Rockstar North raises the bar for video games in “Grand Theft Auto V”

By Jack Howorth
Arts Editor

Very few video games succeed in blowing away all of their competition and setting a new benchmark for the gaming industry. Very few video games are like “Grand Theft Auto V.”

Rockstar North, the developer of the incredibley successful “Grand Theft Auto” franchise, combines unparalleled gameplay mechanics with new, innovative features and an outstandingly realistic and satirical world to explore. Despite being overtly inappropriate, the thrilling experience of “Grand Theft Auto V” makes it the best video game of the year.

Rockstar North began the development of “Grand Theft Auto V” shortly after the release of “Grand Theft Auto IV” in 2008. Since then, it has become the most expensive game ever to be developed, costing approximately $265 million to produce. However, in only the first 24 hours on the shelves, “Grand Theft Auto V” made over $800 million. In the first three days of the release, it made over $1 billion, making it the fastest grossing commercial release of all time.

“Grand Theft Auto V” is a third-person action-adventure game that centers around three different protagonists in the fictional state of San Andreas. Like the previous “Grand Theft Auto” games, the fifth installment features an open-world environment, which allows the player to explore the city and interact with the people. The player switches between Michael, a former bank robber who now is in witness protection, Franklin, an ex-street gangster, and Trevor, a psychotic meth-dealing trailer park criminal.

The most notable feature of the game is that the player can switch between any of the three protagonists at almost any moment, which is unlike anything seen in the previous “Grand Theft Auto” games.

The heists in the game serve as the climactic moments of the gameplay. A good deal of the game is spent in the preparation phase, as the player must search San Andres for equipment and go over plans for their approach and team. This grants the player creative jurisdiction, presenting an element of freedom toward the gameplay. It also brings an engaging sense of risk and reward, as the player’s personal planning proves esssential in its overall score. The result is yet another outstanding aspect, unmatched by “Grand Theft Auto V’s” peers.

One of the reasons “Grand Theft Auto V” is so successfully immerssive is that the tiniest of details were considered. For instance, if the player drives a car through a tunnel, the GPS system stops working. Another element that adds to this realistic portrayal of the game is the Artificial Intelligence, which responds by having spectators take pictures with their phone or run away screaming, among other reactions. This acute attention to detail gives the world of “Grand Theft Auto V” a realistic portrayal of life in California.

On the surface, San Andres appears to be no more than simply a renamed California. However, the virtual world is actually brimming with social commentary. Radio stations lampoon right and left wing news, and missions in the game have the player interact with figures that resemble modern icons, like Mark Zuckerberg and Ryan Seacrest, generally at said icon’s expense. Rockstar North’s emphasis on creating a satirical videogame is made all the more outstanding as almost no other video game has ever featured anything similiar to it. This distinctive world approach is pioneering for the video game medium.

The gameplay is made significantly more accessible by the option to allow the player to skip missions. In past “Grand Theft Auto” games, some of the missions are extremely difficult and prevent players from progressing through the game. This prevents the player from getting stuck on any one mission and allows them to move through the game at their own pace.

Yet, it is the game’s obscenity and graphic nature that prove to be the its major weakness. The heavy focus on drugs and nudity is a distraction from the plot. Even worse, overly violent moments, like one in which the player is forced to brutally torture a man, are unsettling and unnecessary.

Despite this, “Grand Theft Auto V” is one of the biggest releases of all time, and with hours of phenomenal gameplay, this game has met the high standard associated with the “Grand Theft Auto” series, serving as the last hoorah of the current console generation before the Xbox One and Playstation 4 hit the stage.

“Grand Theft Auto V” is rated-M and is now available for both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 for $59.99