Grand Theft Auto 5 Review

Grand Theft Auto 5 Community Page

Well if it hasn’t been in your console since the day you bought it. You most likely do not have it. Grand Theft Auto 5 is here  and let me just say it is glorious. I have not removed it from my Xbox 360 since day one and plan on keeping it there for months. I have logged many hours around the streets of Los Santos and there is only one thing left to do. Let the internet know how we feel about robbing banks and stealing cars in a review.

Grand Theft Auto 5 takes you on a wild roller coaster ride from the very beginning and just when you think the ride is over, you are thrown in a downward spiral. The story is massive. Unlike traditional games with one protagonist, this game has three. You begin as Michael, the husband with a dysfunctional family. His wife constantly yells at him and puts him down, his daughter is an aspiring dancer and his son is a lazy slob. Michael is a millionaire under witness protection for a bank heist gone wrong a decade ago. In his travels he comes across the second playable character, Franklin. A young black male from the tougher more run down side of the city. When we meet him he is stealing cars

for a lowlife car salesmen with is buddy Lamar. Franklin shows up at Michael’s house to steal back a vehicle and it doesn’t end too well for him. Michael is in the backseat and forces him to run the car into the dealership. The two form a friendship through this, yeah I said friendship, and the story kicks off.

The three main characters discuss their next business plan.

They end up getting involved in a jewelry heist and attract the attention of the third member of our party, Trevor Phillips. This guy is something else. A raging psychopath addicted to meth and all things your grandmother would frown upon, Trevor is not one to be trifled with. He kills for pleasure and does what he pleases. Living out in the desert will do some crazy things to a man. He makes his way to Michael’s house and all three characters find themselves working together to get themselves out of a rather bad situation.

It’s GTA, every character makes a bad choice to get the story moving. This one involves the mafia, smuggling guns and drugs and a special military force. Michael wants his family back, Franklin wants a better life and Trevor wants wealth.

Honestly there is so much that happens in the story I couldn’t fit it all in this review.

Relaxing before Trevor comes into town.

Grand Theft Auto is action packed full of things to do and places to see. The gameplay is nearly limitless. See a car that you really want but some jerk is driving off with it, pull out a gun and shoot him, and it’s yours. Don’t feel like driving to your next destination on the map. Call a taxi and have them take you there. They will charge you but you can just wreck their car after.

The game implements many quests called heists. Players get to choose how they want to go about robbing a bank or store by choosing different teammates to join the three characters. Each teammate will cost a different amount based on their skill. Their cost will come out of the final amount stolen. Go in guns blazing or scope out the joint and find a quieter way inside. The choice is yours.

There is plenty to do around the city of Los Santos. If you want to jump out o f a helicopter and parachute onto the back of a moving semi. By all means give it a shot. Throughout the city there are also hangers stashed with a plane inside. Some side missions allow you to deliver guns and ammunition to a specific location on the map via that plane.

Grand Theft Auto is full of things to do and getting to these areas is sometimes the best part.

When it comes to presentation and how the game delivers all these aspects, even that is spot on. The button layout is well done. It took me a few minutes to learn what button did what but after that I have been good to go. Response times are perfect. Choosing weapons is simple as well. One button brings up the gun wheel and you can choose from a plethora of weapons including, grenades, a rocket launcher, sticky bombs, shotguns, sniper rifles, SMGs and more.

Getting ready to rob a jewelry store.

Driving controls were designed and improved from the last games. Instead of sticking to the road they slide around. Go too fast around a corner and they spin out of control. Even the rain affects how the cars in the game handle. One thing I find annoying is the mini map. It does not give a wide enough view of the area you are in. So you are left with opening the larger map too find out where to go, which takes some time.

The city of Los Santos is huge. The open world aspect of Grand Theft Auto is truly beautiful. Though it is not the largest map of the series it still makes for an incredible journey. Traveling the mountains and desert on a motor bike is a wonderful experience.

Being GTA is so massive and there is so much to do I would say this game has a long lifespan. Gamers will keep this one in the console for months and there is always something to do inside the world. Not to mention the multiplayer that is coming out October first. I’d talk about it but we will save it until we know more information with a hands on review.

All in all Grand Theft Auto 5 is a fantastic and beautiful game.

The story is eventful, witty, comical and surprising. The writers really came out with a great narrative and plot.

The gameplay is solid and kept me wanting to play on.

How the world looks and reacts to your decisions is presented brilliantly.