Grand Theft Auto V
For: PS3/360
From: Rockstar
Five stars (out of five)
Back in 2001, GTA hit the mainstream with #3 and hasn't looked back since.
There's no other series that gives you the quality of game and value for money that the GTA series does, and this newest instalment leaves the others for dead.
It's outstanding in every way: the plot is amazing, filled with memorable characters, fantastic locations and missions, tonnes of unique landscape to explore and loads of things to do.
The story revolves around three characters - Michael, a retired bank robber, Franklin, a guy from the hood trying to earn a living, and then there's the beautiful creature that is Trevor.
Trevor is the highlight of this game.
He is by no means classy or clever, but the situations he finds himself in and the things that he does ... they'll have you in tears laughing.
I was at first hesitant when I heard about three lead characters but Rockstar nailed it.
The integration and easy switching is outstanding.
Random events happen regularly as you pass by, whether it's someone out jogging, someone being mugged, a random police chase through the city.
The fact that you're a small part of a huge, living and breathing city increases the enjoyment immensely.
Rockstar has always liked to poke fun at the American way of life through satire, and it is thick and heavy in GTA V.
Rockstar unashamedly mocks almost every aspect of American culture and it is glorious.
The billboards, the radio ads, even the dialogue is golden.
It's arguably the most enjoyable part of the series.
The cherry on the top is the adjustments to the controls and how the game plays.
GTA IV's shooting and driving was a wee bit off, and this time around they're fixed.
The shooting works more like Max Payne 3 (which is great) and the driving is more arcade focused, as opposed to brutally unforgiving.
By removing these small frustrations, the entire experience improves.
I'm struggling to think of anything I don't like about this game.
Value for money is off the charts.
Story-wise and graphically, it's incredible.
GTA V is such a unique experience, too.
Talking with your friends and hearing about how they did things and what happened is almost as much fun as playing it.
An absolute must play experience.
Faultless.
- Simon Bishop
