Grand Theft Auto V
PlayStation 4
Nostalgia Factor:
It seems odd that I've reviewed 625 video games so far, but I still haven't gotten around to Grand Theft Auto V yet. It's only one of the biggest games ever made, staying relevant through its online content for over 13 years now. You would think I'd have reviewed it a long time ago. But there's a reason for that.
According to my trophy information, I beat the game in 2013, returning later on in 2014 to mop up some trophies. I started this blog in 2015. I only review games that I've just freshly completed. GTA V didn't qualify for that. It barely missed out. My plan was that eventually I'd play through GTA V again, but who knew it would take 11 years for it to finally roll back around on my plate?
My memories of the game are very vague. I remember liking the game, but being disappointed in the multiplayer mode because it kept putting me in games by myself for some reason. Multiplayer was a big part of why I'd liked GTA IV. But to me, it was a failure in V (ironic, I know, considering how it is one of the most successful online games ever).
I enjoyed single player mode, though. It was more of a throwback to when GTA was wild and over the top, as opposed to the more grounded nature of GTA IV. But because the multiplayer version refused to cooperate for some reason, I quickly jettisoned the game after beating the single player mode. So while this game has had staying power among many gamers the last 13 years, it hasn't for me. Like I said, I last fired this game up in 2014. It's now 2026. I feel like this is an important distinction to make before we go too deep into my review.
Now that we know my history with the game, we shall move on.
Story:
This game follows the paths of three different characters: Franklin, Michael, and Trevor. Michael is the lynchpin that binds everyone together. He reminds me a lot of Michael Madsen, but playing a West Coast Tony Soprano-like character. He's the shady gangster with the nice house and the nice pool. He has a rocky relationship with his wife. His son is a degenerate who is only interested in drugs and video games. His daughter wants to be famous. He goes to a psychologist for therapy.
Michael is in witness protection. His past cohorts think he's dead. He gets drawn back into a life of crime when he crosses paths with Franklin, a car thief from the hood. These two almost have a Walt-and-Jesse-type relationship from Breaking Bad. Michael is the mentor and Franklin is his much younger cohort.
When these two wind up on the news, it catches the attention of Trevor, one of Michael's past associates. Trevor, who thought Michael was dead, shows up at his house one day. These three fine fellows team up and start pulling off major robberies and heists.
I'm not going to go into every single detail out there, as this game has waaay too much story for me to cover. But the feds get involved and start using these three men to do missions for them so they don't get their hands dirty. Honestly, I was never too clear on how the FIB was involved in the story, and I never bothered much to find out. Additionally, Michael and Trevor end up at odds at one point in the game, as Michael's past and the cause of his disappearance and entry into witness protection becomes a major plot point.
The game takes all kinds of unexpected twists and turns. You can take on missions for random people you encounter on the street. There's a paparazzi cameraman you work with from time to time. A guy who advocates for legalization of weed. You can buy airports and taxi stations, that kind of thing. And those businesses bring their own missions with them.
I could go on all day about this game's story, but I think I've done a decent enough job laying the groundwork. GTA V takes us back to the satirical, ridiculous, and over-the-top nature GTA is known for. This is definitely an insane game. It is nothing at all like the more realistic nature of its predecessor, and much more like San Andreas or other, more wild GTA games of the past.
Gameplay:
If you've played a GTA game before, you should be familiar with the open world gameplay. You take control of a character. You have a map. You travel to the points of interest on the map, usually indicated by a giant letter, to accept missions associated with your character. Pass the mission, you open up more missions. The more missions you pass, the more money you collect. The more new areas open up on the map. You know the drill. Although I think the entire map may be accessible from the jump in this game? Fact check me if I'm wrong.
Each of the three main characters has their own different strengths. I enjoyed playing as Franklin the most because of his driving skill. You can slow down time while driving to avoid accidents and get to your destination unscathed while still driving at a high speed. Trevor is good in combat, and has his own berserk mode you can enter. Michael can slow down time, similar to Franklin, but only when on foot - not while driving. I found Michael to be the most useless player, and the one I spent the least time with when exploring the city.
What sets this game apart from other GTA games is the massive amount of side content. Hidden collectibles, random encounters with strangers, etc. You can take your dog for a walk, play darts, do yoga, engage in street races, go parachuting, etc. The world of the game feels alive like no other GTA game. I feel like I could load up my post-game save file and still entertain myself for hours and hours, even though I already completed the main story. And then there is the whole multiplayer aspect, which I will mainly leave untouched since I only played single player for this review.
GTA V feels like a return to the over-the-top silliness of Vice City and San Andreas. It's more "comic" in nature when compared to GTA IV, which took a grittier and more realistic approach. Having played both games within a few years of each other, I can definitely say I prefer GTA V. GTA is at its best when it is having fun, and this game definitely has fun.
One of the best aspects of the game, for me, is the mission prep. For each major heist, you have different choices of who you can recruit, and which choices you want to make. Like, do you want to sneak in or do you want to go the guns-blazing route? You can also do things like stash getaway cars in advance of the mission. There is a critical choice you can make late in the game that majorly alters the ending you get. These choices help give the game its own identity, as there are no choices or multiple paths you can take in games prior.
What didn't I like about the game? There's a lot of yakking going on. Some of the cutscenes are too long. The game tries to be too clever half the time. Just let us play. Sometimes when you pick a character, he's just hanging out in his house. You have to watch him get up and stretch. Maybe say some witty line. And then you have to slooowly make your way outside before you can open the map. I can definitely see the groundwork being laid for Red Dead 2 here. Speaking of which, that's another game I need to revisit soon. I don't feel I appreciated it the first time around.
Anyway, I had a good overall time with the game. I don't think it is the greatest game of all time or anything like that. It's a solid GTA title, and I put a good 30 to 40 hours into it before I decided I'd had enough. It didn't blow me away or make me look at video games in a new light or anything like that. Maybe if I cared about online gaming, I'd be singing a different tune. But I don't.
Graphics:
This game looks great. It is the closest I've seen to recreating a "real life" city in a video game. Businesses, pedestrians, cars, office buildings, etc. I have never been to Los Angeles, but there are ton of landmarks that stand out in the game. I wonder if they are based off of real things? Probably. I'm too lazy to research it though. Some reviewer I am.
The game looks just as good moving away from the city. The mountains and deserts are beautiful. I love flying above the city in a helicopter and just taking in the sights. The water in particular looks really good in this game. My favorite aesthetic from the game was when I was playing with Trevor, and driving around in the desert as the sun was setting. I had to stop to take it all in. It's hard to believe this came out 13 years ago already.
Sound:
I might catch some heat for this, but I was not a giant fan of the game's music. Looking at the music list on paper, you'd think it was the greatest GTA soundtrack ever. It contains sooo many all-time classics. Just look at this list:
Yet for some reason when I was playing, it seems like all I would ever hear on the radio was either techno or rap music. Or people talking and babbling. I never actually heard anything I wanted to hear. It felt like 90% of the time, I was channel surfing looking for something, anything that I would like. You'd think with a soundtrack filled with so many absolute bangers, I'd encounter one every once in a while. Yet if I was playing for an hour, I'd encounter maybe one or two songs I'd like in that timeframe. And most of the time it was a Bob Seger song. I didn't even know Boston had a song on the soundtrack until I was nearly done with the entire game.
Maybe too many songs and too many radio stations are actually a bad thing. Too much garbage to shift through. Look at Vice City. I could basically put on any radio station at any time and encounter a song I like. But here, I have to search, and search, and search. I'd still be searching by the time I got to my destination. What's worst is when you finally find a song you like, only to find that it is ending. Boo!
So yeah, there's my controversial take. The game's soundtrack: good, but not good.
The voice acting, however, is very good. Trevor steals the show. After initially playing the game back when it first came out, I started to notice Steven Ogg in things like Westworld, Better Call Saul, and The Walking Dead. I'm glad he cashed in on the opportunity. Michael also has a good voice that somehow fits the GTA "main character" archetype perfectly. Michael's family is good. Franklin is good. Everyone is good. My only complaint with the voice acting is that they say the N word waaayyy too many times in this game. It's like every other word at some points in the game. Seriously. Is that necessary? I don't mean to be a debbie downer or anything. And I'm definitely NOT complaining for political reasons of any kind. I don't give a shit about politics. I'm the least political person you'll ever meet. It just seemed very unnecessary.
Overall:
I enjoyed my time with the game. Objectively speaking, it is probably the best GTA game out there. It looks great, it has a lot to do, it handles well, the story is interesting. You could play this for weeks and barely scratch the surface of the game's world. I like how you have three main characters, and you can make choices that affect the way the game plays out. It's just a flat out fun, over the top GTA game.
Despite the fact that it's technically the best GTA game on almost every level, it lacks a certain something that I can't quite put my finger on. Let's use Vice City as an example. It doesn't look as good, it handles like shit, and it hasn't aged well in many, many ways. But when the dust settles a few weeks from now, and I start to think back on what my favorite GTA game is, Vice City is going to be the game that comes to mind. Or maybe San Andreas. But not this game. "Why" is an interesting question. I already said that this game is better on nearly every level. Why would I like the inferior games more?
I don't know. And you're going to have to accept that answer. Is it nostalgia? Rose tinted glasses? Maybe. To be honest, it's hard for me to put a finger on it.
That being said, this is still a really good game. And I didn't even talk about the multiplayer aspect much. Some people have been playing this game online since it first came out. Clearly it has staying power with a lot of people. I wonder if they'd say this is the best GTA game ever? I'm sure multiplayer adds a lot more to the game. I'm just not a multiplayer guy. I tried, back in the day, and couldn't get into it. 13 years later, I'm a full-time dad and I just don't have time to play multiplayer anymore. I'm sure it's lovely. I'm sure if I really dived into it, it would increase my score from a B+ to something like an A or an A+.
But those are hypotheticals; a B+ it shall be. I just can't quite put in the "phenomenal" range of an A or better. It's close, but not close enough. I'd still give this an easy recommendation though.
THE GRADE:
B+
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