GTAV (PS3): "First Impressions"

For some reason, or another I went with the "In Crowd" on my purchase of GTAV. I guess curiosity finally got the best of me. In all honesty though it was online that really caught my attention in this instance. While many gamers have no doubt spent hours upon hours playing through the previous GTA games I'm one of those rare exceptions who has never (and I mean "NEVER") played a GTA game in my life, so my purchase was more of an impulse buy in that respect. I did watch my brother play through Vice City once, but that's about it when it comes down to my prior knowledge of the series. Luckily for you guys & gals that means I went in with a totally unbiased opinion. I didn't really know what to expect from the game. Of course I've heard plenty of tales about banging strippers, boobs, and all the criminal activities that a modern day gangster wannabe could hope for though. Regardless of my knowledge, or lack thereof I feel I should I should give to you my first impressions of the game. Aren't you lucky? xD

When it comes to vulgar trash talking, hoe banging, virtual lap dances, and gang banging to the highest degree no one quite does it like RockStar Games. From the beginning of GTAV moving forward you will be blessed (or rather cursed) to hear every cuss word imaginable in each, and every cutscene that plays out. Among the continuous use of verbal assaults you will constantly be hearing two words in particular that reign supreme in the !@#$% up world of GTAV. Those words are of course the infamous "F-Bomb (and all of it's wondrous variations)", and the "N-word (and yes I do mean the racist one)". It's a given fact in this day, and age that most of us have heard the "F-Bomb" at some point in our lives, and perhaps even the "N-word". While such trash talk is acceptable to some I found the verbal assault to be quite offensive to my ears. I wouldn't have minded an "F-Bomb" dropped every so often seeing that GTAV is an "M" rated game, but the number of times they use it in the game is beyond excessive. They must have broken some sort of obscene record. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if RockStar was trying to earn their place in the "Guinness Book of World Records" with their amount of trash talking in GTAV. As far as the "N-Word" goes it was offensive the first time they said it, and should be deemed offensive by anyone in their right mind, whether you're white or black.

Getting past the language issues ... Aside from the nonstop verbal abuse there's plenty of womanizing to be found in the city of Los Santos. At night you can drive up to a hooker, invite her into your car, and pay for one of three different sex acts. In these moments of lustful entertainment you only catch a small sliver of the sexy action as it plays out, but through controller vibration, and sex talk from the hooker you can pretty much understand what's going on. Even though I'm an adult film journalist I kind of find the prostitution feature to be a tad bit distasteful, to be honest. The strip club is an entirely different story though. I kind of liked walking into the establishment, picking a lady of my choosing, and taking her back to a special booth to watch the girl get her groove on. The fact that she was topless was icing on the cake. The downside to this though was that there was a transvestite who took my offer during one of my routine stops. I feel there should be a way to tell which girl is truly a lady before you hand over the cash. Aside from the adult entertainment aspects of the joint I liked that it was true-to-life complete with it's own bar, and dancer pole. It was pretty darn cool in my personal opinion (even though the strippers' boobs all looked faker than a three dollar bill).

Now onto gameplay ... GTAV is definitely not without its "WTF?" glitches. When I first began playing the initial heist scenario at the beginning of the game I made it to a point where there was a shoot off with the cops. Once the cutscene ended I stepped past the brick columns to confront the police head on, and went from being in the world of GTAV to existing in a place with no detail, and cop car lights off in the distance. It was like stepping foot into the "Twilight Zone (I love that movie, btw!)". Other glitches include police alerts that play out long after the heat (stars) is gone, and character voice-overs that aren't in sync with the action that is going on. I'm sure as I continue my playthrough I'll run into plenty more of these glitches. The fact is though that in the state that the game's currently in it feels like another half-assed release that was far from being perfect. There's no doubt in my mind that RockStar will be looking to you guys, and gals for details on issues that need to be fixed. It's unfortunately what game development has come to these days. It's all about cutting corners at the consumers' expense. I just hope RockStar fixes the game before a game breaking glitch rears it's ugly head.

Now onto graphics & sound quality ... Los Santos, and it's many citizens (including Franklin & Michael) seem to be caught in a sort of gaming limbo. The developer appears to have tried their best to make this current-gen game look as near to next-gen as possible, but ultimately failed in doing so. What you have instead of an amazing feat of graphical prowess is a game that moves like the older games in the series yet looks better than it's predecessors. Often times you'll happen up upon characters whose movements are stiff, and unrealistic. While they physically look cool, their animations are anything, but that. As far as the looks of the city, and the vehicles go I think RockStar got that portion of the game right. Driving through the streets, and highways of Los Santos is definitely not a sight to be missed. The fact that day, and night changes alter the city in a realistic manner makes the overall experience of traveling from location to location a fun one. Factor in the unique radio stations that come with each ride you steal, and you'll find it's like cruising the streets of a real life city.

Well, that's my critique for now. I haven't played too much of the game yet, but once I do I might just deliver a review for you guys, and gals. As it stands though I'm on the borderline of liking, and disliking the game. Even with my complaints, and praises I've not yet decided whether, or not GTAV is a worthy gaming experience.