Has GTA Online lived up to it's expectations 4 years on? - TRAILER RECAP

[russeler97]

So, GTA Online has been out for over 4 years now, would you say it's fulfilled it's purpose, or gone way over the top?

 

Original announcement Trailer for reference:

 

 

[REXX]

Voted Yes x3. Not a day goes by where I get bored in GTA Online. Its had major changes, loads of vehicles added, new ways to play etc. They have to try and please everyone and despite the inflation and there being a few things I'm not fond of, I still play everyday.

 

Props to Rockstar!

Edited December 22, 2017 by REXX

[SHADOW OPS]

For me personally yes. Never has a game offered as much variety IMO. Never a dull moment freemoding!

[dino722]

Im addicted since day 1...there is literally no other game that has gave me so many feelings, such a big comunity with different player styles. So much to do...I love it, but I think it will be my first and last online game il ever play, it was pure addiction.

[III-Ari-III]

Im addicted since day 1...there is literally no other game that has gave me so many feelings, such a big comunity with different player styles. So much to do...I love it, but I think it will be my first and last online game il ever play, it was pure addiction.

 

HA, wait until gta 6 comes..

[Sanches]

Online has grown up for sure and i still play it. But there's just so much things that interrupt my enjoyment.
Still, even with all that crap it's one of best games i've ever played.

Edited December 22, 2017 by Sanches

[JuniorChubb]

I still enjoy the game... it has changed though, it has lost its naivety and has slowly slid towards becoming a cash cow for R* however if you approach the game in the right way all the fun things are still there and a lot of new ones too.

 

I have sloped off to play other games but always come back to GTAO.

[Rafae]

Exceeded my expectations by a landslide

[HaIfricanHammer]

It's the most next generation game out on the market today.

[IceDree]

Most definitely Yes on all counts.

[Smooth Longsack]

and then some.

[deadx23]

If you're still playing then yes.

[Nutduster]

Voted "other" on the first question. The answer there for me is both yes and no.

 

In some ways, it VASTLY exceeded my wildest expectations. The game evolved constantly for years, and is still doing so. They added more (and more and more and MORE) stuff, including quite a lot of playable content, and only rarely stripped out things that were there before - most notably taking away the old free roam random events, and disabling a few missions. Otherwise, this game turned into a mountain of content. A new player picking it up today could do one activity after another for weeks and never repeat himself. In that sense it is the ultimate GTA experience - the promise of the single player games fulfilled.

 

It also offers no shortage of variety. Any kind of car you want to drive, or plane/heli you want to fly. You can live in a ton of different places and look like almost any kind of criminal (or hipster douchebag) you want. The map is huge, gorgeous and diverse, and the stuff they gave us to buy and do in that map takes you everywhere and lets you have a thousand different experiences packed into one game. Again, kind of amazing.

 

On the other hand, the design of the game is fundamentally flawed in such a deep way that it makes me angry. The amount of grinding to buy and experience all the content they keep piling on is psychotic. Prices keep going up and the only way to afford stuff is to stay on the treadmill, sweating out pathetic amounts of money per hour relative to what you want to buy. Some quality content is paywalled behind dozens of hours of grind. Other content is badly compromised because it makes you money and so they intentionally made it take longer (which is boring) or force you to take massive risks in public free roam. They weaponized frustration and boredom; they made huge aspects of their game worse on purpose in order to sell microtransactions. This is just undeniable to me, and it ultimately wrecked my enjoyment of the game.

 

In addition to that, they have no clue how to balance PvP play, or how to allow PvE content to properly exist alongside PvP. The game's PvP design is a scam. Superiority over your fellow players is determined much less by skill than by how much GTA$ you've earned, stolen or paid for. Every update they add new toys that you need to remain competitive, constantly escalating the toolbox simply to motivate players to buy; this means a player using 2013's weapons (the lowly Buzzard, the carbine rifle, heavy sniper, the regular RPG) against anyone with 2017's weapons (the Lazer, homing rockets, explosive sniper, etc.) would get demolished unless they were twice as good as the other guy. It is a bad system that designers of any real, competitive PvP game would laugh at. And it would be tolerable if PvP weren't like 80% of the experience nowadays. The game is a mess in this regard and their only incentive is to keep making it worse because it actually makes MORE money when it's a clusterf*ck.

 

In answer to the other questions, I loved it for 3 years and tolerated it for some months after that. In the wake of Gunrunning I was broke (despite at various times possessing many tens of millions, all legitimately earned). My attempts to enjoy the new content (in free roam, by developer mandate) and make money were constantly harassed by other players, as their design intended. By the time of the next update I couldn't be bothered to grind anymore, so I logged in, bought a hangar and one plane, and was broke again. I tried to do a new mission and was blown up on the runway outside my own hangar. I logged off, and that's the last time I played GTA Online. I just don't have the energy anymore to put up with so much bullsh*t to enjoy the good parts.

Edited December 22, 2017 by Nutduster

[Volganor]

Voted yes on all.

 

I was as hyped as a person could be the moment I arrived home to play it. I wasn't lucky enough to have been with it from the start but have seen it grow a fair amount and I can say I've experienced a fair bit of everything it has to offer.

 

Despite its flaws and room for growth, it's still the game I fire every chance I get ever since I bought it. It's certainly part of the small roster of games I'd keep if I was forced to part with most of the ones I have. Plus, there's so much going on with it right now that it will keep me occupied for the months to come, even if RDR2 steals its thunder for a little bit and updates become more spaced out.

 

When it comes for room for improvement and shortcomings, I criticise it and wish for the remedy of where it falters, but my appreciation for the thousands of hours of entertainment it has given me never goes away. It's that child we have that, like its brothers and sisters, sometimes fails and disappoints me, but I still love it nonetheless and support it, and I never regret having gotten it.

 

To be honest, it's so expansive and vast that I'm not even paying attention to the rest of the gaming industry. GTA has all I could ask for, along with my other favourites, so I am definitely here to stay.

 

And, if I ever feel tired of it, I can always revisit the older games and complete them 100%, along with Skyrim, Dark Souls and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. But, again, with everything that is going on, I don't see it happening any time soon.

 

Here's for the game's continued growth and support. I certainly am ecstatic to see where we go next.

Edited December 22, 2017 by Volganor

[Lonely-Martin]

Yes, but a little OTT.

Yes

Yes (Though had to walk away for a good period, Gunrunning nearly killed it. No more freemode).

 

This game has by far exceeded what I expected. To be fair, the story mode did too back in 2013, and the additions in the game on current gen's story, plus it's awesome graphics, really gave that another shot in the arm for me too.

 

Online. Wow!. No words I've got can describe what I've gotten from this game. From the lone sessions where I learned something new, to the 'lol' moments I still have through sheer stupidity and clumsiness. There's just so much Fun and potential out there. Get bored of one thing, there's a good few other things to try/learn/conquer in our own way.

 

The game this year has shown it's weaknesses, in my opinion, and for my tastes. But this last DLC was a huge improvement on the last 2, and I'm refreshed and having fun again.

 

Yeah, there's stuff I don't like, but we each face that. An Oppressor to me might be horrible, but to the next player, my preferences might be equally horrible to them too.

 

The people met. Awesome. Yes, a few bad spells and disagreements I'd prefer to leave behind me, but for the large part, just made my game 100 times better, hopefully theirs too. Well, some ain't left me yet, lol.

 

Going forward though, amazing potential even higher than I could imagine now. Anything's possible. RDR2 is looking awesome, i know it won't suit all, but to look at, stunning. I hope to get even half what I got from this game going into anything, as I know it will be cash well spent.

 

Just cautious given current hop topics among the gaming world, as I want GTA/R* to remain high on my list of 'must buy's'.

 

Can't wait to see what the future brings really.

Edited December 22, 2017 by KWF1981

[IamCourtney]

Yes, yes, yes. I came into GTAV back in 2013 expecting to primarily play single player and dabble in multiplayer only a little, like I had in GTAIV and RDR.

 

4 years later, GTAO is still my most played game by far, the only thing I really play on PS4 anymore.

 

Though I don't think it really, truly began realizing its full potential until the focus began to shift toward free roam with the VIP and subsequent updates. That is and always will be the heart of GTAO for me. Still, I love Doomsday and I hope we see a good mix of free roam and PvE stuff added in the future.

 

4 More Years!

[Nutduster]

On a side note about this poll, I don't know what you hope to learn here. I imagine the majority of players who stop playing also stop posting here. I'm an exception because I invested a lot of time into this game and am hoping for improvements on its problems in the future (whether that's GTA Online 2, or Red Dead Online, or whatever may come next).

[Tonguegirl]

I stopped playing about six months ago (pre-gunrunning) because the grind was just annoying me and the new content felt repetitive and slightly lazy.

I've kept a casual eye on the releases since then and I have to say I'm eager to start playing again.

 

I was beginning to think that R* weren't putting all that much effort into it, but seeing what they've done now I'm genuinely excited. The fact that they've made a new heist (even though they said in the past that they wouldn't), is, in my opinion a clear indication that they are commited to making GTAO bigger and better. It seems they're taking a 'kitchen sink' approach and trying to give everyone everything they've ever wanted.

 

Jet Packs ffs, bless 'em

Edited December 22, 2017 by Tonguegirl

[FlacidJack]

I think the game is better than the trailer but there's one part that gets to me... "persistent and continuously expanding world". Makes me think they planned on expanding the physical world but four years later we're still stuck on the same never-expanding small island.

[Nutduster]

I think the game is better than the trailer but there's one part that gets to me... "persistent and continuously expanding world". Makes me think they planned on expanding the physical world but four years later we're still stuck on the same never-expanding small island.

 

I don't know that they ever planned that. The Benz said some vague things about it well before GTA V came out, but it sounded like a long-term roadmap for future games, not for GTA V and its immediate DLCs (at least that's how it sounded to me).

[IamCourtney]

I think a map expansion/new map is more likely than ever now. If you'd asked me if I thought it would happen a month ago I'd have said "Probably not" but now, after a whole new heist appeared outta f*cking nowhere, I'm ready to believe.

 

A map expansion is really the only thing they can do to top themselves at this point, short of announcing GTAO2, which I doubt is anywherw close to happening.

[shmok2]

Trailer still looks very good.

 

Ever since I came back to the game in March 2017 it's the only game I play and I play it almost everyday. In the past I switched to a new game every 2 months +/- but I don't see the point of playing something else because no other game can give me the freedom and variety I get in GTA online. imo this is the greatest gaming achievement humanity has produced thus far.

[FlacidJack]

 

I think the game is better than the trailer but there's one part that gets to me... "persistent and continuously expanding world". Makes me think they planned on expanding the physical world but four years later we're still stuck on the same never-expanding small island.

 

I don't know that they ever planned that. The Benz said some vague things about it well before GTA V came out, but it sounded like a long-term roadmap for future games, not for GTA V and its immediate DLCs (at least that's how it sounded to me).

 

If my memory serves me right (which is rare) one of the Houser bros said someyhing like they could import or make any map and add it to the game easily. I just always assumed that sentence in the trailer meant expanding the physical world, not just the activities on the current island. I guess I expected more simply because of the way I interpret that sentence, I still love the game though, it has really come a long way in 4 years.

[HeavyDuke]

I would put it like this:

 

Fun factor ratings:

 

Online 2013: 8/10

2014 7/10

2015 6/10

2016 5/10

2017/ 4/10

 

It just keeps getting worse, less GTA 'Grand Theft Auto' and more of a cashgrab warzone. Not the GTA i loved so much.

 

So yeah at first it lived up to the trailer, now its Great Tryhard Adventures.

 

To me GTA IV's online felt like a 9/10, a real sandbox experiance. Had some flaws but boy it was fun until mod menu abusers ruined the lobbies on PS3.

Edited December 22, 2017 by HeavyDuke

[nido997]

triple Yes for me .....

it was a nice 4-year run in deed for GTAO ( I´m playing since around 2 years now , on PC ) , and I feel that the game still has a huge potential ....

Edited December 22, 2017 by nido997

[BRAAAP_STUTUTU]

Definitely, there is no game as polyvalent as gta online, it is the ultime jack of all trades master of none, it's not the best at anything but it's definitely the best at doing everything

[Stormingz]

Been here since day one of GTA online (albeit on and off) voted yes on all three.

Edited December 22, 2017 by Stormingz

[HamwithCheese]

I remember how excited I was when I first saw the trailer. Despite the game being broken, vanilla gtao lived up to its expectations.

 

I may have many issues with the game, it certainly hasn't gotten worse.

Edited December 22, 2017 by HamwithCheese

[*Lola]

I don't find interest in every game they (Rockstar) made, but the two I've found interest in keeps me looking forward to more from them.

Top shelf developers, artists and game programmers etc...

GTAO is by far the best game out there.

I hope RDR2 is on the same level.

 

[Geisterfaust]

I still enjoy playing GTA Online and that's the only game I play (occasional 20-30 mins in Project cars 2 are not really important). Chances are, it will be the last game I would play, considering what's going on with the industry and my indifference to sports-based games like Fifa and others. A lot of things in this game are out of order: traffic, AI in general, PvP balancing, freemode treatment, etc. But honestly, the map is exceptional, optimization (for PC version) is great, graphics is quite competitive, content is rich.

 

But as Nutduster said, PvP freemode is a scam, but some people managed to scam the scammers and cooperate in a right way.