GTA V Impressions

iMuse

Thought I'd start a thread for everyone to give their first impressions.....

LiamKK1982

It's a beautiful game, how they achieved these graphics on 7 yr old hardware is beyond me. Controls are nice and tight. First thing I hate is the small text on the phone and the tutorial text in the corner, why so small rockstar!

krudler

LiamKK1982 wrote: »

It's a beautiful game, how they achieved these graphics on 7 yr old hardware is beyond me. Controls are nice and tight. First thing I hate is the small text on the phone and the tutorial text in the corner, why so small rockstar!

Yeah I keep missing tutorial hints lol, and the aiming reticule is tiiiny, but am enjoying it so far. I agree it's beautiful looking, people complaining about the graphics need their eyes checked.

The opening scene, first mission and general way they introduce the game seemed very well done. Explaining the character switching, shooting and driving mechanics all worked very fluidly.

Moving onto the first in-game mission (repo-man) the city seemed to be a bit of a blur as there was too much going on, so I didn't really get a chance to look at it properly at all. Driving the sports car seemed arcadey and having the foot to the floor completely, going as fast as I could, and still having police cruisers ramming me from behind made me feel like perhaps the police were going to be little too difficult. This mission re-enforced my negative prejudice on the driving.

Free-roaming for an hour gives me a chance to explore and drive a range of vehicles. On one hand, the arcadey style is making the actual chase from Police a bit more thrilling as you have to swerve around a fair bit more. On the other hand, driving an articulated truck up a very steep mountain with ease made me realise that there's no challenge to the driving. Everything seems to handle the same way, but have a different top speed. When driving a truck, it's characteristics don't seem to change regardless of whether you've a trailer hitched on or not. Your car also doesn't lose traction on muck and dirt. This a bad thing.


The world itself is shockingly beautiful graphically and it certainly seems more 'alive' than any other GTA I've played. Driving along the roads and seeing people, wildlife, etc. just rambling around, along with the additional traffic on the roads, really adds to the realism of the city.


My initial honest impression is that Rockstar have created a beautiful game, which will entertain for hours due to the quirky humour, activities, etc. but due to over-simplifying certain (important) aspects (the driving - the most important part of this kind of game), I'm beginning to doubt the game's staying power. I don't think I'll ultimately play GTA V as much as I did GTA IV.

Rockstar seemed to have leaned more in the direction of a 'pick up and play' kind of game, but I fear they may have pushed too far in that direction.

Mc Love

BEST game ever, driving around in the banshee listening to Pet Shop Boys! legendary

Hareton

Awesome game. Spent 15 mins walking up the mountain last little stretch I slipped and died. View from the top and from the air is unreal. Aiming reticule is sh1te I think. You can change it in the options. If it could be made more prominent it would be fine me thinks. I like how flying is quite difficult until you up your skill.

Glico Man

Spent the last 4 hours taking it all in. It's an incredible feat from Rockstar to create a game on this scale with such depth, and I've not even started to scratch the surface, on machines as old as the PS3/360 and its nothing short of amazing.

I can't really put into words what I'm thinking at the moment, tiredness has set in and my eyes are weary. Shooting mechanics are nice and tight. The reticle is a tad small for my liking, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. The driving isn't as bad as I'd feared from the few gameplay videos I'd watched. And the intertwining story looks like its going to be a lot of fun.

My last act before saving and switching off was to cruise around the map, from East to West. On my way I managed to hit, run over and kill Ponch from Chips and ended up in hospital by way of a 3-star wanted level. By the time I'd gotten around the West coast, the sun was setting and I pulled off to the side of the road overlooking the ocean. Turned off the lights, dropped the roof on the convertible (nifty feature that I'm glad they've finally put in), popped on Lazlow and just sat there for 10 minutes taking in the marvel and beauty of such a fine creation. I honestly can't wait to fire this up again first thing in the morning and crack into more of the story and begin to find the little things that always make me laugh in GTA games.

After 5 years of waiting and the delay in Spring I can thankfully say that, for myself at least, it was definitely worth the wait.

Mc Love

Amen Aaron just hitting the hay now! Fantastic game, love it

Frank Black

Damn you!

I going to have to get it now.

Despite having no time to actually play it.

Damn you all!

MayoForSam

Played this for around 3 hours yesterday evening.

Huge amount of content, atmosphere is created really well, voice acting is top notch, well up there with classic gangsta and Michael Mann-type movies. Close up graphics and face animations are excellent, you can nearly lip read. A load of radio chatter that I haven't starting listening to yet in any detail but a few LOL moments already.

However, when driving fast and when the frame rate cranks up, the graphics get noticeably and significantly grainier.

Driving is so-so, it's a lot easier compared to GTA 4, especially set in LS/LA where the roads are 3 times as wide as VC/NYC. Cars handle a bit too well.

First thing I did when I got a car was to circumnavigate the island, took about 15 minutes. The day-night cycle works really well, the city is stunning at night time under a full moon. Mount Chiliad dominates the interior.

Some nuttier side missions already apparent:

Shooting aliens with a minigun while under the influence of some extra strong narcotics was almost straight out of Saints Row 4

Missions completed so far (about 7 or 8) are quite varied, you're introduced to different vehicles and gun play gradually. And the mission checkpoints are a HUGE improvement over GTA 4.

Tried to steal a plane at the airport, got nailed by the cops straight away:D. The auto-aiming is straight out of Max Payne, head shots are fairly straightforward.

Played a set of tennis, a very good attempt at a proper tennis game. Easy enough to bash the ball around the place, there may be some subtleties I'm missing at this stage. Pace may be a bit slow for some. Not tried the golf or base jumping yet. I haven't even got wet!

Overall, except for the driving (which is a significant part of GTA), Rockstar have nailed it and this is the pinnacle of present-gen. Another week or 2 to finish the SP and then roll on multiplayer. A solid nine out of ten.

ironictoaster

Play around for 2 hours. Mainly just pissing around. Controls are much tighter, very similar to Max Payne 3 IMO. Small things like turing left to right and running then stopping, it seems there was a weight to it. One thing that stood out to me the most that's much easier to die. I mean you can't abuse the auto aim like others in the series, covering is a must.

unattendedbag

Nit picking of course, But the cops are 10X more difficult than Gta4. Harder to lose and almost no chance in a slow vehicle. I stepped out of a taxi as a passenger and suddenly I had a one star wanted level for nothing. It went to 2 when I legged it. I'm getting to love them though. Little things like some bitch called them when I brushed passed her while trying to get a mountain bike into the cable car. They were also swiftly notified when I started doing donuts on the golf green with a motorbike. Cue all out carnage being chased by 4 cruisers around the course.

TireeTerror

A lot of games these days have tried to emulate that movie like feel. Some have done a reasonable job too, but this has raised the bar. I was just free roaming around and came across a train and I jumped onto it as it raced past. Over ravines and through tunnels it charged. I shot the train driver through the window just for the hell of it. The train hurtled on with no-one at the helm. I jumped off and found that I had travelled quite some distance from where I had got on. I found my way to a busy highway. Darkness was coming in fast and the juggernauts were tearing along the road. I managed to hijack a 4x4 towing a boat on a trailer. As I cruised along the highway I was struck by how smooth the graphics looked for the PS3. The lighting is beautiful and there was a fantastic reflection from the moon on the tarmac. I was driving sensibly, following the rules of the road. On the other side of the road was a 247 shop. I pulled over headed in for something to eat. The illumination from the windows, the realistic dust as I crossed the sandy median made me quite emotional. Ive been gaming since the ZX Spectrum was released, this was the first time that the gaming environment was believable enough to make me feel as if I was truly in a real world. Never have I seen such attention to detail, it is mesmerising.

Im so looking forward to online access because I want to explore this land with my friends. Its so much better when you discover something to have your friends with you. For me, the only downside so far is the delay in multiplayer because I will have discovered most things by then.

VinylJunkie

Anyone else notice the distinct lack of police cars roaming the streets? I only see them if they are chasing someone else or I'm close to a police station.

EdenHazard

Some of you might remember my opposition to Michael, how wrong I was, top man. They got his type perfect, not too old, not too stereotypical, perfect. Trevor I have my reservations about but yeah, ITS HERE

Mr Benevolent

VinylJunkie wrote: »

Anyone else notice the distinct lack of police cars roaming the streets? I only see them if they are chasing someone else or I'm close to a police station.

That's a bit more like reality, surely?

eyeball kid

It just got delivered and haven't loaded the disc yet but the map smells great!

cena

I have a feeling the driving well get boring very fast. It seems to take for ever to get fro a to b

My name is URL

First impressions are I can't drive for shit. I've never been able to grasp the whole L2 & R2 controls. Is there any way to change it so that X is accelerator and square is brakes? =p

KTRIC

I'm just free roaming at the moment and to be honest I'm not hugely impressed. Sure the graphics are great with some nice textures but its certainly not leaps and bounds from GTA IV.

Is anyones disc very noisy on the PS3? Usually my PS3 is very quiet but I can hear the GTA 5 disc reading everything and its very loud?

johndoe99

Deleted User wrote: »

Is anyones disc very noisy on the PS3? Usually my PS3 is very quiet but I can hear the GTA 5 disc reading everything and its very loud?

i notice this in the beginning but after about an hour of play not a sound.

Riesen_Meal

johndoe99 wrote: »

i notice this in the beginning but after about an hour of play not a sound.

Can't get over how quiet my Phat PS3 is with this game....

wendell borton

Installing, Five gigs or so to go, so near.....:D

My name is URL

Deleted User wrote: »

Is anyones disc very noisy on the PS3? Usually my PS3 is very quiet but I can hear the GTA 5 disc reading everything and its very loud?

My fan is very load after a few hours gameplay but I guess that's to be expected. I have an original launch model and tbh I'm surprised it hasn't exploded before now.

Just giving it an hour to cool down every so often.. can't afford to risk allowing it to overheat

titan18

My biggest problem so far is the damn text. How the hell did they think that was legible?

Hareton

titan18 wrote: »

My biggest problem so far is the damn text. How the hell did they think that was legible?

Yeah annoying having to pause and try re-read everything

KTRIC

titan18 wrote: »

My biggest problem so far is the damn text. How the hell did they think that was legible?

I had this problem at first, do you have 720p enabled in the PS3 display settings ?

desaparecidos

Graphics aren't as good as suggested in the promotional screenshots and videos. FPS get pretty low at times too.

I find it very hard to drive in the city with a shimmering, jaggedy mess in front of you.

titan18

KTRIC wrote: »

I had this problem at first, do you have 720p enabled in the PS3 display settings ?

Should I have?

TireeTerror

Deleted User wrote: »

Is anyones disc very noisy on the PS3? Usually my PS3 is very quiet but I can hear the GTA 5 disc reading everything and its very loud?

After I first installed it, it was stuttering all over the place. The game ran smoothly, but all of the sound was extremely choppy making the first missions useless as I couldnt understand the dialogue.

I restarted my PS3 and its been fine ever since. Im using the old original ps3.

.jacksparrow.

First impression was very similar to sa, but only ten mins in!

youreadthat

I've played about 3 hours and already had more fun than I ever did in GTA IV. Missions are really fun, great city and map, great atmosphere, love the driving, shooting and cover mechanics are much improved, graphics are great too.

HellboundIRL

I'm disappointed in the driving, there isn't as much of a difference between the cars, they're all too zippy and the bike handling doesn't feel right at all. I just don't find it as fun to drive around.

Still enjoying it a lot though.

youreadthat

I think the opposite. In IV everything handled like a truck. In this heavy cars feel....heavy like in IV, some sports cars are fast and handle like a dream, others fast but really unforgiving. Others slide a lot like in 4, others don't, some roll, some don't. For me it's a huge improvement in variation over IV.

SweetCaliber

Anyone know anything about the Airport, does it unlock after a few missions?

Don't like the idea of not being allowed to land at the airport

Hareton

SweetCaliber wrote: »

Anyone know anything about the Airport, does it unlock after a few missions?

Don't like the idea of not being allowed to land at the airport

There are other airports to land at

SweetCaliber

Hareton wrote: »

There are other airports to land at

I know but LS International is soo beautiful Not the end of the world just wondering.

krudler

youreadthat wrote: »

I think the opposite. In IV everything handled like a truck. In this heavy cars feel....heavy like in IV, some sports cars are fast and handle like a dream, others fast but really unforgiving. Others slide a lot like in 4, others don't, some roll, some don't. For me it's a huge improvement in variation over IV.

that, and being able to mod the suspension helps

johndoe99

do you remember the opening mission, was that Brucie from GTA4 in the car, looked and sounded like him, must be same actor voicing him.

jc84

Loving the game so far, huge improvement on gta4, anyone know if its possible to fly the bigger planes, can only seem to fly the smaller ones, im sure i heard somewhere u can fly all the planes

doubledown

jc84 wrote: »

Loving the game so far, huge improvement on gta4, anyone know if its possible to fly the bigger planes, can only seem to fly the smaller ones, im sure i heard somewhere u can fly all the planes

The Jumbos at the airport are flyable - but the cops will do everything in their power to stop you...

KTRIC

jc84 wrote: »

Loving the game so far, huge improvement on gta4, anyone know if its possible to fly the bigger planes, can only seem to fly the smaller ones, im sure i heard somewhere u can fly all the planes

I've seen some fighter jets sitting on the run way at what I presume is an air force base in the north. I did a fly over in a chopper and nearly got shot down.

Holsten

A++ and I've done just a few missions!

You can play fetch with your own dog! I love Chop!

Hareton

SweetCaliber wrote: »

I know but LS International is soo beautiful Not the end of the world just wondering.

Ah rite. Couldn't tell ya when it opens. Haven't played many of the missions yet.

johndoe99

just reading on IGN:

There are secret messages on the Special Edition version of the Blueprint GTA 5 map. The messages can be seen only with a UV (black) light.

I have no black light, damn.

Walshey96

I don't think the jumbos are flyable. Tried getting in one but had no luck. Could be wrong though

Dave 101

johndoe99 wrote: »

just reading on IGN:

There are secret messages on the Special Edition version of the Blueprint GTA 5 map. The messages can be seen only with a UV (black) light.

I have no black light, damn.

iphone app if ye hav one

edit: its a fake sorry

johndoe99

Dave 101 wrote: »

iphone app if ye hav one

no iphone. But there's a tutorial on how to make a simple one on youtube using a UV Led, which i have. But at the moment the controller is stuck to my hands

godwin

It's alright , doesn't really live up to the massive hype , just another GTA imo.

Holsten

johndoe99 wrote: »

just reading on IGN:

There are secret messages on the Special Edition version of the Blueprint GTA 5 map. The messages can be seen only with a UV (black) light.

I have no black light, damn.

I've a black light, there seem to be locations of stuff on the map, and writing on the back of it.

Really cool!