2. Grand Theft Auto V
You didn't think this list would be complete without GTA V did you? The highly anticipated next installment in the GTA franchise has got more pre-orders for its various versions available, than some games do even after they've released! But what is it that makes GTA such a good game? Well, that's just it. It is a game. You see, many games in this generation are constantly trying to blur the line between real and virtual world. Games are tailored to be as realistic as possible. Take the Call of Duty series. So much of it is based on how the actual military works, that by the time you finish the campaign on Veteran difficulty, you start to feel like you can actually live through a war! Grand Theft Auto games however, never seem to try and strive for that real aspect though. And for good reason. Because of GTA games, we can steal a car, drive over pedestrians, get chased by the whole police department and then shoot a bazooka and blow them up. All the while listening to killer tunes on the radio. This modus operandi is what makes the games so fun and satisfying, that we keep coming back for more. Don't get me wrong though. Though Rockstar does like keeping its Grand Theft series as fun as a sandbox game can get, they are not the kind to make nonsensical games. GTA V will have all the usual suspects just like stated above, but it also has another side to it. GTA V's gameplay features 3 playable characters, who all will have independent but intertwining stories. Gameplay mechanics are similar to previous GTA games but are much much better. Shooting and driving around are far less mechanical, the sheer number of vehicles and modes of transportation are staggering, and you can swap between characters to achieve any one objective. This is in addition to the fact that the underwater world is fully detailed and open for exploration, and the map is the size of Red Dead Redemption, GTA: San Andreas and GTA IV combined! The best part is, this isn't even a full list of goodies we get to experience. The good thing about Rockstar is, they put so much painstaking detail into their games, that the result is a bona fide living, breathing game.
The plot revolves around Michael who is a retired bank robber with a dysfunctional family, Trevor, his former drug addicted psychopathic partner in crime, and Franklin, a kid who so desperately wanted to escape crime that he fell right into it as a result. The plot as you can see is not as black and white as you would expect from a game which allows you to flip off people just to see their reaction. By the look of the trailers, the fictional Los Santos is beautiful, with each protagonist having his own stylistic in the world around him. Many people are stunned by the look of GTA V and insist that the images were produced by next-gen consoles. Rockstar however stand firm on the fact that they simply worked hard with what they had. If it's true, boy o boy did they put in effort. The vast size of GTA V coupled with its lovely graphics and dynamic world, is one technical feat that leaves us drooling. In light of the above, it is easy to see why GTA V is one game we simply can't wait to get our hands on. To the dismay of some though, this brilliant piece of work can only be experienced on the PS3 and Xbox 360...for now. For those who are lucky enough to have a version coming to them, save the date: 17th September 2013.