Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5) Message Board  

Never thought I would pick up a copy of this long running title. Never understood its appeal really. That changed recently when a friend was going crazy over it. I tried it and I have been playing EVERY day since. Its open world and consequence free experiences can be be quite addictive.

It is simply beautiful in its visuals and without match. During one point in the game I was piloting a helicopter into the city. The sun was setting and I was treated to one of the most spectacular twilight sunsets I have ever seen in gaming. The transition from sunset to night in the city was breathtaking, as I flew my chopper into a city "Alive" with activity.

Its online component is both fun and at times VERY frustrating. Being able to interact with friends and kill them for sport adds to this games massive appeal. I love having an individual space/apartment (although zero customization allowed) that I can bring friends to.

There are some very serious flaws in the online component that do cause this game to suffer. First off the load times and screen lock ups are awful. My friends and I joke about having to start the game at least 20 min before we're ready to play. An exaggeration to be sure but not much of one. The other flaw is that once you engage with another enemy player whom ever gets the first hit will win. No matter what. The example I site is that of the car vs pedestrian. If you get hit first by another player, your avatar rag dolls and goes into a 5 to 9 second rendered motion, preventing you from responding in any way. During this period of inaction the other player lines up on you and hits you again, starting the sequence all over. All you can do is take it and hope you re-spawn far enough away. Maybe you'll get a reward for being a good sport.

There is one thing I hope to have occur as this game develops. Avatr/Toon creation needs to be improved. Over the years Avatar/Toon creation has become an important aspect of game play. Sadly GTA 5 does not do as well as they could have on this. I will say the approach they use seems new and interesting. You begin at a Police line up by choosing your parents ethnicity and then go from there. Sadly the choices are VERY limited. All the female Toons have almost identical body shapes and forms. Apparently there are no small busted females with long hair in Los Santos. The male Avatar/Toons are not a whole lot better. Clothing options seem to be huge but are rigidly formatted and no customization is allowed. While this game is rated as M for obvious reasons the designers definitely made the wardrobe rated E+10. I also love the fact that I can buy and !@#$ a hooker in game but I cant take a shower unless I am in my swimsuit. Oh and I REALLY want to take off my shoes. Why do I wear shoes in bed? seriously.

As the MOD community gets its creative juices going we will see some neat stuff and I am REALLY excited about this. This is going to be one of the games we talk about 10 years from now. I look forward to the community really digging into this game.


The last thing I will say about this game is the it is NOT FOR ANYONE BELOW AGE 18. If you as a parent allow your child to play this game you should have your kid taken from you. If you are a retailer and you allow this game to be purchased knowing it is for a child then you should lose your retail licence. This is a game for ADULTS, with very ADULT themes. I very seriously believe that the gaming community needs to police itself in this matter because if we don't games like this are gone. If you encounter a child in the game report them. Seriously.

I encourage your comments below.

Good review, I have been playing the Grand Theft Auto series from it's first initial release. This game takes the cake compared to previous releases. As for kids playing this game, I don't really care if they are online or not, you should have played this when they released this game for Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. There were a ton of kids online swearing and going mad it was funny to hear kids crying because someone would blow up their vehicle or killed them.