For me, the moment came as the game shifted me to the point of view of Trevor just as he was waking up, or possibly regaining consciousness, on a sunlit beach. It was morning, and the lighting was beyond gorgeous, glinting off whitecaps as waves lapped the shore, bathing everything in reddish hues. Trevor stood up, wearing tighty-whities, workboots, and a bowtie, stretched, and scratched his ass. The entire scene was one big convergence of beauty and absurdity. And it felt completely organic, like a a scene in a movie introducing you to a new segment of exposition. That was the moment I realized GTA really had raised the bar. Whether you’re a fan of the franchise or not, there’s no doubting that this game will get your attention if you sink a couple of hours into it.
After years of hit or miss gameplay, Rockstar has finally tuned their engine for optimum performance (metaphor intended). Everything fans love about the franchise, the wanton violence and bawdy humor, returns in a big way. The forumula has always been simple. Occupy the role of a low level criminal, and take on missions that help you rise to the top of the food chain. Along the way you steal cars, beat people to death, run over pedestrians, and fire copious amounts of bullets. And although much of this is done within the guise of a clever satire, the franchise has never been afraid to venture into some pretty dark waters, thematically.
For the first time in franchise history, you occupy the role of three separate characters, whose fates become intertwined along the main plotline, while they still pursue criminal ventures of their own. Switching between any of them requires only a quick press of the directional pad, and while the game sometimes forces the switch on you (they each have various strengths and special abilities, which are alternated during main missions). The characterizations of each can be a bit cliche at times, but they are certainly distinctive from one another.
Beginning with the release of GTA 3, Rockstar has built a reputation for being one of the most satirical games on the market. Through cleverly crafted dialogue and a variety of fictional talk radio segments (and advertisements), the game skewers everything that is bloated and superficial in American culture. This recent iteration leaves nothing untouched, from the economic meltdown to the rise of social media, it attempts to undercut virtually all of our pop cultural icons.
While writing this review, I had a chance to discuss the game with a professor of film studies who has been trying to incorporate analyis of gaming into his course. We talked about the issue of whether or not Rockstar can honestly present a satire of the society’s fascination of guns and gun violence, while still being an active participant in it. It’s an interesting thesis. While the game is certainly rife with clever jabs at gun culture, it does place those same guns in your hands and asks you to mow through hordes of pedestrians and bystanders. If they are attempting to craft satire, I’m not entirely sure 90% of their market base will get it. But ultimately, I don’t believe Rockstar is trying to become the Jonathan Swift of the digital age. They’re just selling escapism with a bit of a caustic snarl to it.
One particular scene that seemed to push the envelope a bit too far involved (mild spoiler warning…..) Trevor participating in the torture of a Middle Eastern man. Despite the fact that the context of the scene was set up to poke fun at the government’s role in sanctioned torture, the whole thing felt, for lack of a better term, icky. Choosing between a pair of pliers for pulling teeth, electroshock, waterboarding, and a good old wrench for smashing the poor guy’s testicles just felt like a bit too much immersion for my tastes.
GTA 5 has the ability to involve you in the day-to-day life of each character as he navigates life in Los Santos. Whether you’re training your dog “Chops” as Franklin, or taking Michael to the airport for flying lessons, you do get the feeling that you’re part of a living, breathing world. And while these tasks can, at times, feel a bit forced and mundane, they are quite tame compared to the drudgery of constantly being forced to play darts or bowling in GTA 4, or work out at the gym in San Andreas. Most of the skills you require to complete the game will build themselves naturally through normal gameplay.
Another significant change the game has made is the subtle introduction of difficulty levels through a “medal” system. In previous GTA games, succeeding in missions meant meeting some fairly rigid performance requirements. Failing also meant restarting the mission from the beginning (including the drive TO the mission), something that could feel like a bit of a grind. Missions now award you a medal score (bronze, silver, and gold). Getting any of these results in a pass, and missions can be replayed later if you wish to improve.
The addition of checkpoints within missions also makes them feel more fluid, and in fact, Rockstar even includes an option to skip any checkpoint after you fail more than 3 times. While it could be argued that they’ve done little more than dumb down the game for everyone, I’m inclined to see this as a positive step forward mainly because the execution of missions has always been a tad clunky in Rockstar’s games. On-foot controls, as well as shooting mechanics, in the GTA games has always been a bit on the loose side. Controlling movement feels much like trying to herd a drunk through an obstacle course, with slight delays between a push of the thumbstick and what you see on screen. Failing missions can sometimes feel like you’ve been victimized by poor controls than your lack of skill, so the new medal system should eliminate the frustration for people who want to get through the game, while leaving the option for replay for those who are dedicated to perfection.
GTA 5 is not a difficult game, and feels much like an interactive film. The voice acting and writing is top notch. I suspect that Rockstar designed the game to preserve a sense of unbroken immersion. Gameplay purists may be inclined to see this as a step back for those who love the challenge of pure gameplay. But with GTA Online launching on October 1st, we may yet see a new level of play emerge, as they are promising hundreds of coop missions for up to 16 people, and a wide variety of versus modes. If they pull this off, GTA 5 may be remembered as one of the best games of this generation.
3 responses to “GTA 5 Raises The Bar For Open World Gameplay”
Still haven’t played this yet, but this article perked my interest. Although I’m probably not going to try it out until the online comes out.
This was an awesome game, I’d give it a 9 too. glitch here and there, sometimes the gameplay is taken a little from you but overall it’s the best game I’ve played in a long time. It’s just an overall great work
If it weren’t for the PS4 fund needing every cent I can muster, I’d be all over this game