MovieChat Forums > Grand Theft Auto V (2013) Discussion > The city feels dead

The city feels dead

posted 9 years ago by !!!deleted!!! (25765371)
12 replies | jump to latest

I think my biggest problem with this game is the city of Los Santos - more specifically, the pedestrians.

I'll start with the fact that while it is a very well-designed city with some really cool places to explore, it simply lacks. There are next to no interiors (I know, the interior discussion is another debate altogether, but there should at least be one or two cool explorable places).

What makes it feel so dead is the people. None of the pedestrians make you feel like you're in a real city. They all have a certain stereotype to reflect they're surroundings, same with Liberty City in 4. But apart from a few funny overheard comments, that doesn't necessarily do anything to make the environment feel more immersive. Not to mention the noticeable lack of pedestrians in a lot of areas.

I don't know if this is just because rockstar was focused on the environment outside of the city and didn't think it was really a big deal - yeah, there's an obligatory city to explore but the real draw was the massive mountain, forest, and desert areas. Or maybe it was part of a bigger plan to downplay the brutality you could inflict on innocent people by making them seem more like space fillers than actual citizens of a city (although I feel like that doesn't really make sense with the additions of the hammer and hatchet, along with everything else you could already get away with). I'm not sure, I just feel like to me one of the best parts of GTA IV was that the city felt so real and the abundance of pedestrians who all had something colorful to say. GTA V is an incredible game, don't get me wrong. But I have always had the feeling that the city and its citizens are lifeless and somewhat boring

[–] Jeorj Euler 9 years ago

I just feel like to me one of the best parts of GTA IV was that the city felt so real and the abundance of pedestrians who all had something colorful to say.

The pedestrians are more intriguing, in 4. It would seem that 5 was more so designed in such a way that the accompanying Grand Theft Auto Online would be more interesting, and some things that would be neat in Story Mode are forgone.

[–] Optio87 9 years ago

Dead? No way, IMO the city feels incredibly alive and real almost everywhere I go. Though I really wish the peds wouldn't get angry at me and call the cops simply for standing close to them.

What did you expect to be under here?

[–] ant-mac 9 years ago

"Dead? No way, IMO the city feels incredibly alive and real almost everywhere I go. Though I really wish the peds wouldn't get angry at me and call the cops simply for standing close to them."

When that happens, I kill them. After all, if I'm going to get a star, I'm going to earn it.

ant-mac

[–] Optio87 9 years ago

I usually blow them up with an RPG. I wish GTA 5 had a flamethrower.

What did you expect to be under here?

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Optio87 9 years ago

I wish it had everything good from previous installments :/

What did you expect to be under here?

[–] onetimeatbandcamp2 9 years ago

Would be fun if there was an indoor mall to play around in. DM or TDM in there.

[–] paulfcb 9 years ago

One of the biggest flaws of this game is the lack of interiors, starting from Malls and other things like Fast-Foods or simply more places to do stuff. For 2015, when it came out on PC is kinda bad.
They could've at least make some landmarks like Town Hall, Maze Tower etc, a mall and a dozen of Burger Shots, Bells, hot dog and bagel street food or other stuff.
On the other hand, you have tennis, golf and things to do.

Maybe GTA 6 will be better at this point.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] reservoirsquad 9 years ago

"That's because she's a statute"-Carla Cugino (Night at the Museum)

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] shadowangel-599-184270 8 years ago

The simple answer as to why there are barely any interiors and why everything feels a bit sterile and movie set like is: Blame the consoles.
Xbox 360 and PS3 barely had enough power to run the game. You had some massive slowdowns, even though the game already was limited to a maximum of 30 FPS (like about 90% of all console games) which it never reached. Also the discs are a problem, you run out of space, therefore pedestrians look the same, textures are reused a couple times and so one and so one.
Even Xbox One and PS4 have such laughably weak hardware they can't handle the newer version of GTA 5, same problems with massive slowdowns (especially online) and limited frame rate.

On the PC some guys recently released GTA 5 Redux, a massive mod that enhances GTA 5 in every way imaginable. Better Textures, better Effects, a real weather system, extremely enhanced NPCs with more random events like muggings. It actually turns the city into a living, realistic city.