I always thought that GTA IV was one of the best games to grace the PS3 and XBOX 360 so V had a lot to live up to in my eyes. Does it pull it off? It sure does but in no way is it a perfect game.
The use of the three characters and the way the game interweaves between the three is very fun and it can be comical to find out what a particular character had been doing prior to controlling him. In most cases, the character of Trevor is the one that is usually a bundle of laughs. He is absolutely crazy and the voice acting is terrific for all three. However, the dialogue for the Franklyn character is very irritating. I could hardy understand him conversing with other characters and found myself often skipping any cut scenes containing him due to how annoying it got and unintelligible he and the people around him sounded.
The main campaign missions are very fun even if many can be relatively short in terms of the ratio of driving to the mission vs the mission itself. Sometimes I felt that tasks and missions did not contain enough value. But unlike the last installment, there are many side activities to do in this game. Tennis and golf is particularly fun but there is nothing really that exhaustive unless you count collecting scraps of paper and spaceship parts scattered all over the map, which I have never really been fond of doing anyway. I did bother with collecting the spaceship parts but the reward for doing so was actually quite pathetic and not worth doing ever again.
The graphics are a major step up from GTA IV in terms of detail. The graphics in the last sequel were very bland with very little detail but it was a game that was released quite early in the life of the PS3 and XBOX 360. The detail on cars is much more meticulous. Even the dashboards contain clear speedometers and little lights and things when doors are opened. Rockstar pulled out all the stops here, although I would personally say that 'The Last of Us' contains the best graphics ever seen on the PS3.
The open world of Los Santos is huge and contains many surprises, mostly to do with the paranormal, as the game seems to center heavily on a UFO theme. There is lots to explore if that's your thing and the city does seem a lot more "alive" than ever before. Occasionally you will bump into strangers who will ask for help but most of these favours consist of driving them from one place to another which gets a little old quite quickly. The addition of underwater travel via submarine serves to make the world a lot more bigger although I did not find myself really using it as most of the ocean was the same with very little to do.There is one easter egg, however, that I won't spoil.
Despite the marketing billing GTA V as the probably game of the year, I find myself hesitating to call it so, especially after playing the fantastic Assassins Creed IV which I think has more replay value and nothing ever felt like going over old ground over and over again like it did with GTA V.
You may think that I was possibly disappointed with GTA V. Far from it. It was a great gaming experience but I think it just falls a little short of being the best release of 2013. But it sure is a strong contender!