Rockstar has improved upon one of the greatest games of all time. The original version of Grand Theft Auto V was a major accomplishment upon its initial release and remains that way even after a year of the new console generation. The current-gen version, however, allows it to continue its legacy for many more years. It's worth diving back into Los Santos simply to experience the saga in smooth 1080p, but Rockstar has gone above and beyond by adding new features and content to it. More than just a gimmick, the first-person mode really does change how it's experienced by adding a new layer of gameplay. It won't be for everybody, but the sheer fact that the option is there is commendable. More still, multiple new vehicles, weapons and animals have been introduced. If none of that were enough, over a hundred new songs have been added to the already robust radio stations. While there's nothing wrong with the last-gen version of Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar has created a museum piece with its remastered version. Everybody, from those who have spent the better part of the past year exploring everything its world has to offer to the three people who have yet to play it, should experience what has been put together here.
Over two thousand words into the review and it doesn’t feel like we’ve scratched the surface of Grand Theft Auto V. This is a sprawling experience, offering countless activities ranging from practicing yoga to smuggling guns. Playing around in its virtual sandbox is enjoyable enough to fill five game’s worth of playtime, but ignoring all of the world’s amenities and solely playing the missions still puts countless other action games to shame. More still, it features arguably the best story of the series that’s greatly enhanced by the added dynamic of three contrasting protagonists. There’s multiple hyperbolic statements that we could pile on to convey the excellence protruding from nearly every facet of the game (like that one), but all that matters is this: Grand Theft Auto V is both a step forward for the franchise and an amalgamation of the best parts of its previous titles.
The world of Grand Theft Auto V is the biggest ever. Although some were concerned when the game map was recently leaked (which has turned out to be accurate) due to the fact that the majority of it was rural, know that it’s not that they’ve taken away from the city, but simply added hundreds of miles of land outside it just for good fun. The city itself is huge and rivals the entire world of GTA V History IV. Outside of it, there’s mountains, rivers, beaches, desert and more. Surprisingly, however, hardly any of it is empty. There’s small towns, unique buildings, military bases and more sprinkled throughout. The incredible thing is how alive it all seems. Off one of the back roads, for instance, I noticed a car pull over at a fruit stand and decided to see if it was a coincidence, but nope – a woman got out, walked up to it and examined the produce. That’s level of detail to expect in the world, from the boardwalks with interactive rides to trains carving through mountain passes. To add some spice for players who like to drive around exploring the world, random events have been added that unfold during a day. Represented by a flashing blue blip on the map that appears when nearby, these range from a thief snatching a purse to a carjacking. After stopping the miscreant in one of these robberies, you can either keep the stolen item for yourself or return it to the victim. Doing the latter results in good karma that might just come back to you later in the game.
When Ubisoft officially announced the title and I read the synopsis, I was actually impressed. It was something that was getting back to the realm of what Team Rainbow does, stop the bad guys. Rainbow Six: Vegas had a pretty good driving story set in a pretty awesome location, but unfortunately, the narrative ended up petering out somewhere near the 3rd act. As for its sequel, man, I cannot even tell you what that game was about, the story ended up being so forgetta
Heist missions are one of the major additions to Grand Theft Auto V , putting an interesting spin on the normal structure of missions and cranking up the action (and music) all the way up to 11. These missions are hyped up so much in game that there are even some pre-heist missions that are there simply to hype up the actual heists. However, some of these missions turn out to be just time-wasting fil
Getting a good glimpse of the ghost of Mount Gordo is a little challenging as she does appear somewhat transparent and will disappear completely should you get too close to her. Many players have combated this issue by using a sniper sight or the phone's camera to get a closer look.
As amazing as the soundtrack was last-gen, Rockstar shockingly decided to add even more songs to it in this re-release. A whopping 150 additional new tracks have been spread across the radio stations. Highlights include Holy Ghost! — Hold On, Hot Chip - Flutes, Neon Indian — Polish Girl, Lorde - Tennis Court, !!! - One Girl/One Boy and many, many more. If that's not enough, more DJ commentary has been recorded from some of the top DJs including DJ George (Twin Shadow), Nathan and Stephen (Wavves), Kenny Logins and more. On the talk radio side of things, Duane Earl (Danny McBride) has recorded new show segments. GTA has always been a series epitomized by its radio stations and by putting in the effort to expand GTAV's selections, not only have they made an already complete soundtrack more robust, but they've made driving around a fresh experience