Alrite, let's get this out of the way right off the bat: I'm not happy that I'm writing this. I too am getting sick of the flood of hypothetical and speculative things to hit this site lately, especially about games that have not yet been anounced. However, the rumor of a summer reveal of the next GTA got my mind racing about the potential ideas that could take the series forward. If I don't share them somewhere, then I will feel as if I wasted a lot of valuable thinking time. So, yes, I am indeed wasting even more time to speculate about a game that is only speculated to be announced. Call me a trend-follower, a hypocrite, a sell-out or whatever you will, but I now present to you my wishlist for the next GTA game.
1. Location
Ah, location. We're always told that this is what it's all about. While the location in many games is often just a backdrop for whatever you may be shooting or blowing up Michael Bay style, it has always been a central part of the GTA world. It is a character just as much as the many exaggerated stereotypes that you will meet along the ride. I believe that R* should move away from the cities that have already been used - stories have already been told there, and while there could undoubtably be some cool reasons for revisiting it, we've already explored these cities and discovered their secrets. Those of you yearning for a remade Vice City or San Andreas should just go boot up those games. They may not be HD, but they're still a hell of a lot of fun. Many also want the game to be set in England or Japan, but I feel the GTA series would lose a lot of its charm by moving elsewhere, though R* could prove me wrong. My personal favorite choice would have to be the city of Detroit. I know the people there are falling on hard times, and no disrespect to them, but I feel as if the current state of the city would be ripe for a story involving corruption and the rise of gang forces. It could also be funny to have a character who is a satire of Eminem. If not Detroit, then I would also love to go on crime sprees in the windy city, Chicago. Of course this is just my personal opinion, and if you disagree feel free to state your top choice in the comments section.
2. Story vs. Craziness and Fun Factor
GTA was praised by critics for its deeper and more meaningful story, free of some of the wackiness of the earlier games. However, in its attempt to become more realistic, many fans of the old GTA games felt it had also lost what made the other games so damn fun to play well after the story had ended. Gone were the Jetpacks, planes, and dildo swords. While the game was still fun to roam around in, many found that they become bored of the city much faster as a result of the ommision of oddities and insanity. It was as if people went into a movie expecting an action packed comedy, but instead got a more serious crime drama. They didn't necessarily think it was bad, but it was not as they expected. People were therefore dissapointed. This puts R* in a bit of a situation. They have proven that they can tell a wonderful and cinematic story through both GTA4 and Red Dead Redemption, but seriousness in the story often comes with a decreased fun value for the players. I therefore propose a radical suggestion. R* should keep their serious story and more serious world to go along with it, but only until before the credits roll. After that, when the city is only available for free roam, players will be able to discover many new oddities and fun within the world. Or R* could take a page from Crackdown and include a mode akin to Keys to the City, separate from the world of the story and meant to be nothing more than fun and chaos that the player controls. By having two separate but similar worlds through different modes, R* would be able to incorporate all of what they are best at into a single game.
3. Reworked Gameplay:
GTA 4 brought the gameplay of GTA into a more modern era with the inclusion of a cover system and reworked gunplay and hand to hand combat. However, it was still not perfect and R* could take a few pages from other games to make the gameplay in GTA as smooth as possible. The first game R* could borrow from is Gears of War. GTA 4 already incorporated the cover sytem that Gears popularized this gen, but it was a bit clunky, especially when compared to the fluid action of Gears. Like Gears, the next GTA should have a universal button which allows players to get into cover, hop back and forth between cover, vault over cover, and evade with a sideways roll. Another thing GTA could borrow from Gears is the ability to take a foe (or bystander) and use them as a human shield. This wwould be a great mode of protection in GTA when you are in a tight spot and need protection. Imagine if you could grab a gang member to stop their fellow gang members from shooting at you, or doing the same with a civilian when fighting off the cops. Even if they still open fire, there is a layer of protection between you and their gunfire. Another game that GTA should borrow from is Assassins Creed. The free running system in these games are great and could be implemented as parkour in GTA. Imagine if instead of tapping A or X repeatedly to sprint, you just held the button down to run and jump/climb anything in your path. It would have to be toned down to work in the more realistic setting, but it would open up the possibilities for smooth on foot chase sequences or jumping from rooftop to rooftop with ease. GTA could also borrow a page from Assassins Creed when it comes to hand to hand combat, which allows you to smoothly deal with many enemies at once. This was a major problem in GTA 4 and while I realise that it would again have to be toned down because the character is not a master assassin, it would make your fists a much more viable option in combat.
4. Revamped Wanted System:
The wanted system in GTA 4 was again a step in the right direction, but could see some major improvements. The cops still always knew that you were the one to commit a crime and used a ridiculous amount of manpower to bring you down, even on lower wanted levels. It should be reworked so that when a crime is committed, in order for the police to show up, there must be a witness around to see the crime and contact authorities (any authorities within a realistic distance could respond immediately, based on if the could see or hear the crime). Another cool feature could be if a marker appeared over a witnesses head, so you can see who saw your crime. You can then eliminate or bribe the witnesses into not calling the cops. Of course, police would eventually stumble upon the dead bodies, but this brings me to my next point. Players should be able to drag these bodies out of sight a la splinter cell and hide them places such as the trunk of a car or a body of water. Even if police do find the bodies, but there were no witnesses, there would simply be heightened secuirity, rather than them hunting you down. Next time you commited a crime, you would be more likely to run into a police response. If witnesses are able to contact authorities, a search is put out based on your current vehicle or appearance. If you can change your clothes, license plate, car, etc. you will be less likely to be recognized. However, even if you escape your wanted level, the cops would still be on the lookout for you and you can still be recognized, instantly getting a different amount of stars based on your threat level, similar to the system in Assassins Creed. For low key crimes, the police would simply give you a ticket, unless you are recognized from a previous crime. This could make something as simple as rear ending a cop car a dangerous expperience.
5. Customization and RPG Elements
Everybody missed the crazy customization options and minor RPG elements from San Andreas in GTA4. I believe they should be brought back, but in ways that affect gameplay, rather than more aesthetic things. You would still be able to customize your characters clothing and possibly hairstyle, but things such as fitness and sex appeal should be left out. Instead customization should mainly be left to cars and guns. Once a car is taken back to your garage or safe housee, you could customize it by changing its color, adding custom decals, and doing some basic fine tuning. Think of it as a more basic version of the robust car customizer in the Forza series. Customizing a car would give the player more of an incentive to keep it, rather than just ditching it on the side of the road for a random car. If your vehicle is wrecked, it could be repaired at a shop and then picked up and if you leave it behind, it will always appeal on your map. In a similar fashion, GTA could take a little influence from CoD and offer gun customization. By going to a gun shop, you could spend money to buy different sights, scopes, camos, and attatchments for your gun (limited to options such as extended clips, grenade launcher, etc.) These things could allow you to personalize your arsenal, while also increasing the effectiveness of your guns. This could of course lead to a person becoming too overpowered, which is why the player would only be able to carry three guns at a time: a pistol and small SMG or automatic weapon (such as an Uzi or Gloch) which would be carried concealed on the characters waist or in a jacket. The third weapon would be a more heavy option, such as a sniper or assault rifle. This weapon would be carried on the players back, either strapped on or in a backpack if they need it concealed. A knife would also be carried at all times and additional guns could be stored in your car or at a safehouse. The game could also include RPG elements which allow you to increase skills in a few major areas (a la Crackdown), such as free running, driving, hand to hand combat, and gun combat. As your skills increased, you would become more efficient in these areas. For example, as you increased your gun stats, it would become easier to quickly dispatch of multiple foes by pulling off a few quick headshots. These stats and customizations could also carry over to multiplayer.
6. Bring Drug Dealing to Consoles
GTA Chinatown Wars was mostly praised for its inclusion of drug dealing throughout Liberty City. Many found this feature to be addicting and spent a lot of time trying to become a Drug Lord. A similar system should be implemented in the next GTA as an incentive to keep playing. R* would hardly have to do more than bring the exact system from Chinatown Wars over to consoles in order to have a success on their hands. Many have also suggested that the player should be able to take these drugs. This is an interesting suggestion, but drugs such as cocaine and heroin should probably be avoided as the media would have a field day with that one: "New Videogame Encourages Kids to Try Hard Drugs!". However, presenting the player with the options to take acid or smoke marijuana, as well as chug beers like in 4, could be a lot of fun. Taking acid could generate random colors and hallucinations on the screen, which could be a blast to play. Incorporating weed would be harder because let's be honest, all it does is make everything more fun/funny and makes you think of some really random or weird things. But I'm sure R* could find a way. Of you have any suggestions for this area, leave them in the comments section.
7. Miscellaneous:
Here are my final suggestions for random things/weapons that should be included in free mode:
- gravity gun (like in Half Life 2)
- batmobile (and perhaps accompanying batsuit)
- wingsuit/glide suit w/ parachute
- bring back planes (only smaller aircraft)
- lightsaber
- space shuttle
- iron man suit (think weaponized jetpack, but also capable of horizontal flight)
- there is a very small island that resembles one of the towns from Red Dead and it is filled with zombies that you can fight for as long as possible
Well, I guess that's it for now. That's not even necessarily all of my ideas ( I even started thinking of a story XD ) but I'm bored of writing. Leave your thoughts or additional comments below please!
"Nintendo Switch 2 is a safe and solid follow-up in many respects but it has its issues, including the Virtual Game Card system and an aging UI."
- Stuart Cullen, TechStomper
Skewed and Reviewed have posted some gameplay from the retro game.
Just like you don’t ask a woman her age, you don’t ask a Final Fantasy fan how many games there are in total.
I don't quiet get who it's directed at. General player? Sure, I can believe them not knowing some of the less popular final fantasy games. But final fantasy FANS? There is nothing forgotten about these games.
I can't agree with anything in your misc. section. All of those seem more like idea's for Saints Row. It doesn't seem like the vibe R* have been going for. Well thought out blog though.
GTA 5 wishlist with GT 5 logo LMAO!
I like the list. A lot better than the usual "I want planes, a million miles of road, to be able to get fat and JETPACKSZSZZZ!!11!!!1
And all the rest of the tired flunge you always hear. I like the new direction of GTA, it seems more fitting. Sure it was crazy fun in San Andreas, but I'd like to think the fans of the series have grown up with it.
I believe TBoGT was a perfect balance between fun and realism, as I'll agree that GTA IV was a bit bland, but it just needed more singleplayer content. Lastly please keep the driving mechanics the same, like I've said before!