GTA 5 is likely to push the entertainment medium of games to new levels, bring new, previously untested ideas to the table, challenge issues of morality, set a benchmark in scripting and characterisation and much, much more.Here we look at the features that may propel GTA 5 to the realm of 10/10 scores across the board, and GOTY nominations later in the year, based on Rockstar's legacy so far.
Greed is good
Financial gain is a key theme of GTA 5, and the debut trailer from Rockstar tells a depressing tale of a city consumed by poverty. Homeless crowds huddle beneath an underpass, a beggar peddles for cash on the street, homes are being sold off, and all the while, tycoons profit from oil drilling, and expanding office complexes.
This makes for what could be the most engaging and morally charged GTA script ever committed to disc. The trailer voice over suggests that the key character falls from grace, losing his riches and attempts to claw his way back to the top of high society by turning to a life of crime.
We’re already hooked on the prospect, and it’s this twisted reflection of the real world – at a time when this is actually happening on a global scale we might add – that will make gamers and critics sit up and pay attention at launch.
Family values
No one but Rockstar knows who the main character of GTA 5 is, but if rumblings around the internet are to be believed, then you could be looking at three main protagonists instead of one. The strongest rumour is that these men make up the DeSilva family.
Rockstar’s track record for changing up characters has proven wildly effective. For starters, L.A. Noire’s switch from Cole Phelps to Jack Kelso was a masterstroke that changed the focus of the game entirely. Yes, we know L.A. Noire isn’t a Rockstar developed game, but it still worked.
The same goes for the big twist in Red Dead Redemption. By switching between three brothers with different backgrounds and ethics, GTA 5 could offer a mixed perspective from different personalities, conveying multiple themes and ethics. Expect one hell of a story as a result.
What to do, what to do?
It’s fair to say that GTA: San Andreas is huge. Not only is it huge, it’s rammed full of thing to see and do, rather than feeling barren and listless.
Recent Rockstar Games have all followed this template, and what better way to push the boat out than by making GTA 5 the biggest entry to the series yet?
So aside from the typical GTA core plot line that will span many, many hours, you can safely bet that there will be side missions, side jobs – vigilante, emergency services missions – mini-games, collectibles, stores, internet browsers, radio stations and much, much more.
Even from the trailer you can see potential activities in the crop dusting plane, golf course, jet-skis, sports cars for races and other elements. The sale of property might even hint at a property magnate minigame similar to the one found in GTA: Vice City Stories. Rest assured, you’ll never be bored.
The world is not enough
On the subject of scale, we’ve already established that GTA 5 will be dense, but it will also be geographically massive. Rockstar has already suggested that GTA 5 will take place solely in Los Santos and its neighbouring countryside, and there has been no mention of Las Venturas or San Fierro. Yet.
That said, Rockstar’s Dan Houser has gone on record to say that the GTA 5 map is “Very big”. It’s a no-brainer, but still, it’d be fair to suggest that if Los Santos is the only city hub in the game, that it’ll be the biggest one in the series.
On top of that, we’ve already seen rolling fields, far reaching beaches, sprawling metropolitan areas, run down suburbs, and of course, the awesome scale of Mt. Chiliad. It’d be silly to assume that GTA 5 will be nothing but massive.
Tech war
When people say that the games industry needs a new generation of consoles, they’ll only half right. It’s entirely possible that the GTA 5 trailer is running on the latest PC tech, but rest assured, Rockstar is no slouch when it comes to pushing existing tech to the limit.
Rockstar’s game engines have always been sound, but are incrementally bolstered with new bells and whistles that elevate each subsequent experience. GTA 4 also introduced the Euphoria Engine, and with it changed the way characters interact with the world.
Given the gap between GTA 4 and the release of GTA 5, it’s tantalising to try and imagine what massive leaps Rockstar North have made in terms of tech. If one thing is certain, it’s that GTA 5 will handle like a dream.
Pew Pew!
Speaking of tech, Rockstar’s handling of high adrenaline action set pieces has grown significantly over the last few years, suggesting that GTA 5 will deliver thrills and spills the likes of which the series hasn’t seen.
In particular, gunplay is a huge component of the GTA universe, and recent efforts, most notably Red Dead Redemption have proven that Rockstar’s cover shooting mechanics are improving with each new release.
So it makes sense to suggest that Rockstar will improve on this foundation once again with GTA 5, giving us more bang for our buck, and an endless string of guns to unload as well. Just don't mention the guns to the tabloids alright?
Multiplayer mayhem
GTA 5 will have multiplayer. Rockstar confirmed this in the official GTA 5 press release, but neglected to name any specific features. But again, Rockstar’s multiplayer offerings have been improving consistently, and if GTA 4 is any measure, you can presume that GTA 5 will be full of online fun.
Returning competitive and co-op matches would be a bonus, but the inclusion of campaign co-op would be a real draw. Imagine playing one of the three supposed De Silva brothers on a crime spree for example.
Speculation aside, we know that multiplayer is indeed coming, and that Rockstar’s dedication to Red Dead Redemption’s multiplayer hints at huge things in the pipeline for GTA 5.
Men on a mission
GTA 4’s standout mission Three Leaf Clover is a superb slant on the infamous heist from Michael Mann’s Heat. This mission proved that open world tasks can transcend the ‘fetch this, kill this guy, go here’ archetype that is quite frankly, becoming painfully dull.
No, we need more these days, and GTA 5 will deliver this in spades. The evidence – once again – is in the reveal trailer, as three men dressed as exterminators bundle out of a van and walk into a bank while brandishing firearms.
GTA missions, like the series visuals, gameplay and tech, have improved with each release, so trying to second guess what Rockstar North will do in GTA 5 throws up some interesting theories. The studio isn’t stupid however, so expect more than just simple fetch quests.
Ripe for satire
GTA 5 will be hilarious, just like all of the previous games have been. It’s tiresome to see so many gamers saying that GTA 4 was too serious and devoid of fun, when in reality, it kept all of the same smart humour intact, but simply toned down the stupidity of it all. In short, it wasn’t Saint’s Row: The Third.
But if you take a close look at the trailer again, you’ll see tons of references to daft business names and products that prove the GTA brand of scathing satire hasn’t been lost in the wash.
Brand names such as STD Contractors, SpeedoPhile and Mile High Club are in check with classic GTA humour, so it’s a bit premature to assume that Rockstar North has gone serious with GTA 5. If anything, it’s likely they’ll lay it on even more.
Old but new
Perhaps most important of all, GTA 5 will feel like a true GTA experience. You can see so many familiar sights in the trailer that confirm the return of many series staples, but it’s elements specific to the San Andreas/Los Santos setting that will help GTA 5 make its mark.
The world will be awash with gamers playing GTA 5 at launch. So many of them will compare it to GTA: San Andreas. It’s fair to say that people will say things like, “Oh look, there’s the Vinewood sign”, “I remember this area from San Andreas,” or, “Bloody hell! Look how big Mt. Chiliad is now!”
It’s a comforting feeling when this happens, and this simply confirms that the GTA series gives you something – call it a feeling, or a specific brand of game experience – that has been replicated constantly, but has never been bettered. This is why GTA 5 is guaranteed to succeed at launch.
thanks: nowgamer
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