Culture

Rating: 10/10

I subscribe to the idea that art should be entirely inclusive. True art should never alienate or exclude people, but rather should create ways in which cater to everyone. For some, this may entail being able to analyse every moment in relation to its thematic significance; for others, it may simply involve attractive aethestics. There is no right way or wrong way to appreciate art, but it is the artist’s job to create something that incites your appreciation. Grand Theft Auto V is the most organic example of inclusive art I have ever witnessed. With this game, Rockstar has secured its place as one of the world’s greatest art collectives.

Grand Theft Auto has always been a series that pushes the boundaries, not only of what is socially acceptable but also of what games are capable of achieving. GTA V pushes these boundaries further than any previous entry in the series. Trying to decide which elements are most deserving of praise is like trying to organise a hay stack by straw length: there is such a wealth of incredibly conceived, designed and executed content that a novel would not be enough to do this game justice. This review will therefore but touch on its most obvious successes, but a true appreciation of the game will only come from playing it.

Grand Theft Auto has evolved its narrative with each new game. Every title has centred around a new protagonist, and has offered more depth and emotional validity. With more complex characters have come more complex stories, ideas, themes and action. Not only has Rockstar advanced these elements even further in GTA V, it has done so with three protagonists, signalling what is perhaps the greatest paradigm shift in gaming history. Creating a game with three protagonists (that you can switch between on a whim) has a number of significant consequences: the gameplay becomes both more action-packed and more seamless, and the gamer is able to experience a greater number of complex emotions, motives and relationships.

The game’s three protagonists – Michael, the semi-successful, semi-retired bank robber; Franklin, the young and talented up-and-coming criminal; and Trevor, the clinically insane sociopath – allow you to experience as wide a range of situations as is possible within this vast world. While the world is the same, it can feel incredibly different, depending on the character you are playing with at any particular point in time. One moment I was playing as Michael, driving around the swanky Vinewood area with Queen’s “Radio Gaga” playing through the radio of my expensive car; next moment I’m Franklin, breaking up a fight between my friends in the lower socio-economic area of Los Santos (or “the Hood”).

Each character also has different missions and side quests available to them, which both highlight that character’s perspective of the GTA world and broaden your own understanding of who that character is, the world they live in, and the real world itself.

This brings me to my favourite aspect of the Grand Theft Auto series, and what I feel allows GTA to truly move from the realm of entertainment to the realm of art: satire. Grand Theft Auto is a bitingly witty, stunningly conceived and skilfully crafted satire that offers a social critique of our own lifestyle, particularly the specific brand of Hollywood narcissism and materialism that has infected the entire Western world.

Every aspect of the game, from the missions to the radio advertising and even the way people talk in the streets, presents a satirical view of modern America. The real accomplishment is that it is incredibly funny and entertaining, and as such its function as a social commentary does not turn off those uninterested in the re-examination of society. For those with more analytical minds, however, this world is an intellectual feast of which you will never grow tired.

The radio is my favourite conduit for GTA’s brand of satire. The radio in GTA V offers a wealth of licensed music in all different genres, allowing you to personalise the game with the audio of your choice. My favourite channel is West Coast Talk Radio (WCTR). WCTR features several different radio talk shows, including CHAKRA ATTACK, which stars a pseudo-spiritualist and his disinterested producer discussing the ins and outs of Hollywood’s attempts to capture spirituality. The star of past GTA games, Lazlow, is back in all his glory, hosting not only a talk show on WCTR but also “Shame or Fame” – a parody of America’s Got Talent – that you can watch on any television in the game.

The central storyline is incredibly engaging, and while you can complete the various missions at your own pace the content is so varied and entertaining that you’ll find yourself constantly eager to get going. Variation has always been something that Rockstar has attempted to offer in its missions, but it wasn’t until this game that they truly achieved it. Every mission allows you to interact with the world in a novel way, be it contextually, intellectually or simply by experimenting with a newly-introduced mechanic. The character-switching function means that you can always experience a mission in its most interesting and exciting form.

However, there are two different stories in every GTA: the story that Rockstar creates, and the one that you do. It is the latter that allows for those epic moments with which you can later regale your friends. Rockstar has done a masterful job, not only in creating a blank canvas on which you can paint your own story but also in enabling your story and theirs to interact in seamless fashion. This removes the awkward disconnect that has existed between the two in the past.

In designing the gameplay of GTA V, Rockstar drew inspiration not only from earlier GTA games but from all the games they have ever made. It is easy to spot elements from Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne 3 and Midnight Club, to name but a few. Red Dead has taught the company how to create a truly interactive world, in which there is something different to enagage with around very corner. You can play tennis, go skiing, or make it rain on a stripper, and there are new jumps and vehicles to play with. Rockstar’s newest feature is the idea of “random encounters.” These encounters vary in scale, and stretch from helping a kid retrieve his stolen bike to siphoning money from a truck as it is being unloaded.

From Max Payne, Rockstar has learnt a lot about the shooting mechanic. The shooting in GTA V feels great, and offers gamers different levels of skill shots according to how (and from where) they choose to shoot. For example, you can go for headshots with a pistol or rain bullets everywhere with a shotgun.

From Midnight Club, Rockstar has taken the mechanics for driving and vehicle design. There were many complaints about the way driving felt in GTA V, but rest assured that these concerns have been dealt with. GTA V has an excellent driving system which, when combined with the massive variety of vehicles, makes driving a great experience.

GTA V is a masterpiece. In terms of video games it offers the largest, most varied and most impressively executed experience ever accomplished. All of the elements present in past GTA titles have been polished and refined, and entirely new elements have been handled with aplomb. Elements such as multi-protagonists are ground breaking, opening doors in video game development that, before this game was released, we never knew existed. The game is an artwork, plain and simple; an artwork that can be appreciated by anyone on some level, and revelled in by those who truly see the depth and breadth of its artistic integrity and execution.