GTA V: A Better Game Than TLOU?

Now I'll start by saying I'm not here to rustle any feathers, I'm not a fanboy, or a troll, I just feel on N4G at least, there's a very large % of people who were disappointed with GTA and it stirs something in me, I feel like I'm unplugged from the Matrix or something and everyone else is not able to see the truth of the situation ( Quite an extreme and arrogant example I know ) I'm not going to be bashing TLOU in anyway because I love that game, I'm just arguing for GTA that's all. Don't worry though I'll keep it short since this is only a Blog, but I could talk about how much I love this game all day.

For me, GTA was an incredible game and a perfect way to end the last gen, It was one of the only games to fully max out the last gen's power, from a graphics stand point I thought it was beautiful especially considering how sharp and detailed the entire map was from a skyscraper to a garbage can it all looked great. Even speeding through a field at 90mph I never saw a drop in frame rate, or when I was flying a plane looking down on the countryside of SA it was just gorgeous to look at, Hell even underwater looked great for what it was worth, I'd rather have the underwater than not have it. Sure, the story wasn't the best but it was far from the worst and the dialogue was mostly hilarious especially when Trevor decided to impart his profound wisdom on anyone that would listen. The missions were all very well crafted and managed to feel a lot more naturally flowing than just drive here do this drive back which was a major flaw in GTA IV. Chasing boats down the freeway, Robbing banks with Miniguns, or chasing a crashing plane through the country on a dirt bike to name but a few, and I mean FEW. For any mission someone says was boring in the game I'll tell you one that was exciting, fun as hell, or hilarious, The game just had that Rockstar stamp on it.

Speaking of which, the entire game was full of typical Rockstar innovation, they don't like to simply bring out new games for the sake of it, they like to challenge themselves to be as creative as possible and take risks, for example the idea to have 3 characters to switch between was a breath of fresh air, now they don't need to do that every game from now on but it was ballsy to try it and it worked like a charm. Even the way you switch characters where it pulls you up to a birds eye google maps view and takes you over to another character is great, And yeah this may be a small thing but the fact they made some scenario's for the switch over's made it feel like when you weren't using Trevor or Franklin they were off doing something on their own which was a great idea to implement rather than have them standing in the same place you left them, or in their apartment staring at a wall. It's the little things that they bother to include because they care about what they're putting out in their games which really gains them the respect of anyone who considers themselves a gamer.

It felt like a game without limitations, you had the freedom to explore pretty much whatever and wherever you wanted and almost every time there was something worth seeing or doing when you got there, the whole concept of GTA is what we love about games, the fun, the freedom, the beauty, the gameplay, the violence, the laughter, the longevity, the over the top madness and immersion you could never get in any other medium. it ticks basically every box you could want from a game. It's a masterpiece, their best game yet to date by some degree in my opinion.

If you've actually read this far then congratulations and thanks for hearing me out, I'm sure there's plenty folks out there that may have other opinions though ( hence the creation of this blog ) so leave a comment if you want to give a counter argument and I'll get back to you soon as I can.

[iamnsuperman]

There are so many major flaws in GTA that made me question should it even be nominated for game of the year, let alone being argued that it is better than The Last of Us.

The story is fairly awful nor does it really make any sense. Take that (what I would call true) ending for example. It came out of nowhere excuse there was no build up to it. The rest of the story was fled with forgettable characters with Franklin being the most pointless and aimless character in the game.

The three character switch mechanic (all be it cool and new) did nothing for the game. You had to do certain missions for certain characters anyway. Multiple protagonist has been done a lot better. Outside the missions the tool because redundant since you choice which one suits you best (but there isn't really much of a choice apart from aesthetically since the perks are fairly minor)

The open world was filled with an empty void which made the world feel a bit dead. It follows the open world trope about filling the world with collectibles or side activities (like golfing) but nothing meaningful or relevant to the game at hand.

I felt GTA V got more recognition that it deserved and I feel in two years time people will look back at GTA V as they did with GTA IV.

[iamnsuperman]

Grrrr auto correct

*except
*filled

[Scrivlar]

In response to your argument that
"GTA V as if it is a soap opera (especially Trevor and Micheal relationship) while The Last of Us is a hbo/highly regarded BBC drama/mini series. Each to their own but the gulf of quality is clear"

This is where I feel TLOU always gets away with a crime( And please remember I absolutely love TLOU )
TLOU clearly has the best story in a game out there, and if it were a tv show i'd rather watch TLOU, but as a game, GTA ticks more boxes for me, when you pull back the curtain ( Story ) of TLOU and focus on gameplay it's quite a basic, limited game with flawed AI that are so stupid sometimes it kills any suspense the scenario was trying to create.

I'd say both developers made breakthrough titles yet again and I will always buy games from Rockstar and Naughty Dog, but it feels like instead of them both being praised and loved by fans, A lot of fans seemed disappointed with GTA and blindly worshipped TLOU and it made me sad for GTA ha.

[iamnsuperman]

@scrivlar

Because story design is important for a game and how it takes precedent in the game is important. I use to get stick for putting the story criticism in the gameplay section of my user reviews here but those two things come hand in hand. GTA sort of falls into this category but some games are developed gameplay first then story afterwards (of course the story suffers). This isn't a good way of doing things especially considering the series (since going 3D has ways tried to be story driven).

The last of us is cleary a story first game but that doesn't mean it's gameplay suffer (apart from they ally not being seen which I see is more of a technical level issue that if wasn't implemented we could have had another malaria annoying mechanic on my our hands). The gameplay is simple but that is its biggest strength. Notthing seems out of ordinary for the wold Naughty Dog has made nor does the mechanics not make sense. The gameplay complements the story in a mutual way that not many games have managed to do.

If you feel people are disappointed with GTA there is a good reason behind it and people don't blindly worship the last of us. The last of us got its recognition for a reason (no one ever said GTA was the best game this generation but Pete were blown away by the last of us and for good reason too)

[Scrivlar]

Oh no don't get me wrong I completely agree that storylines in games plays a massive part, For example I love Darksiders but hate the sequel, basically the same game, some would say with improvements, but the story didn't hook me in and I couldn't get into it.
However I would say that the story isn't the be all end all of a game either, for another example I'd probably say Skyrim, I definitely prefered Oblivions story's and dialogue's ( The Dark Brotherhood in particular ) but loved the improved gameplay mechanics in Skyrim and definitely put Skyrim above Oblivion in ranking.

I actually thought despite GTA V's story's overall plot being underwhelming there was still great, witty, funny writing going on there and my friend was literally just saying to me today that he thought Trevor was one of his favourite characters from a game.
Of course it's all subject to opinion and I guess I was unfair to say people worship TLOU but I do feel as though people are still in the honeymoon phase with it and might see some room for improvements with the next one.

[rambi80]

The picture system is broken on the site. Please remove your report

[r1sh12]

GTA V was a good game, but I think the story was just way too short, that Rockstar expected the daily updates of the multiplayer would fill that void.
But the heists never came (not sure if they have been released yet),
even though gta IV is looked at with some hate, but the story was too descriptive (doing gf missions!).
They clearly took all the criticism for such stupid things and went a little too far with gta v.
But what rockstar learned from the DLC from gta iv they could improve the gtav core story could they not?

GTA IV became a better game with the DLC which was far from perfect, but GTA V was a let down because the story took no time to complete :(
Its still better than most games that come out, TLOU is more of a novel story I think.
If you look at it from a story telling perspective TLOU is a book and GTA V is a film..

Which ever you prefer is down to personal preference, I like both for different reasons.

[iamnsuperman]

I look at GTA V as if it is a soap opera (especially Trevor and Micheal relationship) while The Last of Us is a hbo/highly regarded BBC drama/mini series. Each to their own but the gulf of quality is clear

The DLC was really good for IV. The ballad for gay Tony was GTA through and through and it was the better GTA story arc. I think they can improve GTA V's story with DLC but they need to really look at what they did with the bogt and look what other development teams have done

The lack of heist dlc isn't good either. I think the launch of the online service (being poor) and the fact the micro transactions were never fully implemented means that the online would never become something long lasting as they envisioned it to be (which is why I think the focus has changed to single player DLC than online stuff)

[r1sh12]

@Iamnsuperman - yeah LOOL.
To each person there is a difference between the 2, hence why each are liked for different reasons.

For me its a book Vs Film, for you soap operate Vs BBC drama.

Im gonna buy it again for pc (I know, I hate myself too - but I want to replay the story and sold my xbox) and at that point there should be some DLC (I hope)

[Scrivlar]

But why is it when we're comparing two games are we just comparing the story? That's where I feel TLOU get's to have a free pass on it's gameplay which isn't perfect, and that's okay for a first outing of the IP. But it's not fair on GTA to be comparing the story's because it's so much more than that, it's an open world sandbox game with so much freedom and variety and humour, you can shoot,stab,blow up,punch, kick, drive.fly,run,swim,cycle,parac hute,golf,race,rob etc etc you get what i mean ha.

[r1sh12]

@scrivlar..
The reason why I compare just story plot and types is because both games play very differently.
GTA V (And all GTA games) the player is encouraged to do what they want outside of the missions.

Whilst they might be similar games they are still very different in that aspect, so the only thing worth comparing are the types of story.

[incendy35]

They each do things better than the other. I don't think anyone would be wrong in liking one over the other for different reasons. Both awesome games.

[dafegamer]

nope. The core gameplay in TLOU is "tighter" than GTAV
The world in GTAV is more a life though

[Chard]

Reminds me of this gif
http://community.us.playsta...
Both games are amazing anyway. GTAV had more raw gameplay and variety etc. TLOU stays in your mind longer after completing it.

[Number-Nine]

2 very different games but the last of us is nearly flawless and techinally sound. A well made game on every level.

I enjoyed gta4 but its not even my favorite of the series. It had plenty of bugs, and the story was meh.

[DragonKnight]

This is a question that shouldn't be asked because it's a question that can't be answered, and if it could then the answer would be too subjective to be of any real use anyway.

Both games are too dissimilar to make the claim that one is better than the other.

[TuxedoMoon]

It's called an opinion. Everyone has one. If you think GTA5 is a great game then it's a great game to you. You have no obligations to force yourself to like something that everyone else likes. The more you force it, the more you actually end up hating it. I know from experience. I played through FF14:RR and it was one of the worse MMOs I played as of late. It was literately putting me to sleep on several occasions. How that game was getting 9/10s across the board was something I couldn't see.

Was is wrong for me to get bored with FF14? Is it wrong for you to enjoy GTA5? NOPE! Not at all! Enjoy what -YOU- like. Don't make people dictate what you HAVE to like or HAVE to think. Reviews and comments are all just suggestions at the end of the day and it's up to you to do what you will with that advice.

IT'S ALL OPINIONS!
OPINIONS =/= FACTS!

[Number-Nine]

The OP did ask a question and people are answering it.

[Scrivlar]

Yeah dude I know that, And I was pretty clear in stating that it was my own personal thoughts on the matter. My opinion is that GTA is better, what's yours?

[TuxedoMoon]

To answer the question, in my opinion, GTA5 was just a mediocre game. I play games for gameplay and/or story. Why or? Because some games have crappy stories but the gameplay easily outshines it (Metal Gear rising for example). GTA5's gameplay was just alright. The events you go through were kinda dull compared to prior entries. The heists were the best parts for me, which were too few in number. I didn't have any trouble through the game or felt any tension in any of the missions either. The hardest part was flying a helicopter.

The thing they did having 3 characters was stupid. The whole story started with Micheal and it focused mostly on him. Might as well just been about him since the other characters are just as dull with no gameplay changes. Trevor wasn't that funny and his events were just plain stupid. Franklin was a character I thought would be as cool as CJ, but he isn't. His story arc was extremely dull compared to the other 2, though I preferred his character when roaming around.

The story for GTA5 started strong, but through the adventure it quickly got boring. I felt that the story was about Micheal and his 2 buddies, not 3 individuals coming together from different places for a common goal. I didn't connect to any of the characters. I just played through each story mission as another chore. The worse part of the game was the ending portion. It was just so boring!

The parts that made me cringe the most in GTA5 were the parts where they tried to be silly. Micheal's drug trip was just dumb...

I simply didn't enjoy the adventure.

The Last of us on the other hand just started off very strong and the events gave me a sense of tension. It immersed me into what was going on and the end scene of the first 20 minutes just made me want to play the game till completion. Gameplay wise, it's just another 3rd person action game, but it's the events that the game puts you through that makes it fun and exciting. The way you sneak and move around was filled with more tension than any of the "sneaking" sequences in GTA5.

As for the story, I don't think I have to say much about it cause everyone already knows that it's great. They do something awesome though, they link story AND gameplay in a way that immerses players even more. You look around and the characters are talking about stuff and focusing on certain things. This made the characters click even more, working more as a team. When you enter a new area, the characters react to it, showing that they're amazed.
It just all falls back on the game's events.

After beating GTA5, I just didn't feel accomplished at all. The over all story was just very bland. I played through all the gta full 3d games and this one was the 2nd worse one I played. GTA4 being the worse. The last game I played that was close to GTA5 was Saint's Row 3&4. I actually liked 3 more than 4 since it was a nice blend of ridiculousness and GTA traits. Super powers in 4 turned Saints Row into a super hero game...not a GTA style game. Saints row 3 had personality too. The characters were distinct and memorable, and the wacky events fit the game.

I enjoyed playing through Saints Row 3 WAY more than GTA5. GTA5 beats it on a technical scale, but the story events in SR3 were just fun. The game had personality and knew what it was. Also the final parts of the game was amazing. The song used was just perfect.

[KevinRHG]

I think neither game is perfect but whether one amazing game is better than another amazing game really falls to personal tastes.

My gripe with both was the flaws in the multiplayer which begs the question: if a game with a great single player has flawed multiplayer, can that game still be "Perfect"?

I personally don't think so but the only game I would give a 10 too would be Final Fantasy 6 and Super Mario Bros 3.

[Scrivlar]

Well as I was saying to someone on another post I think if the game is a 10/10 and the Multiplayer is optional then it's still a 10 for me, if it were Mandatory and not as good as single then I would take it down.

What would I give a 10 to though hmm...Probably KOTOR, One of the Pokemon games like Leaf Green for me, Dark Souls 1, And maybe Skyrim.

[bunfighterii]

I think it's a better game, IMO - TLOU was good but I thought somewhat overrated. The story etc. was great, but at the end of a day, as a video game, it wasn't an experience I wanted to have again. I played through the story once and that was enough. It was enjoyable, but not 'fun', like watching dramatic movie.

GTAV on the other hand was pure fun. I played through the story twice, and I still play GTAV online, and I'm looking forward to buying it on PS4 and doing it all again.

[newflesh]

While GTA 5 is a technical marvel, great fun and one of the best open world games of last gen, it still pales in comparison to San Andreas, imo. SA is more fun and diverse, I still play it, and I can't imagine playing V in 10 years time

[Lightning Mr Bubbles]

F*CK NO!!!!!!!!!!!

[migh_and_highty]

GTA story was weak, and didn't attempt to push the group dynamic between michael, trevor and franklin. Plus the ending was awful. Choose between who to kill, michael, trevor or no-one. I mean come on, 95% of people wouldnt have chosen michael or trevor. All endings seemed to end with a car chase that could have easily been in a mission.
Despite that it was a hugely fun game to play, and on a technical scale unseen in consoles, rockstar did something special with the tech, so it was fun.

[_FantasmA_]

I vote for none of the above.

[Gatsu]

Different kind of games and both are amazing 10/10.