Grand Theft Auto Online: Heists just another letdown?

[Emmi]

Hey, I've been watching a lot of different GTA Online: Heists videos on youtube the last days. I've seen at least one walkthrough of each of the five heists by now and I came up with the following conclusion. Remember I haven't played them in person but I think that doesn't make a difference at all.

 

Well to say that this update adds 20-25 hours of additional gameplay is simply not true (that was said by R* to the press who were invited to a hands-on session last week). Rockstar must have included all the waiting in between the setup missions and the loading times of GTA Online in general. Nothing has been made available for the story mode, no vehicle, no masks, NOTHING. The heists are way too easy to pull off (even on hard, apart from the getaway at The Pacific Standard Job). The heists are just normal missions in a lot of ways.

 

I was very confident after seeing the first heist (The Fleeca Job) because this one has some really nice minigames (the drilling, the hacking minigame). I was hoping that more of this was introduced with the upcoming ones, even more challenging and complex than what The Fleeca Job offered - but sadly this was not the case at all. So for me the first heist (2 players) actually remained the best of all the five and for me will be remembered as one of the best heists of all GTA games to date due to the cool minigames. (Apart from the getaway, that could have been more intense but due to the banks location it was the best it could be I guess, this heist is superb).

 

The next three heists (Prison Break, Human Labs, ... A Funding) I thought didn't had much to do with a heist at all. I kinda have the same problem here that I have with the story of GTA V. Rockstar promised amazing heists to pull off and that M, T, F risk their lives to pull them off and Rockstar talked about the search for the almighty dollar, etc. etc. in the games description but well I totally thought of different things here. I was disappointed how the story (single player) turned out, all the FIB crap, etc. From the early descriptions Rockstar gave us (I think late 2011, early 2012) one might have thought that M, F, T pull off 5-6 heists ON THEIR OWN and to grab CASH. It turned out the first heist in the story mode was the only one to give me that feeling. Then the FIB came and all turned crap. But back to GTA Online: Heists. It's exactly the same here, the first one (The Fleeca Job) has to do with an actual bank and has nice minigames and is simply cool. The next three have nothing to do with a bank at all and it's just to get some crap stuff and no money at all. Then comes The Pacific Standard Job, it starts promising but ends up being another letdown of a heist. It takes place at a bank and is about stealing cash but it's soooo easy to steal the cash there, there's not even a hacking game included to open the safe (apart from the one with the letters, which is in the story mode too I think) but well it's very very very easy to open that safe and then all you have to do is run to the money and grab it, why not let us use the driller instead with the awesome minigame from the first heist and why limit us to the money on the table, why not let us drill the other stuff open and we have to face the consequences if we stay in the bank for too long, etc.

 

There's so many left opportunities with heists. To be honest I don't see what took Rockstar almost 2 years to give us this Heists update. It's nothing that special at all and Rockstar made a big mistake, they yet again didn't focus on bank heists but on other stuff - like stealing the Hydra - which to me isn't a heist at all. Sorry but that's my opinion. Heists have to do with robbing a bank.

 

I might update this post later but for now everything has been said.

 

 

UPDATE

 

Instead of focusing on five heists, why not open up some banks in Los Santos and Blaine County and let us plan and pull off our own heists.

 

1. Like add 10 new interiors for the banks located all throughout Los Santos and Blaine County,

2. let us enter these banks in free roam at will (during daytime as well as during night with only a couple of guards inside),

3. give us all the heists gear we got with this Heists update (driller, night toggles, hydra, etc.),

4. hide the driller and the other gear as well as the cars somewhere on the map,

5. protect them from being stealed by NPCs, the police, etc.,

6. you can pull the heists off alone or crew up with 2 or more GTA Online players,

7. you can steal the gear, vehicles, etc. by searching the map for them and then fighting the NPCs, cops which protect them,

8. add a quick inventory for heists gear only, if some gear is collected it gets automatically added to this inventory

9. give us all the heist clothes and masks,

10. let us put the masks on at will or not (which lets the police know your identity and chase you down even after the heist is completed)

11. get completely rid of the cutscenes (which are nonsense anyways, noone of the online players is talking so it's stupid),

12. get rid of seperating preparation missions to the main heist,

13. make usage of the hacking minigame and driller minigame when it's necessary.

14. now an example how a heist like that would turn out (non scripted, pure action, pure awesomeness)

 

EXAMPLE Heist:

 

In Los Santos near the Pacific Standard Bank ... (daytime)

 

GTA Online player 1: Hey we should go check out the Pacific Standard Bank. We could pull off a heist there tonight?

GTA Online player 2: Ye, absolutely. Let's go inside.

player 1: hm, there's a lot of ATM machines in there, you think we can hack them by using Lesters hacking tool?

 

pop-up bottom left of the screen: You can hack ATM machines everywhere at any time in San Andreas by using the hacking tool on your phone. Approach an ATM machine and open the application to do so.

 

player 2 and 1: oh yeah, we can definitely do it, did you also get the pop-up information? yeah totally awesome.

player 1: so that's for the ATM stuff, but how about stealing some money from their bank vault?

player 2: how do we make it through the doors? maybe we could use a rocket launcher? ye we should try that out. (they find out later that it doesn't work and they get informed that they have to look for a special gear to open the doors throughout San Andreas)

player 1: ok let's wait for nightime and we pull this off then, let's nort forget the bags for the money and gear, ok?

player 2: sure, let's meet in 2 hours at my apartment ok?

player 1: ye, I'll be there

 

player 1 and 2 inside player 2' s apartment and ready to pull off the heist (nighttime)

 

player 1: ok what car have we got?

player 2: I thought Sanchez would be best for this, let's think of the getaway, there'll probably be a lot of cops on the streets, we could use the subway station?

player 1: sounds like a plan, you got the gear, the driller?

player 2: yeah i was able to get it near Blaine County in the afternoon, it was located inside a cave, was protected by 5 NPCs but was quite easy to get tho

player 1: good, I checked if I have the hacking application on my phone, thank god I have. I think we can go?

player 2: ok, let's do this, you wanna drive?

player 1: ye ok, when it comes to the getaway I'll try to get in a car so we can seperate, ok?

player 2: if you want so, do it. I'll use the subway with my Sanchez

 

player 1 and 2 arrive at the Pacific Standard Bank (nighttime, guards inside)

 

player 1: so let's get rid of the guards first, let's just shoot 'em, I take care of the ATM machines afterwards and you go onto the locked doors, ok?

player 2: ok, let's go

 

player 1 and 2 kill all guards which activates an unexpected alarm and a time limit of 7 minutes before the cops storm the place.

 

player 1: shiiiiiit, what's that. counter on bottom right appeared, alarm on, cops incoming!!!! we gotta pull this off fast and get away from here

player 2: I'm working as quick as I can on opening the gates. how's hacking going on?

player 1: good

 

player 1 starts hacking tool, takes him around 2 minutes to hack one ATM machine without a fail

player 2 is working on opening the gates to get to the bank vault but their plan to blow them with the rocket launcher doesn't work

 

player 2: hey man, sh*t doesn't work with rocket launcher, I can't get the doors open, this ain't gonna end well for us. cops storming this place in 2 minutes!

player 1: let me try this

 

player 1 uses rocket launcher to break the doors, doesn't work and both get a pop-up information on their screen. To open the gates you have to get the special heists gear XXXXXXXX it is located somewhere in San Andreas

 

player 2 and 1: sh*t, ok this won't work today, we must get this gear first.

player 1: I managed to hack a few ATM machines but it's time for us to get away, cops already outside

player 2: so you still going for the car or you drive with me on the Sanchez?

player 1: let's go with the Sanchez through the subway

 

5 star wanted level, cops surrounding the place already for a few minutes, 10 seconds till they storm the bank

 

player 1: let's go, run!

 

player 1 and 2 run outside, use the rocket launcher to blow up all the cop cars, shoot and approach the Sanchez. both player hop on and drive to the subway entrance while the cops chase them.

 

how does the heist end. player 1 and 2 survive by escaping through the subway system. They get a bit of money from the ATM machines but the big deal still needs time they realized.

 

 

That's what I think would have been great to do, instead of five staged heists. They could have located the helicarrier on the ocean with the Hydra and the Yacht and let us pull off our own imagined heist there instead of having to do what's on the screen.

 

That's my opinion and maybe some agree with my concept. I think it would be the best to have in GTA Online!

Edited March 12, 2015 by R* E

[juantrapriguez]

I just wanted to keep the damn cop outfit.

[poley23]

The only issue besides the connection issues is the lack of the aircraft carrier and yacht in free roam. Not that i expected it to be

[Nacho Z]

I can't see the logic in saying that actually playing the heists yourself is no more fun than watching them being played on YouTube.

 

I can only offer my opinion but I've played the first two heists and I enjoyed every second of it. I didn't watch any videos of them beforehand as it would have stripped the fun away from doing them myself. Each to their own but you have an odd way of doing things.

[The Ost]

Remember I haven't played them in person but I think that doesn't make a difference at all.

That's where you're wrong.

[REXX]

Sorry, but watching videos is nothing like playing them. When you play them, the adrenaline going through you making sure you don't mess up is insane. Go play them, you'll be editing this post right after.

[999bats]

Heists have to do with robbing a bank.

 

 

completely wrong. a heist can be any sort of large scale robbery

[Moroder]

It really does make a difference if you played the heists or not. Sure, its easy to make an opinion if you are watching video's. But its harder ingame that just watching a stream. Rockstar did outdone themselves with Heists. And I dont say that just because I'm a fanboy. But because they took there time in creating setups and heists that are really on a level what you would expect in a SP version.

 

Try it. I'm sure your opinion will change.

[kABUSE]

Well... heists are exactly like normal missions. The only difference is that now everbody has a different role. I actually am totally okay with that. It's exactly what I have excepted.

 

The challenges like the $10.000.000 reward make them really interesting and they force people to communicate and work together.

 

Plus the way they are done right now, it shouldn't be too much trouble to implement more heists later on.

 

I like them and the way the are done.

Edited March 12, 2015 by kABUSE

[ShadoStalk3r_]

People can be really negative. So what if you've watched a video on YouTube? Play the heists, then make your opinion.

 

Personally, I love the new DLC. The heists are wicked.

[Relative007]

A Letdown no.

 

Frustratingly implemented, Absolutely.

 

- No good reason why if on Hard the Set-up Mission/Heists should fail instantly; in many instances you can complete the Set-up Missions with 2 people and 2 other people doing nothing.

- Loading back to Freeroam just means everyone loads back in at different times depending on their connection quality etc

- Not the Heists Leader, no progressed saved so a Crew Member could leave and you are potentially back to square one.

 

Quality of content is not an issue R* has, implementation/execution is.

[JON22]

All I hate is they fixed the airport gate. I loved getting vehicles stuck in it then punching the vehicle to make it jump about or blow up. Can't even do the youtube one where they park at the side of it then you touch the gate to hit the vehicle with it. R.I.P fun glitches.

[Uncle Sikee Atric]

Oh look! It is R*E.... Linked to a pointless clickbait site and out for publicity, I vented my feelings about you elsewhere on this forum.

 

As it is, you pop up here looking for a story and to advertise your turd feed?

 

Just letting others know your intentions before they reply to your opinions.... Go and play the Heists and come back with something more valuable.

 

As it is, I have a few more weeks to wait and I am not going to post anything about them until I have tried them.

 

You heard that here first!

[TheStranger_NL]

 

 

Remember I haven't played them in person but I think that doesn't make a difference at all.

That's where you're wrong.

He's so wrong.

i F ing love it, and i only played the 2person heist and the prison break, as the pilot. Still want to do the other roles, the other roles during the setups. And the 3 other heists on different roles.

 

This time you really have to work together as a team and its awesome. Even the setup missions are cool with the actual heist in mind, even when your role during a setup doesnt contain any shooting.

 

And then the actual finale when you and your team manage to fill in every of your roles perfectly and you see the plan coming together, its awesome.

 

i think rockstar really delivered from what ive seen so far and i know im going to have a lot of fun playing and replaying everything.

 

a PS for OP: i dont want to tell you what to do, but i didnt watch anything on youtube or reading what the missions are about. I wanted to see everything for myself, that way you are more surprised and amazed while actually playing and experiencing everything yourself. Its just a tip bro and im telling you, we spend 1-2 hours during the afternoon and atleast 4 hours in the evening playing the prison break. (With trial and error) but still..

We had a lot of fun and we have 3 more to go.

[Emmi]

Oh look! It is R*E.... Linked to a pointless clickbait site and out for publicity, I vented my feelings about you elsewhere on this forum.

 

As it is, you pop up here looking for a story and to advertise your turd feed?

Expressing your opinion here is one thing, but to insult me for no reason is a bit harsh. Everyone is free to have his personal signature here on this forum, I did not promote the site in the text so why the hate for this site, also it's the most quality you can get when it comes to R* fansites. Please calm down.

[Strix aluco]

So you're disappointed in the heists ... and you haven't played them yet?

[luisniko]

Quality of content is not an issue R* has, implementation/execution is.

 

^ Agree.

 

OP, I'm not pulling sh*t here, but you should try heist yourself. In regards of combat quality and flow, it's great, compared to immortal-ninja-terminator-with-offensive-weapons contact missions.

 

Heist itself often portrayed in the movie and game as robbing a bank and run with bag full of money. However, Heist is basically just a robbery on a heavy valuable thing. Even something like robbing ancient vase and diamonds like a classic anime character, Lupin The Third, had been doing is actually also considered as 'Heist'.

 

When I read your article, I think your point is on the 'story' of the heist itself. In that case, I agree with you. M, F and T didn't pursue the almighty dollar. They did heist just because they're f*cked by the government, except the final mission. Although it's good to have a different cause to do heist, the SP heist story itself didn't have much spark to me.

 

Sure there are a lot of improvements Rockstar can do with Online Heist, such as keeping the session alive when someone left because of various reason. I'm also sure they can add on another Heist.

Edited March 12, 2015 by luisniko

[Furry_Monkey]

 

Oh look! It is R*E.... Linked to a pointless clickbait site and out for publicity, I vented my feelings about you elsewhere on this forum.

 

As it is, you pop up here looking for a story and to advertise your turd feed?

Expressing your opinion here is one thing, but to insult me for no reason is a bit harsh. Everyone is free to have his personal signature here on this forum, I did not promote the site in the text so why the hate for this site, also it's the most quality you can get when it comes to R* fansites. Please calm down.

 

 

In fairness, you did shoot yourself in the foot with this one. Everyone on this forum will now see your "freelance writer" link and not bother to click it, because you've publicly stated that you make opinions on subjects without experience. Why on earth would anyone listen to your opinion after that?

 

I wonder what Rockstar Informer would think of that.

[Uncle Sikee Atric]

 

Oh look! It is R*E.... Linked to a pointless clickbait site and out for publicity, I vented my feelings about you elsewhere on this forum.

As it is, you pop up here looking for a story and to advertise your turd feed?

 

Expressing your opinion here is one thing, but to insult me for no reason is a bit harsh. Everyone is free to have his personal signature here on this forum, I did not promote the site in the text so why the hate for this site, also it's the most quality you can get when it comes to R* fansites. Please calm down.

In the several months I have been in the PC section of the forum, you have posted three posts. Two were, "PC version delayed to May, you heard it here first!" The third was after the Jan delay and was, "oh wow, I expected delays until May...."

 

It sort of tarnished my opinion, you can understand why as you provide nothing of benefit and actually looking at the site makes it clear it is clickbait.

 

Right now the OP is journalistic opinion, not actual play experience, before posting opinion like that, try the Heists yourself, then I might listen.

[Youdamnright]

Don't get me wrong I appreciate heists even came out at all for free, but the amount of promblems I've had, even just in free mode since the update is really annoying.

 

I've lost 400 k because I started planning a heist and got a connection error before anyone could join, so i forked it out again, this time I can get people to join but it won't ever launch with everyone in there. Can't join other heit's to get my money back or I forfeit my progress. It's stupid.

I've been home sick trying at different stages throughout the day since 12, its now 9pm here. Even left it for over an hour to fill up only for it to freeze upon launching. the update itself seems good enough but damned if I'll be able to play it before the next patch without any issues. As usual.

[Angerbox]

Complains about heists. Hasn't even played them yet.

 

Wow. This boy ain't well.

[Jaggs]

The heists are great gameplay wise. The servers have been absolutely terrible and that has made for a frustrating experience. If someone fails his task, likely someone will not be able to re-download the mission meaning you have to re-invite everyone (which is more miss than hit) and drive all the way back. Very annoying.

[We Are Ninja]

So you're disappointed in the heists ... and you haven't played them yet?

Thiiiiis. sh*tty troll thread is sh*ttier than the usual sh*tty troll threads. And in the unlikely that this isn't a troll thread, then OP has hit a new forum low by writing a wall of text about an experience that he hasn't actually experienced..

[UKPortista]

A Letdown no.

 

Frustratingly implemented, Absolutely.

 

- No good reason why if on Hard the Set-up Mission/Heists should fail instantly; in many instances you can complete the Set-up Missions with 2 people and 2 other people doing nothing.

- Loading back to Freeroam just means everyone loads back in at different times depending on their connection quality etc

- Not the Heists Leader, no progressed saved so a Crew Member could leave and you are potentially back to square one.

 

Quality of content is not an issue R* has, implementation/execution is.

 

That's about it in a nutshell.

 

When it all comes together, Heists offer some truly great and satisfying GTAO moments (4 jets fleeing the aircraft carrier to the sound of 'Danger Zone' immediately springs to mind). However, actually getting the stars to align so it does come together can often be incredibly difficult. It really shouldn't be this laborious.

[richard1997jones]

I haven't played the heists yet but it looks pretty good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-dNKEZInMc

[Synophrys]

The Heists and new features are brilliant.
The only issue is the servers, I have a 35Mb/s download, so it's not on my end R* xD.

[concolt]

If you haven't played them yet then your opinion is invalid. Heists are the best update to GTA Online to date. Now there servers are the worst.

[malcolmfunktion]

"Just another let down". f*ck off, I'm sick of it!

[Black Terminator]

How can anyone complain about the Heist missions based on videos? Looking and actually playing are two entire different things. Plus the Heist can be based on any crime you do when it comes to big rich money.

[volta2001]

Heists are fun as f*ck. Hours of enjoyment , and they're FREE. Come on now