1. Rockstar's Experience
GTA IV was released in 2008, nearly five years ago now. Whilst a fantastic open world experience at the time, a lot has changed since then and Rockstar have too. But what have they shown us during that time that will be incorporated and improved in GTA V? Red Dead Redemption was met with universal critical acclaim when it was released in 2010 and it is being hailed as one of the greatest games of this generation. Both of the stories and characters in GTA IV and RDR were fantastic, but it was more about the improvements in other areas that will make GTA V worth the wait. The graphical improvements that were in RDR will be further improved in V, of course. That is obvious. But what about the inclusion of animals? RDR was the first game by Rockstar to really include them, and in my opinion, they were beautifully created. We've already seen that Franklin has a dog and that there is sharks, but I believe that there will be a lot more animals present in the game, particularly in the wilderness. The forests and countryside in V will play out very similarly to RDR in my opinion, in that there will be wild animals. Even to the extent of things like snakes in the desert. It will make the world feel even more alive and immersive than it already is. Oh, and how about travelling by horseback through the streets of Los Santos? Meanwhile, Max Payne 3 could be a lot closer to how GTA V is. One of the main additions for me is the presence of extreme gore and horrific violence in MP3. In the more realistic world of GTA IV, I felt different to how I treated pedestrians and other characters, simply because the violence was more "real". Maybe that was just me, but I think the addition of more extreme gore in GTA V will make the player question their morals when they run over multiple pedestrians or blast them away with a rocket launcher. If Rockstar stays true to their current methods, then we will be seeing far more realistic bullet wounds and injuries in the game. The less cartoon-like Grand Theft Auto becomes, the more real it will feel to the player. We can also learn a lot about how GTA V will play out in the DLC for GTA IV, particularly The Ballad of Gay Tony. The vibrant atmosphere and the reliance on comedy is something that I felt was present in the second trailer for V ("Let's bounce?"), so I think that GTA V will be a lot closer to that than it is to Niko's dark story in the main IV story. That is by no means a bad thing. In the city of Los Santos, it should be all about being vibrant. Remember, this is the city that is the home of GTA's version of Hollywood, the outrageous and overblown Vinewood. They say that the older you get, the wiser you become. I think this will hold true for Rockstar and the latest instalment in the Grand Theft Auto series. We've come a long way from the top-down GTA of old, haven't we?
So, all of these reasons are why I think that GTA V will ultimately be worth waiting until September 17th for. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments section below.