Its good to be bad.
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CONNER MUNSON | ASST. INSCAPE EDITOR
Three days. $1 billion.
Grand Theft Auto V(GTA V) reached the milestone faster than any other entertainment property in history, according to Take Two Interactive.
This places GTA V above blockbusters films like The Dark Knight and The Avengers.
With such monumental success, it seems as if Rockstar Games(developers of GTA V) knew exactly what we all wanted:
Murder, theft, gang violence, prostitution, drug deals, etc.
They weren’t wrong.
GTA V is in the middle of an international obsession with being bad.
The things that seem to be in the forefront of pop culture are shows like Breaking Bad and Dexter, rappers like Tyler, The Creator, and films that depict anti-heroes.
Its as if the only way to be good, is to be bad.
So, is GTA V just another $1 billion droplet in the tidal wave of cliche entertainment that comes your way?
Or, is GTA V a lush island, capable of sustenance and longevity?
I suppose you’ll have to play the game in order to decide.
If you do venture into Los Santos, you will find yourself immersed in what seems to be an exact replica of Los Angeles and it’s surrounding areas.
An open world, roughly the size of real-life Manhattan or San Francisco, where the player is free to disobey the law without any tangible consequences.
You will have three characters with you throughout the many intertwining story lines. Each of them are playable, and are switched to-and-fro easily with a flick of the analog stick.
Franklin
Eyes hazed by a couple puffs of the jay, Franklin stumbles out of his urban Los Santos Bungalow in search for a ride to jack.
He makes quick work of the lock, using a slim-jim with deft hands, and despite the blaring alarm, careens forward towards Ammu-nation in search of a new weapon.
A quick flip of the radio turns his ear to FlyLo radio, where Tyler, The Creator garbles something about murdering some tweekers.
On the agenda: “repossess” some cars, meet Lamar for the big drug deal on Grove st., and help Michael with the bank heist.
Michael
Michael is middle-aged, losing his family, losing his money, losing his mind. His wife and their two children fled to Los Santos after a failed heist, leaving them in witness protection.
Years later, the family is embroiled in the Vinewood hills culture. Michael’s wife is cheating on him with her tennis instructor, his son is a disrespectful stoner, and his daughter is a whore.
Michael is making progress with Franklin, the son he wished he had, who quickly learns the pace of a risky heist.
After their riskiest mission yet, something Michael says to a witness is broadcasted on Los Santos televisions, and invites an old friend, and the reason Michael is in witness protection.
In walks Trevor…
Trevor
Michael’s old heist-mate, Trevor, is a raving lunatic. In his first scene, he is loudly having sex with a meth-head in a decrepit trailer home.
After being found by her boyfriend, Trevor stomps the man to death for simply asking him why he would be doing that with his girlfriend.
All the while, he hears Michael’s quote on the T.V.. and instantly recognizes it as Michael, the man Trevor thought was dead.
With all three men now in Los Santos together, you must work as a crew, navigating the massive terrain in order to accomplish a wide array of vehicle, flying, shooting, and even submarine diving missions.
You won’t necessarily have to do the missions to make money, as there is a stock market, property to purchase, business to run, and a myriad of side quests that make use of the absolutely giant map.
San Andreas will be the most beautiful thing you have seen in a video game. The attention to detail and recreation of realistic natural elements in the Southern Californian biome make this game feel like deja-vu if you have ever been near Los Angeles.
Rockstar Games has a created a world that will only grow with the forthcoming online multiplayer, yet will still be atop every gamers list for game of the year, and is an absolute must-play.
