5/5 ★ – RawMetal's review of Grand Theft Auto V.

System: Xbox 360 Started: September 18, 2013 Ended: April 25, 2015 Flashback Review Grand Theft Auto V was the first Grand Theft Auto game I played and finished. My introduction to the series was at a friend's house in elementary school. He had a PlayStation 2 with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. I couldn't play any of the Grand Theft Auto games at home because they were rated M, and that whole violent video game controversy from the news made them a target. Therefore, my parents were aware of that notorious franchise. I played a bit of Vice City at my friend's and thought the soundtrack is still the best in the series. Another friend had Vice City and III, and I played a little of those too. San Andreas was skipped due to more controversy from the news thanks to that Hot Coffee Mod craze. Eventually I played it for a bit years after it first came out. And lastly, I never played IV, but I was okay with playing other M-rated games at the time, like Halo and Call of Duty. I didn't own any of the games until the fifth installment came out. I was old enough then and finally got my copy. The hype for this game was real when the first trailer dropped. My high school friends were eager to play it, and I even pre-ordered it when it was released. I played both Story and Online mode with friends and eventually played this game with my cousins. After completing the story, I spent most of my time playing online until everyone moved on to other games. Eventually, it was time for me to move on as well and put this game to rest. I had fun playing this game in both the main story and online. Grand Theft Auto V is set in a fictional Southern California setting in the 2010s called Los Santos. This isn't the first time you visit there, as San Andreas also took place in Los Santos, but it was set in the 90s. It's the first in the series to let you play three main protagonists who are intertwined in the main story: Michael, Franklin, and Trevor. The game introduces light RPG mechanics that allow each character to improve their skills, such as driving, combat, and stamina. And sometimes you do need to improve their skills because during the story you will be participating in heist missions. Which is literally the best part of the entire story mode. Outside of story mode, free roam lets you create mayhem by shooting, punching, running people over, committing robberies in stores and armored vehicles, going to strip clubs, banging hookers, earning money by playing the stocks, doing street racing, customize your car and license plate, and buying any vehicles, boats, and even planes. It's even better if you play this game on PC, which was released years later, and the mod community did a great job creating game modes and allowing infinite health and ammo. When I first played this game, there were no cheat codes available. Remember the early Grand Theft Auto days when cheat codes gave you infinite health, adjusted your wanted level, or let you get a tank or a DeLorean from Back to the Future? Unfortunately, Grand Theft Auto V doesn't have any of those, which is really disappointing. Additionally, the AI in this game is very touchy, making it challenging to stay alive. If you anger the cops, they go all out, and you'll be swarmed and killed in seconds if you're out in the open. This is why it's best to play this game on PC, where you can use mods. Gameplay-wise, it's a downgrade compared to Grand Theft Auto IV after watching some gameplay footage on YouTube. The online mode is similar to my experience with Red Dead Redemption II. You're dropped into the online world, and other players will try to kill you. It's an all-out war in Los Santos, and anything can happen, so you need a posse to join you on a killing spree. There's also a story in online mode with bonus co-op heist missions, which is cool. I'm not a veteran Grand Theft Auto player yet, as I still need to finish the other best games in the series. I've been hearing a lot of hardcore fans claiming that Grand Theft Auto V is overrated and actually has been downgraded from the fourth game and that Rockstar milked the series to death and has not made another game for another 5 years, and that was Red Dead Redemption II. But my thoughts for this game are that I had absolute fun playing this game. It still has that classic Grand Theft Auto gameplay, and it's set in the 2010s, perfectly capturing an imitation of Southern California during that period. There are some issues with touchy A.I. and cheap deaths, but if you plan to play this game, get it on PC for the mods. You're going to have a great time, especially with a partner. I give this game 5 stars, but if I fully played the previous games, including 4, I might like those games better.