Five Reasons to Get Excited About GTA V

Five Reasons to Get Excited About GTA V

With Rockstar finally unveiling an awe-inspiring gameplay trailer for Grand Theft Auto V this month, impatient gamers the world over found yet another convincing reason to flock to their favorite retail stores and pre-order one of the most anticipated titles of 2013. As the release date for the next installment in Rockstar’s virtual crime-committing franchise looms near, however, we decided it was time to construct a thought-provoking list enlightening the uninformed few why Grand Theft Auto V’s intriguing premise is worthy of their undivided attention.

5) Engaging Multiplayer

GTA Online

Whether it was cruising around and partaking in virtual sightseeing with your friends via Free Mode, slaughtering the competition during Team Deathmatch, or utilizing strategic, well-coordinated teamwork to complete contracts in Team Mafiya Work, Grand Theft Auto IV provided mischief-makers with enough online content to keep them occupied for months and (if you’re anything like us) even years on end. Luckily for us, Rockstar isn’t planning on backtracking from its highly-regarded online support anytime soon. As it turns out, Grand Theft Auto V will feature its own multiplayer portion named Grand Theft Auto Online, and though the gameplay trailer reveal stayed relatively mum when it came to delivering concrete details, we do know that online multiplayer will play an even larger role in the series than ever before. On top of that, Grand Theft Auto Online will also utilize the “Crew” mechanic seen in Max Payne 3 by sharing your established crews via Rockstar’s Social Club, which means you can keep track of your ongoing feuds with other rival crews and even earn extra XP for mercilessly slaughtering them during white-knuckle multiplayer matches. Aside from these facts, however, we’d be quite astonished if Grand Theft Auto Online didn’t also incorporate at least a couple of new multiplayer modes to go alongside the return of Grand Theft Auto IV’s wealth of established game modes – though it can be assumed that most gamers will be causing unparallelled amounts of mayhem during Free Mode either way. While the series’ bread and butter has always been its dynamic single-player experience, we’re salivating at the mouth thinking of all the unique features and game types Rockstar could have hidden under their sleeve when it comes to Grand Theft Auto V’s promising multiplayer component, Grand Theft Auto Online.

4) Action-Packed Bank Heist Missions

GTA 5 Heist

Sure, Rockstar may have implemented a bank heist objective into Grand Theft Auto IV’s story-based mission structure, but thoughtfully organizing, coordinating, and executing these adrenaline-pumping jobs was never really fully explored until now. More than just Payday: The Heist with an extra coat of polish, Grand Theft Auto V’s multi-tiered, cash-nabbing heists – sprinkled carefully throughout the course of the story – can be approached however you see fit thanks to game-changing options that help alter the entire dynamic of the mission in various ways. With that said, in order to successfully perform (and survive) these engaging bank heists, careful preparation – through hiring specialists (wheelmen, hackers, etc.) and completing the necessary sub-missions – must be taken into consideration in order to flawlessly escape unharmed with the dough. Even though the room for error may seem slim during these potentially nerve-rattling missions, the overall reward for your trouble is undeniably high as you could easily pocket millions of hard-earned dollars to spend on Los Santos’ vast array of purchasable items – ranging from luxurious properties and expensive vehicles to weapon modifications and performance-enhancing car customizations. Regardless of the virtual monetary incentives, however, Grand Theft Auto V’s high-stake heist missions should be more than enough to get your blood-pumping and your calloused gaming thumbs twitching.

3) Three Customizable Characters

gta-5-trailers-michael-franklin-trevor

Whereas Grand Theft Auto IV’s storyline focused entirely on the down-to-business, undeniably cynical Niko Bellic, Rockstar’s latest entry in the controversial series plans to scratch the one-protagonist-per-title mentality of its highly-acclaimed predecessors in favor of three unique, fully customizable main characters: Michael, Franklin, and Trevor. While decking out each personality-brimming protagonist with fresh ink, fashionable clothing, and flawlessly-trimmed haircuts may be enough for some crime-thirsty gamers, Grand Theft Auto V will also feature a slick transitioning system that allows players to gracefully swap between the game’s trio of characters mid-mission or even as they leisurely explore the vast world of Los Santos (though we’ve heard rumors that this mechanic won’t be available to players from the game’s initial start). As an added incentive to frequently switch between Michael, Franklin and Trevor, each dynamic character will be equipped with a special ability – such as Michael’s Max Payne-esque, slow-motion bullet time mode or Trevor’s empowering rage mode – along with standard attributes – like driving, shooting, strength, and lung capacity to name a few – that can be leveled-up the more you utilize them. Though we’re still unsure how well these promising features will be implemented (not until September, that is), Rockstar’s multiple protagonist experiment seems fully capable of satisfying those that thought the fourth installment’s no-nonsense lead character lacked an intriguing, immersible personality.

2) Activities Galore

GTA 5 Activities

Taking a page from its subtitled brethren Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar’s fifth fully-fledged installment plans on incorporating a plethora of exciting, time-consuming side activities for players to enjoy outside of the game’s engrossing, interwoven storyline. For car-crazed fanatics and trigger-happy gun enthusiasts, developers promise Grand Theft Auto V will offer dynamic vehicle and weapon customization, with the latter offering attachable gun modifications – such as grips, scopes, suppressors, and weapon skins – that you can apply at your leisure for the first time ever in the series. With that said, adrenaline junkies and wannabe death-defiers can expect the welcome return of pulse-accelerating activities such as base jumping and sky diving, while others will be satisfied knowing that a seemingly limitless list of other engaging distractions – such as exploring the vast mysteries of the underwater world via scuba diving, tapping into your inner Tiger Woods during a round of golf or testing your steady trigger finger during Red Dead Redemption-inspired hunts – await them at every turn. Amongst all else, it seems like Rockstar is trying desperately to make up for Grand Theft Auto IV’s noticeable lack of non-story-related content and honestly, we’re perfectly fine with that.

1) Enormous Open World Map

GTA 5 Open World

Compared to the varying environments and vast, awe-inducing landscapes that made San Andreas’ gigantic map such an enthralling world to explore, Grand Theft Auto IV’s more condensed recreation of Liberty City’s sky-reaching cityscapes may have seemed slightly less adventure-inspiring to some. Thankfully, Rockstar isn’t planning on making that same mistake twice with Grand Theft Auto V, which – according to sources at Polygon – will feature a world map “three times bigger than that of the entire map of Red Dead Redemption” filled with consistently changing scenery, photorealistic environments and true exploration-worthy opportunities unlike anything seen in the series’ past predecessors. From the hustle and bustle of downtown metropolitan areas to the sparkling open waters and sprawling mountain ranges of peaceful, animal-inhabited countrysides (and everything in between), the diverse mix of rural and urban locations – packed to the brim with the series’ rewarding, hidden secrets – is sure to mesmerize even the most skeptical of gamers. Oh, and as an added cherry on top, Grand Theft Auto V’s massive world is also entirely free to explore as soon as you start the game, which should cause series veterans to rejoice knowing they no longer have to progress through an excessive amount of story missions in order to experience all the jaw-dropping sights Rockstar’s latest installment has to offer.

Grand Theft Auto V will be releasing on September 17th on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles.

11 comments

  1. spideynut71

    It’s pretty simple: if GTAV was releasing this holiday on PS4 and XB1…as well as PC….games like Watchdogs, SC:Blacklist, ASScreed4, etc. would all be competing for 3rd place behind either COD or GTA5. Not only that, MS and Sony would be breathing a lot easier right now, knowing they’d have that game to sell their hardware for them.

    1. Arnold Rimmer

      Uhm you mean Battlefield 4. CoD does nothing to deserve 1st or 2nd, The latest Battlefield game is always 20 times the game CoD ever dreams to be.

      And if you for some reason don’t like larger maps and vehicles, turn them off and you have simple tdm or whatever hybrid gamemode you can think of.

      Although I don’t think I’d be interested in playing either on console. Gamepads make such lame peripherals for shooters.

      1. spideynut71

        “Uhm” I’m OBVIOUSLY talking about sales, you dumbass…not quality. I care nothing at all about the COD franchise, but if you think BF comes close to the mass appeal and sales of COD, you’re delusional.
        For future reference, it’s best to stay out of a conversation, if you have nothing intelligent to add.

  2. Dakan45

    Honestly none of those reaons are good.

    Multiplayer? pfffff no thanks.

    heists? So you telling me you prefer repetitive heists than good missions?

    So customizing one character and by “customizing” you mean putting clothes on them, not altering their face and voice and body like in saints row…is so good, but make it 3 characters and now its awesomeness x3?

    The other 2 are pretty cryptic at this point, we dont know how many activities will there be in the map, most of gta iv map was empty, same with san andreas. A smaller more packed map is better than a big empty map.

    1. Arnold Rimmer

      Wow, you whine a lot. There are going to be bank heists on top of missions, dur. Plus the heists aren’t repetitive, you choose multiple ways to take down the objective so it can branch many ways.

      Also, just because those reasons aren’t good to you, doesn’t mean they aren’t good. As for Saints Row, it may let you change your characters face (and I’m glad they put an option to stop my camera from snapping back behind the car, unlike GTA (playing on pc)) but really you want to complain about empty maps? Once you complete Saints Row there is nothing to do to bring you back into those areas, they’re just stuff you pass between missions, there is far less side-activities in saints row multiple times over compared to GTA, something I’d choose over changing what a guys face looks like. Also Saint’s Row is more comical, and less realistic, they can be ok with you making the character however you like, but GTA is a much better crafted story and changing character’s appearances could throw off the performance or making certain references in the story nonsensical.

      1. Dakan45

        The heists will be repettive, there is no way around it. Take a look at safehouses in far cry 3, take a look at tombs and dungeons in skyrim or assasin creed. There is no way it will not be repettive and the multiple ways is basicly a gloryfied lie.

        Saints orw allows you coplete customization, i can play as a fat bold chick or a gold troy baker/Nolan North with a voice.

        Suck it gta and Niko.

        Take a look at just cause 2, massive maps, yet filled with repettive crap, a few good things in a good map are better than tons of crap. AS I FREAKING SAID, at this point we dont know what the map will have, gta iv was empty, the only thing you got was shooting pigeons.

        Saints row iv has confirmed that there are so many feeeplay crap in the map that if tutrned one in the legend, they cover up the whole map.

        “there is far less side-activities in saints row multiple times over compared to GTA”

        This should be interesting, saints row has genki and other similar activities, what does gta have? taxi/cop missions. It doesnt even have what you reffer as “sidequests” The entire gta series was bassicly a bunch of characters that gave you missions to do and you could pick whichever you wanted, once you completed them all, new characters poped up with new series of missions. Other than that you could do vehicle missions or races. The old games had rampages and hidden packages, gta iv, nope. It was a repettive game that you drove around and heard garbage dialogues and then shoot stuff. No the bowling/drunk date missions do not count.

        GTA is a much better crafted story and changing character’s
        appearances could throw off the performance or making certain references
        in the story nonsensical.”

        Yes you are stuck with an ugly character and a borring storyline wherever you like it or not.

        1. Arnold Rimmer

          Just Cause 2 can’t be compared to GTA, GTA tries to be realistic, there’s nothing realistic about a grappling hook and parachute that folds back up in a second and can be redeployed over and over and over. I also don’t see how you can compare the heist missions to safehouses in games or think it’s a lie when they say the heists can be tackled different ways when they literally have the different paths shown in video. So, no it’s not a lie, you just like to make up anything to justify that you like saints row better

          Saints Row bored the hell out of me, the cruise control is the only thing better it does than GTA. The fact my camera isn’t snapping behind the car every time i stop moving it for a second as if I can’t handle the camera on my own just fine is a big improvement, but that’s it, I beat Saints Row the third and do you know how many times i drove around to really take in the details? Not at all, it was all bland and generic, a bunch of roads, alleys, bridges and apartments. I just pushed forward to get through all the goofy nonsense missions so I could finish it and when I beat it, I never touched it again.

          All you have to do is compare the cost of development between the two. Much more telling than such arbitrary nonsense as telling me to “turn on the legend and you’ll be like woah dude, look at all there is to do”. And who cares if you make your own character? Do you like to play dress up with dolls? This barely added anything at all to the game. I’d rather have a team craft a story around good designed characters instead of having such a laughable storyline it doesn’t even matter if im a clown sporting dildos in suspenders. Might be funny if you’re young I guess. Does nothing for me, I’d prefer the characters matter in a story than to make them just as easily replaced by anything no matter how nonsensical. That’s a boring storyline to me, one that matters so little who the characters and narrative are that they can easily be switched up for laughs. Oh, ha. ha.

          1. Dakan45

            That is the biggest load of nonsne i ever heard.

            Point is just like just cause and saints row have repettive activities, so will be the heists in gta v.

            The control of saints row is far superior to gta. Gta cars control like someone destroyed their brakes and the character cover and movements animations are facepalm worthy.

            You seem to think saints row is about didos, but yesterday i was dressed as boba fett with a star wars blaster and i was using a flying speedbike to hunt down aliens.

            On gta iv on the other hand, i was passing through another checkpoint, hearing a fatass talking trash and going to play bowling or get drunk.

            That was “fun”…NOT!!

    2. Bailey Lawrence

      Multiplayer makes GTA. If you don’t play it, then you’re missing out on 90% of the fun.

      And yeah, you do whine a lot.

      1. Dakan45

        I never said HOORAY LETS PLAY GTA FOR MP, so no you have no idea wtf you talking about if you think 90% of gta is mp, even mods are more important than garbage mp.

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