Welcome back to San Andreas. After a nine year break, Rockstar Games brings you back to their biggest open world city with their newest game Grand Theft Auto Five. Here you can switch between your characters and do what every GTA player has done: drive and explore the world.
This game isn’t just about the missions. GTA V has an app called iFruit that you can download to train your in game dog outside of the game. You can upgrade his skills as well as interact with the cars you have stored in your garage.
One thing you’ll notice as you play is the amount of time the n-word gets thrown around. In the first five minutes of Franklin’s story, the n-word was said at least 20 times. It seems a little excessive, but Rockstar is all about their actors lines staying true to life.
“When we record all these ambient characters that are in the world we go towards authenticity,” GTA producer Lazlow Jones said in an interview with the WGN radio station in Chicago. “There’s black gangs, there’s Latino gangs and we recruited a guy who gets gang members, like actual gang members, real gang members. I mean, El Salvadorian gang dudes with amazing tattoos and one of which literally had gotten out of prison the day before.”
The authenticity of the dialogue aside, the game plays well. The driving is a step up from GTA IV where controls were very loose. Hitting landscape will still cause you to wipeout, but your handling control is much better.
As in past GTA games, driving is the easiest way to get around. While the cars handle better, motorcyles are the smoothest ride in the game. The way they handle with the controls makes them the most fun thing you can grab early in the game. Or you could kick it old school and sprint everywhere. It’ll get your stamina upgraded and increased, but it might take you a while to get there.
With a huge open world that takes 12 minutes to drive across, it’s impossible to explore the entire city in one sitting. There are some great Easter eggs hidden in the game, like CJ’s house. Finding it will be a task, but it’s always fun visiting your old stomping grounds.
If you’re thinking about getting GTA V, I say you should. A great story drives the gameplay when you aren’t completing side missions. So get your inner gangsta on and holla at your homies.