5 Reasons GTA V Will be the Best GTA Game Yet

This it is friends, GTA V is nearly upon us. It’s so so close now. The wait is almost over. You can almost feel the anticipation ooze out of every corner of the internet. From 4chan to Reddit, from Facebook to Twitter, the internet denizens are craving this game like no-other. Seriously, I have not seen a game yearned for like this since …  since … well, I don’t think I ever have. Surely, no game can live up to such hype. It’s one of the unwritten rules of the game industry that hype inevitably leads to some disappointment. And sure, there will probably be people disappointed with GTA V. You know, the people who are expecting the perfect game. The people with wildly outrageous expectations with be, unfortunately disappointed. In general though, from the information Rockstar have given us, GTA V will be an amazing game. More than that, I think, it will be the best GTA game ever made – surpassing even the brilliant GTA: San Andreas. And here’s why:

1: Customisation

One of the reasons San Andreas is still held in such high esteem was the plethora of character customisation options available to the player. Tattoos, watches, chains, clothes, hair style could all be changed as the player saw fit. This was cut back in Vice City and cut back further in GTA IV. However, customisation is coming back in a big way in GTA V. Not only will players be able to purchase clothes and tattoos, but they will also be able to heavily customise their vehicles. Vehicle customisation is something I’m really looking forward too. It’s unclear yet as to whether these changes will affect your vehicle’s performance but … one can only hope.

2: Huge map

Again, another of the reasons San Andreas was considered so great was the size of its game world. GTA V looks to be even bigger. By now we all know of Rockstar’s famous claim that GTA V would be bigger than San Andreas, GTA IV, and Read Dead Redemption combined. Let’s just take a moment to consider just how big that is. That’s insanely huge. Rockstar have also talked a lot about how they’ve considered the placement of every tree and rock. This map is not big just for the sake of it. And it’s not randomly generated either. This will be a huge, exciting and interesting place for players to explore. Not only will players be able to explore the city of Los Santos, they will be driving through the mountains and deserts of the outlying regions. Not only that, but for the first time players will be able to explore the ocean too. The sheer scope of the game world is impressive enough on its own.

3: Improved combat

Let’s be honest, when it comes to gunplay, GTA titles have never been particularly strong, although they have been making steady improvements. Luckily for us, Rockstar does not only make GTA titles. Since the release of GTA IV, Rockstar have developed games such as Max Payne and Read Dead Redemption. Both titles featured much improved combat mechanics over previous GTA titles and I expect that such mechanics will be present in GTA V. And since players spend most of their time in GTA either driving or shooting, this is a pretty big deal.

4: Multiplayer

This is another area that GTA never quite managed. GTA IV’s multiplayer seemed … well, an afterthought really. It had some potential, sure, but it never really came together. This is something Rockstar are clearly making huge strides in. From what we’ve seen of GTA V’s multiplayer, is looks pretty spectacular. GTA V’s multiplayer places players in a persistent Los Santos with 16 other players. You can then choose to team up with each other and perform heists, race each other, or simply try to rob each other. It’s completely separate story from the main campaign and everything you do, furthers your character’s progression – meeting new NPCs and unlocking new missions. The money you earn from heists can then be spent on things like clothes and tattoos, or apartments and cars. If Rockstar get this right, it will truly be a coup for the series.

5: Three is better than One

That GTA V has three playable characters is something, I don’t think, has been fully appreciated by many. Not enough games do this in my opinion and when it’s done well, it can really bring something more to a game. The much maligned Call of Duty, for example, has been doing it for years  in order to allow players to play in various settings across the globe without breaking immersion. Having multiple characters allows for a much fuller telling of the story. It allows players to witness action from a different perspective and gives insight into other characters providing far more depth to the story. In GTA V, however, Rockstar are going so far as to allow players to swap characters in the middle of combat. Thus we will get not only a better, deeper story, but a really interesting gameplay mechanic to boot.

So, what do we get when we add all these components together? Probably the best GTA game ever made. Probably. I’m excited. We should all be excited. Tuesday simply cannot come soon enough.