Review: Grand Theft Auto V

When Ubisoft officially announced the title and I read the synopsis, I was actually impressed. It was something that was getting back to the realm of what Team Rainbow does, stop the bad guys. Rainbow Six: Vegas had a pretty good driving story set in a pretty awesome location, but unfortunately, the narrative ended up petering out somewhere near the 3rd act. As for its sequel, man, I cannot even tell you what that game was about, the story ended up being so forgetta

Over two thousand words into the review and it doesn’t feel like we’ve scratched the surface of Grand Theft Auto V. This is a sprawling experience, offering countless activities ranging from practicing yoga to smuggling guns. Playing around in its virtual sandbox is enjoyable enough to fill five game’s worth of playtime, but ignoring all of the world’s amenities and solely playing the missions still puts countless other action games to shame. More still, it features arguably the best story of the series that’s greatly enhanced by the added dynamic of three contrasting protagonists. There’s multiple hyperbolic statements that we could pile on to convey the excellence protruding from nearly every facet of the game (like that one), but all that matters is this: Grand Theft Auto V is both a step forward for the franchise and an amalgamation of the best parts of its previous titles.


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At the Sega booth during E3 2013, we had a chance to get hands-on with Total War: ROME II . Just before the big event, the above cinematic teaser trailer was released focusing on the story of Cleopa


Had Epic Games announced prior to the Horde Command Pack 's release that they'd be making all of these maps free, then there's no way they would have had nearly as many people purchasing the Gears of War 3 Season Pass. Sure, us suckers still get the new upgrades in Horde, character and weapons skins, and achievements — all which can only be used if this add-on is purchase — but that content alone doesn't justify the money that fans of the series paid for this add


"It's too early to talk specifics, but definitely all the DLCs and updates will be free. Of course, we’ll see what the platform holders will allow — what we can do for free [on next-gen consoles]. I mean, there are different business models on consoles. From our standpoint, we’ll definitely do everything we can to deliver the same experience across all platfor


After watching the "head 'em off at the pass" Rainbow 6: Patriots concept gameplay video , I am walking away impressed. As a long time fan of the series (and the novel it was based on), I'm glad to see Ubisoft getting back to some simple basics, at least in terms of the st


Epic Games recently announced that they'll be releasing all of the maps from the Horde Command Pack, as well as two old school maps from the original Gears of War , as free DLC for Gears of War 3 later this month. This is great news for anyone who hadn't planned on purchasing the new add-on, but those who had already pre-purchased this content through the Season Pass should feel like they just got ripped

Another benefit to the multi-protagonist setup and also one of the biggest new features to mission portion of the SLG game Updates are heists. While the majority of missions are either driven by a single character or are like the aforementioned one, there’s a handful of heists sprinkled throughout. Heists are basically multi-tiered missions that contain multiple small missions to set them up and require an higher level of planning to correctly execute. The first heist in the game, for instance, concerns knocking off a high-end jewelry store. There are two methods available to tackle the job: quiet or loud (smart or dumb). Going in loud is what you’d imagine, simply rushing into the store with heavy artillery and running out with the merchandise. Going in quiet, however, requires more planning and stealth tactics. In a jewel heist, for instance, chemicals and an exterminator truck must be stolen. Using the exterminator gig as cover, you head up on the roof with a gas mask and uniform and drop some gas into the vents of the store. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew bursts into the store with similar outfits and cleans it out while the customers and clerks are unconscious. One great feature of these heists is that the crew itself must be individually selected. You’ll generally need a gunner, driver and hacker, who are selected via a pool of known associates and characters encountered throughout missions. These criminals vary in expertise, with those highly experienced demanding more of the cut. Going with a low experienced crew member means that more could go wrong (for example, having a bad driver could mean they get captured and lose whatever loot they were carrying), but the more they are used, the better they get with the same cut. Heists add a fantastic dynamic to the game and make the scope of the universe seem larger than ever.