Rockstar, while leaving the concept of the series unchanged throughout its history, has developed the project in the direction that we have just talked about, expanding the list of actions available to the player. GTA5 is much more than an open city car thief simulator.
“But all this was already in the previous parts of the series! What’s new here? ” You exclaim. We, having analyzed the question with the left hemisphere of the brain, confidently nod: really, nothing. But then, having spread the right half, we will object: that’s it. It is paradoxical, but true: while remaining as a whole a copy of the previous part, GTA5 is passed and perceived in a completely new way.
The point here is not even that the number of protagonists has tripled, and they have turned into super-interactive guys who can play tennis, meditate, drink whiskey and stroke the breasts of strippers. Details are secondary. But their combination is the very magic that gives the game a unique flavor and distinguishes ordinary entertainment from a project with a capital letter.
GTA5 is a fundamental sequel to the series and is the perfect example of creative collaboration between designers, screenwriters and programmers. Obviously, the task of the authors was to transfer the user to the other side of the screen, where the player gets so used to the role of the character that he does not distinguish himself from him. And if we take a closer look, we will see that the changes at all levels of gameplay that have appeared in the new part work precisely for this purpose.
The trinity of the main characters sets the backbone of the game mechanics. Each of the heroes lives his own life, has his own house, his own list of acquaintances and quests that are available only to him. At any time, we can switch from one character to another. The camera soars into the sky, is transported to another section of the map and lands on the hero’s head, catching him by surprise: Franklin pulling himself up on horizontal bars, Trevor lying drunk on the street, or Michael dozing at the wheel.
The procedure looks somewhat different during the execution of plot tasks. Free switching is preserved in them, but sometimes, in order to maintain a cinematic and spectacular nature, the game itself will “throw” us behind the backs of the heroes who are in the most “piquant” position. The missions are delivered simply amazing, the level of dynamics and variety is at an altitude. What are even large-scale robberies worth! Before going out on an assignment, we will have to do some thorough preparation, choosing a team for ourselves and choosing a method of work.
For example, there are two ways to rob a jewelry store – quiet and loud. In the first case, we must lull visitors and staff by letting gas through the ventilation. In the second, we act in the old-fashioned way: we boldly burst inside with a shotgun and ask the public to tolerate our presence in the “face to the floor” position. In addition, before the main task, you will have to complete several preparatory missions, having obtained sleep gas, vehicles for escape, masks for conspiracy, and so on.
Characters have their own skills and parameters such as endurance, accuracy, the ability to fly an airplane. There is also a stealth mode in which the hero can silently slip behind the backs of enemies. In addition, each protagonist has his own talents: Michael slows down time in shootouts, Trevor falls into a rage, becoming almost immortal, and Franklin turns on “slow-mo” while driving.
They, like other parameters of the characters, can be improved. This is done with the help of frequent repetitions of one action (the more you run, the more enduring you will become), as well as the active use of material and spiritual and entertainment benefits in the vastness of Los Santos.
Los Santos is by far the largest city in the GTA series and arguably one of the smartest, most intense, and beautiful in the history of video games. Like its real-life prototype, Los Angeles, the town is divided into several large zones, completely different in landscape and design. Wild areas covered with rivers and mountains, suburban villages, downtown, looking at the world from the tops of skyscrapers … After the first walk down the street, you fall in love with this world blindly and selflessly, like a child.
Not once during the entire passage will you have a feeling of “copy-paste” in the appearance of the districts. You can spend hours aimlessly walking around them, slowly examining examples of architecture, non-repeating billboards, graffiti on the walls … Los Santos lives, he breathes deeply, not trying to entertain the player. And yet random events occurring at every turn contain a lot of the city’s charm.
Passers-by are chatting among themselves, somewhere construction is underway, somewhere an accident has happened, and an ambulance and police are arriving at the scene. A random oncoming person’s bike is stolen, you rush to the rescue and return the guy’s property. And a couple of days later, when what happened has already left the memory, an SMS comes to the phone: “Hello! Do you remember me? I’m the guy whose bike was stolen. In fact, I am a millionaire and I want to thank you for your help. “
The city reacts to the behavior of the player – either on the local Internet they say something about a bank robbery, then some unexpected letter will fall into the e-mail. Hidden in the world of GTA5 are countless Easter eggs, secrets and references to cinema, politics, sports, religion and culture. You need to spend more than a dozen hours in order to find them all.