Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto 5 is a game that almost needs no introduction, but I’m going to give it one anyway.
A smash hit since its early days the car stealing, crime simulator titles began back as a top-down title all the way back in 1997. It’s spawned several titles and spin-offs, eventually becoming 3D and each title growing in scope and complexity.
While these days it’s known for comedically over the top violence, satire and comedy it’s also been the subject of many controversies from glamorising criminal behaviour, excessive violence as well as depicting sex and drugs.
Grand Theft Auto V was released back in 2013 and as of November 2021, GTA 5 had sold a staggering 155 million copies making it one of the best-selling games of all time.
Rockstar has released an updated and enhanced version for modern systems the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S to allow the streets of Los Santos to look better than ever and introduce a whole new audience to the grimey world of GTA.
Grand Theft Auto fans are likely still a little suspicious of any GTA ports after the disappointing GTA Trilogy, a remaster of classic titles GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas was panned for its poor performance and lacklustre models and gameplay tweaks, but rest assured with GTA V that is not the case.
Friends, Michael and psychopath Trevor are armed robbers who take part in a huge heist that goes wrong which leave Trevor escapes alone and Michael fakes his death to get out of his life of crime.
He is slowly brought back into his old habits due to his lack of money and hatred for who he has become, his family despite their animosity towards him, and to pay off a mob boss.
Meanwhile, Franklin is struggling to make an honest living and is trying to do better than his irresponsible and criminal friends. Michael then gets Franklin fired from his job and he and Michael begin working together on heists.
Already violent and dangerous, Trevor has only further devolved, falling out with meth addicts, bikers, mob bosses and a lethal private security group.
After suspecting Michael is in fact alive and betrayed him, Trevor goes to look for him and get payback for the past heist.
Michael, Trevor and Franklin begin working together on heists and uncover a plot that could change Los Santos as well as get them all killed.
The main change to the game is the graphical updates and while the updated game doesn’t look as singularly beautiful as Red Dead 2 and despite the game’s engine showing its age, updates, especially the Ray tracing really adds an extra level of realism and beauty to the world.
Besides the higher resolution and Ray tracing, textures also seem more detailed, foliage seems more abundant helping the game look more up to date.
The newer version of the game also features greater population density, this means the number of pedestrians and cars and traffic in your world has been increased, making for a more realistic and sometimes chaotic experience.
Three graphical options are included allowing players to play the game in their preferred way...
Fidelity mode runs the game at the highest graphical settings and looks the best, with native 4k, as well as Ray tracing and 30 fps.
Performance mode targets 60 fps (how well did it do?) upscales a lower resolution to 4k allowing it to hit that smoother frame rate.
Performance RT mode acts like the best of both worlds, with lower resolution upscaled 4k allowing it to target that 60 fps but with the impressive lighting power of Ray tracing turned on (only for PS5 and Xbox Series X)
The higher framerates especially are the real hero here given how sluggish and slow and unresponsive GTA V can feel, playing in a stable 60 can really make it feel much more responsive than the original game ever was.
Sound has also been improved with the addition of Spatial sound on Xbox and Tempest 3D positional audio on PlayStation 5 adding further immersion.
Loading times of the single-player GTA story mode are drastically improved due to the much more powerful hardware of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S getting you back in the action and drastically improving the pace of the game.
Loading times for GTA Online while improved just aren’t as good as the single-player loading times it’s based on connection speed etc rather the just the system hardware.
Haptic feedback is also included for those with the PS5 DualSense controller adding another level of immersion which while not essential is definitely appreciated.
GTA Online is a standalone title the games have been separated. This version will of course include all the updates to GTA Online over the past 8 years.
Instead of GTA online just dropping you in free mode you have a new menu screen that allows you to select what you want to do first. This new Menu highlights the latest DLC, currently “The Contract”.
You can import your progress and profiles from the previous version of the game and even across platforms, except the PC version.
This will include your progress, properties, weapons, and jobs so you can continue the mayhem, but there’s a great new option for GTA Online players starting from scratch.
GTA Online also now features a new career builder that allows you to pick from 4 careers straight off the bat and awards you will $4,000,000 that you can invest in weapons, vehicles, and a base of operations.
This gives you a massive head start in your criminal career; however, this can only be done once.
I really appreciate the introductory missions that help show you the ropes, as when I first played GTA online I was just dropped into the world with no idea what I was doing.
Sadly, the game doesn’t feature much in the way of new gameplay content, which feels like a missed opportunity but I had forgotten how massive the original game is, while the Online mode is also regularly receiving new content.
There are five new vehicles, but they function more like reskins of existing ones, great for players who want to flex but not really noticeable to most players.
There’s a new auto shop called Hao’s Special works that replaces LS Car Meet, this allows you to further upgrade a vehicle's performance and add some new Hao’s graphics and very flashy new paint jobs.
New separate races and time trials have been included for the heavily modified and much faster new cars.
The game is sold as a separate product instead of an update with it priced at £17.49 for Xbox X/S and £8.75 for the PS5 version.
Verdict
Grand Theft Auto V for Xbox Series X and PS5 isn't so much expanded but it's certainly enhanced.
The common criticism here is that it looks the same, and there’s a small nugget of truth to that, the updated visuals aren't mindblowing, but they do add up to make a difference.
While those graphical changes aren’t as dramatic as the difference between GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2, the drastically reduced loading times, higher framerates and improved audio on the current hardware does make the game much more enjoyable.
It’s insane to think the game has been released across three generations of consoles but despite the improved graphics and performance it still sometimes looks and feels its age.
If you own the previous version this will be a tough decision and much tougher for PC games that already had the graphical edge.
GTA V is one of the best-selling games of all time for a reason and the enhanced version should be a no brainer for those with Next-gen systems who don’t own the original game or are looking for an excuse to dive back in.
