Should GTA V Bring Back the Lunacy?
Posted by Dan Curtis on Jul 29, 2012 in News | 9 comments
RAMPAGE, or minor incident?
Up until Grand Theft Auto 4, the GTA series was basically defined by massive sandboxes, crazy missions and so much to do it made your eyes spin. Whether it be stealing a tank while an army captain goes for a drink in Vice City or piloting an actual jetpack straight from under the noses of the military in San Andreas, they were games filled with humour and some of the most memorable missions in gaming history.
GTA 4 was a very different bag altogether. Stopped in realism, the game was still an excellent title, filled with Rockstar’s incredible polish and dedication. Looking back though, the game’s more serious tone made it feel less like a Grand Theft Auto game, and more like a new breed, something we hadn’t really seen before.
When I played GTA 4 I found myself having a hell of a good time – it was an excellently realised world that was brought to life through exceptional storytelling, but I can clearly remember thinking to myself all the way through ‘So where are all the crazy easter eggs?’. I know I’m not alone either – several people have been vocal of their dislike for the lack of lunacy in GTA 4, and it’s with this in mind that I ask: should GTA V bring back the lunacy?
Arguments For GTA V Lunacy
No matter what, GTA V is going to sell millions upon millions of copies. It’s perhaps the most anticipated gaming title currently in the works, and people are flocking like mindless sheep towards any snippet of information about the game. Heck, Rockstar even released two screenshots about a fortnight ago and the internet went crazy. GTA V has that kind of power.
With this in mind, Rockstar’s also got a lot to lose. If they go for the strict realism approach we saw in GTA 4′s Liberty City, they run the immense risk of turning those gamers off who want something more ‘out-there’ from their Grand Theft Auto experience.
Honestly, my fondest memories of Grand Theft Auto come from those moments where it just went completely off the rails and delivered a truly fantastic gaming experience. Whether it’s using a flame-thrower to burn vast stashes of weed in San Andreas, simply completing a rampage mission where you have to attack everyone in sight with a chainsaw or sneaking onto a ship filled with army dudes and pinching their favourite jet, there’s literally been countless moments in the earlier GTA titles where I’ve probably grinned like a fool.
I missed that feeling in GTA 4. I still liked the game, but I really, really believe that GTA V needs to bring back some of that madness the earlier games used to possess. It’s easy enough to integrate into the world; Rockstar can make everything as realistic as they want to, but why can’t there be daft little optional sidequests that involve aliens or something crazy like that?
Even as I typed that, I thought to myself: is Grand Theft Auto really in that place any more? Grand Theft Auto 4 was basically an experiment – it stepped outside the norm, and was a critical and commercial success because it went and did something different with the established GTA formula. It seems that for GTA V Rockstar wouldn’t stray too far from territory that was immensely popular in terms of sales/critical reaction, but at the same time you have to wonder if they’ve taken any pointers from series clone Saints Row in recent years and the boom in popularity those titles had because they essentially went completely over the top.
GTA V can actually learn a lot from Saints Row the Third. While that game lacked Rockstar’s significant polish levels, the gameplay was immensely fun and filled with crazy vehicles, outlandish weapons and a storyline that didn’t take itself too seriously. GTA V, in my humble opinion, needs to at least channel some of the same mindset that Saints Row has.
I believe that GTA V should essentially retain the polish and shine that GTA 4′s Liberty City had, keep the same interesting storyline dynamics, but also step away from that slightly and develop missions around the mentality they used to have.
You only have to look back to San Andreas to see exactly what Rockstar can do. As well as being absolutely huge, San Andreas had such a diverse mission structure and so very much to do (both mad and sensible) that it remains to this day one of my all time favourite gaming experiences. The balance of that title was exactly right; with a massive sandbox to explore, memorable characters and a load of throwbacks to other titles in the series, it’s something that I’m hoping will be reflected in GTA V’s version of San Andreas as well.
Arguments Against Lunacy
First and foremost, from a development/sales standpoint, Rockstar knows they’re onto something big with GTA. They could probably pump out a sequel that was an adventure through a swamp where you did nothing except catch frogs, slap a GTA name on it and sell an absolute load of titles.
They won’t do that though, of course. Everything Rockstar releases is always all shiny and polished, so you can guarantee GTA V will reflect that mentality as well. In recent years, it’s sort of Rockstar’s thing to push the boundaries of a system and deliver titles the like of we’ve never seen before. GTA IV pushed the boat out, LA Noire developed fantastic facial technology, Red Dead revived the Western and – more recently – Max Payne 3 pushed the narrative storytelling in gameplay to heights hardly ever seen.
This mentality of delivering these extremely polished games is what brings me to believe that for GTA V, Rockstar probably will keep the same style they developed inside GTA IV. It wasn’t for everyone, but the extremely polished city and focused storyline made a game world that – from a sandbox standpoint – still hasn’t really been beaten.
The main point you have to remember about IV’s Liberty City was that it wasn’t just a barren wasteland. It was a city that lived and breathed. Whether it was pedestrians unleashing umbrellas as soon as it rained or the absolutely amazing mission where you rob a bank and escape from the police, IV had such a sense of grandeur to it that earlier titles in the series lacked.
In the past, the main focus of the GTA franchise was always on ‘How big can we make this world, and how crazy can we make the missions?’. That time, I believe, has passed. GTA V is unlikely to be anywhere near as mad as earlier titles in the series were, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Your opinions on GTA are probably skewed from whether you played the earlier titles; those who are new to the series have nothing to compare GTA IV to, whereas series veterans know how much of a shift was taken from San Andreas to GTA IV.
GTA V: The New Generation
There is room to develop a GTA that both caters towards the realism and grandeur of IV while retaining some of the fun of San Andreas and earlier titles, but I have to believe that the new title will be more of a realistic approach to the series.
The next generation of Grand Theft Auto is no doubt nearly upon us, but we’ll have to wait and see how the game plays, and whether Rockstar will cater towards the nostalgic fans or deliver an experience extremely similar to GTA IV.
What do you think Rockstar should do with GTA V? Let us know in the comments whether you want mad missions, or a realistic approach like GTA IV had.
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To be fair, Saints row 3 does the wacky random lunacy so well that GTA5 would need to step it up considerably, which I think would just make it seem like they’re trying to reap off Saints rows sucess. So I think they should stick to the dark realistic open world storytelling because they’re good at it and it’s already their corner of the market. But a tad bit of lunacy couldn’t hurt, just keep the story and world real and immersive.
Ah, but who did Saints Row steal the ideas from in the first place?
True, but they made it so what as their whole theme compared to the other gta’s where it was more undertoned and a little more overlooked at the time. Keep in mind were talking about saints row, the game that dresses you up in a pink bunny suit a lets you beat people to death with 4ft dildos. And looking at rockstars sucess with gritty realistic story’s like red dead redemption or max payne 3, I don’t think the people at rockstar are yelling for more dildos. (That is something I never thought would be relevant in a gaming discussion…)
Rockstar does dark games now, with little humorous nods. RDR, GTAIV, L.A Noire, Max Payne 3 and they do it well. They could do it better, but they are still doing it really well. They are big boys now. Matured into real characters and real plotlines, if still a bit silly. I think Saint’s Row has taken GTA’s place as the Over-The-Top crazy action. And SR does it really, really good. The games are super-fun and funNY. What we need, is a more serious open world crime-game. That is what GTA is becoming. And I think that is a welcome change. It’s not like they made Fallout from a isometric turn-based RPG into a FPS, it’s more like they made Half Life into a more free, deep and interesting experience. It’s good evolution, they are not yet there, but they will be.
I think Jim Sterling made a video about it some time ago…. *Looks for it* There you go:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/4938-Will-Grand-Theft-Auto-V-Have-No-Balls
Agreed completely with Jim there
I don’t like Saints Row because of its “over-the-top crazy action”, and that is also why GTA IV is my favourite. Sure, I still like the older GTA’s but I prefer it when a game is dark, serious and more mature (realistic?). I think Rockstar should continue with what they are doing.
They could do some funny easter eggs or side missions that are not part of the main story though, I’m fine with that.
simply make the game crazier than gta4, not as crazy as saints row, have the wacky gameplay stuff of san andreas, but have a story almost as serious as gta4
Imo they should make the gameplay more loose and better veichle control
And keep the great story without the boring begining 6 hours of driving people to places with your cousins taxi
I think that GTA V can afford to bring back some of that old GTA craziness without losing a somewhat serious feel. People say that Saints Row 3 did the crazy thing to a so much greater degree than GTA, and that’s true, but that itself lets Rockstar bring back some of that craziness. San Andreas had its moments of crazy and stupid awesome, sure, but at the same time, all of it supported a pretty dark and compelling story. People act like Rockstar has to choose extremes- all out, Saints Row crazy; or Heavy-Rain-esque seriousness. They don’t. They can afford to bring back some of that old GTA insanity while still providing a compelling story. Take the GTA IV Add-On “The Ballad of Gay Tony” for instance. It had loads more crazy than the base game (a gold-plated Little Bird helicopter and APC were some highlights) , but still provided a dark and emotional storyline that kept me from putting it down. If Rockstar can re-create that, and I fully believe they can, then GTA V will be extraordinary.
What is it with people? It’s like every gamer these days has ADD and can’t appreciate a slow moving game.
GTAIV… is serious? Sure, it was more serious, but that’s not saying much, if anything at all. The only reasons it appears SO serious, is because it’s really the FIRST Grand Theft Auto video game to tell a story where we actually felt bad for the psychopathic killer protagonist. The only GTA that ended on a surprisingly non-cliche, depressing note. The character was serious. Niko was a pessimistic bastard, he represents us. But come on, the narrative was just as serious as any other Grand Theft Auto game, only this one was told in a much more refined way.
As for realism… I can’t stand how this is used. Realism implies representing a person, thing, or situation accurately or in a way that is true to life. Really. How people call GTA realistic is baffling to me, and if the definition were a person, it’d be baffling to him too. Even insulting. Any game that allows the player to run around New York City with a rocket launcher, M4, grenades, AK, etc etc, only for the player to be chased around the entirety of the city and get away is NOT realistic. The only argument for realism in GTAIV is in its physics engine. THAT’S IT. And that’s a good thing. Who the hell wants to go back to the cardboard days? I like my rag-doll physics.
Now to address this odd notion that GTAIV is not crazy. I understand. You people want Jets, tanks, flame-throwers and the like, I do too, but seriously? Is that REALLY the only way to have crazy fun in a video game? NO. I myself have had an IMMENSE amount of fun in GTAIV. We still have freaking rocket launchers for christ sake. Is that not crazy!?
As for Saints Row and GTA. The comparison is baffling. It’s like comparing a finger painting to a picasso painting. In all honesty, you are essentially asking Rockstar to completely dumb down their game to finger painting levels. You want a lesser narrative and more ridiculous, random, whacky mayhem that would even scare a child with ADD. Why? Do you enjoy Saints Row so much so that you would like for Rockstar to create an absolute carbon copy? It boggled my mind when you wrote: “GTA V can actually learn a lot from Saints Row the Third. While that game lacked Rockstar’s significant polish levels, the gameplay was immensely fun and filled with crazy vehicles, outlandish weapons and a storyline that didn’t take itself too seriously.” Really? First, you’re implying that any game without crazy vehicles, outlandish weapons, and a roll of the eyes storyline, cannot be “immensely fun”. That’s ridiculous. So you’d prefer Rockstar completely shaft any good narrative. characters, dialogue that they had in mind for GTAV, for?? For what? What in the world does Saints Row bring to the table in terms of an engaging storyline? Nothing. In fact, Saints Row would have been better if it completely dropped the storyline in their game and just allowed their players to run around smacking folks with a dildo for the highest points.
Take itself seriously? How is that a plausible criticism anyway? I find that as more of a compliment. Rockstar took their narrative seriously, they took their point seriously, which is why their narrative was praised by so many people. It’s why people love rockstar so much. They like the narratives they tell, and they like their gameplay. It seems to me the people who don’t want narrative, and would prefer utter chaos are people who should stick to playing Saints Row and Just Cause. Go ahead, abandon the GTA-mobile. You won’t be missed. GTA is moving in a new, more refined, more un-predictable direction. You’re stuck in the… in the… well… I don’t really know where you’re at, because even San Andreas took its narrative somewhat seriously. Some would say more so than GTAIV. Whether it was as successful at channeling the point of the game or not? That’s left up to debate.
As for GTAV, fear not, because I think Rockstar will blend their ultra “realism” with some good ol’ classic GTA fun. For crying out loud, did you not see the dude in the suit flying a JET?