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Grand Theft Auto V: Review Round-Up

Mercedes

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As one of the most hotly anticipated titles of the year, and with the embargo on reviews having recently been lifted and the release of this behemoth looming, let's see what the industry's press thinks about Rockstar Game's newest instalment in the Grand Theft Auto Series, Grand Theft Auto 5.


We've said enough. Part of Grand Theft Auto V's magic is discovery, and enjoying the thrilling, unpredictable ride the story takes you on. Whether you're in the thick of a bank heist or exploring the wilderness listening to Johnny Cash on the country station, it always feels tight, refined, and polished. The world is breathtaking, the script is funny, the music is superb (both the licensed tracks and the atmospheric original score), and, most of all, it's really, really fun.

-- CVG

No one makes worlds like Rockstar, but at last it has produced one without compromise. Everything works. It has mechanics good enough to anchor games of their own, and a story that is not only what GTA has always wanted to tell but also fits the way people have always played it. It’s a remarkable achievement, a peerless marriage of world design, storytelling and mechanics that pushes these ageing consoles to the limit and makes it all look easy. As we stand on the brink of a new generation, GTAV sends an intimidating message to the rest of the industry. Beat that.

-- EDGE

Grand Theft Auto 5 is an ambitious game, attempting to meld three very different characters together to tell one encompassing story of survival in what amounts to the worst place in America. That story stumbles, but the open-ended gameplay remains a showpiece for the vast amount of content that can be poured into a virtual world.

-- Joystiq

Grand Theft Auto V is both a reflective and deflective game, diving into the heart of the GTA series with more than a few subtle things to say about itself. Michael is tired, and old, and wants to change, but he can't, and eventually he grows to accept and even enjoy that. Franklin is smarter than his surroundings, dreaming big but held back by old fashioned ideas. Trevor is hilarious, surprising, and a disgusting degenerate. All three characters, in their respective ways, feel representative of the Grand Theft Auto series as a whole, and contribute to making GTA V what it is -- the ultimate culmination of Rockstar's beloved and despised series. Personally, I think that's a fine thing to be.

-- Destructoid

Overall, this game is less surprising than you might like, because so much of it is precisely what you'd expect from a GTA game. As other open-world games push forward in ways that make things like traversal more convenient, GTA forces you to look at the minimap for your turn-by-turn directions. At times, it feels like it was made in a vacuum, away from the influence of other games. But while you could certainly pick out a handful of individual systems or design choices that feel like they've been handled more intelligently elsewhere, none of those other games bring together so many interesting and disparate systems with the same level of aplomb on display here. That, combined with the game's unique multi-character approach to storytelling, makes Grand Theft Auto V an exciting successor in the long-running franchise.

-- GiantBomb

lovingly put together at NeoGAF

----​


Did you expect anything less? With almost perfect scores across the board, with only the Escapist giving a lower score, giving it the equivalent of a 7/10, which is still nothing to be sniffed at, it looks like Rockstar's latest offering really is something not to miss.

Anyone picking this game up? In related news, Grand Theft Auto V was leaked to Torrent sites and users have already found configuration files relating to a PC and 'Orbis' (the PS4 devkit) versions of the game. We can expect a PC, PS4, and likely an Xbox One version though it was strangely missing in the code, of the game to be released in time. Can you wait, or is it a PS3/360 version of the game you need?
 
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JuicieJ

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I couldn't care less. Grand Theft Auto is one of the most overrated series ever. The only goddamn reason it's popular is because "LOL YOU CAN DRIVE AROUND AND KILL PEOPLE!!!1!ONE", which gets repetitive and boring after no more than 5 minutes. It's also absolutely ridiculous that games like Duke Nukem Forever and DmC: Devil May Cry get slammed for being ridiculously immature, but GTA gets a free pass. GTA V is more immature than ever. Just look at the ****ing rating. Rockstar is clearly trying their absolute hardest to be as edgy as they possibly can, yet no one seems to care. And let's not forget that countless people have been calling this GOTY for months, BEFORE IT'S EVEN OUT. No doubt The Escapist is going to be absolutely **** on for daring to give it a 3.5/5.

Un-****ing-believable.
 

Mercedes

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Sroa Link said:
What makes you so certain that the GTA series is "overrated"?

It's just his opinion, which everyone's entitled to. Doesn't make it right. Far far from it. Read the reviews if you want a good opinion on the game! Destructoid gave a very fair one.

Anyway, moving on, I'm super excited for GTAV and I'm glad to see it won't be letting me down with all these perfect scores! I've loved almost every single Grand Theft Auto game that I've played. I have fond memories of GTA3, then Vice City and San Andreas, and I adored GTA4. Bit sketchy in places but I loved the characters and the acting, Niko was a great protagonist once I warmed to him, and along with Witcher I like the more mature stories, and they're not pretentious. Rockstar always makes amazing stories and scripts. I mean, their Warriors game was better than the movie. :P

But, while I liked Niko, he was a tad dull at times and a bit of a one-track mind. The 3 characters in GTAV almost individually have more character and there's 3 of them! It's amazing Rockstar managed to make it work so well but I had high hopes they would. Didn't let me down. I was a bit worried since GTA's been a bit samey for awhile, it can't stay exciting forever to me, but there's so much amazing stuff in this game it has really intrigued me.

I shall be waiting for the PC version, however, and avoiding spoilers as much as I can! Good things come to those who wait.
 

Salem

SICK
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May 18, 2013
I explained it quite clearly in my post. You should try reading it again.
So was it an opinion that the games is "overrated" or was it a "fact"?



I couldn't care less. Grand Theft Auto is one of the most overrated series ever. The only goddamn reason it's popular is because "LOL YOU CAN DRIVE AROUND AND KILL PEOPLE!!!1!ONE", which gets repetitive and boring after no more than 5 minutes.
It's fine that YOU don't like, why do you need to get worked up about other people liking a game you that you don't like?

It's also absolutely ridiculous that games like Duke Nukem Forever and DmC: Devil May Cry get slammed for being ridiculously immature, but GTA gets a free pass.
What? What do they have anything to do with this game?

GTA V is more immature than ever. Just look at the ****ing rating. Rockstar is clearly trying their absolute hardest to be as edgy as they possibly can, yet no one seems to care.
Did you played it yet? Actually you said it gets boring after 5 minutes, so is it okay to assume you haven't played the games much? If that;s the case, this means you didn't play the game enough to deem it "mature" or ""immature", besides, why do these labels even matter?

And let's not forget that countless people have been calling this GOTY for months, BEFORE IT'S EVEN OUT.
So what?
 

JuicieJ

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It's just his opinion, which everyone's entitled to. Doesn't make it right. Far far from it. Read the reviews if you want a good opinion on the game! Destructoid gave a very fair one.

"It's just his opinion, oh, but it's wrong, btw. The reviews say so!"

You forgot how to logic. That's a contradictory standpoint, lol.

What? What do they have anything to do with this game?

Do you not understand what double standards are?

Did you played it yet? Actually you said it gets boring after 5 minutes, so is it okay to assume you haven't played the games much? If that;s the case, this means you didn't play the game enough to deem it "mature" or ""immature", besides, why do these labels even matter?

I said the main attraction gets boring. I've also played past games, and they've gotten more and more immature as time has progressed. I think (read: know) I can accurately say what I did.


"So what?" Are you seriously asking that? There is NO way you can tell me a series that has its games labeled as GOTY by drooling idiots before it's out isn't overrated. It doesn't get any more overrated than that.
 
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Mercedes

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"It's just his opinion, oh, but it's wrong, btw. The reviews say so!"

You forgot how to logic. That's a contradictory standpoint, lol.

Because that is, word for word, exactly what I said. Well done, your reading's getting really good recently!

I was saying you haven't played the game, and the reviewers have. So their opinions of the game obviously hold a lot more weight and are the opinions to look at, considering they've played it, and didn't just announce to the world they have quite a bias against the entire GTA series...
 

Salem

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Do you not understand what double standards are?
I do, those games who mentioned have nothing to do with the quality of this game, actually this "mature" vs "immature" thing confuses me

I said the main attraction gets boring. I've also played past games, and they've gotten more and more immature as time has progressed. I think (read: know) I can accurately say what I did.
Okay, fair enough.

"So what?" Are you seriously asking that? There is NO way you can tell me a series that has its games labeled as GOTY by drooling idiots before it's out isn't overrated. It doesn't get any more overrated than that.
Again, that's not a fault of the game, those are just journalist, they have nothing to do with the development of the game.


I was saying you haven't played the game, and the reviewers have. So their opinions of the game obviously hold a lot more weight and are the opinions to look at, considering they've played it, and didn't just announce to the world they have quite a bias against the entire GTA series...
Exactly, they played it, we didn't yet, it sounds to me JJ is criticising the journalist more so than the game itself.
 

JuicieJ

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Because that is, word for word, exactly what I said.

Pretty sure it's the exact same meaning, lol.

I was saying you haven't played the game, and the reviewers have. So their opinions of the game obviously hold a lot more weight and are the opinions to look at, considering they've played it, and didn't just announce to the world they have quite a bias against the entire GTA series...

Obviously you're not paying attention to the fact that I'm talking about the entire SERIES and that it gets a never-ending amount of free passes because it's GTA.

I do, those games who mentioned have nothing to do with the quality of this game, actually this "mature" vs "immature" thing confuses me

Clearly you don't. GTA has ALWAYS had "mature" themes, which are just acting out absurd fantasies of psychopaths and horny 12 year-olds... the same as many other games that have been labeled as immature. I'm shocked you can't see the connection.

Again, that's not a fault of the game, those are just journalist, they have nothing to do with the development of the game.

It's journalists and fans that MAKE things overrated. How can you not understand that?
 

Garo

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I am heartened by the reviews almost universally making digs at the storytelling in the series; that's been my significant gripe from day 1. I'm on record as not liking open world sandboxes all that much, and that stems from my strong favor for crafted storytelling through gaming. Grand Theft Auto, having always been the sort of free-roam open world game that I don't care for, has never been my cup of tea. And that's fine. But after all the high praise for the storytelling of Grand Theft Auto IV, I had to give it a shot. I was burned for that, because I found the same kind of sandbox gameplay that I am not a fan of, with only a slightly stronger central story. It certainly wasn't "Oscar worthy" as IGN's claim famously said, nor was it "the Citizen Kane of gaming." It was a very competently made sandbox game that had more of a central story than previous installments in the series, and that led people to praise its storytelling absurdly highly.

But we've come a long way from 2008, and there have been a great number of games showing off just how stellar game storytelling can and should be. And after all that, I am glad to see that a series that has long put story second is no longer being praised for its story, and instead is seeing the primary (and often sole) criticism be its weak stories.

I have nothing against Grand Theft Auto other than a differing preference. But when it gets praised for having weak stories, it makes me bitter. I'm glad that game reviewers aren't making that mistake a second time.
 
GTA is possibly my favorite gaming series, so I am really excited to pick it up. Have to wait though as I don't have the money to spend at the moment. It sounds like an absolutely amazing game and return to form after what I thought was a bit of a disappointment GTA IV. While I can't get the game quite yet, I've been getting myself ready by replaying all the previous GTAs :yes:
 

Justac00lguy

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Well looks like it has lived up to the build up and the hype so far, I'm excited to play a game I've been waiting years for, I'll be sure to give my own personal review after I've spent many an hour playing it ;)
 

Dan

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I'm really excited for the next installment, I was simply amazed the first time I played GTA 3 that I could roam an entire three dimension city, on foot or by car, and by air for those that mastered the wingless dodo. I've always loved the atmosphere the games manage to dish out so well, from GTA3 dark and gritty Liberty city, to Vice cities brightly lit and neon metropolis. I also loved just exploring the cities especially san andreas, there were plenty of easter eggs to find, Always did love exploring those woods only to find a creepy cabin lite up at night. Gta also does a great job at satirising culture in general. The radio stations are another favorite part of the game I enjoy, from the silly advertisements to the talk shows, Chatterbox FM is simply hysterical. I loved trying out every car to see how they handled, and I always did enjoy the stories told in every game, and it's characters, such as Officer tenpenny, the truth, Big smoke, Lazlow, toni cipriani and his mother who even called out a hit on him.

I liked GTAIV as well, but it took some time getting used to, I do admire the characters being more three dimensional this time round, but I prefered a more arcade style of control for the cars, but you get used to it after a while, still I believe GTA IV made some good improvements to the series, and GTAV sounds like it's going to be a hybrid of the older era of GTA and the "HD era", which sounds great. Oh and also yey and no more "hey Niko wanna go bowling", you get to decide when you wanna go bowling or er... tennis.

So yeah I'm looking forward to GTAV :D
 

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