I played GTAV on PS3 last year, got less than halfway and then stopped playing. It was fun, but most open world games don't really hold my attention anymore. I got the PS4 version to check out the first person mode really, and it's been pretty fun getting back into it.
What I wasn't expecting was the sheer amount of detail that's gone into this version. Both the combination of first person and better graphical fidelity has created such a living world that I did something I thought I'd never do in a video game. I walked out of Franklin's house just to check out my surroundings. Then I kept on walking. And all I did was walk for nearly two hours, checking out every alleyway or building that looked interesting, walking until I figured I'd get bored but never actually getting to that point.
I ask myself why I'm all of the sudden so taken back by San Andreas, and I think subconsciously the last gen game had me play as one of the three characters, but with this new first person mode it feels more like I'm playing as myself, finally experiencing the city on my own. It's such a strange feeling to have in a GTA game.
So, I set out to check out the town. All screencaps are PS4 screenshots exported via USB. Side note: people look a little out of place in the game with the lower detail and such so I tried to not focus on them in these shots as much as I could.
Under the overpasses has some shady characters but also some cool graffiti. Looks like a good place to lay low from the cops. I didn't have a great gun so I got out of there quick and got into some more open space.
The signs being more readable now helps so much in the immersion, I can't stress that enough. Everything is appropriately run down and worn in the older neighborhoods. At this point I shut off my radar and decided to go wherever I wanted.
The trash littered in front of the cheap apartment buildings was a nice touch, and a lot of this architecture feels pulled from old California. I know I've seen these styles of buildings anyways.
Just then, a nice kitty.
Later I found an old cluster of apartment complexes.
In the middle of these was a small private gathering area with some nice vegetation. It was completely hidden, and within this area the sounds of the city were muffled quite a bit and felt oddly serine.
I was still in the lower wealth class of buildings in the city so there were areas of wear and tear pretty much everywhere.
The alleyway shot me out into the tourist zone of the city, where the faux Chinese Theater was and tons of people had gathered.
It was starting to get dark so I started my trek towards the neighborhoods in the hills.
Alleyways in the dusk/night become much more menacing looking.
Random ladders on buildings let you get above the city pretty much everywhere.
Night time in the city is much different than nights in the outskirts...it never gets fully dark, or at least it didn't that night. Still it was quite a different experience than the daytime for sure, as the numerous light sources can make anything much more interesting to take in.
Like I mentioned before, general NPCs aren't quite as detailed as the rest of the game but at times enhanced an area by their presence, such as in front of this club.
A lot of the tied down tarps and signs blow with the wind. Not sure if that was in the last gen versions but it greatly adds to the visuals.
The buildings in this game look appropriately massive, more so than any game before it.
I was getting away from the busier downtown area to check out the local parks.
Parks felt less inviting at night than during the day in a weird way.
Also, I'm not 100% sure about this, but it seems like every house has it's own unique style and architecture to it. That is, I never ran into the same house twice. But I'm sure they had to repeat some areas...right?
The sun was coming up so I started to get to the highest point I could in that area.
So I started walking again...and just in case I forgot what game I was playing, GTA reminded me with a shootout between two guys and some cops. The bad guys won this round.
Some paramedics came but were too late.
Then some lady hit one of the paramedics with her car, so the medics calmly pulled her out and explained to her how they felt about that.
And then proceeded to write their report.
So I decided to wrap it up by heading to the tracks and calling a blimp so I could quickly check out the desert area. First, another kitty!
Doggie!
Some of the backyards of the houses were flush with detail. Here's a walkway to the pool. Why is it here? No reason. Does the player interact with it during the game? I don't think so. It's just there.
Finally I got some first person blimp action going. It's a much better experience than third person for sure.
As a foliage enthusiast I wanted to check out the forest, but the sun was coming up again so I parked my blimp on this hill to get a quick shot.
Sadly after taking that picture my blimp fell down the hill and exploded and a wild cougar ate me before I could get out my assault rifle.
I don't know why I took all these photos or even made this thread. I guess I had to share my experience in San Andreas, appreciating all of the amazing work by the art and creation teams on the game, and just to reiterate how far advanced GTA V feels in comparison to any other open world game. It cries to be explored, not through a sheer amount of small jobs and token collectables, but simply because I want to see it. I don't think I've ever felt that way about a game before.
What I wasn't expecting was the sheer amount of detail that's gone into this version. Both the combination of first person and better graphical fidelity has created such a living world that I did something I thought I'd never do in a video game. I walked out of Franklin's house just to check out my surroundings. Then I kept on walking. And all I did was walk for nearly two hours, checking out every alleyway or building that looked interesting, walking until I figured I'd get bored but never actually getting to that point.
I ask myself why I'm all of the sudden so taken back by San Andreas, and I think subconsciously the last gen game had me play as one of the three characters, but with this new first person mode it feels more like I'm playing as myself, finally experiencing the city on my own. It's such a strange feeling to have in a GTA game.
So, I set out to check out the town. All screencaps are PS4 screenshots exported via USB. Side note: people look a little out of place in the game with the lower detail and such so I tried to not focus on them in these shots as much as I could.
Under the overpasses has some shady characters but also some cool graffiti. Looks like a good place to lay low from the cops. I didn't have a great gun so I got out of there quick and got into some more open space.
The signs being more readable now helps so much in the immersion, I can't stress that enough. Everything is appropriately run down and worn in the older neighborhoods. At this point I shut off my radar and decided to go wherever I wanted.
The trash littered in front of the cheap apartment buildings was a nice touch, and a lot of this architecture feels pulled from old California. I know I've seen these styles of buildings anyways.
Just then, a nice kitty.
Later I found an old cluster of apartment complexes.
In the middle of these was a small private gathering area with some nice vegetation. It was completely hidden, and within this area the sounds of the city were muffled quite a bit and felt oddly serine.
I was still in the lower wealth class of buildings in the city so there were areas of wear and tear pretty much everywhere.
The alleyway shot me out into the tourist zone of the city, where the faux Chinese Theater was and tons of people had gathered.
It was starting to get dark so I started my trek towards the neighborhoods in the hills.
Alleyways in the dusk/night become much more menacing looking.
Random ladders on buildings let you get above the city pretty much everywhere.
Night time in the city is much different than nights in the outskirts...it never gets fully dark, or at least it didn't that night. Still it was quite a different experience than the daytime for sure, as the numerous light sources can make anything much more interesting to take in.
Like I mentioned before, general NPCs aren't quite as detailed as the rest of the game but at times enhanced an area by their presence, such as in front of this club.
A lot of the tied down tarps and signs blow with the wind. Not sure if that was in the last gen versions but it greatly adds to the visuals.
The buildings in this game look appropriately massive, more so than any game before it.
I was getting away from the busier downtown area to check out the local parks.
Parks felt less inviting at night than during the day in a weird way.
Also, I'm not 100% sure about this, but it seems like every house has it's own unique style and architecture to it. That is, I never ran into the same house twice. But I'm sure they had to repeat some areas...right?
The sun was coming up so I started to get to the highest point I could in that area.
So I started walking again...and just in case I forgot what game I was playing, GTA reminded me with a shootout between two guys and some cops. The bad guys won this round.
Some paramedics came but were too late.
Then some lady hit one of the paramedics with her car, so the medics calmly pulled her out and explained to her how they felt about that.
And then proceeded to write their report.
So I decided to wrap it up by heading to the tracks and calling a blimp so I could quickly check out the desert area. First, another kitty!
Doggie!
Some of the backyards of the houses were flush with detail. Here's a walkway to the pool. Why is it here? No reason. Does the player interact with it during the game? I don't think so. It's just there.
Finally I got some first person blimp action going. It's a much better experience than third person for sure.
As a foliage enthusiast I wanted to check out the forest, but the sun was coming up again so I parked my blimp on this hill to get a quick shot.
Sadly after taking that picture my blimp fell down the hill and exploded and a wild cougar ate me before I could get out my assault rifle.
I don't know why I took all these photos or even made this thread. I guess I had to share my experience in San Andreas, appreciating all of the amazing work by the art and creation teams on the game, and just to reiterate how far advanced GTA V feels in comparison to any other open world game. It cries to be explored, not through a sheer amount of small jobs and token collectables, but simply because I want to see it. I don't think I've ever felt that way about a game before.
