Did I Miss Out? GTA V

Did I Miss Out is a series where I revisit popular games I never played when they first released..

I know what you're thinking. You've never played Rockstar's critically acclaimed hit Grand Theft Auto V?!? Were you in a coma the last 10 years? Were you doing research in the Antarctic? So let me be clear with this one. I originally received GTA V a few years back when Epic was giving out the PC version for free. I played the first couple of missions then moved online. Played online a few times with friends and then uninstalled the massive game from my modest Pc's hard drive. I had not gone back to play through the story. Recently, Gamepass added GTA V to its service. I thought I should really jump into the game and play through the story and now that it's on cloud no need to fill up my hard drive.

So I made the commitment to myself to play at least all the story missions until completion and try not to get distracted by other games in my library. GTA V was released in 2013 and was an immediate success. The game took the series to another level with its online service. The Previous entry had online modes but GTA V Online was like a whole game in itself. Create a character, startup a crew with your buddies and build your criminal empire. The online game is so popular that 10 years on there are thousands of players online and Rockstar still regularly updates the game with new events and challenges. Lets try not to get off topic though my play through was strictly the story or single player game.

One of GTA V main protagonists Franklin chilling in his mansion in the hills

GTA has a history of not being an overly serious crime drama. With comical characters and outrageous missions sometimes you just laugh at the ridiculous situations Rockstar puts you in. I prefer more serious crime games and that is why I think GTA IV is one of my favourite in the series. So my first hope going in was the game keeps a nice balance between the weird and the serious and surprisingly it does exactly just that. You actually play as 3 main characters whose stories intertwin and you become a misfit crew pulling off criminal heists all over the city of Los Santos (a fictional city resembling Los Angeles). Michael the “getting too old for this shit” professional thief, Franklin the streetwise up and comer, and Trevor a depraved meth tweaking lunatic (his character cranks up the crazy dial throughout the game). Without giving away too much the overall story is engaging as Franklin, sick of working as a repo guy, meets Michael and becomes his criminal protégé. You complete a few felonies with Michael as he teaches you the ropes, but the story really gets interesting when you meet the infamous Trevor Phillips. Trevor Phillips is the most insane video game character I have ever witnessed. He is this sick, quick to violence, meth head that is running a criminal enterprise in the trailer parks of Los Santos. His whole character is a circus sideshow that you can not help but strangely admire and he quickly becomes one of the best GTA characters of all time.

Michael relaxing at home after a heist well done

GTA V is one of the most immersive games I have ever played. Los Santos is a lively city with millions of people shopping, going to work, being chased by the police. In addition to the population of Los Santos is random wild life. From deer crossing the road in the forested hills to stray cats the wildlife adds to the immersion of a real life world. There are so many things to do and see outside of the actual missions. Go get a tattoo, play some tennis, take in a show, go skydiving, you can really do it all in Los Santos. The missions are a range from simple to frustrating as hell, but I never wanted to put the controller down and walk away. I would say they were the right amount of challenging. The gameplay has been perfected over the last 20 years since the jump from overhead 2D to third person 3D and is solid. Driving a car is just as fun in the last mission as it was in the first mission and nothing is better than shooting your way out of a bank with a duffle bag of greenbacks hung over your shoulder. The main story was about a 25 hour investment with tons of extra side missions I did not get to yet. Most games I put down after the main story, but with GTA V I am actually going back to play the side quests which I think speaks to the quality of the game.

Trevor in front of one of his "legitimate businesses"

Did I miss out? I sure did. GTA V is worth a play through for any fan of open world games, driving games, or crime titles. If you missed our like I did you can play it now if you have Xbox Game Pass or go buy a used copy on the cheap. As always, thank you for reading my blog and stay safe out there gamers.

GTA V is the intellectual property of the Rockstar Games, Inc.

This article is subject to Fair Use (US Law) and Fair Dealing (Canadian Law) as it is informational in purpose and is a critique of the product. All rights and credits go directly to the owners. No copyright infringement is intended