Where to begin? It's hard to find a place in such an enormous world full of things to see and do. I'm going to begin with the world. Rest assured. It's huge, and varies greatly. There's no longer just a boring city that we saw in Grand Theft Auto IV. There's your given city, Los Santos, and then the huge world around it which includes nature, more rural towns, and many more places to visit. However, it wouldn't be much worth it if it wasn't fun or packed with things to do. Once again, rest assured. There are many activities that no longer feel like chores for the money that IV had. You'll be able to do things like bounty hunting, racing, animal hunting, and more. Each of these are very well thought out and feel very fun, and rewarding- because money no longer has very little value other than for weapons. In fact, you'll almost never have enough money! Apart from the vehicles to buy, weaponry and the other standard things you'd expect, there's also customization on both weapons and cars that personalize your experience. Apart from that, there's businesses to buy that grant you chances to have more power and income. And to top that off, there's also several side missions and strangers to meet, each with their own story and optional missions that are quite interesting, and often mysterious.
However, what most people are there for is the storyline. Let me just say, though it's only about 70 missions and takes from 15-25 hours, it's very well thought out. I haven't finished it yet because of all the other things to do, but I can already tell the missions are heading towards greatness. It's no longer a "drive here, kill them, drive back" situation. You never know how a mission is going to start or what you're going to do. You could one minute be infiltrating a base, the other robbing banks. Which brings me to the next point: The storyline in Grand Theft Auto V takes you to success and riches that make you feel like you're actually a gangster. There are about eight or nine heists in the game, I believe. And they're not even limited to the requirements! Each heist is made through your playstyle. This includes your approach (loud and proud, or quiet), you can customize the members you choose to come a long with you, and more. They're also heavily inspired by several heists in classic movies. The heists are some of the best feelings you'll ever get in a game. It feels like a high budget movie. Heists vary from jewel store robberies with escapes on dirt bikes to huge heists of millions of dollars with the marines chasing after you. Each mission, especially the heists, are extremely well thought out, unpredictable, and action packed. I cannot judge the story's power as I have not finished, but my friends that have say it's a quite decent ending for such a story.
And there's no longer limitation to one character. There are three characters, Michael, Franklin, and Trevor. Each have their own personality that doesn't limit you to one character. They each have their own special ability, and can be switched through in or out of missions. There's also stats for each ranging from driving to stamina that can be upgraded for better character performance on missions.
Apart from all that, there's also the small touches that make it great. To make the world feel more alive than ever, there's things such a stocks and randomized events, ranging from a small bike theft to shootouts. As a Rockstar games, there's also several easter eggs, like ghosts, U.F.Os, and even cults that you can secretly join. There's no longer any packages to find but there are U.F.O. parts and confessions to the murder of CJ's mom from San Andreas (Each 50). Not to mention there's lots of modern popular songs on the radios, as well as the classic radio parody talk shows.
As another well needed touch, the game is much smoother now. Engine and gameplay wise. Animations are top notch, gunplay feels very solid and the cover system got some much needed love. The cops have also been improved, and are no longer the obese and stupid, but very dedicated and it will take effort to get away from them. It's no longer escape from their little radar icon, but rather escape and then hide in alleyways, fool them by maybe leaving you car in a street to make them think you've gone that way, or leave false trails. Weapon swap is no longer awkward scrolling through and trying to find what you want, but rather a roulette that allows you to pick which weapon you want from whichever category (Red Dead Redemption style).
The driving mechanics are also much greater. Cars feel more solid, each have their own feel and take a lot more damage from crashing. Air vehicles have turbulence and are a lot more difficult to learn but very well rewarding when you do.
Game performance is amazing because it takes about 1-3 minutes to load up, and missions and other loading times are extremely short. Not to mention the amazing graphics. Rockstar has made a masterpiece.
Overall, the game is a 10/10. It's a top notch game, and I haven't even been able to try GTA Online because it hasn't been released yet. Well worth the buy.
Graphics: 10/10 (Amazing for such an old console)
Gameplay: 10/10 (Smooth, feels solid)
Story: Cannot judge, haven't finished.
Missions: 10/10 (Very fun and variant)
Side activies/world: 10/10
Pro's:
-Huge world
-Lots of side activities that are fun and rewarding
-Amazing story missions
-Well planned out and player influenced heists
-Great easter eggs
-Better mechanics and gameplay
-3 Characters than can be switched between
Con's:
-Textures don't load sometimes
-When you replay a mission, the loading time is insane (1-5 minutes)
-Your social life will go down the drain
Grand Theft Auto V - Xbox 360
4.6 | 10,940 ratings
Price: 28.97
Last update: 03-19-2025
About this item
The biggest, most Dynamic and most diverse open world ever created and now packed with layers of new detail
Grand Theft Auto V blends storytelling and gameplay in new ways as players repeatedly jump in and out of the lives of the game's three lead characters, playing all sides of the game's interwoven story
Grand Theft Auto V also comes with Grand Theft Auto Online, the Dynamic and ever evolving Grand Theft Auto universe for multiple players
Grand Theft Auto V blends storytelling and gameplay in new ways as players repeatedly jump in and out of the lives of the game's three lead characters, playing all sides of the game's interwoven story
Grand Theft Auto V also comes with Grand Theft Auto Online, the Dynamic and ever evolving Grand Theft Auto universe for multiple players
Product information
| Number of Players | Single Player |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | September 17, 2013 |
| Computer Platform | Xbox 360 |
| Global Trade Identification Number | 00710425491245, 07104254912454 |
| UPC | 710425491245 088020915566 707003235773 065555571375 055555557059 |
| Compatible Video Game Console Models | Microsoft Xbox 360 E, Microsoft Xbox 360 |
| ASIN | B0050SYILE |
| Release date | September 17, 2013 |
| Customer Reviews |
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars
(10,889)
4.6 out of 5 stars |
| Best Sellers Rank | #11,148 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games) #63 in Xbox 360 Games |
| Product Dimensions | 5.31 x 0.59 x 7.52 inches; 4.8 ounces |
| Type of item | Video Game |
| Language | English |
| Rated | Mature |
| Item model number | 49124 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Item Weight | 4.8 ounces |
| Manufacturer | Rockstar Games |
| Date First Available | July 15, 2009 |
Top reviews from the United States
MichaelRockstar has done it again
Dalton Swan