Date played: September 17th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 10/10
IT'S HERE! GTA V IS HERE!
This is the game I've been the most excited about in a long time and now, it's on my PS3's hard drive. I've played almost all GTA games (I skipped Vice City Stories) and have always enjoyed them. I recently played The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, both of which I found really enjoyable, so I had some pretty high expectations for V. For me, this is the swan song of the generation. I have a PS4 pre-ordered and am jumping ship as soon as it comes out, so GTA V is likely the last game I will buy on day 1 for the aging PS3.
Thankfully, it doesn't disappoint.
GTA V is amazing in every way. It starts with a bank robbery, a few years before the events of the game. This section acts as a tutorial for the controls. During the mission, it was easy to notice how everything feels a bit better than it did in GTA IV. The animation, the aiming, the movement and the driving have all been significantly improved. The graphics are also very impressive, some of the best on the platform. However, the new character switching mechanic is by far the most interesting change. During the mission, I was able to switch between Micheal and Trevor at will. The mission ends in a shootout where everyone is badly injured and they are caught by the cops.
Then the game starts with Franklin, a young gangster who still lives with his mom. He is trying to step his criminal game up and stop working for dumb criminals. Him and his buddy start with a couple of missions involving a car dealership. They must repossess two very pretty sports cars, which they then use to race back to the dealer, because of course they would. Soon enough, they are chased by a few cops. Two new features played a role in this mission. First, the cops are a lot less frustrating to evade now because instead of having a huge circle on the minimap that the player must escape, you can now hide from cops in alleys and other secluded areas. The cops have a vision cone that can be seen on the minimap. That's a HUGE change for the series and I think it will be great, though I'll have to see how it behaves with more cops chasing. The other feature is that Franklin has a special ability that gives him amazing driving skills for a short period. This came in handy when avoiding traffic and taking sharp turns.
Another mission had me repossess a bike, though I had to fight through a horde of bad guys to get it. I even got to shoot a gas trail left by a damaged car to blow it up. Between missions, I explored a little bit of Franklin's neighborhood, got a haircut (an afro with a full beard), changed my clothes, browsed the internet, watched some TV and replied to some emails and text messages. I also picked up a hooker and spent 100$ in a strip club. GTA will be GTA I guess.
The next mission had Franklin repossess another car, but it turned out that the offender in question is no other than Micheal, the ex-bank robber with money, a bad therapist and spoiled kids. After stealthily infiltrating the house, I stole the car, only to have Micheal pop out from the back seat and point a gun at Franklin's head. In the end, we smashed through the car dealership's window and beat up Simeon, the owner. That's how Micheal and Franklin got met, which led to the next mission.
Franklin is asked by Micheal to help him recover his stolen yacht, which Micheal's son tried to sell to gangsters before getting ripped off. This was easily the coolest mission yet. As Micheal, I had to drive close enough to the yacht for Franklin to jump onto it for him to beat up the thugs and rescue the kid. I drove behind and shot a couple of dudes from the car to help Franklin.
I also did a good number of side missions, known as Strangers and Freaks missions. These are full fledged missions, though they don't seem to be involved in the main story. I helped a lady tow a car to the impound and completed a checkpoint race. I also found a few random events, reminiscent of Red Dead Redemption's random events. One of these rewarded me with a guy who can be recruited for heists... interesting.
Bottom line, this game is fucking huge, plays amazingly well and has interesting characters and story so far. I just wanna go home and play more of it right now.
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 10/10
IT'S HERE! GTA V IS HERE!
This is the game I've been the most excited about in a long time and now, it's on my PS3's hard drive. I've played almost all GTA games (I skipped Vice City Stories) and have always enjoyed them. I recently played The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, both of which I found really enjoyable, so I had some pretty high expectations for V. For me, this is the swan song of the generation. I have a PS4 pre-ordered and am jumping ship as soon as it comes out, so GTA V is likely the last game I will buy on day 1 for the aging PS3.
Thankfully, it doesn't disappoint.
GTA V is amazing in every way. It starts with a bank robbery, a few years before the events of the game. This section acts as a tutorial for the controls. During the mission, it was easy to notice how everything feels a bit better than it did in GTA IV. The animation, the aiming, the movement and the driving have all been significantly improved. The graphics are also very impressive, some of the best on the platform. However, the new character switching mechanic is by far the most interesting change. During the mission, I was able to switch between Micheal and Trevor at will. The mission ends in a shootout where everyone is badly injured and they are caught by the cops.
Then the game starts with Franklin, a young gangster who still lives with his mom. He is trying to step his criminal game up and stop working for dumb criminals. Him and his buddy start with a couple of missions involving a car dealership. They must repossess two very pretty sports cars, which they then use to race back to the dealer, because of course they would. Soon enough, they are chased by a few cops. Two new features played a role in this mission. First, the cops are a lot less frustrating to evade now because instead of having a huge circle on the minimap that the player must escape, you can now hide from cops in alleys and other secluded areas. The cops have a vision cone that can be seen on the minimap. That's a HUGE change for the series and I think it will be great, though I'll have to see how it behaves with more cops chasing. The other feature is that Franklin has a special ability that gives him amazing driving skills for a short period. This came in handy when avoiding traffic and taking sharp turns.
Another mission had me repossess a bike, though I had to fight through a horde of bad guys to get it. I even got to shoot a gas trail left by a damaged car to blow it up. Between missions, I explored a little bit of Franklin's neighborhood, got a haircut (an afro with a full beard), changed my clothes, browsed the internet, watched some TV and replied to some emails and text messages. I also picked up a hooker and spent 100$ in a strip club. GTA will be GTA I guess.
The next mission had Franklin repossess another car, but it turned out that the offender in question is no other than Micheal, the ex-bank robber with money, a bad therapist and spoiled kids. After stealthily infiltrating the house, I stole the car, only to have Micheal pop out from the back seat and point a gun at Franklin's head. In the end, we smashed through the car dealership's window and beat up Simeon, the owner. That's how Micheal and Franklin got met, which led to the next mission.
Franklin is asked by Micheal to help him recover his stolen yacht, which Micheal's son tried to sell to gangsters before getting ripped off. This was easily the coolest mission yet. As Micheal, I had to drive close enough to the yacht for Franklin to jump onto it for him to beat up the thugs and rescue the kid. I drove behind and shot a couple of dudes from the car to help Franklin.
I also did a good number of side missions, known as Strangers and Freaks missions. These are full fledged missions, though they don't seem to be involved in the main story. I helped a lady tow a car to the impound and completed a checkpoint race. I also found a few random events, reminiscent of Red Dead Redemption's random events. One of these rewarded me with a guy who can be recruited for heists... interesting.
Bottom line, this game is fucking huge, plays amazingly well and has interesting characters and story so far. I just wanna go home and play more of it right now.
