As soon as I started playing, from the moment we are put straight into action in the prologue, my initial reaction was "This doesn't feel anything like a GTA game". Everything is so much more fluid and responsive and looked fantastic. No more doom and gloom or that strange blurry effect that GTA IV had. It took me a couple of missions to get the hang of the driving and shooting, but personally for me, the driving is perfect, so much better than IV. I don't quite understand why its refered to as 'Arcade' driving but its alot more slicker and smooth.
The gunplay aswell, so much better, very much the same as RDR and MP3, but with a few changes to incorporate the sandbox genre. My only problem with weapons is the customisation. While is a great addition, and the mods do let you change how you approach missions, such as adding a flashlight and a silencer, but why do we need to travel to a shop every time we want to remove the mods? I was hoping for a menu that would allow you to change weapon mods on the fly, just incase you forgot to go to the shop or if you cant travel to one.
The map is huge, and so diverse depending on the area you visit. The amount of detail is incredible and thats one of the things that makes the game the so great. Like when you visit the country or the desert, it actually feels like a whole new area. If you have played RDR and travelled to Mexico, you should know exactly what I'm talking about. If you are travelling by vehicle from LS to the country/desert some of the radio stations will cut out into static due to no signal, this little detail might not be mind blowing but adds to the immersion.
And again, it's the little details which play the biggest role here, the same with previous GTA games. Take some time out from doing missions and watch some of the movies at the cimena, browse the various websites ingame or walk the streets of LS and you'll suddenly find yourself sucked into this virtual city which actually feels lived in.
Also a little fun thing I witnessed; If Franklin and Trevor haven't met yet, play as Trevor and go and find Franklin in the city and follow him around then wait until he comments on your presences near him. (I'm guessing this also works if you play as Franklin and follow Trevor around)
* Ryz goes off to play more GTA V.
