GTA V – The Evolution of a Cult Classic

 Little over 7 years ago, Rockstar let loose a game that would not only capture gamer’s admiration for an already successful series, but defined a genre by becoming the bestselling game on the PS2. With the typical rags to riches story came freedom and custom options which made you feel like you were Carl Johnson. While some things were unrealistic, the game never felt too “Arcade like” and the replay value of the game was second to none. You could spend a whole day doing the same thing and it would not get tiresome. For me personally, it is my favourite game of all time. The next release from the GTA series, GTA IV, took more of a more series approach to the sandbox genre. Now, with GTA V being revealed in November and a possible release this year, I will be taking a look at how GTA has changed from having jetpacks and rolling down a mountain in an Ambulance to blending into society and becoming an undercover criminal (almost).

 As I’m sure many of you have seen the trailer and if not, here it is:

Definitely a feeling of Deja Vu with the Vinewood sign, the beach workouts, Mount Chiliad, crop fields and running through the ‘hood’ from ‘Five-0’.

 With many details being speculated after the trailer, we can only take so much from the trailer but based on GTA’s past, we can guess what the beginning of the game will be. In both GTA: SA and GTA IV, the main story was about a ‘rags to riches’ story about average people who want to live the American Dream. At the beginning of each game, both main characters seem to be of poor background. CJ is a gang member who is nothing more than a street thug and Niko Bellic who is a veteran of a war in Eastern Europe. Both characters pretty much came from the gutter to make their name. As has been speculated in GTA V, the new character could be a middle aged gentleman, possibly a family man. He appears several times in the trailer, but then again, this could put us off of other things which involve people in the trailer:

·         A civilian turning down drugs

·         The man in the car folding the roof back then later being chased by the police

·         The criminal fleeing from the law on foot

 All players are possibilities. But the with the way in which Rockstar have brought GTA IV down to Earth, it seems likely that the middle aged man who is seen to rob the bank, look out onto the city and drive the blue convertible. This may seem the more realistic choice but hopefully it won’t be him. I feel as though past GTA characters such as Tommy Vercetti amd CJ had far more charisma around them. Niko just seemed dull and not too fun at all. Incidentally, this leads me onto my next point about ‘fun’.

 From GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas, the series gradually built itself up to allow the player to play the game how they wanted it to be played. In 3 you couldn’t jump out of a moving car or swim but by the time SA was released, you could fly jets, cruise around in jetpacks and have CJ workout at the gym. GTA IV was a slight let down in this sense. Of course you could eat from take-away diners, fly helicopters and gun anything down but the game itself felt… different. The large open world of Vinewood, as well as the jets and planes in the trailer, suggest that the aeroplanes could be making a comeback for GTA V. An all new cover system for the 4^th game was introduced which partially seen an end to the hysterical shootouts while being chased down by the Police and then eventually the Army. The multiplayer aspect to GTA IV was a major plus point for the most recent release as players, to this day are still getting their fix from the GTA multiplayer and is still quite popular. Rockstar seem to be quite the masters with multiplayer, as seen with Red Dead: Redemption.

In San Andreas, you could personalise your version of CJ to exactly how you wanted him to be. You could make him fat, lean, skinny or any way you wanted him to be (almost). The customising options were brilliant. With GTA IV though, there wasn’t as much freedom and this was a bit of a let-down. The custom abilities you could create in SA eclipsed the mere clothes swap in GTA IV. No matter who the main character will be in GTA V, you can only hope that Rockstar’s return to Los Santos includes all the custom options that were available 8 years ago!

 Since the last instalment, there have been several games released which have used GTA’s past formula to score success. Games such as:

·         Saints Row 2 and The Third

·         True Crime (although you play as a cop)

·         Crackdown 1 and 2

·         Driv3r

·         The Mercenaries series

 Some of these games have sold well, especially Saints Row and Crackdown, but none of the titles can touch the complete feeling that ‘old school’ GTA gives you while taking on the dullest of missions. This is why I feel GTA needs to go back to the previous method of utter mayhem and great story mode. No other game can even come close to creating a game the way in which GTA creates GTA. That is why each release is similar to that of a Blockbuster movie, it is guaranteed success.

  Will the next GTA revert to the old style of carnage? Or maintain the newer, more realistic style of modern day criminality? To be honest, Rockstar knows how to make a gaming success. Anything with the big black R with an orange background knows how to make a successful game. I think that the Grand Theft Auto series has turned a corner from the San Andreas days with GTA IV. The more serious approach was an angle which some didn’t take to it immediately. The trailer for the next release looks to follow similar suit.

My head is telling me one thing but my heart is telling me another.

@SimonMarshall6