Hello! WeView is back after a break since mid-December, when we focused on the WeView-esque Your Memories of a Generation and then moved into all of our Christmas content. You still voted for Grand Theft Auto V after the last WeView Verdict though, so today we’ll look at what we voted our second favourite game of last year.
GTA V is really a game that needs no introduction, which might make this article a bit pointless, but you need somewhere to leave your comments so we’ll go with it anyway.
Rockstar’s second crack at the last generation of consoles took everything that was good about previous games in the series and made it better, basically. There were three protagonists, a huge world map and tons of activities, along with a superb story and some extremely fun gameplay. It’s really just a fantastic game.
We scored it 10/10 in our review, and Peter summed it up by concluding:
GTA V doesn’t break new ground. It’s not going to change the world. It is, after all, the fifth numbered title in a well loved series and for the most part it is simply delivering more of what the developers must know the fans want to see. To expect otherwise is idiocy. But it is engaging, compelling, interesting, clever, funny and packed with things to do and see. It’s a personal story, or several personal stories, set in a magnificent world that ebbs and flows with thousands of people who all seem to be living their own personal stories. It’s a genuine landmark event in the history of video games and it’s one that you definitely shouldn’t miss.
That sounds about right. I really enjoyed the game, but now it’s all behind me, as I’ve forgotten about the last generation and am fully focused on the PlayStation 4. Did Rockstar make a mistake by leaving it so late in the generation, or was it the perfect swan song?
What Peter didn’t go into in his review – because it didn’t launch until two weeks after the game – was GTA Online. This new multiplayer aspect allowed sixteen players to explore the world of Los Santos and Blaine County at free will, competing in deathmatch and race Jobs against each other.
It’s a really great online mode, which still sees a lot of players today. While there were a lot of issues with connectivity at the start, most of these have been ironed out, and there should be more content coming to the multiplayer portion soon.
While we enjoyed it, we want to know how you feel about the game, so we can round-up your thoughts in a verdict article on Monday. To do that, simply leave a comment below with your thoughts on the game. Some clear and concise thoughts are all we need, along with a rating of Buy It, Bargain Bin It, Rent It or Avoid It.
[drop2]While we’re here, you can also get voting for next week’s game using the poll to the right. We usually do that in the Verdict article but we haven’t had one of those this week. As per usual, we’ve selected four games which have been out for a while now, so there’s a good chance that you’ve played them.
BLAGGER
Personally I love everything about the game, both single and multiplayer (In fact I don’t think my PS3 has seen another disc since 17th September!) and to be honest after playing Red Dead I thought I could never go back to a GTA title but somehow they managed to surpass the Red Dead atmosphere for me!
At the moment I’m 75% the way through and it is like watching a box set series in the sense of how I feel immersed with the characters and world that Rockstar has provided. I can understand why some people may not enjoy it, I spoke to people who raced through the story and then got bored but I’ve always approached open world games like I do with a bottle of wine (instead of a case of lager!) – what I mean by this is that I savour each moment that I play, perhaps this has helped my experience (and I’m in no rush to finish!) because like I felt when watching The Sopranos, Breaking Bad etc I didn’t and don’t want it to end.
My gaming behaviour has changed though drastically over the years due to the amount of kids that me and my Mrs have had so I tend to play this for about 1-2 hours per sitting so the enjoyment is very much prolonged….but this is about GTA and not my (drunken!) bedroom antics! But again this could have an impact on how I feel towards the game ….
….Anyway yes the characters are cliché in some respect, yes there are points which can be dull etc….although I’m struggling to remember what! But the world is fantastic, the Snapmatic camera app is excellent in keeping a record of my adventures and it’s things like this that help make the detail of game sublime. Also online has been no problem for me either, I’ve enjoyed the grind and the making money and to be honest just about everything! All in all I would recommend BUYING IT!!! For me it’s the game of a generation and thankfully saved me a fortune for this year as I still have no desire to buy a PS4 yet
Sorry about the ramble!
Jag
I want to start off by saying that I’m a big GTA fan and have played every single game, including the handheld entries and that GTA V is definitely one of the most impressive games ever created.
When I first started the game and got to drive around for a bit after the prologue I was stunned by the improvement in gunplay and driving over the previous 3D games. The graphics are gorgeous too with a lighting engine that makes the game seem like it should belong on the next generation.
It is a game with the highest regard for attention to detail and all of the gameplay and AI systems come together to create one of the most believable virtual cities ever.
However once I completed the game I was left disappointed. I enjoyed the missions and the story between the three protagonists but I felt that they created such a great world but you could only experience it at its best during the missions created by Rockstar.
My gripe stems from one of the best features of the game, the heists. These are brilliant moments in the game which make you feel like you’re in a great crime movie. I wish you could plan and set up heists of your own in the single player world and I would have been fine if it was after the main story was over to avoid any conflicts.
It seems like such a missed opportunity and after games like Skyrim which people kept playing not because it was a large world but that you could keep doing things that mattered and had an affect on the world long after the story was over. Also I felt like the property and businesses aspect was a little under developed.
I know there’s GTA Online, but that was such a horrible experience during the first month that I can’t bring myself to go back. Also you have to rely on other people so while a fun idea it’s not the same.
Anyway it’s a brilliant game, definitely worth buying despite my own little niggles I had with it. It’s a game that has set the bar once more and I can’t wait to see what the competition can do with the next Sleeping Dogs and Saint’s Row games.
Buy it!
Jag
Why did I use the word ‘affect’ when it should clearly be ‘effect’?!
bunimomike
Agreed. The lighting in the game is so good I can’t quite believe other games have been so terrible this generation. I know the budget for development was huge but, still, it’s stunning! Seeing the shadow of the Titan flying above, wrap over the buildings around you and couple that with the thunderous roar of the engines is something to behold.
Awesome!
A couple of relatively recent Crew photos:
http://prod.cloud.rockstargames.com/ugc/gta5photo/1194/iRS54Qs6nkWHOlYJvr1KSg/0_0.jpg
http://prod.cloud.rockstargames.com/ugc/gta5photo/7698/M0RxL3mDO0-pk6OHdgiDIQ/0_0.jpg
The game engine is so good I’m not sure I want to buy a new-gen version but I know I’d eventually succumb.
ron_mcphatty
For me it’s the brilliant and hilarious acting, wonderfully lively world and fun physics, polished and refined over the years to the point where it feels like the pinnacle of Grand Theft Auto and the best of open world gaming as we know it. Since no one could possibly be on the fence about getting this game and most of us already own it I’d say buy it again when it inevitably comes out on the new consoles. I bloody love it, almost as much as Metal Gear! Buy it again!
Broonba
Buy It…..you won’t be disappointed.
blast71
Loved the single-player. Sadly, the online hasn’t been given a chance since I put that damn life-eater Skyrim into my PS3.
Buy it.
sabbat7001
The single player portion of the game lived up to and exceeded the hype in my opinion. I had many, many hours of fun just wandering and exploring much less actually doing missions and side jobs. The game is worth a BUY IT for the single player alone. The multiplayer has/had such potential and can be a lot of fun but like almost any online game, glitchers and cheaters can ruin the experience and I find myself entering private games with a handful of friends which is also fun but kind of defeats the purpose.
I know many people are opposed to DLC close to a games launch (“why wasn’t it included if it was ready?” etc etc) but I truly feel that what Rockstar needed to do with GTAO was have a steady stream of content lined up for at least the first few months so that people would keep coming back week after week to see what was new. Pulling of with friends Heists was one of the biggest appeals for me and yet not even an a hint of when that’s ever coming is to be seen.
In conclusion, my official verdict is Buy It for the campaign. It’s amazing, funny, tragic, ridiculous and most of all fun. As a P.S., If you’re the type of gamer that buys games for Multiplayer only and never touches the campaign (you exist, I’ve met you), I’d wait to see if it improves.
TSBonyman
I’ve only played 40% so i’ll just give 40% of my opinion. It’s great fun, has loads to do and looks better than the last game, however-
TSBonyman
Oh yeh..Buy It
Moonpie
Finished the single player and then decided to restart so that I could make a different choice at the end. The online is one of the best I have come across, even more enjoyable when playing with friends. Managed to level upto 100+ buy the flat I wanted, get the 10 cars I wanted and upgrade them all fully (actually 8 cars and 2 motorbikes)
But as a friend and I were discussing earlier there wasn’t enough to keep us interested as a group, Hunting bounties was fun but we had done most of the co-op missions and a lot of the races multiple times.
Playing solo online was interesting, I got to a point were I had the heavy sniper rifle so would go loan gunman, usually someone would put a bounty on me and then it was just a case of sitting back and defending a roof top.
We may revisit it in the future but not until the heists are up and running and the creater mode is out of beta.
spacedelete
I would say GTA V is a decent or good game but thats what makes it even more disappointing for me as I wasn’t expecting decent or good, I was expecting brilliant or a true masterpiece.
Just too many missed opportunities whether it was mediocre mission design or the terrible storyline. Rockstar created one of the greatest videogame worlds ever but with nothing to actually do.
Even watching the reveal trailers again it disappoints me how hyped I was. Sorry Rockstar but 10/10 review scores, 200 million to create the game and 30 million sales I expected alot more. As good as it was GTA V just wasn’t good enough.
tactical20
It’s exceptional, as expected, but there was nowhere near enough ghetto/gangbanging shit, which should have been a main focus with the LA setting imo. I don’t really see how the gameplay is any different to GTA4, which controversially, I think I actually preferred. I’ve not got on with the online game at all. Found it very confusing as to what I was supposed to be doing. The single player was great though and I look forward to big dlc support, fingers crossed. Buy it obviously.