Grand Theft Auto V Revisited

A few days ago, I was lucky enough to see our fellow blogger Sean. We exchanged various insults but we also exchanged PS4 games: We traded his copy of GTA V for my copy of The Evil Within. I totally think I won that trade.

I barely played The Evil Within, so I can't give any solid opinion on it, but from what I’ve played, it's more in the vein of horror games which aren't my jam. Getting chased by crazy people with chainsaws? I'll pass.

Of course I wouldn't mind being on the other side of the chainsaw, and that’s where GTA V comes into play. I've already played it but I was eager to have a second go at it. Most of you know about the updated version, but in case you aren’t aware: updated visuals, better frame rates, and some added features like First Person mode.

Flipping people off is so much more gratifying now!

I'm not sure what people's opinions are of the First Person mode but I'll say this: it's a welcome addition in my books. You probably wouldn't find me playing a mission in first person, but it does add something new for people who've already played the game. The extra mode does feel fairly fleshed out rather than tacked on. I’ve found myself sticking to first person mode while driving as it’s just more fun to drive this way. My one minor gripe is that the side and rearview mirrors are too blurry to use as real mirrors. It’s a shame and I wish they took the extra time to make those mirrors actually usable.

Uh…those are speed holes. They make the car go faster.

Needless to say, the game runs and looks better. I haven't seen any slowdown at all, which allows me to immerse myself into the game much more than last-gen’s version. The game was already great as it was, but there was slowdown at times which was forgivable last year. On better hardware, I’m hard-pressed to ever go back to the 360/PS3 version ever again.

Like my parking?

In terms of audio, they also added a buncha new tracks, so the listening experience has also changed. I’m nuts for Radio Los Santos, but you’ll catch me listening to Flylo and Non-Stop Pop from time to time. Another interesting (or gimmicky) feature is that phone conversations are played through the PS4s controller, which makes characters sound like they’re actually on the phone with you. A nice touch in my opinion, and if it annoys you, you can switch it back to playing through your regular audio setup.

So all of this is great, but is it worth the $70? Sadly, I’d say not at all. The additions, while very welcome, do not justify the game’s price point. I was lucky enough to have traded for it, which only cost me about $40 in the end. So, basically the only flaw with this game is pricing. Rockstar already milked every gamer last year, so I don’t see why people would see value in this game at $70. It’s a douche move, and maybe it wasn’t Rockstar who decided on the pricing, but rather Take-Two.

Still, for the few who haven’t touched GTA V last gen, this gen’s version is the definitive one. It was easily one of the best games of 2013, and with beefier hardware I could say it’s made necessary improvements to immerse gamers moreso. With new offerings being scarce this year, I could argue that GTA V is the best game of 2014 as well.