Rockstar Games Delivers Grand Theft Auto V

The sandbox game to end all sandbox games is back. And it’s never quite been this good.
Grand Theft Auto V is finally here, and Rockstar Games’ take on the big city is better than ever. It’s a massive game, the kind of title you can lose yourself in for months, but, this time around, Rockstar does a better job of maintaining stronger focus and narrative.

We haven’t quite played through enough to deliver a heavy-handed review, but we can say that this is a different GTA, vastly different from Grand Theft Auto IV, which arrived a video game eternity ago in 2008. There are three protagonists – aging Michael, youngster Franklin and near-psycho Trevor – this time around instead of the one, Niko Bellic, from GTA IV. And this not only adds gaming variety, but it also prevents the strangeness of previous GTA titles.

In GTA IV, you simply couldn’t appreciate Niko Bellic as a true character, because any signs of softness seemed completely out of place with the actions you were compelled to perform. How could you take Bellic’s occasional thoughtfulness seriously, when, in just a few moments, you planned to run a car along a sidewalk just to kill some humans?

That seems to be solved with the three-headed star, and the strong story that you can’t help but ignore. Before the game every truly opens up into an “open world,” you spend a great deal of time learning, and the story is established in beautiful cutscenes and plenty of conversation. Rockstar’s definitely learned its lessons well, perhaps taking a few cues from Batman: Arkham City a few years ago. In that open-world game, chatter between baddies often helped you stay focused on Batman’s main mission instead of frolicking aimlessly in a massive city.
In this one, at least early on, Rockstar uses plenty of little cues to get you concentrating on objectives and learning the ropes of the game. Yes, this is a GTA game, and anyone who knows the drills of carjacking and running from the cops can step right in and play. But there are new mechanics, too: Each character has a unique special ability.

This enlivens gameplay in a way that you’d never think was necessary in previous GTAs. But really, all along, it actually was important. Truth be told, boosting cars and driving around a city can get old after awhile, but not when you’re playing as Franklin, who gets to slow down time for brief spells when he’s behind the wheel. Suddenly, there’s a reason to take driving risks aside from mere amusement; you get rewarded with more energy to use Franklin’s special ability. And that ability makes certain driving challenges that much more exciting and challenging: There’s nothing quite like slowing down time and then weaving through a criss-crossing intersection. (Or nothing that we’ve experienced already, at least).

This new, more story-driven GTA takes place in a Los Angeles clone (Los Santos here) that’s absolutely stunning. This is the most beautiful sandbox game you’ve ever seen, and that’s because of a blend of graphical prowess (current-gen consoles are pushed to the edge here) and little details.

In Franklin’s living room, a speaker is held up by cement bricks, a reminder of exactly how little money the youngest star of the game has. There are near-lifelike tarps covering a handful of construction sites. There are signs in gardens and even the characters’ cell phones reflect their status.





The entire world is so beautiful that I couldn’t help taking a nice leisurely drive the moment things truly opened up. Rockstar has crafted a truly wonderful Los Santos here, and in between the story and the mayhem, it’s worth appreciating the digital wonderland you’re traversing. It would almost be a crime to not enjoy the scenery.




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