Santos is Franklin Clinton, a young gangbanger who aspires for a better life and who works as a repo man for a less than credible car dealership. A chance meeting between the two as well as a misunderstanding leads to Michael and Franklin being forced into committing a high profile heist in order to pay off the resulting debt. The heist catches the attention of one Trevor Phillips, a former associate of Michael’s in robbing banks and who believes Michael to be dead. Traveling from the desert town of Sandy Shores to Los Santos and discovering that Michael is indeed alive, Trevor’s sudden appearance causes the worlds of both Franklin and Michael to unravel as they both must deal with the trouble it brings.

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After a five year absence, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto franchise came back with a bang in Grand Theft Auto V. Set in the fictional State of San Andreas and in a way an HD remake of GTA San Andreas, the game takes place mostly in the city of Los Santos and the surrounding desert, based on Los Angeles and its own arid climate. The scope of the game is absolutely extraordinary, and feels like a living and breathing world no different than ours. Though not the same as San Andreas that featured three cities and multiple diverse locations and small towns, GTA makes up for this in the exceedingly beautiful city and landscapes that are present in the game. Where you are fleeing from the police in the Los Santos canal (based on the LA canal), cruising through Vinewood Hills in a fancy sports car, or visiting a cult in the mountains north of the city, the game has practically everything you could ask for in a city and a state. The draw distance in the game has also improved to the point where you can see things from a much greater distance than you could in previous games, really enhancing the beauty of the world. The level of detail in the game is absolutely mind blowing, and simply does not disappoint. Rockstar really threw everything into creating a masterpiece of a world for the players to play in. The map is huge, and with so many places to explore, you will almost always find something new.

What almost immediately sets this game apart from its predecessors is the characters. Unlike in previous games where the player took control of a single protagonist (with the exception of the DLC content of GTA IV), the player has control of three interesting and unique characters that all have a story of their own. Though you initially only have control of Franklin and Michael, Trevor becomes available later in the game, and Rockstar takes full advantage of the new system. Each character has their own missions (main and side missions), where only they participate, while all characters can also take part in many of the missions, where the game will either offer you the option of switching between all the characters or making the switch for you. This allows for the player to build a diverse set of characters each with their own strengths and weaknesses while also allowing for the player to participate in all aspects of a single mission in a more realistic way than previous games where the main character did everything. Switching between the three characters is easy, and only limited by the point of the story you are in (some characters are unavailable at certain points) or limited by the point in the particular mission the player is doing. Each character has their own safe house, car, relationships, skills, money amounts, and more that all make them unique and fun. Additionally, with all characters available you can drop in on them at any time and see what they were doing just before you take control. This can range from Michael coming out of a movie theater to Trevor waking up hung over and confused and in the middle of nowhere. Every character has a different personality and a different sense of morality that creates an interesting story as well as gameplay possibilities. Finally, each character also has a “special ability” to utilize at certain key moments: Franklin can slow down time while driving and increase his driving ability, Michael can enter a sort of ‘bullet time’, and Trevor can enter a state that allows him to deal double the damage while taking half the damage he normally would. In addition to each character having their own strengths and weaknesses, having three characters allows for the player to engage in three separate yet linked stories, allowing each character to grow on their own when they are not interacting with each other.

Missions and their effect on character and story progression has been changed slightly from previous games. For the most part, most missions no longer reward the player with money or respect or any sort of tangible benefit. A lot of the missions involve the specific character’s person lives, but many of them involve the overall story; the pursuit of money. The point of most of these missions is the groundwork towards pulling off increasingly more difficult heists throughout the state. These heists are the main way for the player to make money, and each character has their own money amounts. For the heists, the amount of money obtained depends on the quality of participating NPC’s. For exampe, for a heist the player can recruit people a selection of people to act as an extra gunman, a hacker, a getaway driver, etc that all have their own levels of skills that can affect the outcome of a mission. Their skills directly affect their ability in the mission, and making a poor choice such as a bad driver could cause you to lose a significant chunk of money should they screw up. Their skills also determine how much of a cut they can get from the heist, which is something to consider. Additionally, these heists are different in that the player can choose two ways to do the heist, typically simplified to a “loud and dumb” way versus a “quiet and smart” way. Also, in an improvement over its predecessor, GTA V has checkpoints during missions. Failure will not mean starting over from the very beginning of the mission. The benefit of this cannot be overstated at all, as some missions can take a very long time to complete, and failure near the end would be enormously frustrating.

Side missions are also numerous and diverse. These are known as “Strangers and Freaks”, involving the character interacting with a large variety of people throughout San Andreas, from a paparazzi trying to get a perfect compromising picture of a celebrity to an exercise enthusiast that you try to keep up with in varying activities (running, biking, swimming). Each character has their own side missions with unique people and some of the Strangers and Freaks are shared between characters. Additionally, the game has a number of “random events” that can occur throughout the game. These can range from catching a wallet thief to driving a person somewhere to rescuing someone from a dangerous situation. These can reward you with small amounts of cash, a person to participate in side activities with (such as golf), or even a new person to add to your heist crews.

Overall the missions are fun and fresh for the franchise. You can also go back and replay the missions whenever you want in order to take advantage of the new “full completion” mechanism that offers increased challenges in completing each mission. There are around a hundred and thirty missions and side missions, and fifty random events, lending the game a huge story and amount of side activities to play through.

As far as other facets of gameplay are concerned, Grand Theft Auto V does not disappoint even in the slightest. As implied by the title, driving cars as well as operating other vehicles is a large component of the game, and features an (in my opinion) improved driving mechanic. Grand Theft Auto IV was criticized for its driving and Rockstar seemed to have listened, making the driving a bit more forgiving than before and allowing for cars to take a significant amount of damage before becoming inoperable. It’s still possible to really mess up the vehicle in one hit and make it difficult to drive, such as a wheel on your car getting jammed under a damaged wheel well, or getting your tires popped and the rubber coming off, but overall it seems more difficult to completely wreck a car to the point where it will not start. Some players are not happy about the controls and physics being relaxed a bit, but as far as I’m concerned it makes for a much more enjoyable experience.

In addition to cars, other vehicles are heavily featured. Planes make a return due to the incredible size of the map, and with a large variety of those and helicopters, it is easy to quickly travel around the map at certain stages of the game. There are also two main military aircraft, an attack helicopter and a fighter plane, available if the player is willing to take the risk in stealing them from the military base north of the city. Boats and other watercraft are also available, with the notable addition of a single-seat submersible that is used during a heist but is also available later for just diving. As in all games, getting around is a fun experience, and the large variety of vehicles make exploring the large and beautiful world to be quite the experience.

Combat remains similar to the Grand Theft Auto IV with the addition of far more weapons to play around with as well as an improved cover system. With several categories (pistols, assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, heavy weapons, etc) available, each category also has several different weapons to choose from with varying degrees of power and capabilities. Getting the weapons is easy as you can acquire weapons from dead enemies or by visiting the various gun stores around the state that offer weapons available for purchase depending on what stage you are at in the game. You can also purchase five different levels of body armor to protect yourself, with appropriate levels of cost for each one (ligher armor being cheaper, for example). With such a large variety of weapons comes a new way to switch guns: the weapons wheel. Pressing the appropriate button will bring up the wheel and slow down (but not stop) the gameplay as you select the weapon you desire. This makes it simple to change from a shotgun for enemies that are just a few feet away to a sniper rifle to pick off an enemy significantly farther away. The combat also allows the player to take cover from enemy fire by running behind an object and “sticking” to it. You can then blind fire around the corner or come out briefly to aim properly. The only REAL problem is the fact that the shooting reticle is somewhat small and can be difficult to see in certain conditions, especially while driving and firing, while the AI has the magical ability to shoot accurately at moving targets in a car from a great distance. Overall, the combat is fun but perhaps a bit too easy, especially with higher levels of shooting skill where you can headshot people at a hundred yards or more away with a pistol. Also, wounded enemies will no longer try to retreat out of the line of fire, but will instead fire at you from the ground. The game also takes into account headshots from the enemy on the character; it is now possible for one shot to kill you. Even still, the combat is rather fun and the enemy AI does seem to be substantially improved, if a bit too much improved.

Speaking of combat, the police of course return to the franchise, and they return with a vengeance. The police are quite trigger happy and will search for you quite thoroughly. When given a wanted level the player must attempt to get out of sight of the police. When no police are nearby, the player is considered hiding, and must stay away from any cops and their cone of vision (established on the mini map). If spotted again, the police chase after the player, but if the player remains out of sight long enough the police will give up. There are varying levels of difficulty, represented by five stars, and with each extra star it becomes more difficult to escape as faster law enforcement vehicles and helicopters join the pursuit. At higher levels the enemies are better armed and armored, and substantially more difficult to kill. The helicopters also function as platforms for men to take shots with carbines at the player, or even rope in four officers into the immediate area. The police have substantially better AI than before, and this comes at a cost of more aggressive police who can be called in in seconds by witnesses with cell phones. The AI is actually quite something to behold, with police attempting to box you in or do the pit maneuver to bring the chase to an end. You will hardly ever see them on the streets outside of wanted levels, however, and if you do they will typically be chasing other criminals.

Outside of the missions and the story overall, there is a large amount of features available for the player. Featuring a return to the franchise is the ability to customize both your character, your cars, and even your weapons to a limited degree. You can buy a variety of clothes to alter the appearance of your character at several clothes stores. You can change these clothing arrangements at that character’s safe house. It is also possible to customize vehicles, from changing the color to changing the suspension to even armoring the car so that it could take more hits/bullets. Characters can also visit several barbershops and tattoo parlors to change the physical appearance of each character. Finally, the guns themselves can be changed at a gun store by buying weapon modifications, which can be a silencer or an extended clip or even changing the color of the gun (though only two additional colors are available in addition to the standard black color. Though there is not as much customization overall in the game compared to its predecessor San Andreas, GTA V does offer more than GTA IV.

Another large feature of the game is the cell phone. Making a return from the previous game, the cell phone in GTA V allows each character to call and be called during the course of the game. The cell phone is important in several missions, enabling the player to receive updates outside of the missions and during, and allows the character to access the internet and even play the stocks online for a bit of extra cash. This cash can be put towards buying more customization for the characters or even toward the purchase of properties that can be used to boost each characters’ income.

Though the game came out over a year ago and already broken numerous records and won pretty much every award under the sun, Rockstar decided to take advantage of the new capabilities of the PS4 and XBO, and eventually the PC, to re-release an even better game, complete with improved graphics and even many updated or added on features towards the gameplay itself. On the Playstation 4 this manifests in several ways. Rockstar utilizes the remote itself to add a new dimension to the game. The built in speaker in the controller is used for all cellphone and radio chatter that occurs in the game should the player wish it, ensuring the the sound itself does not mix much with the in game sounds such as shooting. The lightbar on the PS4 is also used, changing different colors depending on the situation. All three characters are given their own light color, represented by their in game colors represented in mission icons and other ways. Michael's light turns blue, Franklin's green, and Trevor orange. The light bar is also used when the police are after the player, and flashes between red and blue intermittently. While none of these features are particularly ground breaking, it does show that Rockstar considers the features of the Playstation 4 and used them to their full potential.

The graphics are of course improved on in the transition from last generation to current generation, but Rockstar took it a step further by adding other new features as well. Players now have the option of playing in first person mode, a first for the franchise, and one that adds so much to the game. While it can be an awkward transition, the feature makes the world feel more alive, and even changes combat and driving quite significantly. The world simply feels much more alive when you feel like you are actually in the game, and there is no denying that it is a significant improvement over its predecessor. There are also new, smaller things to do in the game itself, but those will not be discussed as they are fun to discover all on their own.

I could go on and on about the game and its features, so instead I will wrap it up. Grand Theft Auto V is an amazing step forward for the Grand Theft Auto franchise. It builds upon the work of its predecessors and improves them (or brings them back) and even manages to introduce some new features. The atmosphere of the game is fantastic, with the world feeling almost too real, and the story can really suck you in. Of particular note is the weather effects, which are sometimes scripted into a mission to provide a dark or intimidating atmosphere for the plot, and with the new graphics of the PS4 effects such as rain look even better than before. The addition of more than one protagonist is a fresh take on the franchise, and ensures that the story never grows old as each character has their own motives in what they do. The combat and evasion of enemy NPCs is fun, though perhaps a bit easy. The writing and the voice acting are superb, the best of the series in my opinion. The soundtrack, featuring both real world music as well as an original score, adds much to the scope of the game. The re-release also adds new music overall to the game, which is a positive for many but for someome such as myself it does not matter much. The game is of course not without controversy, including a full and interactive torture scene, and has managed to offend pretty much everyone with its satirical look at aspects of American life present in dialogue, the world, and even the radio. And the ending…Well, the ending can play out in three different ways, offering the player a choice in how the journey ends. Really the only criticisms I can offer is that the heists are the primary way of making money, which can be a slight drag early on in the game. The countryside is also mostly unused, specifically the most northern part of the map, which I feel is a waste as the developers clearly put a lot of time and effort into making these places. Much of it is mountainous or desert, and while it does add to the realism of the game it is simply wasted space. Many of the places are so unused that I have significant areas of unexplored map even by the end of the game, and there plenty of things to explore. But perhaps the point is to explore them on your own, or use them in GTA Online. But even with these small negatives, there is no denying that Grand Theft Auto V is quite possibly one of the best games of all time, and is certainly one of my favorites. This game is simply breathtakingly awesome, and having now played it twice, I still want to play it again. It is that fun, and that good.

10/10

Enjoy some of my gameplay

This will be the last review for some time. I still have four games to play, however:

Liberty City Stories
Vice City Stories
Ballad of Gay Tony
The Lost and Damned

Eventually, I will play and finish those and provide a review for them. But for now, please enjoy what I consider to be one of my finest (and longest) reviews.

[Sir Adrian]

Added both reviews