Blockbuster titles like the Grand Theft Auto series have become a benchmark for subsequent games thanks to their exceptionally distinctive gameplay and incredibly rich content. Players can freely roam, cause chaos, or even create a massacre for the police to chase after. However, like any other game, alongside the positives, Grand Theft Auto also has its share of glaring issues. Providing constructive criticism is a good thing, but accepting it is not an easy task, especially for a legend like GTA. Below is a list of 12 problems with this series that GTA fans do not want to acknowledge.
Grand Theft Auto V is “old” now
There’s no denying the achievements Rockstar has attained with GTA V. As a blockbuster series, the pressure on GTA V was immense, yet it still managed to accomplish its mission excellently. The game’s continued popularity to this day has its reasons, but sooner or later, GTA VI will be released, and it’s already been 7 years. Additionally, the new generation of consoles is about to launch, making this a perfect time to elevate GTA to new heights.
However, for some reason, Rockstar has yet to announce GTA VI, instead confirming another… improved version of GTA V for the PS5. Of course, many fans are willing to continue supporting Rockstar with this decision, but virtually everyone can sense that gamers are eagerly anticipating GTA VI. It will eventually appear, but how much longer will we have to wait? Especially since another version of GTA V was released in 2021?
The weapon arsenal and combat mechanics need to change
GTA is famous in part for its diverse gameplay. Although it’s not a racing or shooting game, if you want to race in GTA, a car is readily available; if you want to shoot, there are guns for you to pick up and fire. However, this has a downside as it doesn’t focus on any one genre, making gunfights in the game easily dull.
While there are plenty of handguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, and grenades, there’s nothing groundbreaking about them. It would be great if gamers could customize these weapons. As for melee weapons and combat, they are quite monotonous, merely consisting of swinging your fists or a golf club, which is generally quite boring. If GTA VI addresses this and makes the combat mechanics more interesting, gamers will be very grateful.
Falling behind other open-world games
There’s no denying that the world in GTA is incredibly vast, allowing gamers to explore freely in their own way. Since the first installment, driving from one mission to another has been quite enjoyable. By GTA III, the game transitioned to 3D graphics, and the world in the game has continued to expand in subsequent versions. However, open-world games are not limited to just GTA. For instance, with the two latest Assassin’s Creed installments, Origins and Odyssey, players can see just how breathtaking the in-game environments are. Or, with the majestic setting of Red Dead Redemption 2 from Rockstar, it’s hard to find faults. While GTA V currently looks appealing, it’s no longer as impressive as it once was.
GTA Online is hard to expand further
Looking back over 7 years, it’s hard to believe that GTA V is still of significant interest to many players. In particular, the GTA Online mode continues to receive regular updates and new content from Rockstar. However, everything has its limits. There have been a few breakthrough updates that introduced Heists, Organizations, etc. But along with that, there are also many updates that are mostly cosmetic or just add weapons and vehicles. Ultimately, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find new and groundbreaking content for the game. Therefore, GTA VI is essential at this point.
Minigames are quite boring
With such a vast world, there are certainly many activities for players to engage in aside from the main missions. GTA has provided players with quite a few minigames for entertainment. For example, in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the Nintendo DS, there’s a scratch card game, while other installments feature activities like yoga, golf, bowling, basketball, arm wrestling, tennis, and more, allowing players to unwind after grinding through the main missions.
Although gamers appreciate Rockstar for including these elements, many minigames are not worth playing and only end up wasting time. Some minigames can enhance the protagonist’s stats, but others are just played once for the sake of it.
Female characters only play minor roles in the game
The main characters in GTA are often anti-heroes: reckless, bold, yet filled with flaws, having made mistakes in their lives and promising to atone for them. Notably, all main characters in GTA are male. Even most supporting characters in the game are male, with female characters being quite rare. Of course, the series does include notable female characters like Tracey De Santa or Mercedes Cortez, but overall, they still seem to be overshadowed by male characters. Gamers have expressed this to Rockstar, hoping for a fitting response in GTA VI.
The main characters are all quite similar
Each main character in the GTA series should be meticulously crafted, each with different backgrounds and personalities, usually involved in shady or illegal activities in their respective game installments. However, gamers still hope that these characters will find a brighter future, and to achieve this, Rockstar has shared more about the backstories of these characters, explaining why they find themselves in their current situations.
This is not incorrect, but it has gradually become a cliché and repetitive. Especially in GTA V, Rockstar introduced three main characters into the game, causing them to face the challenge of differentiating between the three completely distinct personalities. Instead, they could have created just one truly unique character with a highly dramatic backstory, which would have been sufficient.
Movement in the game can sometimes become dull and tedious
Driving has always been a lucrative aspect of GTA. Grinding money to buy your favorite car, turning on the radio, and just cruising and enjoying the ride. There are even talk shows that will make you laugh out loud, which is incredibly fun. However, upon closer inspection, the city in the game seems rather… lifeless, and you have to drive through these monotonous roads. This is one of the issues Rockstar needs to address in GTA VI, finding a way to balance the fast travel feature in the game, especially as the map of GTA continues to expand without overshadowing the driving mechanics, which have been a hallmark of GTA all along.
Increasing microtransactions
Of course, Rockstar is not the only culprit in this matter. The microtransaction mechanism has become rampant in the gaming industry in recent years. As a AAA title, GTA V is certainly not free-to-play, but when you look at the amount of money the publisher earns through the GTA Online mode, it’s certainly surprising. The reason is that there’s always something new to buy in this mode: weapons, vehicles, businesses, and much more. In general, the game always has something that compels players to spend money to acquire it. Therefore, it’s highly likely that Rockstar will continue to implement microtransactions in GTA VI, and hopefully, it won’t impact gameplay negatively.
Meme and pop culture references have become stale and outdated
There’s a significant issue when humor elements are built on pop culture: they can easily become outdated. Those who have recently purchased the game may find the comedic moments quite hard to digest. Each GTA installment is linked to events and phenomena occurring in its era. Pop culture, memes… all contribute to the soul of GTA and attract many gamers, but over time, they can become counterproductive as they no longer resonate. This has caused the GTA series to lose appeal for gamers who approach the game late.
Some segments in the game are just too dark
Having played GTA, many players have witnessed extremely shocking, sensational scenes containing mature content that has sparked controversy within the community. Sometimes, Rockstar has gone too far. Initially, some scenes were still acceptable, but in GTA V, extremely dark scenes emerged. The most notable is the torture sequence in the mission By the Book, which left players feeling very uncomfortable. Players must control Trevor as he carries out various torture methods to extract information from Ferdinand Kerimov. To make matters worse, players also discover that Trevor does this merely for his amusement, knowing full well that this method won’t yield any information from Kerimov, making players feel even more disturbed.
Trevor Philips is too absurd
As mentioned above, the main characters in the game all have their flaws. However, they also possess elements that make players want to bond with and spend time exploring the character they control. Yet, Trevor Philips in GTA V is a unique case. There’s no denying that this character is portrayed in a highly distinctive way, always managing to become the center of attention. The issue here is that he becomes the focal point for incredibly… wrong reasons.
Trevor is a very frightening and dangerous person. While this might be seen as the “embodiment” of GTA, empathizing with this character is extremely challenging for players. Indeed, Rockstar has gone way too far here.
Source: What Culture