GTA ONLINE
This monster is still sucking up our time, for good reason
“ROCKSTAR HAS CREATED THE ULTIMATE CRIMINAL PLAYGROUND.”
How can we talk about PS4’s best communities without taking a tour of Rockstar’s crime sim? It’s sat atop the charts since launch, ensuring even your nan has probably dabbled. The main draw is the freedom on offer, and it never fails to excite.
When GTA Online’s Heists come together they feel like – and we don’t say this lightly – the high point of the entire series. As a masked crew, you and your cronies bust into a casino, access the secure vault, and leave with the goodies. Or you break into a lab using keycards, set off an EMP, and steal classified data.
Every heist (there are eight) has multi-part set-up missions, all with their own challenges to overcome, and Rockstar has done a brilliant job of varying the action. Sometimes you’re stealthing through corridors. At others you’re zooming through the skies in a Harrier Jump Jet, shaking off pursuers. They play like a series of movie-grade set-pieces; an action flick that you hope never ends.
Remarkably, Heists are only one part of what GTA Online has to offer. If you don’t want something so taxing (and they’re crushingly hard at times), you and a buddy can simply roam the streets of Los Santos, causing nuisance. You can become arms dealers, or drug runners, or even nightclub moguls. One player might become a corporate megaboss and hire their friend as a bodyguard.
If you want to engage in something friendlier there are always other players to mingle with, share stories, race… the options are dizzying. In GTA Online, Rockstar has created the ultimate criminal playground, and despite what you may think, there’s something here for everyone.