What features would you like to see in GTAV? part 2

Let’s start where we left off last week when we looked at the first features we really want to see in GTA V….

Feature 4: Improved shooting mechanic

If there’s one thing wrong with the GTA series it is this mechanic. I couldn’t keep track on how many times the auto-lock pointed my gun at a pedestrian instead of a bad guy. It was frustrating to see Rockstar not improving this when they made GTA IV.  In Game Informer they had this to say about it:

“We feel like we’ve evolved it on from where we had it in any previous game a long way. And not just in terms of how it works, but also in terms of the core mechanics of how you play the game.”

This is what I like to hear from Rockstar, improving mechanics that didn’t run well in past games. Some rumours said it would be the same mechanic used as in Max Payne 3, I can’t confirm it nor can I give feedback on the mechanic since I haven’t played it (yet).

Rockstar also had something to say about the melee combat:

“It’s never going to be as big a deal as shooting with the way that we make the game, but we do want it to feel really fun and strong.”

This isn’t really a priority for me, it’s like the melee combat is as important as in “Sleeping Dogs”, though that kind of mechanic in GTA would be amazing.

Feature 5: Young protagonist

So we kind of got a young main character but we’re also stuck with two forty-year-olds. Franklin is in his mid-20′s and I like that, a young and energetic character, probably going to be my favourite. And then you have Michael and Trevor, both in their early-40′s, two guys who’s lives were infested with problems and want to start over again. And while that storyline sounds great, I’ve got a feeling that the character of Franklin is more suited for the location where GTA V is situated, the lively Los Santos.

Again, I have faith in Rockstar they’ll produce a work of art and that it will be interesting switching between characters, however every gamer is going to have his favourite character and I guess most of them can relate more to a guy in his mid-20′s who wants to move forward in his life than two “old” guys. What should be interesting is the fact that every character has his own set of special abilities, for example Trevor was a former military pilot so he can control helicopters and planes.

Feature 6: Female main character

I was surprised by how many people wanted this to happen. And it would have been a great opportunity for Rockstar to implement it in this game, especially with the three main character feature.

They could have taken a look on how the public reacts to a main female character, if they don’t want to play a female, then they’d still have the option to play with two (male) characters. This feature isn’t really a big deal for me, I guess it would be nice to see the things from a female perspective but it’s not something I’m insisting on. Girls can contribute to a heist so that’s not a problem either. So let’s see what we got? Three male characters and no girlfriends feature, did Rockstar forget about women in this game? Sure looks like that, but we can’t jump to conclusions, we have seen some females in screenshots however my guess is they won’t be playing a big part in the game, the only female I can see becoming important is Michael’s wife.

Feature 7: Co-op

So you can play with three characters at once by switching between them, but how cool would it be to be playing (whether it’s online or offline) with some friends and going through the missions and the game itself. I’m not just talking about some online missions you can play, like the hide-outs in Red Dead Redemption, but I’m talking about playing the storyline with friends. It could be an option for this game when you think about it, one can play Michael, the other one Trevor and the last one plays Franklin. You can team up to do some missions or you can “break” up and go jet-skiing with your character. The only problem with this would be that you could only play missions when the three other guys are playing as well. But besides that, this feature would be awesome!

Feature 8: Kids & animals?

Not sure where I stand on this one myself. If Rockstar wants to keep up with the high reality level they had in GTA IV, they should implement kids and animal life. But it’s also kind of inappropriate to kill animals and kids, even though it’s just a game. Killing animals isn’t new though for Rockstar. There was the hunting feature in Red Dead Redemption and now there’s also a hunting feature in Assassin’s Creed 3. They didn’t really create any noise in the media but this is Grand Theft Auto we’re talking about. Rockstar always had to face criticism from people telling them there is too much violence in their (GTA) games. Every new release comes with the same problems. Now we know Michael has two teenage kids, so my guess is there are going to be kids in the game? Wouldn’t it be weird that Michael’s kids are the only living kids in a city like Los Santos? We’ll see how this one works out.

Feature 9: More vehicles

I got bored from seeing the same vehicles over and over again in GTA IV. But there’s hope, quote from Game Informer:

“To encourage players to explore this vast expanse, Rockstar is giving them more vehicles than any other Grand Theft Auto to date. Confirmed vehicles include a BMX bike, mountain bikes, road bikes, dirt bikes, a huge variety of cars and trucks, helicopters, planes, ATV’s and jet ski’s.”

Honestly, that sounds awesome. I’m a huge fan of bikes so that’s going to be a lot of fun and I can’t wait to see how the jet ski’s work out. The also confirmed you don’t have to wait till the endgame to take to the skies, that feature will be available early on in the game. It’s going to be exciting to try out all of these stuff, huge improvement from where they were in GTA IV.

Feature 10: Fun > realism

Not really a feature but probably one of the most important wants/needs in the game. GTA has always been a lot of fun but with GTA IV Rockstar chose to tone down the fun factor. They did made a fun comeback with the DLC package “The Ballad of Gay Tony”. When I’m talking about fun in GTA, I’m talking about purple dildo’s which you could use as a weapon or one of the biggest WTF moments in Grand Theft Auto’s history: the jetpack in San Andreas, I missed those things when playing with Niko Bellic.

I’m not saying realism isn’t necessary in video games but it should be fun as well. I have the feeling Rockstar wants to replace this kind of fun with the activities you can do, for example bowling, play darts or getting yourself drunk. Let’s just hope there are some crazy moments in GTA V, because the fun factor is one of the main reasons Grand Theft Auto has become one of the most successful franchises in gaming history.

This is our features list of what we want in GTA V, what are yours?