Disclaimer: this is by no means an exhaustive review of Grand Theft Auto V. The following piece is simply my (likely underinformed) thoughts on the newest edition of the game. I’m sure my technical ineptitude will shine through regarding the full extent of graphical enhancements made here, so I apologize in advance for this awful article.
This is my fourth – no, maybe fifth – time playing GTA V; I’ve lost track over the years. As a teenager, I was madly in love with the Grand Theft Auto series, and this was my favorite game of 2013. I don’t consider it to be a masterpiece like I used to, but it’s still a very accomplished and well-realized game. Expanded & Enhanced is the next-gen remaster of GTA V, and it’s… definitely GTA V.
Be it in-game or real life, I take terrible selfies. Also, this game really needs a dedicated Photo Mode, because the clunky phone camera ain’t cutting it anymore.
You’ve likely played this game, or are at least aware of what it entails, but if you’re not, let me give you the crash course – there are two halves: Story Mode and Online. Story Mode sees you switching between 3 protagonists – Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips, and Franklin Clinton – cantankerous partners in crime, pulling off elaborate heists together and working through their personal issues. The story is well-written, with epic mission design and bitingly satirical humor. Freely swapping between three protagonists is an excellent idea, and the mechanic is utilized rather well during missions. However, it’s the story potential here that falters; the characters start out with their own plotlines, but very quickly converge into a linear narrative, with those individual plot threads becoming an underdeveloped afterthought, hastily wrapped up in the game’s final missions. It’s not as good as I used to give it credit for, but this is still the best story and design of any GTA game by a wide margin.
This reminds me: I should call my therapist. The cups are starting to stack up ..
I don’t really have much to say about Online, but it’s a very popular multiplayer mode that has easily overtaken the Story Mode – heck, the launcher for this version of the game is just called Grand Theft Auto Online, so it’s essentially now the main attraction. I never got into it, but feel free to give it a try for yourself. If you’re already a GTA Online fanatic, you should waste zero time buying E&E, if possible.
The intricacies of the world and its details are where this game shines the brightest. This playthrough, I drove around town at night, listened to “Crack Rock” by Frank Ocean on Blonded Radio (along with many other gems from the robust radio selection), and read the many burlesque billboards that I’d barely paid any mind to these past 8 years. I’m not particularly fond of the cutting edge – realistic art direction often ages rather poorly, which can significantly date a game as fidelity continues on a forward march of improvement. With that being said, there’s a real natural beauty to GTA V’s look, and it comes down to the handcrafted feel of this world (Rockstar saved the AI upscaling garbage for GTA: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition). Graphically, it has aged, but the overall picture is still appealing; particularly fond of rain hitting the moonlit road on the outskirts of town.
Graphical realism tends to lose its luster, so Rockstar sought to combat this (and make a lot of easy money) by remastering this game not once, but twice – we’re focusing on the second rerelease, for PS5 and Xbox Series X (where I played it). This is only tangentially related, but I wanted to address this anyway: the preorder for E&E, while at a discounted price, cost $10 extra on Xbox vs. PS5, and that’s complete bullshit. Oh, being an Xbox loyalist truly never stops being a masochistic undertaking…
Anyway, I digress – why should you buy this version? Well, because it’s just… better? Just sort of… is. E&E offers 3 graphics modes, including Fidelity, Performance, and Performance RT. Fidelity offers the prettiest picture at 30fps, Performance targets 60fps, and Performance RT is a hybrid of the two. The 60fps upgrade is awesome – a game changer that makes this version well worth buying if you’re already a huge fan and have the dinero. I’m not necessarily a stickler for framerate – Switch is my favorite modern console, and those games can get pretty rough – but if I’m playing a new release on my fancy Series X, there is no earthly reason I would ever, EVER select Fidelity mode and sacrifice half of the framerate; the audacity – the sheer hubris of it all. As far as details that I actually care about: while they added back in the foliage missing from the Xbox One version, there’s still an unfortunate degree of pop-in present in all three graphics modes (though it has been somewhat improved over the last-gen version). Look… just like you can put lipstick on a hog, you can pretty up GTA V alllll you like, but it’s still an 8 year old game and the graphical upgrade here – while appreciated, with its sharper resolution and marginally cleaner textures – didn’t make too much difference to me over the Xbox One version; in the overall big picture, it’s still an impressively pretty game either way, with just a little extra refinement here.
Top: Xbox One; Bottom: Xbox Series X. Wow… maybe the graphical strides are greater than I gave them credit for (seriously, I have no clue what I’m talking about).
Grand Theft Auto V: Expanded & Enhanced is the best console edition of a very good game. If you’re already a GTA Online no-lifer, a would-be newcomer, or just wish to replay the game with extra bells, then you’ve probably already bought this or perhaps plan to. I recommend it on sale, but $40 is a tad steep. The graphical enhancements are mostly negligible, but the framerate upgrade is quite nice, and the latest release of Online is sure to be future-proof (much snappier loading here too, but that’s to be expected). Rockstar did a servicable job with this remaster, but whether it’s worth full price is ultimately up to you. I just want GTA VI already (or a Red Dead Redemption 2 Series X patch, please). If you’re looking for an immersive, urban open-world sandbox for your Series X, it’s really either this or Cyberpunk 2077 (hmm… let’s talk about that next time).
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