By now you’ve probably heard the media storm surrounding the release of video game Grand Theft Auto 5. You might not be a gamer, and you might not get why so many teens and fully-fledged grown-ups are spending hours a day sitting starring at the TV, killing people or stealing cars or something. It sounds quite horrific. But you don’t need to get it – what you do need to do is buy your friend or relative the game for their Birthday if they haven’t already bought it!
So what’s so special about GTA 5?
If you haven’t engaged with video games since the days of pong or Pac-Man, you probably don’t realise just how advanced these mini-worlds in the TV have become. Grand Theft Auto isn’t so much a game, as it is virtual reality. The kind once only portrayed in Sci-Fi movies.
Yes, it’s violent, but it is also an artistic masterpiece and a cutting edge piece of technology. Graphically it’s about as close to real-life as you can get. Detail wise, it’s simply breathtaking.
Rockstar has established a ground-breaking franchise with Grand Theft Auto, which all started over 10 years ago. The games are recognised in the gaming industry, particularly GTA 3, for revolutionising the way we play games.
You see where games used to be limited to a set of rules within a predefined context, the makers of GTA are the pioneers of “open-world” gameplay. Meaning they’ve designed whole cities from where the gameplay takes place, and the player can explore this vast detail freely without ever having to embark on the predefined story elements.
GTA 5 puts players in a very accurate rendition of LA, and from there it’s really up to them what they get up to. You can buy tattoos, smoke cannabis (hey it is legal in California with a doctor’s note), go to theme parks or the cinema, skydive, explore the countryside and mountains, hunt, buy houses and other items. The list is endless, however, the most fun comes when breaking the law, stealing cars, and killing people. You can do anything you can in real life. And that’s the charm of it all.
Call it escapism, call it an aggression outlet without the consequences of real-life – whatever it is it’s fun, and if you buy a cash strapped gamer a copy for their Birthday they might just love you as much as playing it!