It is never easy to create a remaster or in other words remake a
game. At one end you have to persuade first-time players into believing
that the new game is really awesome; it's alright if they missed the
original, thankfully destiny has given them another chance in you. At
the same time you have to persuade players who have already played and
mastered the original into believing the game is actually worth another
shot.
So, it is great to see that the Grand Theft Auto 5 gets it right on both counts.
What is it that makes Grand Theft Auto 5 remaster tick all the right boxes with aplomb? It's the title's originality and the fact that it stays true to its heart and soul that has made the franchise such a huge hit among fans and critics alike. At the same time, it manages to pack in the much-needed surprise elements for both long-term fans and newbies that save it from being boring and repetitive.
For a series that takes pride in stating, "being bad is good" there's still a lot going on in Grand Theft Auto 5 remaster to make you pick up that controller and venture out on that bad-boy annihilation spree that it is known for. Only this time round, it packs in full-HD panache and more.
No more mincing words here. Grand Theft Auto 5 remaster is indeed the greatest cinematic experience in a video game ever. As to understand why, read on...
Story and plot
Grand Theft Auto 5 remaster essentially sticks to the same old plot and story-line as that of the original.
For the uninitiated, the story revolves around three lead protagonists and how their lives interconnect as the game steadily progresses into epic mayhem, something that is a given when you're playing a game like GTA. Players can and will have to play through all the three characters in order to move ahead in the main storyline.
At one end you have the ageing former bank robber, criminal-turned-family-man,Michael De Santa. He is retired from the life of crime and living the good life with his family in Los Santos, San Andreas until one wrong move leads him back to where it all began. Then, there is the young and ambitious wannabe gangster Franklin Clinton who is looking to make a career in crime, but deep inside is still quite the good guy. And finally, there is Trevor Philips, Michael's former accomplice, who is what you call your worst nightmare.
The story, as it may appear, seems straight out of a Hollywood crime caper drenched in high adrenaline gangster cocktail. And, it doesn't disappoint from the very beginning. While some may consider one or all the three intertwined storylines in GTA 5 as Hollywood blockbuster cliches, what is remarkable is how everything adds up here to make for an epic conclusion that quite simply put only a GTA title can produce.
So, you have the usual stack of police chases, the bank robberies, the hit and miss heists and,well of course, plenty of shootouts and explosions the series has been long known for. No other game would dare glorify a life of crime; then again none can do it as unabashedly as GTA and get away with it.
The cinematic grandeur that the series is known for only gets better in Grand Theft Auto 5 remaster, making you sit back and just watch in awe as the storyline unfolds, introducing a plethora of side characters, each having their distinct identity and motives.
Gameplay and graphics
Much
of the changes you'll observe in Grand Theft Auto 5remaster seem to be
cosmetic, and that's the beauty of it. The game indeed goes a long way
to celebrate the graphical prowess of next-gen (or rather the
current-gen) consoles, and is a significant boost when compared with the
original GTA 5 for the old-gen platform.
You can't help but notice how big the city of Los Santos is, and next-gen graphics make it all the more convincing. The developers of the game surely deserve a moment of applause here, for they have really worked hard on areas such as antialiasing and tessellation, and the end result actually looks too good on 'n' number of counts. The remaster boasts of sharper and richer details (both character and environment) thanks to improved texture resolutions.
Add to it some improved particle and lighting systems along with some fantastic lens effects that seem straight out of some Hollywood blockbuster and you have perhaps one of the most original looking environments, falling only slightly short of what we have in Far Cry 4.
Moreover, the city of Los Santos looks distinctly different at different times of day or night, and boasts of a much better night/daylight cycle than the one we saw in Assassin's Creed: Unity.
The city of Los Santos is huge, and even with that kind of size it doesn't leave any room for compromise. Whether it's the bustling city itself or the dense vegetation and wildlife in Blaine County, everything looks and feels good. And it's not just the environment; all these places are uniquely inhabited: the city with more distinct people and traffic (even cats and dogs), the wildlife with, well, wildlife.
Once you've settled down with what's on display, it's time to go on and actually play the game that essentially consists of a number of different story missions (of course there are plenty of side missions, we'll talk about them a little later though). While some of these might pertain to individual protagonists, some involve you to work in conjunction with the others.
One of the biggest surprises that Grand Theft Auto 5remaster packs in is a full-fledged first-person mode that changes everything, to say the least. We are not talking about the game per say, but what the first-person mode does is change how you play it. Playing in first-person brings you all the way closer to the action. While this may sound perfect when you're out on a trekking spree admiring the locales and everything, it could be taxing to the mind when you're out "killing" someone. On more than one instance, we were forced to reconsider why so and so killing was required on a human level, that is, especially when playing Trevor.
But that's not what GTA is all about, is it? So, the first-person mode is a rather handy one at that, especially in the event of shooting your enemies for precise kill. However, it still needs a little more refinement, especially when you're out driving and being chased by cops. The first-person mode while driving is downright impossible to play and we kept switching to third-person when being on the run.
Thankfully, the game doesn't end up forcing the first-person mode on you. You can choose to ignore it completely and play the game in third-person, or switch between either as per your liking.
Of all the missions involved, those relating to carrying out heists are the most entertaining and grueling to some extent. You plan your move, chose your accomplices, hire them, collect relevant equipment and then go about your business all in a co-ordinated fashion. The game gives you various ways to carry out your heist; you can choose a silent takedown or go in with a bang. There are times when you'll have to decide what goes where and how, and just hope and pray all goes well in the end.
Take note though, one wrong move (especially during chase and assassination missions) and you'll have to start the mission all over again which can be frustrating at times, considering that some of these missions are longer than the others. While some of the sequences inside the missions can be skipped, should you fail to complete them, the missions on the whole cannot be skipped.
Although, there are considerably lesser activities to do in GTA 5 remaster than say, San Andreas, it still has enough juice to keep you going for long depending on how you choose to play it. Besides the story missions, there are plenty of side missions you can indulge in. These include meeting strangers and freaks that ask you to tow trucks, dope sellers that lead you into alien apocalypse among others.
Then there is GTA Online. We decided to have some fun with it and it did end up quite an ok experience. Yes, the online multiplayer now supports up to 30 simultaneous players and you can build your own character from scratch, but on the downside, there is not much action going on here apart from the regular death matches and car races. You can of course play the multiplayer in first-person mode as well, but we are seriously waiting for the day when we could perform a heist in GTA Online.
Should you buy it?
Grand
Theft Auto 5remaster is an experience and a live testimony to what
"next-gen" can do. Where it fails to better Far Cry 4 in terms of
graphical environment, it compensates by its sheer originality and
larger than life characters. All these characters carefully stacked up
in a larger than life city of Los Santos are simply a treat to the eyes.
The addition of the first-person mode makes the whole experience better
on several counts and the fear and loathing of a heist gone wrong keeps
you on the edge of your seats. Grand Theft Auto 5remaster is definitely
a must-play, and is definitely the greatest cinematic experience in a
video game, ever.
So, it is great to see that the Grand Theft Auto 5 gets it right on both counts.
What is it that makes Grand Theft Auto 5 remaster tick all the right boxes with aplomb? It's the title's originality and the fact that it stays true to its heart and soul that has made the franchise such a huge hit among fans and critics alike. At the same time, it manages to pack in the much-needed surprise elements for both long-term fans and newbies that save it from being boring and repetitive.
For a series that takes pride in stating, "being bad is good" there's still a lot going on in Grand Theft Auto 5 remaster to make you pick up that controller and venture out on that bad-boy annihilation spree that it is known for. Only this time round, it packs in full-HD panache and more.
No more mincing words here. Grand Theft Auto 5 remaster is indeed the greatest cinematic experience in a video game ever. As to understand why, read on...
Story and plot
Grand Theft Auto 5 remaster essentially sticks to the same old plot and story-line as that of the original.For the uninitiated, the story revolves around three lead protagonists and how their lives interconnect as the game steadily progresses into epic mayhem, something that is a given when you're playing a game like GTA. Players can and will have to play through all the three characters in order to move ahead in the main storyline.
At one end you have the ageing former bank robber, criminal-turned-family-man,Michael De Santa. He is retired from the life of crime and living the good life with his family in Los Santos, San Andreas until one wrong move leads him back to where it all began. Then, there is the young and ambitious wannabe gangster Franklin Clinton who is looking to make a career in crime, but deep inside is still quite the good guy. And finally, there is Trevor Philips, Michael's former accomplice, who is what you call your worst nightmare.
The story, as it may appear, seems straight out of a Hollywood crime caper drenched in high adrenaline gangster cocktail. And, it doesn't disappoint from the very beginning. While some may consider one or all the three intertwined storylines in GTA 5 as Hollywood blockbuster cliches, what is remarkable is how everything adds up here to make for an epic conclusion that quite simply put only a GTA title can produce.
So, you have the usual stack of police chases, the bank robberies, the hit and miss heists and,well of course, plenty of shootouts and explosions the series has been long known for. No other game would dare glorify a life of crime; then again none can do it as unabashedly as GTA and get away with it.
The cinematic grandeur that the series is known for only gets better in Grand Theft Auto 5 remaster, making you sit back and just watch in awe as the storyline unfolds, introducing a plethora of side characters, each having their distinct identity and motives.
Gameplay and graphics
Much
of the changes you'll observe in Grand Theft Auto 5remaster seem to be
cosmetic, and that's the beauty of it. The game indeed goes a long way
to celebrate the graphical prowess of next-gen (or rather the
current-gen) consoles, and is a significant boost when compared with the
original GTA 5 for the old-gen platform.You can't help but notice how big the city of Los Santos is, and next-gen graphics make it all the more convincing. The developers of the game surely deserve a moment of applause here, for they have really worked hard on areas such as antialiasing and tessellation, and the end result actually looks too good on 'n' number of counts. The remaster boasts of sharper and richer details (both character and environment) thanks to improved texture resolutions.
Add to it some improved particle and lighting systems along with some fantastic lens effects that seem straight out of some Hollywood blockbuster and you have perhaps one of the most original looking environments, falling only slightly short of what we have in Far Cry 4.
Moreover, the city of Los Santos looks distinctly different at different times of day or night, and boasts of a much better night/daylight cycle than the one we saw in Assassin's Creed: Unity.
The city of Los Santos is huge, and even with that kind of size it doesn't leave any room for compromise. Whether it's the bustling city itself or the dense vegetation and wildlife in Blaine County, everything looks and feels good. And it's not just the environment; all these places are uniquely inhabited: the city with more distinct people and traffic (even cats and dogs), the wildlife with, well, wildlife.
Once you've settled down with what's on display, it's time to go on and actually play the game that essentially consists of a number of different story missions (of course there are plenty of side missions, we'll talk about them a little later though). While some of these might pertain to individual protagonists, some involve you to work in conjunction with the others.
One of the biggest surprises that Grand Theft Auto 5remaster packs in is a full-fledged first-person mode that changes everything, to say the least. We are not talking about the game per say, but what the first-person mode does is change how you play it. Playing in first-person brings you all the way closer to the action. While this may sound perfect when you're out on a trekking spree admiring the locales and everything, it could be taxing to the mind when you're out "killing" someone. On more than one instance, we were forced to reconsider why so and so killing was required on a human level, that is, especially when playing Trevor.
But that's not what GTA is all about, is it? So, the first-person mode is a rather handy one at that, especially in the event of shooting your enemies for precise kill. However, it still needs a little more refinement, especially when you're out driving and being chased by cops. The first-person mode while driving is downright impossible to play and we kept switching to third-person when being on the run.
Thankfully, the game doesn't end up forcing the first-person mode on you. You can choose to ignore it completely and play the game in third-person, or switch between either as per your liking.
Of all the missions involved, those relating to carrying out heists are the most entertaining and grueling to some extent. You plan your move, chose your accomplices, hire them, collect relevant equipment and then go about your business all in a co-ordinated fashion. The game gives you various ways to carry out your heist; you can choose a silent takedown or go in with a bang. There are times when you'll have to decide what goes where and how, and just hope and pray all goes well in the end.
Take note though, one wrong move (especially during chase and assassination missions) and you'll have to start the mission all over again which can be frustrating at times, considering that some of these missions are longer than the others. While some of the sequences inside the missions can be skipped, should you fail to complete them, the missions on the whole cannot be skipped.
Although, there are considerably lesser activities to do in GTA 5 remaster than say, San Andreas, it still has enough juice to keep you going for long depending on how you choose to play it. Besides the story missions, there are plenty of side missions you can indulge in. These include meeting strangers and freaks that ask you to tow trucks, dope sellers that lead you into alien apocalypse among others.
Then there is GTA Online. We decided to have some fun with it and it did end up quite an ok experience. Yes, the online multiplayer now supports up to 30 simultaneous players and you can build your own character from scratch, but on the downside, there is not much action going on here apart from the regular death matches and car races. You can of course play the multiplayer in first-person mode as well, but we are seriously waiting for the day when we could perform a heist in GTA Online.
Should you buy it?
Grand
Theft Auto 5remaster is an experience and a live testimony to what
"next-gen" can do. Where it fails to better Far Cry 4 in terms of
graphical environment, it compensates by its sheer originality and
larger than life characters. All these characters carefully stacked up
in a larger than life city of Los Santos are simply a treat to the eyes.
The addition of the first-person mode makes the whole experience better
on several counts and the fear and loathing of a heist gone wrong keeps
you on the edge of your seats. Grand Theft Auto 5remaster is definitely
a must-play, and is definitely the greatest cinematic experience in a
video game, ever. 
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