GTA 5: Why It Will Benefit From Rockstar's Previous Games

GTA 5 continues to be discussed furiously since the debut trailer dropped late last year, and although little has been revealed since then, it doesn’t stop the internet waxing theoretical about what will come to pass when the Rockstar’s title finally arrives.

Forgetting about what we don’t know for a second, what we do know is that Rockstar handles the GTA series with the utmost of care, and bring several core values to the table with other titles such as Team Bondi’s L.A. Noire, Max Payne 3, Red Dead Redemption and more.

So, what does Rockstar’s past tell us about the future of GTA 5? We take a look back at the publisher’s legacy to find out more.

7. GTA 5 will cram Los Santos with countless things to see and do

The classic problem with many sandbox games is that they deliver a massive world, but very little to do therein. In the GTA series, Rockstar has never had this problem, but with each new entry to the series, the game world gets bigger, and increasingly populated.

This shows that Rockstar has become consistently adept at nailing the ‘living, breathing’ cityscape settings it first set out to create with the original GTA back in the day. Red Dead Redemption went a step further by spawning in random encounters and events to make each trek across the dust plains that little bit less desolate.

While Red Dead Redemption did feature a ton of empty space, it was detailed, with awe-inspiring vistas, rolling hills and picturesque skies.

But when it comes to GTA, you’ll get all of these elements plus a slew of missions, shops, mini-games, pedestrians, traffic, funny advertising, impressive sites, and that little old rock called Mt. Chiliad as well.

Apart from Mt. Chiliad, we’ve already seen golf ranges, jet skis, crop fields in the countryside, outdoor gyms, pedestrians in huge numbers, sports cars, wind farms, polluted suburbs, bustling inner cities, glistening beaches and much, much more. 

Rockstar has nailed the art of ensuring no matter which way you turn, you’ll always see something interesting. GTA 5 will take this to the next level. 

6. GTA 5 will include expansive multiplayer modes

GTA 5, along with Red Dead Redemption, GTA 4, Max Payne 3 and more, all feature multiplayer modes. While GTA 4 featured multiplayer, some modes – particularly free roam co-op - felt like a proof of concept at times, rather than a fully fleshed out component.

Compare that to the multiplayer offering of Red Dead Redemption – which was regularly bolstered by support and add-ons by Rockstar well into 2011 – and you can see that Rockstar is viewing online play in a more serious light as of late.

Based on this increasing trend from Rockstar, it will be interesting to see what cool new modes Rockstar North comes up with for GTA 5. While GTA 4’s free roam co-op mode was more of a muck-about rather than objective based play, the prospect of actual, story based co-op missions around Los Santos is tantalising.

But in terms of competitive team and co-op play, popular modes such as Cops n’ Crooks, Turf War and Bomb Da Base II would be a perfect match for Red Dead Redemption’s shooting and cover mechanics. Rockstar’s increasing proficiency for all things multiplayer bodes very well for GTA V indeed.

Not to mention that Max Payne 3’s multiplayer looks absolutely insane and action packed – a fact that shows Rockstar has a handle on how to make multiplayer fun and engaging. Good times indeed.

5. GTA 5 will provide a variety of minigames

Rockstar loves mini-games, and has delivered bigger and better distractions with every new release. Unfortunately, GTA 4 made the mistake of linking these activities with going on dates, or hanging out with the lads. 

However, Red Dead Redemption took the game of poker and plonked it in both single player and online play, which was a genius move indeed.

Suddenly, poker didn’t feel like a simple bit of time wasting that diverted away from the main quest, but instead existed as a means to an end. The same goes for ambulance, fire engine, and vigilante side missions.

Rockstar has also upped the amount of side jobs you can do in GTA games consistently over the years – with the exception of GTA 4, that swapped some of these for increased minigames – which points at a wide range of bonus activities inbound for GTA 5. You’ll probably never be bored again once you buy it.

4. GTA 5 will boast advanced shooting mechanics

L.A. Noire, GTA 4 and Red Dead Redemption boasted cover mechanics that showed a marked improvement over the PS2-era GTA games. While GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas built on the formula incrementally, it wasn’t until GTA 4 that the mechanic really started to impress.

Now that the shooting mechanic has reached new heights of fluidity, excitement and mayhem in Red Dead Redemption, there has never been a better time to transfer the format to the GTA series, and what better place to do it than in GTA 5?

In the end, Rockstar North is all about improving on what has gone before, and has a proven track record of doing so with gusto, so it makes sense that the studio will do it again with GTA 5. 

3. GTA 5 will convey several moral themes

Every Rockstar game – and this applies from everything to Bully to the Midnight Club series – has some sort of moral theme, even if it’s a small nod or a wink here and there. GTA 5 has already set out its stall as having a clear, stark message.

The clue is in the GTA 5 logo itself, as the ‘V’ is emblazoned with a motif similar to the American five-dollar bill. That, and Rockstar has said the game focuses on the pursuit of money. 

Rockstar’s debut trailer for GTA 5 featured homeless people, homes being sold off, new property for sale, images of industry – wind farms, farming and oil drilling – as well as robbers busting into a bank in full pest control gear.

In these times of recession, where money is difficult to obtain and even harder to keep hold of, this is a timely moral theme, and the fact that is set in a parody of Los Angeles – a polluted place of excess and dreams of wealth, celebrity and power – is all the more fitting.

2. GTA 5 will feature a dense and expansive environment

Rockstar’s Dan Houser went on record recently to say that GTA 5 will boast a “Very big map”. This is a no brainer, but another trend of Rockstar titles over the years is that they are getting bigger all the time, and if the leap between GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas is any measure, then GTA 5 will be very big indeed.

You can see the signs in the trailer – from the towering heights of Mt. Chiliad, to rolling crop fields, sandy beaches and tower metropolitan city centre – so it’d be daft to assume that GTA 5 will be anything but large. 

But assumptions can often end up being wrong, so you need look no further than the bustling sprawl of L.A. Noire’s old time cityscape, or the sheer scale of Red Dead Redemption’s old west to see that Rockstar is pushing boundaries in terms of environmental tech itself and the size of its game worlds.

Plus, let’s not forget that GTA: San Andreas was a massive show of scale that put other sandbox worlds to shame when it launched. It’d be just like Rockstar North to stun the world once again with a similar achievement. 

1. GTA 5 will deliver an engaging story and characters

Rockstar does characterisation very well indeed. From hilarious parodies to deep and complex individuals, Rockstar’s titles have covered all bases when it comes to delivering memorable names and faces. 

The trend is only getting better too. For all of John Marston’s hypocritical moaning about not wanting to do bad things after a life of crime and sin, he actually reveals himself to be a tormented soul, and of course Red Dead Redemption’s final twist gives rise to some great, unexpected character development.

L.A. Noire is front and centre here however, with brilliant characterisation. But again, although the game wasn’t developed by Rockstar, the publisher wouldn’t have snapped it up if it didn’t see the value in the story it was trying to tell. Through characters like Cole Phelps, Rusty and Jack Kelso, it spun that yarn very well.

Rockstar’s script writing is improving consistently as well, with great twists, insight and moral messages. GTA 4’s pursuit of the American Dream in the morally bankrupt society of Liberty City is particularly poignant. The same goes for the forthcoming torment of Max Payne in his third outing.

Even back in the PS2 era, GTA: San Andreas told tales of loyalty, discrimination and prejudice that few games would dare to explore. With GTA 5 focusing on greed and financial gain, you can expect a rogue’s gallery of utterly detestable characters, penniless deadbeats and desperate criminals eyeing up a fortune in stolen cash.

Either way, it’s going to be a GTA title for the ages.