Andy Naylor reviews Grand Theft Auto V…
By now, everyone knows what to expect from Rockstar’s GTA franchise. Grand Theft Auto V was arguably the best to date, an epic, engaging story with a wealth of interesting characters jam-packed into an immersive story. What let it down was the generation of console it was released on. The PS3 and the Xbox 360 simply could not cope with Rockstar’s vision for GTA V. Well, guess what, the PS4 and Xbox One have been released and Rockstar have re-released GTA V and wow, has it been improved.
This isn’t so much a review of GTA V on the next-gen consoles, mainly because it would be a redundant exercise. GTA V has been out for just over 12 months while aspects of the game have been improved, the game itself remains what is was. The story and the world are as before, but there have been serious graphical enhancements throughout.
As you can see from the comparison shots above, the difference is pretty staggering. Not only have the graphics been significantly upgraded, but editions have been made into the world to make it a more realistic place, it feels like a living and breathing world rather than a place sporadically littered with bits of landscape. As well as the improvement wildlife, Rockstar have given Mother Nature some fresh impetuous, take a little drive down a coast road one in game morning and you’re likely to be met with an impressive coastal fog rolling onto the landscape, it’s really quite impressive.
Not only does the increase in world objects increase in the rural areas, but the city of Los Santos gets a more realistic level of NPC’s and the level of traffic is now believable. Previously, parts of the city resembled a ghost town, the only thing missing was the tumble weed, now it’s a vibrant, bustling city. Often during frequent distractions of rampaging through the city it’s possible to discover real world situations like a traffic incident (not caused by your own carefree driving skills), to name but one. The detail held within Los Santos is somehow even more staggering that it was previously, some other open world games, here’s looking at you Watch Dogs, can only watch on in envy as Rockstar show Ubisoft how to do it.
The story is as it was, the online mode is likewise as familiar as the PS3/Xbox 360, but this is essentially GTA V Plus. If you are a huge GTA fanboy then you’re getting this on release date, if you just appreciate the GTA franchise and have completed it previously, you can probably wait for a post-Christmas price drop, but with there still being a limited number of quality next-gen games, you’ll be drawn to it sooner rather than later. And if you’ve saved yourself for GTA’s next-gen debut, sit back and enjoy a superb ride.
Pros:
Huge graphical upgrade
Improved environment
Same great story
Cons:
No new content
9/10
Reviewed on PS4
Andy Naylor – Follow me on Twitter.
Originally published November 24, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
