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"The Jet Gamer" Game Review: Grand Theft Auto Five "PS4"
10 years ago
My first game for the PS4, so everything about this was new to me. Let's see how my first experience with this new system was shall we?
Grand Theft Auto Five
Well now, the most notoriously mature game that is know out there has come once again. If you know anything about Grand Theft Auto, then you know likely what to expect, but for those new to the series over the last ten fifteen years or so, this one delivers more of the same violent, mature and sexual action that you expect from this series. On top of that, here it is on the brand new generation of consoles where I played it on my new PlayStation 4. How does it hold up on this new console and as another new entry into the grand theft auto series? Well, you are about to find out now.
Gameplay
If you have played any of the Grand Theft Auto's since it went 3D instead of 2D, then you know how the gameplay here is going to work. You run around a gigantic city doing missions to progress the story and unlock more things while collecting money to buy more things as they become available. Playing through the story mode is essential if you want to unlock more weapons in this game as most of them are locked behind story mode. You do the things you expect in Grand Theft Auto. You steal cars. You shoot people. You fly planes and helicopters. You can get drunk or high. Then a bunch of new things like buying businesses, playing the stock market, are great ways to make a little money on the side besides what you earn from missions in story mode. Besides Story mode as well, there are many side things you can do, like the Stranger and Freak missions which are little side missions that revolve around the odd people that live in the state of San Andreas. You never know what these people are going to be like, but you can guarantee one thing is that they are likely going to be very odd people, which is the norm for this universe. At the same time even with all of this, you can simply choose to run around the open world and cause chaos as you please. The police in this game actually seem to be around a bit less than they were in the older games. You just don't see them roaming the city as often as you would expect. One thing though is that alot of the citizens have cell phones and can call the cops on you to get them to the areas where the crimes are happening. Still, you may still see them around from time to time as the cops are still as aggressive as ever to try and stop you when they can. One new thing I've noticed is how there are now only five wanted stars instead of six. It is rather rare to even stay on a single star as the smallest things will immediately upgrade you to a second star where the police just want your blood. Three stars gets you the helicopter. Four stars gets you swat, and five gets you the army. The FBI really isn't in that area as you have several missions in the game that involve them, though they are called the FIB instead. If you are expecting something completely different from older games, that isn't the case here, but it seems to work still, which is why they keep bringing this gameplay style back. If it works, why change it? That seems to be the case here.
Story
The story mode in this game is unique in its own sense in that for the first time, you don't just control one character as in the other games, but instead there are three different characters that will appear in the game that you can take control of as you play through story mode. Not only are you following the story of first, the black, gangster type character Franklin in the beginning of the game, you then later unlock the white, rich theft Micheal, and then later, the white, and completely insane drug dealer and thief, Trevor. Each character is completely unique, so you will get a different experience based on who you either are choosing to use or who you are supposed to be using during the story mode. Story mode in general is about these three characters trying to not only make money, but trying to get out of a bad loop where they are all being manipulated by the FIB, who are keeping the three of them, especially Micheal and Trevor from being in jail, but in return, they are constantly wanting favors from them. Also, the main characters are usually trying to discover new robbery heist jobs to try and steal more money for themselves or to just say they are some of the best robbers around. This is a bit more unique than some of the other GTA games where it pretty much boils down to gang warfare. There is at least a unique story that branches from this, even if it is in there a bit, since you are fighting and having to deal with many different organizations during the story. So while it is unique in its own sense with having three different characters prospective you need to follow, some of the same old elements are still there. Still, if you want a story that is all about killing and doing bad, you have that right here.
Graphics
What can I say? The game looks great, plays great, has next to no frame issues, and has the bonus of being able to be played in first person view mode on this console, which is a new feature in GTA in general. There looks to be next to no load times when you are just roaming the city. You don't really see things loading in the distance as you are roaming around at all. You can even fly super high up in the air and still see activity over most of the entire island, even from a very high up altitude, especially at night. Being high up in the sky and seeing the city all lit up at night and all the cars roaming around on the street is quite the sight. There may be the occasional hiccup when it comes to the graphics where a few strange things could happen, but for the most part, these are so rare that it is almost not even worth mentioning. The fact as well that you can go into first person and look at so many of these up close and personal instead of at a distance just goes to show you the hard work they put into the details of this game. I have to say I'm pretty impressed by this game's appearance.
Sound
Alright, anyone that doesn't agree that a GTA game doesn't have great sound and music, has never even gotten into one of the cars. The radio in this game, just like all the other GTA games has a massive radio with tons of songs on each station to listen to as you pleases, as well as talk stations that show you the extremes of both sides of the political agenda. If you can't find something you like on at least one of the stations, you must not like any kinds of music, because most genre's and cultures are covered, so there should be at least one station you enjoy, for me it usually being the rock and pop stations. For sounds in general, you can hear the hustle and bustle of the city as you roam around. The cars, the people talking, and the general chaos of a big city or country side as you roam around. You really do feel like you are in the city of Los Santos and its surrounding areas on this huge island.
Control
Alright, this is the one area I sort of have some complaints on, though they aren't entirely big problems, they are things that did sort of bug me during the game. The control scheme for the game does take time to get used to, especially when it comes to the shoulder buttons. It is very easy to get confused with these buttons and these are some important buttons as these are the buttons that allow you to aim, shoot, take cover, choose weapons, and such like that. Getting these buttons confused can easily lead you to getting killed in the early game. Yet, I was still making these mistakes later in the game. So, I will say that there is a learning curve to the controls, especially for most advanced moves obviously. Some of the cars are obviously more easily controlled and others are completely wild and squirrely. I do think the controls could have been a tad bit better, but by no means are the controls breaking, so I can't exactly punish them too much. It is still worth letting you know that they can be tricky at times.
Replay Value
Replay Value? Have you ever played a GTA game before? This is one of the main elements of the game is being able to always come back for more of it. While there may not be anything new when you come back to it, nothing is really locked away from you either. You can replay story mode as many times as you want on multiple save files. You can roam the city and cause general chaos or try and earn more and more money. You can even then just keep loading the game whenever you die if you choose to do some just in general chaos in the city and go on a killing or being evil spree around it. While as I mentioned, there will be little new to do, once you complete all the side missions in the game, since I did complete the game one hundred percent. There is still plenty of general stuff you can do that will keep you happy if you want to come back and just bring about chaos like any other GTA game.
So overall, I would say Grand Theft Auto Five doesn't disappoint in being another great addition to the series. Though you do have to be aware that this series is not for everyone as the cursing, racial slurs, violence, and sexual themes can be quite extreme. The M rating on this game is no joke and one that should be taken seriously, especially for younger kids if you are going to allow them to play this. Just be ready for what the game is going to bring. Still, for the older game that enjoys a wide open game of mature themes and pretty much allowing you to do whatever you want, when you aren't doing the story mode, you can't really go wrong here.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Grand Theft Auto Five "PS4 Edition" a nine out of ten.
Gameplay: 9
Story: 8
Graphics: 10
Sound: 10
Control: 7
Replay Value: 9
Overall: 9
Grand Theft Auto Five
Well now, the most notoriously mature game that is know out there has come once again. If you know anything about Grand Theft Auto, then you know likely what to expect, but for those new to the series over the last ten fifteen years or so, this one delivers more of the same violent, mature and sexual action that you expect from this series. On top of that, here it is on the brand new generation of consoles where I played it on my new PlayStation 4. How does it hold up on this new console and as another new entry into the grand theft auto series? Well, you are about to find out now.
Gameplay
If you have played any of the Grand Theft Auto's since it went 3D instead of 2D, then you know how the gameplay here is going to work. You run around a gigantic city doing missions to progress the story and unlock more things while collecting money to buy more things as they become available. Playing through the story mode is essential if you want to unlock more weapons in this game as most of them are locked behind story mode. You do the things you expect in Grand Theft Auto. You steal cars. You shoot people. You fly planes and helicopters. You can get drunk or high. Then a bunch of new things like buying businesses, playing the stock market, are great ways to make a little money on the side besides what you earn from missions in story mode. Besides Story mode as well, there are many side things you can do, like the Stranger and Freak missions which are little side missions that revolve around the odd people that live in the state of San Andreas. You never know what these people are going to be like, but you can guarantee one thing is that they are likely going to be very odd people, which is the norm for this universe. At the same time even with all of this, you can simply choose to run around the open world and cause chaos as you please. The police in this game actually seem to be around a bit less than they were in the older games. You just don't see them roaming the city as often as you would expect. One thing though is that alot of the citizens have cell phones and can call the cops on you to get them to the areas where the crimes are happening. Still, you may still see them around from time to time as the cops are still as aggressive as ever to try and stop you when they can. One new thing I've noticed is how there are now only five wanted stars instead of six. It is rather rare to even stay on a single star as the smallest things will immediately upgrade you to a second star where the police just want your blood. Three stars gets you the helicopter. Four stars gets you swat, and five gets you the army. The FBI really isn't in that area as you have several missions in the game that involve them, though they are called the FIB instead. If you are expecting something completely different from older games, that isn't the case here, but it seems to work still, which is why they keep bringing this gameplay style back. If it works, why change it? That seems to be the case here.
Story
The story mode in this game is unique in its own sense in that for the first time, you don't just control one character as in the other games, but instead there are three different characters that will appear in the game that you can take control of as you play through story mode. Not only are you following the story of first, the black, gangster type character Franklin in the beginning of the game, you then later unlock the white, rich theft Micheal, and then later, the white, and completely insane drug dealer and thief, Trevor. Each character is completely unique, so you will get a different experience based on who you either are choosing to use or who you are supposed to be using during the story mode. Story mode in general is about these three characters trying to not only make money, but trying to get out of a bad loop where they are all being manipulated by the FIB, who are keeping the three of them, especially Micheal and Trevor from being in jail, but in return, they are constantly wanting favors from them. Also, the main characters are usually trying to discover new robbery heist jobs to try and steal more money for themselves or to just say they are some of the best robbers around. This is a bit more unique than some of the other GTA games where it pretty much boils down to gang warfare. There is at least a unique story that branches from this, even if it is in there a bit, since you are fighting and having to deal with many different organizations during the story. So while it is unique in its own sense with having three different characters prospective you need to follow, some of the same old elements are still there. Still, if you want a story that is all about killing and doing bad, you have that right here.
Graphics
What can I say? The game looks great, plays great, has next to no frame issues, and has the bonus of being able to be played in first person view mode on this console, which is a new feature in GTA in general. There looks to be next to no load times when you are just roaming the city. You don't really see things loading in the distance as you are roaming around at all. You can even fly super high up in the air and still see activity over most of the entire island, even from a very high up altitude, especially at night. Being high up in the sky and seeing the city all lit up at night and all the cars roaming around on the street is quite the sight. There may be the occasional hiccup when it comes to the graphics where a few strange things could happen, but for the most part, these are so rare that it is almost not even worth mentioning. The fact as well that you can go into first person and look at so many of these up close and personal instead of at a distance just goes to show you the hard work they put into the details of this game. I have to say I'm pretty impressed by this game's appearance.
Sound
Alright, anyone that doesn't agree that a GTA game doesn't have great sound and music, has never even gotten into one of the cars. The radio in this game, just like all the other GTA games has a massive radio with tons of songs on each station to listen to as you pleases, as well as talk stations that show you the extremes of both sides of the political agenda. If you can't find something you like on at least one of the stations, you must not like any kinds of music, because most genre's and cultures are covered, so there should be at least one station you enjoy, for me it usually being the rock and pop stations. For sounds in general, you can hear the hustle and bustle of the city as you roam around. The cars, the people talking, and the general chaos of a big city or country side as you roam around. You really do feel like you are in the city of Los Santos and its surrounding areas on this huge island.
Control
Alright, this is the one area I sort of have some complaints on, though they aren't entirely big problems, they are things that did sort of bug me during the game. The control scheme for the game does take time to get used to, especially when it comes to the shoulder buttons. It is very easy to get confused with these buttons and these are some important buttons as these are the buttons that allow you to aim, shoot, take cover, choose weapons, and such like that. Getting these buttons confused can easily lead you to getting killed in the early game. Yet, I was still making these mistakes later in the game. So, I will say that there is a learning curve to the controls, especially for most advanced moves obviously. Some of the cars are obviously more easily controlled and others are completely wild and squirrely. I do think the controls could have been a tad bit better, but by no means are the controls breaking, so I can't exactly punish them too much. It is still worth letting you know that they can be tricky at times.
Replay Value
Replay Value? Have you ever played a GTA game before? This is one of the main elements of the game is being able to always come back for more of it. While there may not be anything new when you come back to it, nothing is really locked away from you either. You can replay story mode as many times as you want on multiple save files. You can roam the city and cause general chaos or try and earn more and more money. You can even then just keep loading the game whenever you die if you choose to do some just in general chaos in the city and go on a killing or being evil spree around it. While as I mentioned, there will be little new to do, once you complete all the side missions in the game, since I did complete the game one hundred percent. There is still plenty of general stuff you can do that will keep you happy if you want to come back and just bring about chaos like any other GTA game.
So overall, I would say Grand Theft Auto Five doesn't disappoint in being another great addition to the series. Though you do have to be aware that this series is not for everyone as the cursing, racial slurs, violence, and sexual themes can be quite extreme. The M rating on this game is no joke and one that should be taken seriously, especially for younger kids if you are going to allow them to play this. Just be ready for what the game is going to bring. Still, for the older game that enjoys a wide open game of mature themes and pretty much allowing you to do whatever you want, when you aren't doing the story mode, you can't really go wrong here.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Grand Theft Auto Five "PS4 Edition" a nine out of ten.
Gameplay: 9
Story: 8
Graphics: 10
Sound: 10
Control: 7
Replay Value: 9
Overall: 9
