The Grand Theft Auto Series is as much a cultural entity as it is a great video game franchise. People preorder the games because of their love for the past games in the franchise, and even though there have only been four games since the revolutionary Grand Theft Auto 3, the franchise hasn’t necessarily changed all that much since then. Many describe GTA: San Andreas as the
peak of the franchise, at least until they play GTA V. GTA V improves upon GTA IV in every way, which was critically acclaimed for its storytelling and advanced physics engine, but it lacked the freedom and opportunity for anything that San Andreas featured. When looking at the creativity, the level and map design and storytelling that GTA V features, any other open world game like Saints Row has very far to go to catch up.

The biggest change to GTA V as far as how you play the game is that now the campaign is played through 3 different characters. Each character is very different, and one is disturbing enough that I’m sure some people will wish they didn’t have to play as him. Franklin is a street hustler who gets involved in high stakes crime robbery. He’s a character with a good heart, but makes really terrible decisions like we have seen in recent GTA games like Carl Johnson (San Andreas) or Niko Bellic (GTA IV). There is Michael, who is a former bank robber turn witness protective, but is pulled back into the game. Michael is my favorite character; he’s intelligent, witty, and empathetic as well. Trevor is the wild card, and I’ll leave the details out as not to spoil anything, but safe to say, he is disturbing and despicable like no other playable character in GTA history. Switching between characters is seamless and can be done at almost any time. Each character has their own missions which often intertwine, but the semi-non-linear mission structure that the GTA franchise is known for is basically tripled in scope in GTA V. If you are someone like myself who believes that some linear structure is good for storytelling, you will be a little bit flustered or annoyed by this lack of direction.

Another unique mechanic to GTA V is the heist system. Most GTA missions have been based off of the simplistic and sandbox mechanics that the game provides, but GTA V adds a whole new system for heists. Heists are customizable to how you want to take action and who you want to bring. Heist Missions are always the most memorable missions in older GTA games, but are usually limited to only a couple in a game. GTA V is based around these heist missions which are as great as you can ask for coming from a game the offers so much. Every mission in the game has an individual score that is posted on Rockstar Social, a social media database so you can compete with your friends and see who the best, another first for the GTA series.

Something missing in GTA IV were the mini-games that were fun distractions from the sadistic violence otherwise occupying the game. GTA V features several fleshed-out sports and events that are actually a lot of fun. It has tennis that feels like Mario Tennis and golf that, coincidentally, feels like Mario Golf. I’m hoping these are featured in GTA Online when it comes out as I would actually play them with friends. What an unbelievable value that this game features that I’m as impressed with the unheralded golf game as I am with the main interests.

Eye popping graphics hasn’t really been a staple of the GTA franchise, but GTA V manages to impress with its well-rounded presentation. The game performs remarkably well with no stuttering or buffering (at least on the Xbox 360 Slim Edition) and I promise you that the first time you go underwater during the daytime that your jaw will drop. Face modeling for main characters is incredibly realistic even if the general public look like pie faces. Overall, it’s easily the best looking GTA game yet, but you can’t help but wonder what the next one will look like on next-gen consoles.

When I was a young teen I never understood why parents wouldn’t let their kids play violent games, and for the most part my beliefs have stayed the same. GTA V is one of a few games where if I saw a 13 year old playing it, I would stop them. The random acts of violence are cartoonish even with realistic graphics, but the calculated acts of violence are what can be truly disturbing. Children shouldn’t be exposed many of the scenes in this game, such as those included, sex, drug use, and torture that are often marginalized and portrayed nonchalantly. This is a very satirical game, which allows to killing Mark Zuckerberg stereotypes and other pop culture based attacks. It takes a lot for a gamer to be shocked with straight violence today, and I think Rockstar understands that, so they pushed it to another level. This is a truly MATURE rated game.

If you are currently on the fence about purchasing this game, let me tell you that you have every reason to be. GTA IV was a disappointment to many and perhaps felt like a plateau point for the series. I can confidently say that is not the case at all and that GTA V is the GTA game that we wanted back in 2008. The great storytelling that GTA IV perfected is finally backed by a strong mission structure and a world that feels realistic and infinite in activities. GTA is a multi-billion dollar franchise and could hack out new games every year like the Call of Duty franchise, but Rockstar makes us want and anticipate and are still able to blow us away.