Master Chief might have a shinier helmet. The Last of Us might boast more grotesque excrescence sprouting from its mutant menaces. But when it comes to new-gen reissues, Grand Theft Auto V has Los Santos and youve never seen a videogame look this good.
Not content with just giving its seedy, faux Hollywood open-world crime opus a visual overhaul, Rockstar Games uses a clever trick to pull players closer to the staggering detail than ever before. In its biggest innovation, Grand Theft Auto V implements a new first-person mode that flips the traditional third-person action into a raw, immediate up-close viewpoint that has the power to disorientate as much as it does immerse.
The result isnt the disastrous all-corrupting perspective you may have heard, burning images of abject violence into youthful retinas. Instead, this new mode offers a throwaway, fun addition that, in some instances (shootouts, sightseeing), enhances the sprawling backdrop, but mostly hinders the core gameplay experience.
But we cant fault Rockstars efforts in imbuing its biting satire of Hollywood life with, somewhat ironically, more substance. The One Last Job narrative of Michael, Trevor and Franklin plays out the same, but its bolstered here by a more robust online mode (with impending heist missions), new vehicles and weapons to play with, while extra missions add some longevity to the inventive campaign. It turns out theres plenty more to see in this gloriously debauched metropolis.
It goes without saying that if youre yet to visit Los Santos then theres no better time. For those making a return trip, youll find yourself peering at it through fresh eyes, even if the world itself feels very much a same. In short: one of the best games of all time just got a little bit better.