Grand Theft Auto V (PS4)

The media could not be loaded. ♦ Introduction ♦Grand Theft Auto V first came out on the PS3 & Xbox 360 late 2013; it did amazingly well in sales and was a game that truly stretched the last-gen consoles to their limits. To many this was not only an absolutely stunning looking game, but a really enjoyable one to play too.During the game you get to play with three different characters:∙ Michael: A "retired" bank robber.∙ Franklin: Works for a luxury car dealership as a repossession guy.∙ Trevor: A former military pilot who is a bank robber, drug/weapons dealer & stereotypical redneck; this guy is absolutely insane!Apart from times where the storyline solely concentrates on one character, you can freely switch between each character who has different skills/abilities. They might be near to the character you've recently switched from, or could be over the other side of the map! In all honesty, I really liked this aspect of the game.That all said, I wasn't quite sure if I was going to dig deep in my pockets to pay full price for a game I already own, just to have it on a different console. As the game was nearing to its release, the more I saw about the improvements which were being made to the game; it wasn't too long before I pre-ordered my copy.♦ Box Contents & Game Information ♦- Inside the case: GTAV game disc | Instruction manual | Game world map | $500,000 In-game credit voucher (main game & online)*.* Subject to availability: This was supposed be an incentive to pre-order the game, so depending on when you buy the game, you may not get this voucher.- Game Information: 1 Player (Main Game) | 2-30 Players (Online) | Requires a minimum of 55GB storage space | Supports remote play.- Trophies: 1 Platinum | 3 Gold | 5 Silver | 42 Bronze.♦ What's New? ♦∙ Plays at 1080p at 30fps (Up from 720p which the last-gen consoles played in).∙ First Person Mode: Play GTAV like you've never played it before!∙ Major graphics improvement (cleaner look, more realistic, better lighting/reflections and less frame-dropping).∙ All extra DLC that was available for the PS3/Xbox comes included on day release.∙ 161 New songs added to the game (Now that's a big increase!).∙ "Improved" Online performance: I can see this happening once the servers settled down, anyone remember what happened last time?The above is what I know of so far; I will update if I find out any further information.- First Person Mode -This mode is quickly activated upon pressing down the touch panel.There are a tonne of available options to cater for this new mode:∙ First Person Control Type: Standard | Alternate | Southpaw | Alt+South | Std FPS | Alt FPS | South FPS | Alt_South FPS | + More.∙ First Person Look-Around Sensitivity: Sensitive Bar.∙ First Person Aiming Sensitivity: Sensitive Bar.∙ First Person On Foot Field of View: Sensitive Bar.∙ First Person Ragdoll: On | Off.∙ First Person Combat Roll: On | Off.∙ First Person Head Bobbing: On | Off.∙ First Person Third Person Cover: On | Off.This mode may require some practice & tweaking of settings to get used to, however it may just be a love or hate option at the end of the day.- Improved Graphics -There's not really much I can say... This game looks like I would have never imagined it before because I thought it already looked great, so seeing it being improved again really is icing on the cake.Textures, lighting, overall graphics... It all looks amazing.♦ Final Thoughts ♦The improvements made to this game are pretty darn significant. If you thought GTAV looked out of this world on the last-gen consoles then hold on to your seat because you're about to be blown away.Now, if you've played this game on any of the last-gen consoles and didn't enjoy it, buying this game won't change your mind; sure you can appreciate how much better it looks and even smoother play, but it's highly likely you still won't enjoy the game.For those who enjoyed playing this game on either the PS3 or Xbox 360, trust me, you won't be wasting your money purchasing this game again.Would highly recommend.► Note: I've included a little video to show off the graphics and first person mode. I kept it short as it's very hard to capture footage without having the main character or someone on the street shouting out some kind of profanity.

I don't think I really need to explain the minute details of what GTA V is about, unless you have been living under a rock for the past year you'll know what it is, the good and the controversial. Short version, you play 3 characters Michael, Trevor & Franklin as they strive to survive in the fictional American city of Los Santos, no doubt loosely based on Los Angeles.So what's new? Probably the biggest change is the new "First Person" mode. This is not a constant mode but you can choose to use it. It adds a completely new dimension to the game. ALL the vehicles have interiors you can look round whilst you are in them, (something Gran Turismo hasn't managed yet despite being a dedicated driving game). Wandering round in First Person almost makes it a completely new game, it really does change things. You are not forced into this new perspective, but it is definitely worth more than a passing glance. You can even choose to have options such as when you take cover you revert to Third Person view so you can see more, Rockstar have really thought about this one.Graphically, with the improved power of the PS4 graphically it has been polished, it was in no way shabby on the PS3 but it is better make no mistake, cactus's now have spines, the hair on both people and animals now looks more natural as opposed to a plastic hair piece, as crazy as it sounds watching the rain is amazing, you see the splashes in the puddles, the water actually pools naturally, the light reflections in the pools look amazing. People now look even more like people, people now have more natural skin tones, crows feet from hard work, it would be wrong to say it is graphically ground breaking but it is better and I think polished would be the best description, bear in mind this is still a new system as such the limits are still being explored.There are some great little features, when the mobile phones are used the sound comes out of the controllers speaker as if you were actually holding a mobile phone on speaker phone mode, when you are being chased by the Police the light bar flashes blue and red. The touch pad, which I'll admit, I thought might be a bit of a gimmick when I first got my PS4 gets plenty of use in this game which makes life easier as rather than memorizing button combo's all it takes is a quick swipe of the pad.More animals have been added, cats roam with their gangster pet attitudes, instead of just Chop the Rottwieller and the insightful Labrador Franklin meets you now have Westies, Husky's, Border Collies, as dogs wandering about, Orca's and Humpback Whales, Hammerhead Sharks, Rays, all new additions to the wildlife.New missions have been added, find the grafitti tags, wildlife photography, the peyote plants (the effects of that are fun to say the least), the murder mystery.New vehicles have been added as well as some classic vehicles from past GTA that have been polished and brought back.All in all this is an excellent addition to the GTA series, promising much for the series. I personally was very disappointed with GTA IV, I thought it was a disappointing addition to the series, with Next Gen GTA V the series is very much back in the saddle and a very worthy addition. I've already played the Single Player mode repeatedly and will gladly continue to do so, especially with these new improvements, add the Online mode, this a fantastic addition a gaming collection.