Post
by aflycon » 04 Oct 2013, 13:39
Don't get me wrong, I love GTA games. I've played and (to some extent) enjoyed every single one, all the way back to the original Grand Theft Auto and London, 1969. So, I would say my opinion on the franchise is fairly informed.
Many of my fondest childhood memories include playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the original Xbox. In those days, games like San Andreas were few and far between and truly spectacular. It was a time when a game didn't require a compelling storyline to entice a player, but simply interesting and new mechanics. However, San Andreas delivered on both. Nearly everything about that game was fantastic and ahead of its time, including the story.
Now, I won't get into detail, but at its core San Andreas was a classic story of gangland betrayal. Some of the characters weren't particularly likable, and some were downright shitty, but by the end of Carl Johnson's journey you found yourself looking back retrospectively at all the crazy things that had happened, how they had unfolded, and why. (Spoilers ahead, but if you haven't finished it in nine years it's on you pal.) When you return to Grove Street one last time, things are different and you can feel it. Big Smoke, the rat, the traitor, the Judas of the family is dead along with Tenpenny, Pulaski and countless others. But there's meaning to the blood on Carl's hands. It was a well-written piece of work that I would definitely play through again, and did many times.
The game I spent the second-most amount of time on was GTA IV, with a total of eight play-throughs. I've beaten this game in every way imaginable, with game times ranging from over a hundred hours (total completion and plenty of dicking around) to only eighteen (just completing the storyline). I have to say that GTA 4, while it had its flaws, may have been the best game of this generation. Nearly every mechanic from previous GTA games was improved upon, some regrettably, and some very well. The game handled and still handles smoothly, given its age; I still find myself sitting on top of the Sprunk! factory with six stars, picking off police and NOOSE officers with the fluid and easily-managed aiming system (I honestly don't know where any complaints came from - that system works great).
But where GTA IV really shone was its storyline. Despite what may be popular belief, the Grand Theft Auto games are not cop-killing simulators, or rampage games, or spatter games. Each one contains a wonderful story, be it a caricature or satire of modern culture or a heartstring-pulling tale of death and despair. (Spoilers ahead, but again, it's been five and a half years. Come on.) Every loose end had been tied up by the time Niko stood retrospectively by the Platypus following the final mission, and they had been tied up well. But at the same time, Niko's story should have tugged at your heartstrings - if you played the game right. You listened to Roman; you realized that revenge would bring you little; you spared Darko; you tried to make the deal with Dimitri. And in the end you lost what was dearest to you - not the prude, flat character that was Kate McReary but the cousin who valued you above all else: Roman was gone.
No spoilers about GTA V.
In GTA V, the storyline is streamlined to say the least. Markedly shorter than its predecessor (by about 17 missions), the story - that focused decidedly more on Michael than on Franklin or Trevor - seemed rushed in comparison to Niko's. Yes, it had its strong points, but as its ancestors it too included boring fetch quests and flat cutscenes.
Each character works not for some complex moral reason but simply out of greed. Michael, after settling past debts, continues to heist simply for his own gain despite already being filthy rich. Trevor, who has little and wants less, has no true reason other than the thrill of the hunt to continue alongside the other protagonists. Only Franklin's tale, that of a would-be gangster trying to escape the hood, has any semblance of structure (though he still only works for the money). Now, that being said, I was able to appreciate each and every character in this game. From Steve "Mr. Leisurewear" Haines to Devin "Hey Slick, it's me" Weston (God, I hated that line) to Lester to Brad, each character was at the least well-written - just not necessarily well-written into the story.
Trevor was chief among these, contrary to what I expected. In a display of incredible irony, Trevor actually displays the most moral character of the three protagonists - he is an upstanding, loyal man, despite his many quirks. I found myself drawn more into his story than into Michael's or Franklin's, if only for the cutscenes and dialogue where he was most profound (the beginning of Predator, all of Bury the Hatchet, and his dialogue in Something Sensible to name a few).
But the other characters fell short, and the story suffered for this. The heists were fun, but otherwise the story of Grand Theft Auto V consisted of a few subplots strung together and rushed to their respective climaxes, resulting in a game that left little effect on the player. I appreciated that they cut the clutter this time around (for the most part), but this game, at 69 missions, felt far shorter than GTA IV. The three endings were also a disappointment for me, because while only one of them seems to truly clean up shop in respect to what's already happened, the other two - which both leave a few stones unturned - offer a twisted sense of closure in the dialogue that follows their respective missions.
TL;DR: GTA V was an improvement in every way except for the storyline, where it fell completely flat in comparison to GTA IV.
