On November 17th, Rockstar Games released a remastered version of Grand Theft Auto made specifically for next generation consoles. The game was originally released a a little over a year ago on what then was considered current generation consoles. Because the remastered version came out only a year later and is basically the same game with extra features and improved graphics it poses one question: is it worth it? This question especially applies to the players who bought the original version of the game.

Perhaps the most persuasive new feature in the game is the addition of a first person mode, which allows the player to play the game through the eyes of the characters. This mode is integrated very well into the game; players have the option to switch between third and and first person at any point in the game. It is easy to get accustomed to and is a completely new experience to returning players who are used to playing in third person on the older consoles. I am glad to say that thanks to this mode the game is a much different experience gameplay wise. What I mean by that is that the game can be experienced much differently with this mode, for example in the old game, on a specific mission the player was required to tail a plane while in a crop duster, with the first person mode on, this mission has a different level of difficulty and requires the player to approach it slightly differently than they would in third person. Rockstar has also spent some time giving extra details to locations that would normally not be seen in third person, minor details like dashboard lights working in a car, or a cracked screen on a phone. What really surprised me is that the player’s vision is affected by accessories like helmets or glasses; putting on glasses causes the screen to be the same shade as the glasses and a helmet will slightly limit the player’s field of view. Unfortunately, it is not possible to view the whole playable part of the game in first person due to some moments that force the camera to be in third person, which I found a bit disappointing because it changes the experience, especially for players like me who are attempting to play the whole campaign in first person. However, this is only a minor negative compared to all the positives of this mode. Overall, I would give a nine out of ten for this mode.

Other new features include a selection of new vehicles in the game. Although there are not as many as it would be expected, and some will not be available to players unless they have played the older version of the game. For example, there is one plane that appeared in the older Rockstar game called Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, that can be unlocked by completing new missions available to only those returning players. There are a few other additions that follow this basis. These features are not necessities to play the game, which may have been Rockstar’s attempt on trying to convince last gen players to upgrade, and let’s face it, exclusive content is a good way of convincing someone to upgrade. Whether that is the reason, or if Rockstar is just trying to reward loyal players, it is not known if these special features will be released as a paid extension pack in the future. It is also interesting to see cars that were part of extension packs in the older game driving on the roads of Los Santos, especially since the only way to see them in single player on last gen was to select one from the character’s garage. And while this may not seem that important to many players, as a returning player I am quite pleased by it. I give this section a six out of ten because although the new vehicles are nice to have, much more could have been added on.

Graphically, the game does not really feel like it looks extremely better than the old one, even though it clearly does. If the two are compared side by side then, yes, the visual differences are there, but if someone looks at the two games at two different times on the same screen going through the exact same action, I do not think that that person would be able to instantly identify the difference. The high levels of detail mainly appear in places that the player is expected to focus on majority of their time, for example, like mentioned earlier, the dashboard of a car has amazing levels of detail, but all it will take is to look down onto the pedals, which look like they were only meant to be looked at from far away.  That being said, with all the new additions and extra details in the game, it is an excusable but not unforgettable fault. That is why it is difficult to give it a rating on graphical advancements, Some areas were given, marvelous levels of detail, while others, were just left as they were. That is why I feel that it gets a six and a half out of ten in this area.

There is no real point focusing on the campaign in this game, because it follows the same characters as the last gen version of the game, so I will jump straight to GTA Online, which is the name for Grand Theft Auto’s multiplayer mode. Players who have worked hard to get their characters to where they are now, are given the option to transfer those characters and all the things that they unlocked into the next gen version of the game. The actual multiplayer is basically the same experience as in the older game, apart from the fact that it now supports thirty person lobbies instead of the original twenty-four. Because the game has only been out for a couple of days, no exploits have been found yet, which is a good sign for the game so far, especially since last one suffered from some kind of new exploit or glitch with a release of every new patch. With that said though, GTA Online did have a hard time getting in motion due to issues with the servers not allowing players to transfer their characters and a hacker group hacking into the servers causing a temporary outage of the online service for the game. As of now, those issues have been resolved and no new ones have arose. As for the online heists, they are still not in the game, although Rockstar claims that they will release these by the end of November. It is only fair that people have their doubts since these heists were supposed to be included in the last gen release of the game, and were promised to be added to it a long time ago until the idea practically faded away. The main difference in multiplayer would be the option to play in first person. Because the multiplayer is practically unchanged, and still does not include the heist mode, I give it a rating of five out of 10, this is not because it is bad, but because no real changes were made to it, and because players still have to wait on the online heists.

Overall, the remastered version of Grand Theft Auto V is a relatively new experience for both returning and new players, but is it really worth to upgrade if you have already purchased the original last gen version, that may be up to personal tastes, what should be noted is that it still is the same story, with a few extra missions and a few extra features including the new first person mode? If you never played the original and already have one of the next gen consoles, it is definitely a game worth picking up, but if you only have a last gen console, I would not use this game as a reason to upgrade just yet.