Grand Theft Auto V - In The Details With The Devil
The end of a console generation is always a bittersweet time for me. The coming wave of new technology always brings with it the promise of new experiences, games that just wouldn’t have been possible on the current generation of hardware. The reality, however, is that we often don’t see developers taking full advantage of the technology until it is nearly obsolete.
So it is with Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V, which displays a rare confidence and complete mastery over this generation’s aging tech. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, like any new wave of systems, will have years of growing pains and we will have to wait a long time before any interactive experience can match the energy, breadth, and polish of Rockstar’s open-world opus. GTAV is the rare experience that feels truly “next generation,” like Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Resident Evil 4 before it. That you can have this fresh experience on a system you already likely own acts as a slap in the face to all next-gen comers for likely the next 2 or 3 years (or whenever the new tech gets figured out).
One of the key things that has impressed me so much with GTAV is its striking attention to detail and the way that it confounds a lot of my personal biases and predilections. One thing that is generally touchy with me is the use of physics in games. If the physics are too realistic I often feel like just the simple act of moving around can be a chore. If the physics aren’t realistic enough you end up with distracting and unintentionally hilarious scenarios, like how you can play soccer with fallen bodies in the otherwise sombre and straight-faced Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls games.
GTAV absolutely nails physics across the board. Running and
jumping with proper timing leads to realistic vaults, climbs, jumps,
and rolls. Likewise, jumping into a fence rather than onto one
yields appropriately painful looking (and hilarious) results. Vehicle
handling varies wildly whether driving a sedan, SUV, or motorcycle, but
it is possible with practice to weave in and out of oncoming traffic in
even the most cumbersome vehicles.
Water physics and behavior set a new industry standard that even the upcoming Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag will undoubtedly struggle to live up to. Wave physics are incredible, lifting and lowering your character or their vehicle in a realistic way whether they are in motion or not. More so than simply looking cool it is also incredibly fun, with jet-skis ramping off of waves and splashing water around them upon landing. Off-road vehicles, as you would expect, get much better traction in the dirt and mud and impart a genuinely tactile sensation to the player’s off-road antics.
One
of Microsoft’s core differentiators in the upcoming generation is the
Xbox One controller’s new vibration technology, which allows developers
to further immerse players in the experiences they craft with a much
more nuanced approach to controller vibration. Rockstar’s use of
controller vibration here is just incredible and is hopefully a window
into what developers will be capable of when they get comfortable with
the new technology.
A stealth mission that takes place outside during a thunderstorm is made all the more intense by the controller’s subtle rumblings timed with rolling thunder and sudden jolts in time with lightning strikes on distant plains. You can almost feel the bottom of your boat cutting through the water and subtle vibrations combine with on-screen shaking to effectively simulate turbulence during flight. I also love how your vehicle will eventually get so damaged that you can feel the rattling of the engine and the sputtering of the exhaust through the controller, providing a clear cue that it’s time to either repair your ride or get a new one. The game’s excellent use of physics and vibration combine to make a game in which just moving around is a huge part of the fun.
One last element that I’d like to highlight is how seamlessly and organically the game introduces you to its breadth of content. A great example is an early mission that takes you to the beach and teaches you how to bicycle, swim, and drive a jet-ski. Although it’s perfectly possible for a player to go to the beach at any time from the first mission this is the earliest mission that requires the player to be there. It’s a stroke of absolute brilliance then that the game leaves you on the beach after the mission is complete, as if to say “Hey! We just taught you all this awesome stuff. Go ahead, have fun with it!” The game does this constantly, gently nudging the player’s attention towards all types of missions and interests. Even the main story missions unfold so organically that they simply gel into the rest of the experience, which makes the game tough to put down.
With this year delivering experiences like this, BioShock Infinite, and The Last of Us, and the coming months still set to deliver promising titles like Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Watch Dogs, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, I think it’s safe to say that developers on the new wave of tech will have a lot of catching up to do. If the end of this console generation is delivering experiences of such astounding, medium-defining quality, I can hardly wait to see what the twilight months of the next-generation of consoles will unleash.
