Gaming

Grand Theft Auto – Living the Dream

I joined the Grand Theft Auto series in GTA 3, didn’t have a PC, and even though one of the top-down versions did come out on the original PlayStation, it didn’t register on my radar. I vaguely remember someone showing it to me, but it seemed like a throwback to the 80’s arcade top-down games, there were much more interesting games for me to spend time on, like looking at the back of a ( then ) very blocked Lara Croft. It wasn’t until the success of GTA 3 on PlayStation 2 that I remember sitting transfixed in a friend’s living room, my mouth hanging open as I watched him switch cars, freak out and generally blow up random things.

I was in love (with the game, not Mike. Sorry mate).

Vice City was the one I remember best, with its mix of neon, ’80s movie references, an all-star voice cast including Ray Liotta and Burt Reynolds, the first appearance of motorbikes that seemed to be speeding along at breakneck speed. compared to most cars, helicopters, and that shitty Dodo plane that was so hard to control. It seemed complete, polished and complete.

San Andreas pushed the envelope even further. The map grew to four times the size, the flying aspect was greatly expanded, character interaction with random events, the Hollywood influence was still strong with Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Busey and Chris Penn among others providing excellent voice performances. I didn’t really connect with the main character that much and found certain aspects of it leaking out that were a bit irritating, but at least you ultimately didn’t die when you fell in the water.

GTA 4 should have been another leap forward, but after playing it for a while, I got bored. The Hollywood factor was gone, people like the main character’s brother, Roman, constantly pestering you to do some boring activity like drinking until you drop, playing darts or bowling. If you kept rejecting them, they would get irritated. It was long, had a long replay on every mission if you got full, and was just sad and depressing. Where had the fun gone? The Lost and Damned expansion followed, shortly after, The Ballad of Gay Tony. None of which bothered me because I had gotten bummed out by the series, but they were apparently a step in the right direction again.

Basically, GTA 5 is more of the same, a lot of driving, side missions, interaction with strange characters, but it’s also much more. Rockstar learned from previous mistakes in GTA 4 and addressed them brilliantly, sometimes the fix is ​​simple. Instead of receiving annoying phone calls pestering you to participate in social events, you can decide when, or even if, you want to take a break from the main story to do some recreational stuff. The list is also long: cycling, triathlon, tennis, golf, yoga, running, skydiving, base jumping, diving. I’m sure there are a few that I haven’t found yet, but you’ve got hours of entertainment right there. You can spend hours exploring this vast playing field yourself, or invest in a strategy guide to help you out.

The individual lead character has also been removed in favor of three distinctly different characters, Michael, the retired thief and bank robber, Franklin, a street hustler trying to escape his ghetto entourage, and Trevor, a sociopathic lunatic. We first meet Michael and Trevor during a flashback that not only establishes their friendship and a brief tour of the basic controls, but also establishes Michael’s story. We catch up with him ten years after the failed heist, living out his days in witness protection sitting on his couch, watching movies with a glass in hand surrounded by his horrendous family.

Events unfold that bring Michael and Franklin together to pull off a heist which in turn puts Michael back on Trevors’ radar, having long thought his friend was dead. Once these three are found, the story and map begin to unfold and you can jump between them, not only during downtime but during larger missions as well. The switching mechanism is surprisingly easy and fluid, allowing you to carry out the separate aspects of the heist from each participant’s perspective, Trevor flying, Michael sneaking and stealing, and Franklin, using a sniper rifle to cover Michael or driving a vehicle. exhaust.

Being able to play from the perspective of not one, but three different characters certainly goes a long way in preventing events from becoming stale and repetitive. There is more thought that needs to go into jobs, choosing a game, a team, and balancing a larger part with the danger of using cheaper, less experienced team members.

All of this is not to say that there aren’t some shortcomings, the lack of female characters and scathing social commentary has sadly been reduced. The in-game/mobile ‘ifruit’ app that allows you to adjust aspects of the game when away from the console, such as training Franklin’s dog Chop and modifying vehicles, did not work and was only available on iPhone/iPad, excluding Android owners for a similar experience.

GTA Online has also been plagued with problems since day one, with Rockstar’s servers unable to cope with a large number of the 15 million players trying to get into it at once. This is a common issue with a major release, I experienced the same with pretty much the entire Call of Duty series and Battlefield 3’s initial online multiplayer. I didn’t get past creating a character and then sitting in the pre-game lobby with the wheel of progress spinning endlessly.

Rockstar released an update on October 6, but it apparently caused issues with players who managed to go online beforehand to lose money, properties, and levels. However, it has also addressed stability and access issues, but has made many players nervous at the prospect of losing status and money in future updates.

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