Over the last few weeks and months, members over at the GTA Forums community have been writing their own game reviews for Grand Theft Auto V – offering a whole range of different opinions and viewpoints on the game. Some of these viewpoints on the game have been positive, others; not so positive. A list of the eligible reviews can be viewed and read in the following forum topic: Forum Reviews: Voting Round
All eligible reviews were put forward into a voting round for the last month, with the winning review, as determined by other forum members, to be featured on GTAV.net.
Cutting to the chase, here is the winning review as voted on by forum members.
Grand Theft Auto V Review
By Jack0711. Written on the 22nd of September, 2013
I’ve just finished the storyline, but still feel like I’ve just started the game, because there is just so much to do. When I first started up the game, I found it quite overwhelming, and really had no idea what to do, so I decided to go along the freeway/highway along the perimeter of the map, and this was when I really got a feel for the incredible size of the map. Up in Paleto Forest I really felt miles away from Los Santos, which of course I was.
I instantly fell in love with the mechanics. Everything I do feels responsive, and the driving is just fantastic. I do find it hard to shoot sometimes since the dot is so small and hard to see, but maybe there is a way around that I haven’t found yet. There’s just so much exploring for me left to do in the game.
Storyline is brilliant. The three characters are interwoven fabulously, but their own personal campaigns are brilliant too. Trevor’s first mission was just immense (bit of a shocker, too), and at the end, even though he was still the same crazy psychopath, it really felt like he had changed. They all changed. One of my favourite sub-plots had to be working for Solomon Richards. Nicely done by Rockstar to get Vinewood involved in the story. His missions were fun and rewarding. Don’t get me started on the heists! If I said everything I wanted to say about them, this would be one painfully long review. So let me just sum heists up in two words: Utterly incredible.
One of my favourite parts about this game has to be the incredible attention to detail. There is so much packed in to this game. One example is having the lunar cycle, and if you switch to Trevor on a full moon he may do his werewolf noise. So clever. The humor is there too, I thought that Lazlow was hilarious in the game!
It’s not bug free, however. I went to get a car out of my garage once and realised both of them had vanished, which was very annoying. Also, characters changing clothing is frustrating too, because they always were what I don’t want them to wear. Believe it or not, but I don’t want to walk around Sandy Shores with Trevor wearing nothing but his underwear. But if those are the only two major bugs/gripes I can pick up in one of the biggest open-world games ever made, that’s very impressive.
There is so much more I could go on to say, but rather than writing all day, I would like to go back to playing this incredible game. Let me finish by saying, thank you Rockstar, thank you for all the hard work you’ve poured into this game. GTA V is surely one of, if not the greatest game of this console generation. What a game to finish these consoles with.
The Scores
Presentation/Graphics – 2/2
Graphics are just stupendously good. Yes there is the occasional pop-in but that can be forgiven when you think that this game pushes current gen consoles to their very limit. Draw distance is incredible.
Sound FX/Music – 2/2
In GTA IV the city still felt kind of empty, because there was so little background noise. Completely different in V, there is a lot of background noise. My favourite part is being able to hear a race track in the distance. Radio has a great variety to suit almost all tastes.
Storyline/Plot/Characters – 2/2
I was worried pre-release that the storyline would be just about setting up heists and nothing else, but not at all. The characters are very different and the way that they are integrated together is amazing. Also, very nice touch to have the two missions in North Yankton.
Mechanics – 2/2
Despite what some people say, I think the driving mechanics on this game are bordering on perfection. The cars on the road feel responsive, slick, and real. Car damage is somewhat unrealistic, but I’m not complaining that my $650,000 Cheetah isn’t horrifically damaged after one crash.
Gameplay – 2/2
I feel like I’ve only seen about 1/5 of what the game has to offer, and I’ve finished the storyline! I still need to climb mountains, go diving, go hunting, buy houses, buy cars, buy businesses, build up those businesses, complete all the side missions… Thereis just so much to do!
Total Score Given: 10/10