GTA 5 lost "that GTA feel"?

[Prenihility]

Funny how you say "GTA feel" because what I always thought about GTA V was very, very esoteric admittedly. As a designer, sometimes I communicate in "mood boards" or other types of imagery. I just like to call it imagery. The entire mood of the GTA I know and love; especially where I thought the series would go can believe it or not be encapsulated in the most arbitrary and unassuming place in GTA V. The absolutely amaze-balls Pause Menu music. I also have to give credit where credit is due and point out APB's ability to pull this off. I suppose what I want to say is that GTA needs some seriously heavy prescription doses of ATMOSPHERE above all else. But I won't even bother getting into the fact that the story is so powerfully and indescribably boring, and the fact that the game basically plays like a Mundane Real Life Activity Simulator. If it wasn't for the comic relief of some characters, especially Trevor... I would've GTAIV'd GTAV (Beaten it over the course of almost 2 years because of how painfully boring it was).

[TheSantader25]

5 hours ago, Official General said:

Not entirely true bro.

 

I followed the pre-release news and previews of GTA IV real hard, every crumb of info I could get. Rockstar made it very clear from early on that buying safehouse properties would not feature in the game, and their reason was that it was not suited to the game's structure and narrative. Now, I will still very disappointed by that (and I still am), but to be fair to Rockstar they misled no one on this with IV, so I find it difficult to understand how many people would have expected to see this feature in IV. In the end, after playing through the story many times, I can see why safehouse properties were not very necessary to better the experience, but I would have still liked much more stuff to spend my money on in IV.

I didn't follow the news that closely to know that and I still think it doesn't make sense for them to not be there. Actually the fact that Niko is moving in different parts of LC is a good enough reason for the feature to exist. If anything I'd say it makes as much sense as V for the feature to be available in IV. Still disappointing as hell. But hey R* didn't lie back in 2008 so that's something. 

 

I never liked how R* valued Narrative over Gameplay features since the start of the HD era. They did it with V, IV, RDR and RDR2 when it came to certain situations. Gameplay is the most important part of a videogame for me. It's like they don't care about what we do in free mode anymore and it's all about the story. 

Edited April 5, 2019 by TheSantader25

[Beato_dim]

 

5 hours ago, TheSantader25 said:

I never liked how R* valued Narrative over Gameplay features since the start of the HD era. They did it with V, IV, RDR and RDR2 when it came to certain situations.

I don't really think they did it in V. Would you like to elaborate?

[TheSantader25]

1 hour ago, Beato_dim said:

 

I don't really think they did it in V. Would you like to elaborate?

V probably has been influenced less by this but here's three examples. 

 

-No interiors are open after the missions. If they cared about free mode they would open them. 

 

-Vehicles like weaponized JB700, Skylift and Cutter are mission only because they are "one of a kind" story wise. 

 

-The second you try something creative in a mission you'll fail because your idea is kind of silly when you think about it story wise. 

 

I know it might sound like a lot of work but these features have been developed to fit within the missions so if R* really cared about freedom like before they would put in a little bit of extra effort to make them free mode compatible. 

 

To elaborate more, remember the mission G-Spotlight in VC where you had that elevator and that building's interior where you could use your bike to access that chain of jumps? If the same mission was made by the HD era R* I highly doubt the elevator+interior would be accessible after the mission. This is a very brief example of how they have changed. 

Edited April 5, 2019 by TheSantader25

[Guest TurismoSS]

I 100% agree,GTA V has become a literal sh*tfest.

[El Penguin Bobo]

2 minutes ago, TurismoSS said:

I 100% agree,GTA Online has become a literal sh*tfest.

FTFY.

[Yinepi]

2 hours ago, TheSantader25 said:

V probably has been influenced less by this but here's three examples. 

 

-No interiors are open after the missions. If they cared about free mode they would open them. 

 

-Vehicles like weaponized JB700, Skylift and Cutter are mission only because they are "one of a kind" story wise. 

 

-The second you try something creative in a mission you'll fail because your idea is kind of silly when you think about it story wise. 

 

I know it might sound like a lot of work but these features have been developed to fit within the missions so if R* really cared about freedom like before they would put in a little bit of extra effort to make them free mode compatible. 

 

To elaborate more, remember the mission G-Spotlight in VC where you had that elevator and that building's interior where you could use your bike to access that chain of jumps? If the same mission was made by the HD era R* I highly doubt the elevator+interior would be accessible after the mission. This is a very brief example of how they have changed. 

Agree completely. I've said this before but GTAV is the game that broke the core values of the series. One look at the GTA1's back cover which reads exactly as "Open ended mission structure - complete jobs the way YOU want to."

There just isn't enough freedom in GTAV. Content locked away for the sake of "story". Missions with ridiculous limitations and linearity. One very notable example is bury the hatchet where the player can't even leave more than a few meters from the Asea and the primary route (noted on the radar) to explore a map [North Yankton] that Rockstar spent hundreds of hours designing. GTA has been becoming less open-ended with every iteration and in many areas GTAV took it too far.

What's the point in creating open world games if they're not truly open world? People love to hate on Saints Row, but that's one thing I loved about that series. It was always gameplay over story.

Edited April 5, 2019 by Yinepi

[TheSantader25]

1 hour ago, Yinepi said:

Agree completely. I've said this before but GTAV is the game that broke the core values of the series. One look at the GTA1's back cover which reads exactly as "Open ended mission structure - complete jobs the way YOU want to."

There just isn't enough freedom in GTAV. Content locked away for the sake of "story". Missions with ridiculous limitations and linearity. One very notable example is bury the hatchet where the player can't even leave more than a few meters from the Asea and the primary route (noted on the radar) to explore a map [North Yankton] that Rockstar spent hundreds of hours designing. GTA has been becoming less open-ended with every iteration and in many areas GTAV took it too far.

What's the point in creating open world games if they're not truly open world? People love to hate on Saints Row, but that's one thing I loved about that series. It was always gameplay over story.

IV started it though In my opinion and V continued the legacy. Not looking promising for VI. I gotta admit I had more fun in V's free mode in comparison to IV. way more. But when I look at the 3D era games, I just feel sad that the series stopped progressing forward after IV and V. Both were a few steps forward and a lot backwards. 

Edited April 5, 2019 by TheSantader25

[Ondr4H]

I have same feelings as you Santander25.

What I really like from older GTA, that there were so much do to after story missions.Nothing feels forced or out of place.

GTA V feels like older Mafia game, where you beat story and you can uninstall game because there is nothing to do in city.City is only coulisse for story missions.

What I really expected, some gang wars, drug wars, truck missions. Only thing that we get instead are stupid arms trafficking missions for Trevor.You even need to buy hangar to have this washed fun.

Everything else sounds great on paper but boredom in gameplay.
You want tuning?Well, only four car you can store and when destroyed they are gone.So why waste time to do this?
Buying vehicles?Only fun for first and last time.

GTA V feels like demo version of GTA Online and thats very sad.

They learn a lot for RDR2, but I think there never will be singleplayer DLC.And also you finish game and you get same boredom, and thats very sad from company that invented City Sandbox as we know it.

[danosky]

For me, GTA still had this "greater than life" feel. A lot of the stuff I do in game and in the missions are things I would never consider doing in real life not only because they are illegal, but also because of how outrageous they are. I personally enjoyed the set-up missions for the heists, even if money is a bit scarce in the beginning-mid game because most missions won't give you any money (f*ck Weston). The game has some issues, but I feel they stem from the fact that you don't have much to do after the end game, no dlcs and R*s decision to abandon single player en lieu of the more profitable online portion of the game. (One I still haven't touched nor will touch) If they had focused some more time to  flesh out the game instead of focusing solely in the online part we'd have a truly epic game instead of a great one.

[Algonquin Assassin]

On 4/5/2019 at 7:52 PM, xXPinguXx said:

FTFY.

 

GTA V might have its issues and is FAR from being my favourite GTA, but if I was locked in a room and forced to choose GTA V or GTAO I would pick GTA V all day long. GTAO is the biggest f*ckfest I have ever seen in gaming. 

[Bratva Assassin]

GTA V is FAR from my favorite GTA, as well as FAR from my favorite video game in general. I also agree that it is absolutely NOT without its various issues! However, if I was forced to play nothing but either GTA V or GTA Online, I would pick GTA V ANY day of the week! Additionally, if I was locked in my bedroom, the key was thrown away, and I was forced to play either GTA V or Fortnite, I would go with GTA V in a heartbeat! Other games that I would MUCH rather play GTA V than include (but aren't limited to) Minecraft, Roblox, Mafia 3, and all futuristic Call of Duty games (except for AW and BO2). GTA Online is in a league of its own when it comes to being a mistake in gaming. Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, Mafia 3, and the bad futuristic Call of Duty games aren't quite as bad as GTA Online, but they're pretty damn close and are so bad that they literally make GTA V look like a delicious dish of meat, potatoes, and ketchup!

Edited April 6, 2019 by ThatKyloRenGuy

[Shade04rek]

I think it's mainly the story that failed a lot in capturing that gta feel, where the gameplay of the world only has a few issues. 

 

The story for one, wasn't centered around the underground crime world and possible characters from that world, instead being all about government agencies, a rich guy, and a paramilitary company. Not showing much about characters and criminals in the city made it feel as if we were missing out on what happens in the urban side of ls. Some missions gave a taste of it, but it's all just fodder when it comes to the main story and learning about that world. It's even more clear after meeting people like stretch and madrazo. We know they are up to SOMETHING, but don't really see any of it. There are gangs, but we don't see what they do nor who they work under, nor the apparent "OG's" that exist. We hear things about madrazo running a crime ring, but we don't SEE it. Even the biker gang was reduced to fodder enemies with zero story characters behind them to flesh out their purpose (obviously because they were killed off and wasted in trevors introduction). Besides all that, I ultimately attribute most of the (imo) poor story execution to forcing 3 protagonists, and the heist theme, and convoluted reasons to do said heists.

 

As for the gameplay, it's simple as mechanics being dumbed down as I'm sure many have heard all too often, such as the infamously lacking interiors and activities outside of missions. The biggest flaw might be the brain-dead npc's, which just seemed straight downgraded from IV. No washing windows or manning hotdog booths, they don't fight each other nor do much of anything on their own, just run away from any interaction that disturbs their idle or walking animation. They have been reduced to being only fodder that walks up and down sidewalks forever like 3d era npc's.

[Killerman29]

the good thing about 3D era that HD era lacks, is the amount of things to do and the hours you can expend without playing a single story mission, it's clearly a step back in GTA V, for me the story in general feels like a COD campaign, is too linear and rushed

[El Penguin Bobo]

To me? No, it hasn't. Saying it lost its GTA feel, as some people said, is going a bit too far imo. Whenever I play it, I feel like I'm playing a GTA game.

 

Online however, lost its "GTA feel" with Arena Wars and you spend 40% of the game purchasing overly expensive cars. Shouldn't even be called Grand Theft Auto at this point.

Edited April 22, 2019 by xXPinguXx

[KingAJ032304]

On 5/2/2018 at 2:22 AM, Masny said:

 

I have to quote myself to give explanation what I meant.

 

I'm a big fan of GTA since... ever. I played all GTA games that were relased.

Beggining of funny, a bit crappy GTA1 around 1999-2000 when I was 8 yo kid. Year later, GTA2 came to my hands, then GTA3, VC, SA, LCS, VCS, IV and V.

I wasted many, many, many hours on these games. Even GTA V stole me absurdly big amount of time (and money - I had a copy on PS3, PS4 and PC).

 

So, I think I can call myself a GTA fan.

 

GTA V IS REALLY, REALLY GOOD GAME.

But... stupid. Fun - but stupid. You can play and win this game without using brain once.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Anyway - GTA V feels to much different than other GTAs. I... I don't really know why. And I don't like this feeling.

Yes, GTA IV was different too - but in positive kind of way.

 

I may guess - I don't like this game [gta5] as much as others GTAs because of weird driving mechanics and cars behaving very randomly (driving a car in car game not being fun is a big problem I think) bikes are crap, planes are crap,... Only helicopters aren't that bad.

 

Guns have no power in sounds, sounds really like a crap. "phew phew" is a best way to describe it I think. Seriously, GTA2 have better gun sounds than V (shotgun!).

 

There is some kind of "fake" feel in this game. Everyhing is fake, not just Amanda's boobs.

THATS EXACTLY THE WHOLE POINT OF WHAT GTA 5 IS GOING FOR! It's a paraody of action movies.

[billiejoearmstrong8]

13 hours ago, KingAJ032304 said:

THATS EXACTLY THE WHOLE POINT OF WHAT GTA 5 IS GOING FOR! It's a paraody of action movies.

I don't believe that. Every GTA game parodies movies/action movies in various ways. Vice City is basically Scarface for example. But they're still able to retain the feeling that you're a real criminal doing this stuff and not an actor pretending to be one. In V because of numerous things, one being the incredibly restrictive and linear way you're forced to complete missions, another being a lack of focus on the criminal world, you increasingly feel like you're playing through a pre-written role in a film as the game goes on. When you fail a mission for such things as driving a car a few feet away from the pre-determined route it feels like a director says "cut, take two" because an actor went out of shot, not like you're truly a criminal on a mission.

Edited April 30, 2019 by billiejoearmstrong8

[Beato_dim]

On 4/5/2019 at 1:42 PM, Yinepi said:

One very notable example is bury the hatchet where the player can't even leave more than a few meters from the Asea and the primary route (noted on the radar) to explore a map [North Yankton] that Rockstar spent hundreds of hours designing. GTA has been becoming less open-ended with every iteration and in many areas GTAV took it too far.

To be fair, you can't really explore LC in San Andreas that much...

[HaRdSTyLe_83]

On 4/30/2018 at 10:17 AM, Domac said:

Something else I want to mention: you die too easily, and the car explosions

I don't know what happened, but you can die too easily in GTA V. Jump from a small building and you're dead. Get run over by a car, instant death.

The car explosions are not what they used to be. Now if a car explodes next to other cars, the other cars will instanly explode too, they won't catch on fire first like they used to.

 

all changes for the better.

[Syrens]

After San Andreas I personally felt like GTA4 was more guilty of not feeling like a "GTA Game" and in my opinion 5 managed to get that "feel" back for me.  But it's all personal opinion, I'm sure arguments could be made for both cases until we're all long gone.

[billiejoearmstrong8]

5 hours ago, Beato_dim said:

To be fair, you can't really explore LC in San Andreas that much...

You can try though and explore what you physically have access to. You're not treated like you're being naughty for not sticking perfectly to a script. It's the same thing with how you're physically prevented from harming friendly characters or shooting/fighting inside a building. Changes like this are the opposite of what GTA is supposed to be. In GTA you're supposed to be a criminal with freedom to do bad things not an actor who has to follow the rules and follow a strict predetermined route.

[D9fred95]

46 minutes ago, billiejoearmstrong8 said:

You can try though and explore what you physically have access to. You're not treated like you're being naughty for not sticking perfectly to a script.

Pretty much. You try and explore North Yankton the same way and all you get is a "MISSION FAILED!!! YOU LEFT THE PATH!"

[Yinepi]

Exactly. Even if it wasn't intended to explore '90s LC in SA, it was still possible to do so without mission failure.

Plus with LC it's also a little different in the sense that LC can be explored in GTA3 and GTALCS. The area that is depicted in SA has remained relatively unchanged from those games other than some snow textures and the removal of redundant props. With North Yankton it's different because this was an entirely new location in the series that has some serious detail put into it and wasn't just a copy-paste job alas LC in SA.

Edited April 30, 2019 by Yinepi

[TheSantader25]

You could explore North Yankton before they patched it by pushing the "mission" vehicle by another car if I'm not mistaken right? Tbh there's nothing there. Just a shiny exterior. I did my exploration when there were some glitches you could do both online and offline. 

 

What I don't understand is why R* keep making these huge exteriors(Guarma in RDR2, Some interiors in GTA V and North Yankton in GTA V) and end up not using them other than a couple of missions. They seem to have developed a "no fun allowed unless we let you" policy ever since the start of the HD era and it's getting worse with each game. 

Edited April 30, 2019 by TheSantader25

[Yinepi]

3 minutes ago, TheSantader25 said:

You could explore North Yankton before they patched it by pushing the "mission" vehicle by another car if I'm not mistaken right? 

Yes you could, but you were limited to staying within a hundred (or so) metres from the Asea or mission would fail. Which made exploring very difficult. I'm not sure if they patched it on the current gen version. It has been a while since I've done that mission. The pushing of the Asea can still be exploited on last-gen though.

Edited April 30, 2019 by Yinepi

[Begoo]

Nope i like the game, wish it had more content on SP side and more forests, but still a great game.

Edited April 30, 2019 by Begoo

[Jabalous]

It's not surprising when the game...

 

1. Has no central organized crime theme, and instead it was replaced by working for the interest of conflicting government agencies.

2. Forces cheap humor and social commentary everywhere, including in missions (e.g. Lazlow and the whole affair with Michael's daughter, Lifeinvader). These parts felt more like a sitcom.

3. Removal of accessible and interactive interiors like restaurants.

Edited April 30, 2019 by Jabalous

[god speed]

Too little criminal organization focus, annoying overdone satire, limited interiors, forced character switch scenes, unsatisfying antagonists, underwhelming heist prep missions, restrictive mission scripts, reduced 5-star wanted scale, special superpowers, (half-)regenerating health, near-useless armor, some cheap insta-death situations, dumbed down melee combat, super-paranoid pedestrians, rare police patrols, no Vigilante missions, no proper Import/Export lists, bloated weapon inventory, yoga, Online-only content updates, Shark Card loading screen ads...

 

GTA V still feels like a GTA to me, but less so than III/VC/SA/IV+EFLC.

[iiCriminnaaL]

Not tending to nitpick, but since a lot of people have already talked about special superpowers, reducing to 5-star wanted stars, A.I, combat, driving, etc, I also believe that the new HUD designs reduce that "GTA feel". Not something that I'd rate the game down for, but I still prefer the classic HUD of weapons, radio stations and circular radar to GTA V's more "modern-like" ones. Something I also prefer is that the game doesn't slow down when switching between weapons and radio stations.

Edited May 1, 2019 by iiCriminnaaL 49

[El Penguin Bobo]

I don't get why people had a problem with the reduced wanted level. imo, it was more realistic because the army just doesn't get out of their base just to catch one guy.

 

If you're somewhere near the military base, the army will chase you though.