Grand Theft Auto V is often thought to be a pinnacle achievement of gaming, though it has had its critics over the years. Historically, the series holds the highest age ratings the game industry has to offer, and this is because of some of the things that are possible within the game. Being an open-world sandbox, Grand Theft Auto V gives players the freedom to do whatever they want. This could be role-playing as a model citizen or going on a murderous rampage with a minigun. Whatever players choose, they would argue that the game is so good because it gives them this choice. However, there are clear things that have arisen over the years that has led to Grand Theft Auto V’s decline.
It is clear that Grand Theft Auto V is a popular game. It has generated over $6 billion in revenue and sits as the third best-selling game of all time. That rivals the efforts of some of the best blockbuster movies, making clear the achievement. What cannot be faulted about the game is its story mode. When the game launched, this is where most of the budget had been spent and it shows – the writing is excellent and so too is the quality of the main cast of voice actors. The gameplay is exhilarating. In fact, at a first glance, it might be hard to find anything wrong with the game. However, veterans will be aware of a more insidious problem within the game that exists purely in its online mode: GTA Online.
GTA Online represents a haven for most gamers: it is an online experience where they can join friends to do just about anything they can think of. Players can even visit an online casino, which will be a nice respite from those affected by Alabama gambling laws. Most people will want to buy the best cars and properties though so they can show off. This was a prospect that most could work towards in the early days of the game as there was not much content, but this is changed dramatically. It takes a long time to earn a significant amount of money in the game, something that was not a problem when the game first came out. There were only a few expensive cars, and the best properties were affordable too. Fast forward to the present day, and players will have to fork around $10,000,000 to buy the most expensive thing in the game.
As the player base rose, so did the publishers’ greed and the prices of many in-game items steadily increased. This presents a problem to new players to GTA Online as it is significantly harder to get established in a world where everything costs so much. In that respect, if Rockstar sought to make a world that mirrors real life, then they succeeded.
Grand Theft Auto V is a great game, there is no doubt about that. But even though there is ever-increasing content and features, if the average player cannot access the newest items, then what is the point?
