I have always said I will play this game at some point, but just haven't until recently. There are some people who like to save the good part for later when it comes to doing things, I am certainly one of those people. In case you haven't got my message yet, GTA 5 is a phenomenal game.

I was a playing a different game before GTA 5 and found myself unable to sit and play for longer than 2 hours. I thought I just got tired of gaming after all these years but then I picked up GTA 5 and tried to pull an all-nighter to finish the game. The game offers a compelling experience both gameplay wise and narrative wise.

Gameplay wise, now you get to choose between 3 characters to play, each with their special abilities. I find this to be the most convenient when I want to, say, get back to the city by switching a different character while my current character is out there in the wilderness. Each time you switch the characters, there is also a mini cutscene where you get to see what the characters were up to before. These cutscenes add a lot of personalities to the characters and I really love them (especially Trevor's ridiculous ones). Each character's abilities can also come in handy when necessary. Michael has that Max Payne style bullet time ability; Franklin has the ability for you to execute tight maneuvers when driving; and Trevor can go berserk. I was skeptical on the usefulness of the abilities before coming into this game but ended up really liking it.

While the gunplay of this game is really similar to that of GTA 4, the driving of this game feels very different and arguably a lot worse than the previous title. The cars in this game have a more arcade feel to them and can be really slippery as it feels like they lack sufficient weight. The driving is by no means horrible or I would have absolutely hated this game. However, it does steer pretty heavily into being way too arcade than I would like it to.

Compared to GTA 4, there is also a lot more you can do within this game. You can mod your car again like in GTA SA now. You can also drive planes and even participate in races. You can get a haircut, a tattoo, and doing fucking yoga (fuck yoga, Michael will not reach enlightenment). In terms of sandbox, there is a lot you can do in this game and many of them are executed a lot better than some of the newer titles of the modern era.

Now, onto the narrative of this game. I feel like each GTA game is basically a Hollywood film except the stories and characters are much better. In terms of this game, this feels like one of those blockbuster action films that just makes you go "Hell yeah!" afterwards. It is also why I feel like ending C is the most fitting ending for this game but that's going on a tangent. Speaking of endings, there are three different ones in this game and each of them is executed pretty well in my opinion. The rest of the narrative can be best described as filled with action and fun. Don't walk in expecting some narrative masterpiece though. This game is a blockbuster action film and it ought to be treated that way.

There are also a significant amount of side quests and random encounters within this game. Some of them are wacky as fuck and really demonstrates the craziness that is modern America. I love that they are able to embed the collection quests into some of the side quests of this game. This makes the collectathons more meaningful instead of just collecting 50 random ass oysters or 100 mysterious hidden packages. I plan on 100%ing this game and am looking forward to exploring the world as I kept collecting weird shit.

Like its HD era sibling, GTA V is also most definitely going to be a future classic (or it already is considering the game is 11 years old at this point). The GTA franchise is arguably one of the most successful franchises in video game history with bangers after bangers. With GTA VI finally coming out soon, I really look forward to the future of this excellent franchise that Rockstar accidentally created due to bad programming that made the police cars more aggressive than they should.

This game deserves all the praise it gets, simply because it is a truly beautiful and artistic game.

The best part of the game is its plot. Let's just say it has been long since I got this invested into a game's plot like Omori's. I am glad I didn't get into too many spoilers when I got into this game. Completing the journey as the sad story is being slowly revealed to you is a very rewarding experience and the best way to enjoy this game.

The worlds of this game and the controls feel really similar to Earthbound. However, I find some parts of the game to be a little too long and repetitive and completely filled with enemies. Therefore sometimes I feel the pace of this game is a lot slower compared to Earthbound, which is funny since the latter also takes a very long time to finish. The length of this game might be a good or bad thing depending on your perspective.

I find the combat of this game to be really mid. Unlike games like Earthbound where you won't have to go through the trouble of defeating weaker enemies after a certain level, you will still have to battle all the weaker enemies who charge towards you. Let's just say turn-based combat becomes really boring and annoying the 100th time you run into it while trying to get somewhere. The combat in this game is also surprisingly easy. I died a million times playing Earthbound yet I hardly if ever died in this game. The game's battle mechanics are perfectly functional, it's just can be really boring at times, which I feel like is a universal vice for most turn based rpgs.

Despite the flawed gameplay, the narrative makes this whole journey completely worthwhile in my opinion. I don't want to get into spoilers but this game's narrative is really, really strong. So far I have only completed the good ending and might attempt the bad ending route some time soon. Though the battle mechanics may not appeal to me much, I still feel this game deserves all the good reputation it has garnered from its player base.

When I was a kid, first seeing someone playing this game absolutely blew my mind.

I first saw this game around 2008 or 2009, just when it got released. The graphics were exceptional when I first saw it. It was unlike anything I have seen before. The HD era GTA games were really ahead of their times during release. Even today, the graphics of GTA 4 age really well.

The most unique thing about GTA 4 is probably its physics engine. Rockstar spent a lot of time tweaking the game engine GTA 4 runs upon and it really shows. The car crash and rag doll physics are extremely realistic for a 2008 game. Hell I still think they are really impressive even today. Sure there is the side effect of that funny swing you can play with but there is no denying that GTA 4's physics engine is simply out of this world.

GTA 4 has a very heavy emphasis on narrative, with sandbox exploration taking a back seat in my opinion. The game can thus be a hit or miss depending on whether you like the story or not. I, and many others, do really like the story of GTA 4 and Nico Bellic is one of my favorite game protagonists of all time.

I saw a lot of people having problems with the driving in this game. I actually enjoyed driving in GTA 4 a lot more than GTA 5. The cars feel like they have weight here and the controls are thus more realistic and predictable in my opinion. I do miss the blurring effect that they had when you drive very fast in GTA SA. Otherwise, I find the driving system to be well implemented and appreciate that cars function like actual cars. The helicopters control like absolute shit though.

The combat of this game is another evolution from the previous titles. This time you interact with covers and play more like a tactical shooter. This generally works for me as the combat feels more realistic and the gunplay feels very solid. I think it's also implemented very well.

Playing this game is supposed to be a "meeting the hero" moment for me, yet I don't seem to be as enthusiastic as I expected when writing this review. The major issue is the still lingering optimization problem in my opinion. Despite being an older game, GTA 4 seems to run noticeably worse compared to GTA 5 on my PC. I feel like the inputs are lagging sometimes and it really interferes with my experience. It is not bad to the point of becoming the BioShock remasters but I don't appreciate its presence at all. Then there is the infamous friend mechanics. Let's just say there is a very good reason why "bowling" becomes such a big meme - Roman would not stop pestering you about going out to bowl with him. Many times I will be doing something or getting somewhere and receiving a call from one of the "friends" is just extremely annoying and pace breaking. Don't decline their request, as you would be losing friendship points with them. Instead, make sure to accept it and then cancel the plans. That is the trick I learnt. And oh, fuck them flying rats, you get basically no rewards after that and they are all extremely annoying to find.

Despite my rant, I still really love GTA 4. I don't regret meeting my "hero" and enjoyed the game a lot during my playthrough. In case I haven't made myself clear: GTA 4 is a very good game despite some of its shortcomings. It was and still is groundbreaking in a lot of ways and is definitely one of the best games of the late 2000s.