Grand Theft Auto V was nearly perfect when I bought it for PS4. I played it for uncounted hours (more single-player than multiplayer) but it was a game that has eaten a good chunk of my life.
I just bought it again on PC; here’s why you should own it there too.
The secret to Grand Theft Auto is multifaceted: these are games with incredible storylines and great characters, but they also include a remarkable amount of freedom as well. If you’re just tuning in for the first time, let’s start with the basics: Grand Theft Auto V is an open-world game where you can play one of three characters in the story mode or a character of your own creation in the included GTA Online mode. This is a game where almost anything is possible–including going on wild and crazy shootings sprees or engaging in visits to adult-oriented bars–so it’s strictly rated M, 18+. If your kid is younger than that and you’re buying the game for them, please spend the time sitting beside them as they play so you can actually talk about it.
The gameplay of Grand Theft Auto V includes third person gun-play, drivable boats, planes, helicopters cars, trucks, motorcycles, and even bicycles. You can go skydiving. You can take a small plane out for a spin around the absolutely immense Los Santos landscape, or you can pilot a jet from airport to airport. You can steal a fighter jet, drive a tank, go diving in a sub. You can buy a house and kit it out with new clothes for your character, and stuff the garage full of high end cars. You can tune your car for races or combat, you can take missions to kill bad guys, and as included with the release of the PC version, you can plan heists online with a crew of other GTA players. You can even catch muggers, beat them up (or worse) and give the cash back to the victim. Me? I like to drive around town following the rules of the road; it drives my friends crazy. I only wish the game had turn signals.
The PC version does everything that the PS4 and Xbox One version did with a few benefits: if you’ve got a rig that can handle it, it’ll do 60 frames per second with texture resolutions that can only be described as stunning. It also supports multi-monitor setups, and yes you can get it working with Oculus Rift. The level of immersion that you’ll find in the PC version is quite a bit higher thanks to this realism; I loved the game on PS4, it’s better than Skyrim on PC (in my opinion).
Here’s a video that shows you the triple-screen setup on PC:
The PC Version also includes the Rockstar editor, a tool that allows you to take gameplay footage and turn it into some incredible video. If you like to tinker with creating media this is a great way to spend your time. Speaking of which, here’s a video of a rig with two GTX970s running the game at max everything. Yeah.
The last thing to consider if you’re thinking about getting into GTA V is the availability of something that made Skyrim on PC the definitive version: mods. Modifications are released by the PC gaming community and can drastically change how the game plays. I actually bought GTA V on PC for this alone… everything else was an added bonus.
So that’s an overview of GTA V in general and the PC version in specific. If you want to join me in game, hit me up at rogerwilco on PS4 and threepio on Steam. Pick up the strategy guide if you want to get caught up in a hurry.
See you in Los Santos.
