It's back...
The game casts you as three different characters. First you'll play as Franklin who is a repo-man living in the ghetto of Los Santos. There's not much too him and unfortunately he never really gets fully fleshed out. After you've completed a couple of introductory missions as Franklin you'll find yourself in the shoes of ex-con Michael De Santa. Michael is a middle-aged man living the high life in a mansion near Vinewood hills (GTA 5's version of Hollywood hills) yet he feels completely unfulfilled. It's not something we haven't seen before (man depressed despite his riches) but in the context of a GTA game it feels fresh. You're basically playing through what happens to a GTA protagonist years after the credits have rolled. And then there's Trevor. Trevor is the most complex of the three playable characters. He's crazy, violent, sentimental… and Canadian. Underneath his brutal exterior are feelings of betrayal and a man who truly believes in friendship. While Michael is openly depressed, Trevor has repressed these feelings and every once in a while they'll peek their head out from in between his murderous outbursts. These moments really make Trevor feel more human and add some depth to his character that most videogame protagonists lack.
Having three different characters allowed Rockstar to structure some of the missions in a way that is pretty unique in videogames. As you play through certain missions they will force you to switch back and forth between the three different characters that are all performing tasks based around the same goal. One mission has Trevor piloting a helicopter while Michael hangs from it and extracts a prisoner that the FIB (GTA's version of the FBI) is questioning in an office building. All the while Franklin is providing covering fire from a rooftop across the street. Playing a mission from multiple perspectives keeps it interesting because it means that not only is there a variety of mission types there's also variety within the missions.
When you're not progressing through the story you'll spend most of your time navigating the meticulously designed Los Santos and its surrounding area. It is the most believable world Rockstar has created to date. Every area has a distinct look and feel to it, whether you're driving through the ghetto, down by the docks, in the business district, Vinewood, the trailer parks, or up in the mountains there's always something you can do that's unique to the area. Every part of Los Santos is also different in that it is populated with interesting people who feel as though they belong in the crazy version of America that Rockstar has made.
The world of GTA 5 is a true achievement and it's made even more authentic by its various radio stations. The radio has always been one of the most memorable parts of the series, and Grand Theft Auto 5 delivers whether you like rock, rap, pop, punk, or country there's always something for you to listen to. However just like the other games the real stand out is talk radio. Grand Theft Auto 5 is a funny game and talk radio is the height of its satirical sense of humor. It's nice having something consistently funny to listen to during the times that you're just cruising through Los Santos or on your way to a mission.
It's not just the radio that is played for laughs, but rather the entirety of Rockstar's creation that is an overt satirization of modern life. Nothing is held sacred and Rockstar doesn't shy away from making the player feel uncomfortable. Hell, they even make fun of previous Grand Theft Auto's and the absolute pointlessness of some of their missions. Some of it can come off as pretty heavy handed, but they commit so whole heartedly that the clumsiness is quickly forgotten.
Past GTA's were great for the same reasons as GTA 5, but they always fell short when it came to actually playing the games. Thankfully GTA 5 has the best shooting mechanic we've seen in a GTA game to date. The shooting is vastly better than GTA 4's, but it's still not quite where it should be. It's basically the same as Red Dead Redemptions was, except only Michael has the ability to slow down time. This ability is pretty useless however, because it's much easier to just tap the left trigger which automatically snaps the cursor to the nearest target.
Each character has his own special ability, Michael slowing down time for better aim while shooting, Franklin slows down time while driving and makes turning much easier, and Trevor goes into a violent rage allowing him to take more damage. As I previously stated Michaels ability is pointless, but Franklin and Trevor's abilities definitely come in handy (ha ha ha, handy).
Franklin is the wheelman but in GTA 5 driving feels good no matter who you're playing as. It's not just because the act of driving feels better (which it does) it's also the NPC's driving AI that has been improved. In GTA 4 other drivers would actively try to avoid crashing into you which oftentimes lead to NPC's thinking they would crash and swerving to avoid you only to get in your way because you were already avoiding them. It was frustrating because many of the accidents you would find yourself a part of in GTA 4 were caused by the AI and not the player. In GTA 5 AI drivers just stay their course and if you crash it's your fault. This makes any mission that requires driving at high speeds a lot easier to deal with.
GTA 5 has a ton of smaller improvements as well but the one that sticks out the most is the way the game handles escaping from the police. In the past when you were wanted there was an area on the map that changed color. You then had to get out of that designated area and avoid police for a while to pull off a successful escape. With that system in place it sometimes felt impossible to get away from the police, especially if they had a helicopter. Now the police have cones of vision on the mini-map. If you're not in the cone of vision or if you're hiding behind something the police can't see through for long enough your wanted level will go away. It makes escaping from the police a lot more realistic and a lot more fun.
Not all the new additions can be seen as positive though. Rockstar has added in RPG-style statistics for each character. Things like stamina, strength, and shooting that are all leveled by doing whatever each skill is tied too. Want to level up your stamina? Start running or swimming. Shooting? Shoot. Strength? Punch things (real hard). It would be a fine idea if any of the statistics really meant anything. Every time you level up a stat the improvement is so minimal that it makes no difference at all. Whether you're shooting a gun with a character who has fully leveled that statistic or one with almost no experience in that department they both feel the same. I'm baffled as to why Rockstar included this levelling system. It's nothing more than a distraction. Perhaps it's more meaningful in the multiplayer component but we'll have to wait and see on that front.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is by far the best game in the series. Not only is it the best in the series but it's better than most games. San Andreas is one of the most cogent settings I've ever seen in an open world game. Everything about it has been carefully built with the same satirical philosophy, and it shows. Not only are the characters interesting on their own terms, but they're also a commentary on Rockstar themselves. All of the core mechanics in a GTA game have been improved upon, and it's really, really, ridiculously fun. Also sharks.