I’ve given Rockstar a tough time lately, going so far as to refer to them (by ‘them’ I mean their project leads) as vermin in a ranty article in July. I still stand by the points I raised in this piece but I want to clarify a few things regarding my opinion of Grand Theft Auto V as a game.
There are two major components in particular about GTA V that I really enjoy, more so than in games where these are the central mechanics. These are the shooting and the driving.
The sheer variety of guns and melee weapons at the player’s disposal is nothing short of impressive. All the way from hatchets to SMG’s to railguns, there is a weapon of choice to suit any playstyle. I’m all about the SMG’s myself, though I miss the option to dual wield from GTA: San Andreas, as the short but rapid bursts of fire while tapping the right analogue stick up just a tad to secure a decent headshot, which is how I tend to conduct myself in a shoot-out in any video game.
I’m also a big fan of the driving mechanics, as the vehicles cling to the road as if in a racing game, but aren’t afraid to spin wildly off into the distance given the first opportunity. The muscle cars are my favourites here, partly due to the weight of customisation options when visiting Los Santos Customs, but also their enthusiasm in allowing the player to pull off a satisfying drift or burnout without spawning an NPC vehicle to get in the way and spoil my fun.
I’ve completed at least five playthroughs of GTA V’s single player campaign, in part because it’s the shortest GTA story I can recall, but mostly because of how fun and cinematic the missions can be. From posing as cops to chase down wealthy street racers and steal their cars around the outer ring road of the map, to shooting government helicopters out of the sky after stealing a mysterious device of theirs from the depths of the ocean floor. There is a moment in 5’s campaign to appeal to anybody playing, and whilst being complimented by the great shooting and driving mechanics I mentioned earlier, that is exactly why I am comfortable in playing through it multiple times.
To summarise my opinion of GTA V, I love the moment to moment gameplay but truly detest the lack of single player support that Rockstar Games have previously promised and backed out of. The cash hungry (and appalling) microtransactions in the online side are a sad sight, as it’s very apparent that not a single penny of the billions Rockstar have made is going towards content supporting the offline half of the game.
Thank you for reading, what is essentially a continuation of my last Rockstar rant, but this time in a more positive manner. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @MaliceVER and on YouTube at Void Euphoric Records, and I will catch you again soon.
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