With the impending release of Grand Theft Auto 5 on the Xbox ONE and PS4 on the 18th November 2014, and later on the PC on the 27th January 2015, it’s time to look at what’s new and how the graphics are stacking up. As game of the year for many back in 2013, there’s a whole lot of excitement about the prospect of the game on the new generation of consoles and the super-stacked PC format, but for a game that most players will already know and love, is there enough to temp previous owners to move up to the big leagues of graphical fidelity and detail?
For anyone that hasn’t played GTA 5 yet, this is a must own game, but if you owned the Xbox 360 or PS3 version of the game and you’ve had more than a year of epic gameplay can there be enough to keep you entertained. For us, we’d have to say probably yes, if for nothing else, but to see the wonderful sites, sounds and people of Los Santos and Blaine County in the updated skin that the Xbox ONE, PS4 and PC updates will provide. Check out the Grand Theft Auto 5 updated graphics trailer below to see it in action for yourself.
However, for anyone that isn’t quite so trigger happy, Rockstar has also announced a whole host of new content to the current gen game to create some new experiences for seasoned GTA gamers. The coolest of these has got to be the addition of new events to the package, which should create at a least a few brand new missions to make it through that you won’t have played in the old gen title.
The new events will be spread out all over the massive open world setting of the game and they’ll result in yet more content to get to grips with in the rewards that you’ll receive when you compete the new events. Rockstar has already announced a few of these to get your thumb juices going and they include the impressive Impotente Duke O’Death (pictured above), which looks a lot like the drive from the Mad Max game. They’ve described it as a “near-indestructible mayhem machine” and it looks ferocious.
It’s added to by the inclusion of the Dodo seaplane, which looks very cool in the shot below and we can’t wait to get into the cockpit and head out over the even more beautiful waters of Los Santos. The only downside is that it looks increasingly like Rockstar are reserving the new content exclusively for returning gamers, but we’d be keen to see them extend this to all gamers, as they’re looking amazing.
The new events include a murder mystery for Michael to follow, which results in two film noire style filters, a wildlife photography challenge, for which you’ll be rewarded the Kraken submarine to take yourself unda da sea, and a whole series of stock car races, which will sea you winning all manner of muscle cars. There’s also a street art hunt sesh to make it through, which unlocks monkey outfits for all players and a exclusive Go Go Monkey Blista hatchback for players trading up from their PS3 or Xbox 360 title.
As well as the events, there a fair few new guns and vehicles to look forward too for returning players. The booty includes a suped-up blimp and a very badass monster truck to tear around town in, along with the inclusion of a rail gun and a machete.
In terms of the graphics and technical upgrades you can look forward to in the game, clearly things are looking better than ever in the sunshine city. You’ve only got to take a look at the Xbox ONE, PS4 and PC trailer below to see how much it’s been tweaked from the original.
Draw distances are longer , giving more detail in the distance and reducing the pop-up of objects and buildings out of nowhere, the resolution is much sharper and the level of detail in the game is epic considering the equally staggering scale of the setting. There’s also new wildlife to look our with improved animation, denser traffic to make things feel a bit more realistic, there’s a new foliage system to bring the forna aspect of the game to life, as well as enhanced damage and weather effects to make Grand Theft Auto 5 even more realistic than ever.
