Review: ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ From The Editor

With the release of Grand Theft Auto 5 on PS4 and Xbox One, Grand Theft Auto has never looked so good and, thanks to the new first-person mode, the series has never been more gruesome. The addition of the (optional) first-person mode makes this more than a simple HD port of the original release, giving you an excuse to explore Los Santos and its surrounding areas once again. GTA Online and its multitude of content updates are also included at launch.

GTA 5 is presented in full 1080p with high-def texture resolution and increased draw distance. Lights show natural reflection from impressive-looking water sources, including puddles that form after inclement weather. Geometry appears more vivid with proper texture from tessellation. Characters haven’t been remodeled, but the game’s graphical boost makes existing citizens look sharper and more detailed than before.

The showpiece of GTA’s current-gen debut is its first-person mode, which – for the first time, officially – gives players a street view of the franchise. Rather than lowering the camera and shoving it in the chests of its three protagonists, GTA 5‘s first-person mode adds detailed animations that give the perspective a feeling more akin to simulation than a shooter.

By default, your first-person perspective shifts naturally, dictating your view as you perform actions that would adjust your head movement, such getting into a vehicle. If you’re hit by a car or fall over, you really experience the jolt of movement. It can be jarring – as evidenced by our recent live stream, during which our community manager Anthony and some viewers complained of car sickness. To tame these natural default movements, you can turn off perspective changes related to rag doll, combat rolls and head bobbing (personally, though, they didn’t make me feel ill).

Putting you on the street of GTA 5 changes your perspective in other ways too. I found it entertaining to drive at top speeds and crash through the windshield, for example, and GTA’s traditional, mayhem-filled rampages are given new life as well. At some points, however, being so close to the action leads to more awkward laughter than fun. I attacked a cat, just to see if it would do anything – and expecting it to run away – only to watch myself stomp it to death.

I chased a man down the street with a knife – after murdering the friend that walked alongside him – and saw him crushed by a car right in front of me. I’m not disturbed by the game in this perspective, mind you, but it lends these actions more weight, and it diminishes the satirical value offered by the series’ traditional, detached third-person view.

Speaking of which, Grand Theft Auto V’s achievement list is exactly the same as it was on last-gen, which is a mite disappointing, save for the aforementioned new achievement for playing in first-person view for 15 hours. That seems like a bit of a long time, but that’s a cumulative number, so you can mess around in first-person view every now and again, which is something worth doing anyway.

I previously marked down GTA V’s achievements for focusing on collectibles and grinding out side objectives, but in retrospect, the list makes perfect sense for the game, giving you ample impetus to explore beyond the story missions laid out in front of you. A little more invention would have been welcome, playing around with the boundaries a bit, but the achievement list works just fine as it is.

Overall, however, GTA 5 is essentially the same, including its poorly conceived main and peripheral characters. What engrossed me in GTA 5 was its world, and that remains true a year later. An open environment where anything is possible, where players can lose themselves in countless activities from races to high-stakes heists. It’s the world that I fell for originally, and being able to take part in those events from a street view draws me back (though some activities, like tennis, cannot be played in first-person).

Grand Theft Auto 5 on PS4 and Xbox One is the definitive version for new or returning players, featuring a collection of all of its new and updated content, high-def graphics, fresh audio and first-person havoc. I plan to replay GTA 5 from that perspective, though I’ll probably stick to the predetermined outbursts of violence dictated by the story rather than create my own anarchy.