After spending the day playing GTA3, I spent a couple hours in the evening with GTA5 again after not really playing through it for, like, 10 years? It really is an impressive game. The leap in quality between 3 and 5 is gigantic.
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I actually bought it for PS5 like a day ago because it was on sale and I hadn’t played it since the year it first launched on PC. I found the vinyl box set of the OST I bought like 10 years ago and got really nostalgic for it listen to the music (which is still an INSANELY killer OST)
The leap in time wasted with self-indulgent, unfunny walk & talk bits and introducing you to the most dull mechanics imaginable (no GTAV, I wasn't wondering what it'd be like to drive a tow truck. You didn't have to make an entire mission to show me...) is also impressive.
That's an interesting perspective. I felt like it was part of the story telling and enjoyed it. Then again, I know folks come to GTA for different reasons and this is certainly quite different from something like GTA3 which is fast and loose all the time! So I can understand that take.
Older GTA games benefit from a looser mission structure, whereas a mission in GTA V may script a stealth sequence, in GTA 3 or VC you have enough agency and tools to organically make your own stealth mission by pre-rigging a car bomb or sneaking a rifle into a golf course.
GTA4 arguably had a better physics system but it's kind of untamed. GTA5 dialed it back but that brought much greater performance for so much more. I do missed your character holding onto doors as cars sped away from trying to steel them.
Just the leap from 3 to San Andreas within 3 years was also impressive given the sheer scale of San Andreas, alongside it also having those rpg lite mechanics. Though giving you manual aim for all weapons also made San Andreas beatable without cheats to me, unlike 3 and Vice City.
GTA peaked with Vice City. 5 looks great but just isn't as much fun. Like how your car can just crash into shit almost forever and not blow up. I'm 30 hours in and haven't even been Busted once. Not a single time.
Don't sleep on GTA 4 either, I'll admit driving was sh*t, but I love the storyline and the progession of the story and how many more missions there is in 4 compared to 5. I'm not at all saying GTA 4 was better than 5 tho
I still to this day can't believe what they achieved on the old Xbox 360! Frame rate struggled a lot at times but the sheer scale and depth still blows me away.
360 had that second wind period of Reach, GTA V, Bioshock Infinite, Titanfall, ROTR etc that made it feel magical. Of course, PS3 had its own renaissance around the same time with TLOU, GOW Ascension, Ni No Kuni and Beyond: Two Souls.
Indeed. But what was the catalyst? The maturation of engines like Unreal 3, Renderware and RAGE? That Power PC architecture had long legs? That developers leaned harder into their ambitions? Not sure we'll ever see that sort of night-and-day difference in a single generation again.
I really feel like driving most vehicles feels better in GTA 4 over 5. 5 has that issue were a lot of vehicles feel too responsive when turning.
Four has issues with how the vehicles feel but overall it just feels better (and all the previous titles are so different I don't really count them here).
From GTA3's release date to GTA5's relase date, it has passed 11 years, 10 months and 27 days.
From GTA5's relase date to GTA6, it has passed 11 years, 3 months, 22 days and counting...
I understand why people pour so much time into uncovering its every detail, although the seams start to show i.e. oddly placed objects, deserted areas etc, but it's still impressive. I think 3 to SA was the most astonishing though, given it was only 3 yrs between and the same hardware.
5 has a quite enjoyable single player campaign and the improvement to gunplay, brought from their Max Payne 3 experience, really was a huge step forward for the series.
It's such a shame that so much potential was locked behind multiplayer.
It's gigantic but also a physics step back between 5 from 4. Unfortunately in a lot of ways, the trilogy has a lot more charm going on than 5 ever did.
Amazing what can happen over 12 years, like 2 more PlayStations being released (PS3, and PS4), 1 Xbox ( Xbox 360), and 3 Nintendo consoles (Gamecube, Wii, and the console that must not be named)
I have a 100% story mode save of GTA 5 I keep around to use it as a free-roam walking sim. I literally just spend (in-game) hours just walking around admiring the map design and lighting, especially in first person mode
The amount of shadow casting lights at night still blows my mind to this day
I enjoy the heaviness in GTA IV but the suspension was so weirdly tuned. A slight curve at medium to slow speeds and the car just completely leans to the side. They should have tuned it instead of replacing it imo.
That’s what road cars would do in those situations though. Most people have zero real world experience when it comes to driving a vehicle at the limit.
Mate I've ridden in cars at walking speeds that doesn't lean 30-45 degrees by a slight turn. At full hog down the road or a super tight turn for sure but not at parking speeds when adjusting an angle.
It gets dunked in because it’s been around for so long, but there’s a good reason. It’s an incredible playground and world that allows for so many varied experiences. It’s so easy to forget.
What other game could be released 3 times over in the space of 2 generations and still top the charts? It's definitely a phenomenon.
That element of being too big to remember rings true as well. Replaying something like OoT, you're likely to recall most of it. GTA V on the other hand...
Even 3 to 4 blew me away. This might sound silly but there’s a shot in that first GTA4 trailer where a car drives over a metal panel in the road and I remember thinking 😮 the road isn’t just flat 😮
Also the first time we got ragdolls which were hilarious and a pretty neat leap.
Watching with horror the first time your character launched out of a windshield because you didn't wait a couple seconds for him to buckle his seat belt first was a magical moment.
Rockstar's tech is always impressive, but I still think GTA3 is more fun to play. As their tech has improved their mission design has become way more restrictive.
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Each game felt like a generational leap forward compared to the last one
Instead of a crappy laptop, this time I'm playing it on a good PC, display and audio setup to do it justice.
I still prefer GTA4, but I'm liking GTA5 a lot more this time around.
Also, the "We Were Set Up" track from the OST is sublime.
Four has issues with how the vehicles feel but overall it just feels better (and all the previous titles are so different I don't really count them here).
From GTA5's relase date to GTA6, it has passed 11 years, 3 months, 22 days and counting...
Think about it! 🙃
You left out 4.
It's such a shame that so much potential was locked behind multiplayer.
I liked just messing around in GTA4's online sometimes, whereas GTA5's didn't appeal to me at all.
The amount of shadow casting lights at night still blows my mind to this day
I actually appreciate what they went for, though, but I think they're both fine.
I hope those people never try any racing sims...
That element of being too big to remember rings true as well. Replaying something like OoT, you're likely to recall most of it. GTA V on the other hand...
Watching with horror the first time your character launched out of a windshield because you didn't wait a couple seconds for him to buckle his seat belt first was a magical moment.