Shooting is probably still the weak point in the GTA arsenal, even though it's much improved from previous titles. This makes the action flow constantly, with little downtime between the thrills. Different characters will execute these, but the bigger missions have you switching characters in mid-mission, allowing you to cover your accomplices with a sniper rifle one second, to driving the getaway car the next.
The core of the game is based around a series of heists, each of which can be done in a number of ways and requires you to complete preparatory missions for your chosen approach. Upon switching, you'll find each character doing something typical of them, and often nearby one their character-specific missions, usually involving his particular band of cronies. You can then switch between the three at will, with a Google Maps-style zoom to mark the transition. The three main characters are quickly pulled together by the story. For example, a Franklin mission may involve him trying to avoid a firefight, which is light years from Trevor's Tarantino-esque, self-justified bloodbaths. Missions are tailored to each of the three, making them more rounded in contrast with each other, and giving the game three distinct narrative tones. Trevor pushes at boundaries of anti-hero, becoming a deliberately divisive characterīy using three characters, GTA 5 pulls off a neat trick. While Trevor is an aggressive sociopath, who spouts free-market, ultra-liberal opinions to justify massacring anyone who gets in his way. Franklin is a street hustler and repo man who is trying to rise above his friends' idiotic gangbanging schemes. Michael is a career gangster having a mid-life crisis and struggling to deal with his dysfunctional family life, he obviously takes his cues from Tony Soprano. The team at Rockstar has learned it mistakes, replacing the dour, single protagonist of GTA 4 with a trio of far livelier characters.
Textures can be a bit fuzzy and frame rates sometimes slip below 30fps, but there's nothing bad enough here to require you wait for PC or next-gen console versions. The graphics hold up well, given the size of Rockstar's ambitions and the eight-year old hardware it's all running on.
Driving across the state is a pleasure in itself, even the more remote areas are full of life, wild animals to hunt and jumps across canyons feature highly. We happily spent 20mins driving up a mountain in a dune buggy to enjoy the sunset and then took a cable car back down, though base jumping is another option. Farmland is mixed with wilderness and cragged peaks, all of which can be explored freely. We haven't tired of looking out over the huge and varied cityscapeīeyond Los Santos the world expands out and out.