Dear reader, if only you knew what I know about GTA V. If only. I’ll just leave it at that.
Stephen Totilo of Kotaku, was recently given an eyeful of the game from Rockstar and the impressions he came away with are pretty … interesting, to say the least. The game apparently includes a fully-interactive 9-hole golf course, sharks, shipwrecks (like the one in Bully, maybe?), customizable cars (yawn), ATM robberies that you can stop/interact with and yoga. My girlfriend will like that last one.
Let’s be honest here, we know what to expect from this game: Three protagonists doing criminal things in a massive, at-times silly narrative expertly crafted by the Houser brothers. That’s all we really need to know, because this game will probably be the biggest of the year (even though that silly-looking Call of Duty title drops this year, too). The nitty-gritty of what we all, as Rockstar faithful, want to know is how the world lives and breathes. As a New Yorker, the Liberty City I was presented with in GTA IV was the closest approximation to the five boroughs I’ve ever seen (with Prototype 2 right up there, as well). I’ve always been amazed by how Rockstar’s open worlds feel alive, like they’re the true stars of the story, rather than the hero (or anti-hero, in most cases).
Of course, a brilliant open-world is nothing without the meaty filling of gameplay. Totilo sheds a little more light on the game itself in that its primarily comprised of missions leading up to a mega-heist. It would seem that Rockstar has learned from fans that the Heat-inspired heist from GTA IV was a huge hit with their target audience (it was, in fact, a highlight in what was undoubtedly the best game that year) so we’re getting more of that. Ubisoft is making a similar move by taking the high-seas skullduggery from the latest Assassin’s Creed game and following it up with a game set primarily on the open waters, with players taking the role of a pirate. Game developers are known to give the player more of what they want, however; Rockstar doesn’t typically tow that line. I’m interested to see how these smaller missions play out and lead to the bigger heists.
I won’t outline what Totilo’s time with the game was like, but you can head over to Kotaku to read the rest. Suffice to say, I’m intrigued by what GTA V has to offer. I worship at the altar of Rockstar. Always have. Always will. Whether GTA V will have some of the same level of social commentary that previous installments have had remains to be seen, however; the latest trailers indicate mayhem and some interesting character study, at the very least.