Grand Theft
Auto V
Grand Theft
Auto V has finally been released on PC – and it was well worth the wait.
Rockstar’s open-world crime epic was released for last-gen consoles in 2013,
and a remastered HD version was released on PS4 and Xbox One in 2014, making
this, essentially, the third version of the game. Taking advantage of modern PC
hardware, it brings yet more visual improvements, as well as a suite of new
features exclusive to the PC version, including the remarkable Rockstar Editor.
It’s a tale
of three criminals: Michael, Franklin, and Trevor. Michael is a retired bank
robber living a life of luxury with his family in witness protection, but who
misses the excitement of his old life. Franklin is a streetwise repo man who
wants a better life for himself. Trevor is an unhinged meth dealer with a
seriously broken moral compass. They’re three very different characters,
brought together by a shared desire to break as many laws – and make as much
money – as possible.
Michael is
the most interesting of the three. Grand Theft Auto games typically chart the
rise of a criminal, but in Michael we see the bleak hangover of that success.
He has a palatial mansion, a luxury car, and all the comforts that wealth
brings, but he’s also deeply unhappy, spending his days reclining by the pool,
drinking whisky, and listening to Phil Collins. But a chance encounter with
Franklin, whose career has only just begun, triggers an extreme midlife crisis
that sees him returning to a life of crime.
The
characters are colourfully written and acted, but they’re frequently
overshadowed by their surroundings. The game’s setting is the fictional state
of San Andreas, an analogue of southern California that’s several times bigger
than GTA IV’s Liberty City. To the south lies the city of Los Santos – a
satirical reimagining of Los Angeles – and to the north you’ll find Blaine
County, a rural expanse of desert, mountain and forest. You can traverse this
vast space in a broad selection of vehicles, from muscle cars, motorcycles and
eighteen-wheelers to jet skis, fighter jets, and speedboats.
A wealth of
PC graphics options brings San Andreas to life in the most vivid detail yet.
There’s adjustable tessellation, motion blur, high resolution shadows, and
pretty much every setting you would expect from a modern PC game. It has native
support for 4K resolutions, although you’ll need a powerful GPU to take
advantage of this. But it scales impressively, running at 60fps on high-end and
medium-spec rigs.
t’s been a
long time coming, but Grand Theft Auto V’s PC debut is a triumph. It maintains
a slick 60fps on even mid-range PCs, with only a few visual compromises. It
offers a large number of adjustable options to tailor the game to the
strengths, or weaknesses, of your setup. The Rockstar Editor is endlessly
entertaining. The online heists are, with friends, some of the most fun you can
have in a multiplayer game. The single-player story is an exhilarating series
of increasingly absurd missions. And it all takes place in one of the richest,
densest, most atmospheric game worlds ever built.
Gameplay
Drive,
shoot, play tennis, raise a dog – there's not much you can't do in GTA V's
varied missions and hobbies. Open-world freedom has always been the greatest
asset and remains so here, although being unable to interact with anything
unless prompted leaves a sense of detachment.
The verdict
Five years
in the making, Grand Theft Auto V doesn't quite live up to expectations. The
central story boasts wonderful character moments but is narratively uninspired,
while action scenes require little skill. Despite its flaws, this is a
remarkable title with a wealth of content that puts most competitors to shame.
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