GTA 5 Heists: Did Rockstar Deliver?

I remember  the day, fresh like a new pair of socks, waiting in line for the midnight release of Grand Theft Auto 5‘s initial launch. The world had been waiting long and eagerly for the game to reach their fingertips, and so the game came on that September night.

That was in 2013, more than 2 years ago. It doesn’t feel as though it has been that long, but the game has gone through  a lot since then. They have gone through several patches and online updates, adding cars, weapons, and clothing for your character. More recently they have gone beyond the call of duty to create a next-gen re-release on the PS4 and Xbox One, PC still has been getting the short end of the stick and the port has not yet been outed.  With that, first person mode and even more content has since been released. GTA 5 has made over 800 million dollars with its debut, and folks I’m not even counting the next-gen release. So let’s just say they made some money, and still are. This week on March 10th, marked the day that they released the much promised GTA Onilne Heists Expansion adding new features and upgraded team play.  Is the content added worth the 2 year delay? Let’s take a peak of what’s new in the game, does it stand up to the hype?

Bet Your Bottom Dollar

You and 1 or 3 other friends will go through setup of the heist all the way to the end which in-game is called the ‘Finale’ , often the setup will be a set of challenges that lead up to the finale in stages. For example stealing an armored car then afterward stealing gas suits to break out Joeshmo from jail, you play out every piece of the total project. Before you begin all this you must pick a leader , someone has to host the heist. This person gets to choose who gets what amount of the final cut based off of percentages, this is a real in-game element. It is more than possible that you can put in 3-4 hours of play to have the boss of the heist give you a 15% cut. Do a little math and you realize that out of 4 people and 100% being the total that pay is-um-not great, this mode can end friendships. A way to soften the blow to being only hired is that for the setup mission you get paid but the boss does not. Everything is paid with the bosses money, they even paid a start-up fee for the heist. So with that said play with people you know and go even further to play with people you trust, save your tears for another day. Along with you cash the heist leader also gets to assign you a position. In game everyone has their own role and you are graded at the end on how well you played your part with a medal system, if you make bronze on all challenges, hope the mission leader really likes you. This is the most I have ever played GTA Online with my friends since I bought it in 2013 and a few months ago on next-gen, heists do add value.

You will make good money. It’s not real life money, but it’s still time well worth I’m sure. With the new update they have  new equipment and tools. You may now hold more than 1 armor on your online thug or thuglette, flare guns and even night vision goggles have been added due to their mission relevance, these heists will get a little hairy. While it gets hairy you will find these missions are of decent difficulty, you will find your team sometimes dying over and over again, because of bad communication or someone not holding their own within combat, every once in a while the game will humble you. Besides dying repeatedly, find a good squad and the new group activities will keep you entertained. If you’ve played a decent amount of games in your lifetime you know that fun is in direct relation with dying; pick good teammates.

After 2 Years

New jets, helicopters and the whole galore are here, GTA is still an amazing open world game and now more beautiful than ever, its detail creating a new standard for what video games can achieve with today’s technology, it’s hard to say it isn’t art. With that said they had ample time to work on this and even more funds. They give you six heist to complete and each as you read earlier has about four to five steps within. There is a good amount of content that has been added to the game and honestly I feel as though this is the best part of GTA Online right now, it’s fun and it makes you feel as though you are actually progressing with your online goon, this is a feeling that games are supposed to project; progression. You will spend plenty of hours playing and you will have you laughs, then shake your fist every once in a while, for free you are still getting your moneys worth.

Although I believe Rockstar could have done better. I would hate to say that maybe they rushed out the content since it took two years but at the end it will leave you will a feeling as though they could have still added a little more, more guns or even clothes. Often when you finish a heist you are led to a loading screen that will reconnect you with a free-roam game, I’ve had this take over 4 minutes. For my friends even longer, to the point where they may even just restart the game on their system, staring at a black screen is nothing that I plan on doing many more times, the servers have had numerous opportunities to be built for this expected online traffic. Other than servers and an empty stomach the update is without a doubt a welcome addition to the game, If you haven’t visited the game in a while this would be a great time to hop on. Call your buddies up and grab some loot, bank jobs and ridiculous money schemes are awaiting the crew, you think you’re up for the challenge?