14 DAY TRIAL // Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the most impressive games of the year, with Rockstar managing to deliver a fantastic open world experience in which players control three characters – Michael, Trevor, and Franklin – while going on all sorts of adventures either alone with each character or together in special missions.
One of its core mechanics, driving, requires a bit of fine tweaking.
Driving in Grand Theft Auto 4 was controversial, to say the least, making gamers join two distinct camps: those who loved it and those who hated it.
The new physics system developed by Rockstar using its Advanced Game Engine resulted in cars that, when compared with previous games, handled like boats on water. While some praised this realistic mechanic, many hated it and wanted the studio to change this in a future installment.
With Grand Theft Auto 5, things have been drastically altered, as cars and other vehicles handle in a more precise manner, similar to arcade racing games. Even so, the cars still have a sense of weight and, especially on rear-wheel drive ones, they're quite hard to control at high speed.
While in my opinion the new driving system is much better than in GTA 4, it still needs a bit of work especially when talking about the impact small obstacles have on the car. Races and chases across Los Santos have been stopped many times because the car collided with a small piece of debris or lost control just because it got into contact with the sidewalk, for example.
This made taking Franklin to illegal night races a pain, as almost always there was something to stop your ride on the circuit.
Controlling other types of vehicles, like jetskis or planes, is also a bit wonky, and helicopters require constant adjustment so that you can reach your destination.
What did you think about the driving in GTA 5? Is it an improvement or should Rockstar tweak it a bit more?