I don’t like the look of GTA 6 and I’m not afraid to admit it – Reader’s Feature

Not everyone is looking forward to it (Rockstar Games)

A reader explains all the problems he has with the Grand Theft Auto franchise in general and why e’s unlikely to ever buy GTA 6.

There has, understandably, been a lot of talk about GTA 6 in the last few weeks, after the annoucement of the release date and the release of the new trailer. But there’s also been a lot of (well, some) talk recently from people admitting they don’t really like the series and aren’t actually that excited about a new one.

I am one of those people and while others seem embarrassed of their opinion, I’m not afraid to explain the issues I have with it or why I think it is overrated in some areas.

I’ll start with what I accept the game does very well, starting with the open world design and the general size and level of detail of it all. It’s obviously very impressive, although not that interactive, in that you can’t go into most buildings, and there’s little to no destruction effects either. I doubt that will be much different in GTA 6, simply because that sort of thing requires a ton of horsepower, that console don’t have yet.

The detail from GTA comes less from the interactivity and more from the huge array of things you can see and do, with lots of mini-games and optional missions. All of that stuff is great and not only does GTA 5 still look good, but GTA 6 looks amazing. More than that, it looks extremely expensive. Over $1 billion according to the rumours.

You can certainly see that money on screen and I’m sure it’s all matched by hundreds of hours of dialogue for even the smallest characters. I’m sure no expense was spared anywhere.

I have three main problems with the games that already exist though and while they could be improved, or even removed entirely, in GTA 6 I’m not confident of that as Rockstar will assume, quite understandably, that if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

So the first issue I have is the gameplay: it’s just not good. Up to GTA 5 it was downright terrible, with overcomplicated and completely awful combat and driving – like you’re steering a boat is the common comparison. Some things, like controlling aircraft are so broken there’s just no point doing it.

Just a teenage fantasy? (Rockstar Games)

Nothing is fun, beyond the novelty of being in such a big game world, and almost every other similar game does it better. When you’re getting outdone by Saints Row, which could probably have been made with the catering budget of GTA 5, let alone 6, you know something’s wrong.

My next problem is the plot. Rockstar get praised a lot for their dialogue, which I’ll get onto in a minute, but their plots are always paper thin to the point where they barely exist at all. I mean, what is the plot of GTA 5? Three men do crimes. The end. The game gets so caught up in its own size it never bothers to tell an actual story.

The third issue, in my opinion, is the dialogue. Not necessarily the writing quality of it but the fact that it’s always so try-hard and edgy. Rockstar started making GTA 3 in the 90s and that’s no more obvious than in the dialogue, which sounds like every angst-ridden teen’s idea of tough guy dialogue. I get that’s exactly why the game is popular, but I don’t like it.

Even though the head writer has left I see no sign of change in GTA 6, where main character Jason seems to already have morphed from just an ordinary looking guy in the first trailer to a musclebound beefcake who is so ultra cool women catcall him from the street when he’s driving by.

I get it, the whole game is a teenage boy’s fantasy, but c’mon. Surely we can aim higher than that by now? I’m also worried about the trailers revelling in the absolute worst of American culture, which may be meant as parody but already comes across as endorsement. I think that’s particularly unfortunate given when they started this game they had no idea Trump would get in for a second time.

I actually wonder whether that’s one of the reasons they’ve delayed the game, to rewrite some of the dialogue, but I imagine little will really change. And that’s why I have no interest in anything I’ve seen so far of GTA 6.

By reader Johnson

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