by Mohammed Ibraheem

The video game business is one of the biggest industries in the world. Companies are trying to outdo one another to make what they call the “Perfect Game.” Rockstar, one of the leaders in the industry, is renowned for many of its offerings such as Midnight Club, The Bully, Red Dead Redemption, just to name a few. But they have created that special game which has been embraced by all people seemingly regardless their age or gender. Grand Theft Auto V is considered by many people as the best game ever made. Whether you are driving sport cars, flying a fighter jet, stealing a jet ski to run away from police, or exploring the ocean with a submarine, it makes you feel as if you are in the real world. From GTA IV to GTA V, Rockstar has improved many things, such as graphics, online multiplayer, characters, and the map.

Before we get into the game, what is Grand Theft Auto? It is a game about a free world, one in which you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. It is all about stealing and killing. You can steal cars, jets, boats, or even a bicycle. Missions are the most important part of the game, you attempt them to unlock stores or properties. In addition, you learn the plot of the game’s story when you complete each mission. Above all, this game allows you to do things you are not supposed to do in the real life.

Even though the GTA IV graphics were good enough, Rockstar, never one to rest on its laurels, kept improving. You can clearly see the details of the cars or the facial expressions on people’s faces. In addition, if you fly into the sky, you will see a tremendous view of the clouds with the sun shining. Also, the mountains look absolutely real, as well as the trees on them. In GTA IV, the previous version of GTA, the graphics were not so bad, the ocean view and street scenes were awesome, but it fell short when it came to depicting people’s faces and other specific details. Other games like Just Cause, which has the same style of play as GTA, contains extremely inferior graphics when compared to GTA V. There really is no way to compare the two games because the difference is simply too big.

Nowadays, most video games provide an online mode to allow people from all over the world to play with—and against—one other. GTA V online has not been released yet but it should be out in the next couple of days. However, Rockstar has released some news about it and it appears that it will be as impressive as the standalone game. You can play more than 500 missions with you friends. You can attempt to pull off a heist and rob a bank or a store. In addition, there are so many properties to buy, such as stores, garages, or even an apartment. You can invite your friends to your apartment and host a party. Also, you can steal money from other players by killing them. However, people do not really die in GTA, which means they will return and hunt you down to take their money back and gain revenge. For instance, one of your victims might put a price on your head to kill you. Also, you can customize you character by choosing your grandparents’ race on both sides of the family tree.

Since the online mode has not been released yet, people are becoming anxious about playing it as soon as possible. Keith Stuart from theguardian.com says “It is beautiful to look at, it is jammed with ideas, and when the free add-on, Grand Theft Auto Online, comes out in October, it will offer a compelling multiplayer experience, where participants combine and face off in gigantic turf wars.” I agree with him because the game is incredibly good, and the online mode should only make it even better.This should be a major improvement, since GTA IV Online was very simple with only 10 simple missions and a free-for-all mode. Just Cause did not provide an online mode at all, and that was a major reason why that game was as never as popular as the GTA franchise.

In GTA IV, Just Cause, or many other games of this genre, there is only one character that you play with, but in GTA V producers hatched the idea of allowing the player to assume three different characters instead of one. Michael is a former bank robber who decides to retire after his friend dies in a failed robbery, and has a miserable family life. Trevor is an emotionless person who kills everyone he does not like, and is old friends with Michael. Finally, Franklin, he is a young African American man trying to find a way to leave both his crazy aunt and the gang life. Each one of these characters has special abilities that the others do not share. For instance, Michel is good in shooting, Franklin is the best driver, and Trevor is a skilled pilot. You can play missions with all three of the characters, and you can also switch between them very easily. As you move on in the game, the three characters will develop more problems between them, which does lead to one of the few drawbacks in the game. As Kyle Russell from businessinsider.com writes, “As the three characters grow closer, the narrative goes from an interesting story of past mistakes, redemption and revenge to the story of three men screaming at each other in a seemingly endless cycle.” Russell is absolutely correct and this is one of the few mistakes made by the game designers, as it is not the best way to complete the story arc. Just about every time they speak, the three characters refer to past events which inevitably lead to them screaming at one other. It did become rather annoying over a short time.

This one hiccup aside, the game still is a masterful achievement, in part because of its sheer magnitude. Can you imagine that the GTA V map size is three times larger than that of GTA IV? Simply put, the map is huge and extremely detailed, as there is almost no free space in the game. It takes a character approximately five to ten minutes to travel from the far south to the far north. GTA V’s environment contains city and urban life, as well as mountains, a desert and lots of rivers and lakes. There are three airports and even a military airbase. It is awesome when you fly from Los Santos International Airport to an airfield in the north of the map. The city, Los Santos, has many skyscrapers which makes the city looks modern and beautiful. The mountains are very high and hard to climb. On your way up to the top, you will see wild animals everywhere; sometimes, they even wander into the roads and get hit by cars. The map is extraordinary and has everything you might think of, however, there is something would make it even better, which is more urban area. Los Santos comprises a small area compared to the huge wilderness area, and Rockstar should have made it larger or maybe even added another big city on the other side of the map. By making the one city so small, a big area of this impressive map is practically rendered useless. Even so, the map may not be perfect, but it is still the best on the market to date.

All in all, while GTA V is not quite perfect, it is clearly the best thing we have in so far in video game technology. For quite some time, Rockstar has been known as one of the leaders in the video game industry. They have been producing games since the first Play Station of the 1990s, and if you want to define Rockstar’s contribution, you have to mention the GTA franchise. It is amazing what you do and all of it in just one game. It is clearly the game of the year, and I do not think that video game fans are going to get a better game, at least not until GTA VI.

Works Cited

Stuart, Keith. “GTA 5 Review: A Dazzling but Monstrous Parody of Modern Life.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 29 Sept. 2013.

Russell, Kyle. “‘Grand Theft Auto V’ Reviews: It’s The Epic Game We’ve Waited Five Years For.” Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 19 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Oct. 2013.