Grand Theft Trains, Planes, Automobiles, Bikes, Helicopters...
Beyond all the structured games, there is always the entertainment of just picking up whatever mode of transport you’d like to try. The range of cars includes the old familiars; Manana, Blista, Banshee, Infernus, but there are also heaps of newcomers.
Some drive like pigs with greased back hooves, other stick to the road like they’re on rails. Motorcycles are there but don’t appear as frequently as cars or trucks. Speaking of trucks, there are so many of those its almost like no two are the same; from pickups, vans and rigid-bodies to dump trucks and articulated.
If you want to get around a bit quicker, though with a limited choice of destinations, you could try nicking an aeroplane and then having a bit of sport flying under all of the 50 bridges to earn the “Under the Bridge” achievement/trophy. Helicopters are also out there to find, though they are not as prolific. If you’d prefer to just kick back and travel the world hobbo-style, you can hope on a freight train and let it take the strain.
Issues
As I said, it doesn’t all come down the size. There’s just so much to do, you could tease out the main story months, between bouts of other endeavours. All of this detail carries a cost, though. It’s name is “framerate”.
On the PS3 version, at least, there are clear issue with keeping up the framerate when things get busy. It tends to get busy when you’re elbow deep in traffic, which is when you least want a drop is responsiveness. Just flicking to the side to check the view uncovers the stuttering mess, which in a self-drive highway shootout, can make the situation somewhat confusing.
On the matter of bad points, what’s the deal with rolling cars, Rockstar? In GTAs gone by, if you rolled your mechanical ride, you got the hell out before it blew up. Now, you can just right the vehicle by nudging the left stick. It sure takes the peril out of reckless driving, to the point where only a high speed head-on or other serious impacts are cause for concern (i.e. launched head-long through windscreen or crippling the car).
Rising above this niggles, though, are those characters. When you engage with their stories and even care about the filthy, merciless fucks, you’re always going to enjoy the game that much more.
Pros:
+ Superb characters
+ Massive missions, world & play options
+ Possible 100+ hours of enjoyable gameplay
Cons:
- Framerate suffers at times
- More urban variety outside of Los Santos
- The strip clubs. Really?
SPOnG score: 5/5
Beyond all the structured games, there is always the entertainment of just picking up whatever mode of transport you’d like to try. The range of cars includes the old familiars; Manana, Blista, Banshee, Infernus, but there are also heaps of newcomers.
Some drive like pigs with greased back hooves, other stick to the road like they’re on rails. Motorcycles are there but don’t appear as frequently as cars or trucks. Speaking of trucks, there are so many of those its almost like no two are the same; from pickups, vans and rigid-bodies to dump trucks and articulated.
If you want to get around a bit quicker, though with a limited choice of destinations, you could try nicking an aeroplane and then having a bit of sport flying under all of the 50 bridges to earn the “Under the Bridge” achievement/trophy. Helicopters are also out there to find, though they are not as prolific. If you’d prefer to just kick back and travel the world hobbo-style, you can hope on a freight train and let it take the strain.
As I said, it doesn’t all come down the size. There’s just so much to do, you could tease out the main story months, between bouts of other endeavours. All of this detail carries a cost, though. It’s name is “framerate”.
On the PS3 version, at least, there are clear issue with keeping up the framerate when things get busy. It tends to get busy when you’re elbow deep in traffic, which is when you least want a drop is responsiveness. Just flicking to the side to check the view uncovers the stuttering mess, which in a self-drive highway shootout, can make the situation somewhat confusing.
On the matter of bad points, what’s the deal with rolling cars, Rockstar? In GTAs gone by, if you rolled your mechanical ride, you got the hell out before it blew up. Now, you can just right the vehicle by nudging the left stick. It sure takes the peril out of reckless driving, to the point where only a high speed head-on or other serious impacts are cause for concern (i.e. launched head-long through windscreen or crippling the car).
Rising above this niggles, though, are those characters. When you engage with their stories and even care about the filthy, merciless fucks, you’re always going to enjoy the game that much more.
Pros:
+ Superb characters
+ Massive missions, world & play options
+ Possible 100+ hours of enjoyable gameplay
Cons:
- Framerate suffers at times
- More urban variety outside of Los Santos
- The strip clubs. Really?
SPOnG score: 5/5