First impressions. Straight from the install screen you can tell this game is going to be a masterpiece. Maybe it's was the music or the fact that it had a countdown in MB, of which there are 8486, at 9MB a second, that's a long wait...but well worth it.
Then suddenly you're thrust into the action...not saying how though, no spoilers...but it's far superior to getting off a boat or plane. Here you get your first taste of the new gunplay, which was overwhelmingly great after playing GTAIV recently. Later on, after the title sequence, you get your first real go at driving...it's incredible, much improved over GTAIV (and I loved the driving in that). More on those later.
This time around we have three characters to play with...and you can switch between them mid-mission. This adds another level to how the player can complete a mission, without being tied down to the exact same mission structure, as with previous games. Simply hold down on the D-pad, select a character that's available and it switches instantly to that character and you take control. This isn't confined to inside the mission, though. When outside of a mission you can drop in (with a camera movement that zooms into the sky and back down on your character...basically, the coolest loading screen you've ever seen) on a character while he goes about his day...and he could be doing anything. The first time I tried it, I found Michael sitting in a car, clearly bored with his life.
These three characters are classic GTA. Michael, the retired criminal with a family bleeding him dry. Franklin, gangster from the hood trying to make a bigger name for himself. And last - but definitely not least - Trevor, a complete psycho living outside of the city in Blaine County.
That's all the stuff you probably know already, and obviously I haven't come close to completing this, and I wouldn't spoil it anyway. This is a day one assessment of how the game runs and controls. Do I really need to tell you how to play GTA? :D
Anyone expecting The Last of Us level of graphics will be disappointed, GTA has never - and will never - matched the highest a generation has to offer. You can't compare a linear non open world game to GTA, they are made differently. TLOU uses a smaller stage and can fit more polygons and greater quality textures. GTA has to load huge amounts of polygons and textures on the fly, so they can't be the highest quality, just the most efficient. This is why GTAV requires an 8 GB install, to maximise the games ability to stream those polygons and textures. GTAIV used a 3.3 GB install, so you can see why this game would need 8 GB of data to play with, because this game is HUGE. Los Santos and the surrounding area of Blaine County...and the rest, are said to be bigger than San Andreas, GTAIV and Red Dead Redemption put together.
While it isn't as good visually as TLOU, it's most definitely a better technical achievement. Naughty Dog have had a whole generation of success on one system. Rockstar have had major trouble with their PS3 versions of GTAIV and Red Dead Redemption. But this time both versions run almost identical (both at 720p native resolution...no sub-HD for PS3 this time), with Digital Foundry even recommending the PS3 over the 360 - the minor difference being better ground textures (not that you should spend much time looking at the ground). In terms of framerate, these consoles are being pushed, but typically keep a pretty good rate around 25-30fps (even pushing above 30 on occasion), PC gamers will roll their eyes at that, but most console gamers won't notice a thing. It is still a vast improvement over previous titles. It seems the power of the Cell has final paid off in multiplatform gaming...better late than never.
One thing that surprised me is the lack of pop in. Even in TLOU there was a fair amount of it (Firefly pendants were particularly bad), but here you are driving around at speed with mountains and bridges seemingly always there. One mission - the one from a trailer with a man jumping out of Michael's second floor window (seen here from Franklin's perspective) - sees Michael and Franklin driving up to some posh Vinewood hills location. And mid-mission I had to stop, because the view just didn't seem real..."I'm playing on a PS3, THAT shouldn't be possible", but it is.
What Rockstar have done is nothing short of a miracle. The draw distance is incredible. The words "Scope", "Sprawling", and any others reviewer's tend to give, don't do it justice. Light Source, it's an amazing feat to pull. I went to the top of a mountain and in the far distance I could see lights of cars and lights of buildings...all of which aren't just there for decoration, they are from the cars and the buildings. It makes for beautiful night time vistas. Lighting in general is superb, a great improvement over San Andreas' over saturated orange.
A lot of people have questioned how this game can run on current generation systems? The answer is simple; 5 years development and $265 million! Only one other film in history cost that much (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End cost $300 million), so it goes without saying...this is the most expensive video game ever produced, and you can see why. There just isn't another open world game that looks as good as this...for me it's up there with MGS2 on the PS2, with both punching well above their weight.
Franklin's first mission (with San Andreas funny Lamar) gives you the chance to test the new driving system. And it's as expected. Halfway between GTAIV's realism and SA's arcade. You can now pull off power slides, but with the chance of messing it up. It's the perfect system. Holding (or tapping to cycle) Left on the D-pad brings up the new radio wheel (with the game effectively paused) you choose your station using the the Right stick. Far simpler than cycling through loads of stations. This system is also used to select weapons.
The combat has had a dramatic improvement. The camera is now a lot tighter, before it was a battle with a strange system that seemed intent on moving the camera in the direction of movement. You can now shoot while running, a definite benefit, because the cops are now super aggressive.
Before GTAIV, the cops would basically just all charge towards you brainlessly...now they all charge towards you using their brains. Just a three star wanted level is a pretty tasty challenge, with even police helicopters shooting at you. They now use a cone of view to search for you, meaning you can cleverly out fox them by hiding in a back alley. They are super smart and super tough, don't even think about standing out in the open, you're dead. Don't worry though, because a nice helping of mid-mission checkpoints and the ability to save your game at any point using your phone, mean you will be straight back into the action. There is no more bringing up your phone to restart the whole mission...there is no bringing up your phone, you die, you hit one button and you're back to the last checkpoint. You keep all you guns, there is no need to keep going back and forth for more. The guns themselves can now be upgraded, right down to the colour of the weapon. Then there's the customisation of the cars...and more...in fact...why am I wasting my time even writing this!?
One last thing. If you're live on TV, whatever you do, don't answer your phone! :D
This generation goes out with a bang. The best game of the series...by the distance from one end of the map to the other...and I've only had it a day...it's quite possibly the best game ever made...apart from LittleBigPlanet 2 ;)
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You can watch TV in a game that you can play on your TV. This is the New World.
I accidentally bought two but gave one away to my poor friend, and then killed him and robbed him in the online game mode. Attached, you can see my first in-game selfie to the last (and also a bonus scenery picture), when a disease known as University Assignments/Exams took over the last year of my life. I graduate soon although they've already patched up most of the online money-making glitches, but have finally introduced heists! How long did that take though, two years? Three? Wow, it's been that long already?! I remember running downstairs and almost opening the door in the postman's face in the morning, asking - shouting - whether he has an Amazon parcel for me yet. It was not to be however, as I was not in the lucky few that had received their copy a day earlier. The rest of that day was spent sulking, however, the morning after, I was so happy, the first thing I did was punch someone to death and then photograph it (see attached photos).
Top reviews from United Kingdom
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 September 2013Platform For Display: PlayStation 3Edition: Standard EditionVerified Purchase
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 September 2013Platform For Display: PlayStation 3Edition: Standard EditionVerified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
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GianeReviewed in Italy on 26 December 2022
Gioco molto conosciuto
Platform For Display: PlayStation 3Edition: Standard EditionVerified Purchase -
helfrickReviewed in France on 5 July 2022
Reçu très vite
Platform For Display: PlayStation 3Edition: Standard EditionVerified Purchase -
HReviewed in Japan on 21 May 2017
Grazie mille :)
Platform For Display: PlayStation 3Edition: Standard EditionVerified Purchase -
JuanjoReviewed in Spain on 31 December 2020
buenisimo
Platform For Display: PlayStation 3Edition: Standard EditionVerified Purchase -
anne melzigReviewed in Germany on 5 July 2016
Das beste Spiel ever
Platform For Display: PlayStation 3Edition: Standard EditionVerified Purchase
