Game of the summer: Grand Theft Auto 5

Grand Theft Auto 5, (Xbox One,PS4), Rated M for Mature

Grand Theft Auto 5 is my favourite summer game.

First, let’s discuss the visuals which will make the first — and likely the biggest — impression on you, the player. The game’s visuals have been reworked and the game takes a more cartoon look than past GTA games. The entire world from the environment to the characters all look astonishingly detailed.

The character models from the main characters, to the pedestrians roaming around Los Santos, are all distinctive and life-like. In the last GTA game, most of the pedestrian models were recycled over and over again to make the city have a more lived-in feel.

In this game, there are more models and, if they do repeat, it isn’t as obvious as before. The game takes place in Los Santos, a fictional city that made an appearance in Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.

RockStar starts the first mission with a bang, having you rob a bank with your crew. I can’t tell you more as the story is even better than past games and I can’t bring myself to spoil anything for new players.

Once the game really begins, you play as Franklin, a former gang member who is just trying to make some cash and get out of the life once and for all. The driving mechanics in the past game felt heavy and no matter what you drove, the cars and cornering were difficult. The developers did a great job making the driving fun, at least making trips around the map fun.

The player can weave in and out of different traffic lanes and the races you can compete in are also more fun to complete.

Franklin even has a special ability where, with the click of the two thumbsticks, the game slows down, letting you weave in and out of traffic with ease. This ability has a limited time. To recharge the ability, the player just has to speed and perform risky driving.

Another new addition is the weaponry switch. You can carry many different types of weapons, even multiplies of the same type of weapon. With the press of a button, your game slows and the player can switch weapons without being at the mercy of the enemies around you.

The switching between different characters is easily done be pressing the down button on the D-pad and then selecting the character you want with the left thumbstick.

After you choose the character you want, the game zooms out on the game’s map and slowly zooms in on the different characters’ location. This voyeurism lets you see what the different characters do in their daily lives and how they interact with the people around them.

This ability to switch characters in a major mission will keep you covered with a sniper rifle, helps you drive the getaway car, pilot a helicopter and more. The game is so immersive you easily find yourself lost in its world for weeks. Sascha Heist is a Penticton gamer. Feel free to contact Sascha at sggall@telus.net with your gaming questions.

Game with Sascha on Xbox One: acehardy13 On Playstation 4 : acehardy13 This column appears Saturdays.